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00:00FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET AND UNLIKE ANY OTHER AIRCRAFT EVER BUILT, IT RACED THE SUN AND WON.
00:26FLYING AT SPEEDS OF 2,000 MILES AN HOUR IN THE TOP 1% OF THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE, IT HOLDS EVERY MAJOR SPEED AND ALTITUDE RECORD FOR A JET.
00:35YOU DID ALL OF THIS EFFORTLESSLY AND THAT WAS THE FEELING YOU HAD, THAT YOU HAD CONTROL OF SO MUCH POWER.
00:43IT WAS THE WORLD'S FIRST STEALTH AIRCRAFT, FLYING OVER ENEMY TERRITORY AND PHOTOGRAPHING 100,000 SQUARE MILES OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE IN AN HOUR.
00:54YOU WERE SITTING AT THE VERY FRONT OF THAT 107-FOOT LONG SPEAR, PENETRATING ENEMY AIR SPACE.
00:59YOU WERE TRULY THE TIP OF THE SWORD. IF ANYTHING WENT WRONG, WE WOULD BE ON THE 6 O'CLOCK.
01:05ONCE SHROUDED IN SECRETY, BATTLE STATIONS NOW REVEALS, USING ARCHIVED FILM AND COLOR REENACTMENTS, THE COVERT WORLD OF THE SR-71 BLACKBIRD.
01:16DURING WORLD WAR ONE, THE FIRST RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT WERE DEVELOPED TO PHOTOGRAPH THE ENEMY IN AN ATTEMPT TO GAIN A TACTICAL ADVANTAGE.
01:31WORLD WAR II SAW MORE SOPHISTICATED AIRCRAFT AND CAMERA TECHNOLOGY THAT PLAYED A VITAL ROLE IN THE ALIED VICTORY.
01:43AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THE WORLD WAS LEFT WITH TWO IDEOLOGICALLY OPPOSED SUPERPOWERS.
01:53THE COLD WAR HAD BEGUN, AND THE UNITED STATES WANTED TO KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE ON EVENTS BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN.
02:02AMERICA WAS DESPERATE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SOVIET NUCLEAR STOCKPILING, FIGHTER CAPABILITY, AND BOMBER THREAT.
02:12IN EARLY DECEMBER 1954, OPERATING TO THE DIRECT APPROVAL OF PRESIDENT EISENHAUER, THE TASK OF CREATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT WAS ASSIGNED TO THE VISIONARY DESIGNER KELLY JOHNSON AND HIS ELITE TEAM FROM LOCKHEAD'S ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, KNOWN AS THE SKUNKWORKS.
02:37I THINK KELLY'S OPERATION OF THE SKUNKWORKS WAS PROBABLY UNIQUE IN THE AVIATION INDUSTRY.
02:43TO START WITH, HE HAD A VERY, VERY SMALL CADREE OF PEOPLE. HE HANDPICKED EVERYONE THAT WORKED FOR HIM.
02:48THEY WERE SWORE TO ULTIMATE SECRECY. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO LEAKS WITHIN THE SYSTEM. HE WAS GUARANTEED OF THAT.
02:55HE ALSO MADE IT A POINT TO CO-LOCATE HIS ENGINEERS AND HIS PRODUCERS, THE PEOPLE WHO WERE BUILDING THE AIRPLANE.
03:01SO THE ENGINEER COULD COME UP WITH A DRAWING AND HE WOULD WALK OUT ON THE HANGER FLOOR AND TALK TO THE MAN WHO'S BENDING METAL.
03:08I CAN'T STRESS ENOUGH THE ENGINEERS DIRECTLY WITH THE SHOP PEOPLE. ALL THE TIME.
03:17AND KELLY, WHEN HE HAD A PROBLEM, HE'D HAVE A MEETING AND DECISIONS WERE MADE RIGHT THEN.
03:23HE WAS ALWAYS VERY FAIR. HE COULD BE VERY TOUGH. HE WAS AN OLD PUSSYCAT, I'LL TELL YOU.
03:33KELLY'S SKUNKWORKS PRODUCED THEIR FIRST SPYPLANE IN 1955, THE U-2.
03:40IN AN EFFORT TO EVADE SOVIET RADAR, THE U-2 WAS DESIGNED TO FLY AT AN ALTITUDE OF 75,000 FEET.
03:47IN 1956, HE'D BEGAN OVERFLYING THE SOVIET UNION ON RECONNAISANCE MISSIONS.
03:55BUT THE SOVIET'S LATEST RADAR SYSTEMS WERE MORE ADVANCED THAN HAD BEEN ANTICIPATED.
04:02WHEN THE U-2 FLOWN BY THE CIA FIRST BEGAN THEIR OPERATIONS OVER THE SOVIET UNION,
04:07THEY WERE SHOCKED TO DISCOVER THAT THE SOVIETS WERE TRACKING THEM EVEN ON THE VERY FIRST MISSION.
04:13AND SO IT BECAME OBVIOUS THAT THE U-2, DESPITE ITS ALTITUDE,
04:17WHICH WAS TO BE THE SAVING GRACE FOR THE AIRCRAFT,
04:19THAT IT WOULD BE TOO HIGH FOR SOVIET RADAR TO BE TRACKING.
04:23IT TURNS OUT THEY HAD BETTER RADAR THAN WE THOUGHT THEY HAD.
04:28THE SOVIETS PROTESTED AT THIS CONTINUAL VIOLATION OF THEIR AIRSPACE,
04:32BUT EISENHOW REPEATEDLY DENIED THE EXISTENCE OF AN AMERICAN SPYPLANE.
04:37EVERY U-2 FLOWN OVER THE SOVIET UNION WAS IN SERIOUS DANGER.
04:45THE U-2 WAS BEING TRACKED AND THAT WAS A GREAT CONCERN TO, NOT ONLY TO OUR COUNTRY,
04:49BUT TO LOCKHEAD WHO HAD PROMISED THAT THIS AIRPLANE WOULD NEVER BE SEEN.
04:53DETERMINED TO CREATE THE ULTIMATE SPYPLANE, KELLY JOHNSON RETURNED TO THE DRAWING BOARD.
04:59HE BEGAN DESIGNING A NEW SUPER SONIC AIRCRAFT THAT COULD FLY FASTER AND HIGHER THAN THE U-2
05:05WITH THE LOWEST POSSIBLE PRESENCE ON ENEMY RADAR SCREENS.
05:14THEN ON THE 1ST OF MAY 1960 DISASTER STRUCK.
05:18A U-2 FLOWN BY FRANCIS GARY POWERS WAS SHOT DOWN BY AN SA-2 MISSIL
05:24PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF SOVIET PROPAGANDA.
05:28IN MOSCOW, NIKITI KRISCHEV IS SHOWED AS HE TOLD THE SOVIET PRESIDIUM THAT
05:37PILOT GARY POWERS OF THE DOWNED AMERICAN RECONOISANCE PLANE WAS ALIVE
05:41AND THAT RUSSIA HAD SEEN SPY PHOTOGRAPHS MADE 1,400 MILES INSIDE SOVIET BORTERS.
05:46AND MR. K WAS QUICK TO PLAY ON THE INCIDENT FOR PROPAGANDA ADVANCE.
05:51POWERS HAD A VERY PUBLIC TRIAL, DESIGNED TO HUMILIATE THE UNIVERSITY.
05:57AND DETER THEM FROM CARRYING OUT ANY FURTHER RECONOISANCE FLIGHTS.
06:04BUT WITH TENSIONS BETWEEN THE SUPERPOWERS MOUNTING, THE NEED FOR RECONOISANCE WAS MORE URGENT THAN EVER.
06:11KELLY JOHNSON'S PLANS FOR AN ADVANCED SUPERSONIC SPYPLANE BECAME THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY.
06:18IN ORDER TO CREATE AN AIRCRAFT CAPABLE OF OPERATING AT THE SPEEDS AND ALTITUDES THAT KELLY ENVISIED,
06:24HIS SKUNKWORKS TEAM WOULD HAVE TO OVERCOME A SERIES OF HUGE TECHNOLOGICAL PROBLEMS.
06:32AND THE BIGGEST PROBLEM THAT HE WAS GOING TO FACE, AND HE KNEW THIS UP FRONT, WAS GOING TO BE TEMPERATURE.
06:37THE TEMPERATURES THAT THE AIRCRAFT WOULD ENCOUNTER AT THOSE SPEEDS, PHENOMENAL.
06:43IT WAS CLEAR THAT A TRADITIONAL ALUMINIUM AIRFRAME WOULD NOT WITHSTAND THESE EXTREME CONDITIONS.
06:49YOU COULD NOT FLY AN AIRPLANE PAST 2.6 MACH, AND YOU'D JUST BARELY MAKE IT THEN WITH ALUMINUM,
06:59BECAUSE THE AIRPLANE HAD JUST TURNED IT JELLY.
07:02THE DECISION WAS MADE TO BUILD THE AIRFRAME FROM TITANIUM.
07:06TITANIUM WAS BOTH LIGHT ENOUGH TO REACH ALTITUDES IN EXCESS OF 80,000 FEET,
07:12AND STRONG ENOUGH TO WITHSTAND THE ENORMOUS TEMPERATURES GENERATED BY MACH III FLIGHT.
07:17NO ONE HAD EVER BUILT AN AIRPLANE OUT OF TITANIUM, SO HE HAD TO BEGIN FROM SCRATCH.
07:24WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TOOLS THAT YOU COULD USE TO DEVELOP TITANIUM AND TO BEND IT AND TO SHAPE IT AND TO MAKE AN AIRPLANE.
07:31SO WE HAD TO START BY DESIGNING TOOLS. IT WAS A GIGANTIC UNDERTAKING.
07:38CREATING AN AIRCRAFT ABLE TO CRUISE AT MACH III WAS DIFFICULT ENOUGH,
07:42BUT THE SKUNKWORKS ALSO HAD TO FACE THE CHALLENGE OF COMBINING THIS LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE
07:46WITH THE NEW SCIENCE OF STEALTH.
07:52TO AVOID FEATURES THAT WOULD CREATE STRONG RADAR REFLECTIONS, THE PLANE HAD TAKEN ON A REVOLUTIONARY SHAPE.
07:58THE WINGS WERE BLENDED INTO THE BODY, AND THE LONG SURFACES ON THE FORWARD FUSELAGE, KNOWN AS CHINES,
08:10WERE DESIGNED TO DEFLECT INCOMING RADAR WAVES.
08:16AS WERE THE INWARD-ANGLED TWIN FINS, THE POINTED ENGINE CONES, AND THE NEARLY FLAT LOWER FUSELAGE.
08:26ALSO A SPECIAL RADAR ABSORBENT PLASTIC, OR COMPOSITE, WAS DEVELOPED TO BE INCORPORATED INTO ALL THE LEADING EDGES.
08:36WHEN YOU LOOK AT AN SR-71, 20% OF WHAT YOU SEE IS COMPOSITE.
08:41YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST UNBELIEVABLE AT THAT TIME, AND IT WAS DEVELOPED IN OUR SHOPS.
08:47AN SR-71 WAS A HUNDRED TIMES SMALLER RADAR RETURN THAN AN F-14, WHICH IS ONLY HALF AS BIG, AND WAS DEVELOPED 10 YEARS LATER.
08:59SO THAT WAS THE REALLY, TRULY FIRST AIRPLANE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED WITH STEALTH IN MIND.
09:07THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SR-71 WAS BEING CARRIED OUT UNDER CONDITIONS OF UTMOST SECRECY.
09:15BUT THEN, ON THE 24TH OF JULY, 1964, TO THE AMAZEMENT OF THE SKUNKWORKS TEAM,
09:20PRESIDENT LINDEN B. JOHNSON REVEALED TO THE WORLD THAT AMERICA HAD CREATED AN ADVANCED NEW SPYPLANE.
09:30I THINK EVERYBODY WAS SURPRISED WHEN PRESIDENT JOHNSON MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT.
09:33I KNOW THE MILITARY WAS CERTAINLY SURPRISED BECAUSE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN A SECRET AIRPLANE.
09:38IT WAS A POLITICAL PLOY. HE WAS GRASPING FOR SOME BOOST IN HIS RATINGS,
09:43AND SO HE ELECTED TO MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT WHEN, IN FACT, EVERYBODY WAS TRYING TO KEEP WRAPS ON THE PROJECT.
09:49ON THE 22ND OF DECEMBER, 1964, THE SR-71 WAS ROLLED OUT ONTO THE FLIGHT LINE AT LOCKHEED'S BURBANK PLANT.
09:59COATED IN BLACK, RADAR ABSORBENT FERRITE PAINT, THE BLACKBIRD, AS IT BECAME KNOWN, WAS AN EXTRAORDINARILY FUTURISTIC LOOKING MACHINE.
10:13LOCKHEED TEST PILOT ROBERT GILLILAND WOULD BE THE FIRST IN THE COCKPIT.
10:21WHEN WE GOT GOING, AS A MATTER OF FACT, FOR THE ACTUAL FIRST FLIGHT, IT HAD 383 OPEN ITEMS.
10:29THESE ARE THINGS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING THAT AREN'T WORKING.
10:32SO IT WAS A BAREBONES TYPE OF OPERATION FOR THE FIRST FLIGHT.
10:36AND YOU MIGHT SAY THESE KIND OF THINGS COULD BE DANGEROUS, BUT THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER PEOPLE THAT WOULD LIKE TO HAVE BEEN IN MY POSITION.
10:42I ASSURE YOU OF THAT.
10:45THE ACCELERATION WHEN WE MADE THE FIRST ENGINE RUN, AND THEY HAD THOSE AFTER BURNERS GOING IN THERE, AND THAT THING IS STRAINING AGAINST THOSE CABLES,
10:53AND I JUST FELT, BOY, THIS IS REALLY GOING TO BE SOMETHING.
11:05THE FLIGHT LASTED JUST OVER ONE HOUR, REACHING TOP SPEEDS OF OVER A THOUSAND MILES AN HOUR.
11:10A PHENOMENAL ACCOMPLISHMENT FOR A FIRST FLIGHT OF ANY AIRCRAFT.
11:13KELLY JOHNSON WAS THERE, AND SOME OF HIS GUESTS WERE THERE, AND I DON'T REMEMBER WHO ALL ELSE WAS THERE, BUT THE WHOLE KET AND KABODLE WERE VERY HAPPY,
11:24INCLUDING ME.
11:29IT SEEMED THAT KELLY HAD CREATED HIS ULTIMATE SPYPLANE.
11:32BUT WOULD IT BE ABLE TO EVADE RADAR, AND FLY HIGH ENOUGH, AND FAST ENOUGH, TO ESCAPE THE SOVIET FIGHTERS AND MISSILES?
11:41FLYING AT SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF MARK 3, AT ALTITUDES OVER 80,000 FEET, THE SR-71 BLACKBIRD WAS THE FASTEST AND HIGHEST FLYING JET IN THE WORLD.
12:02IN 1966, THE FIRST SR-71 SPYPLANE WAS DELIVERED TO BEAL AIR FORCE BASE IN CALIFORNIA.
12:14THE FIRST STRATEGIC RECONNAISANCE SQUADRON NOW NEEDED AN ELITE FORCE OF AIRMEN TO FLY IT.
12:19THEY WENT TO TWO SOURCES TO GATHER THEIR CREW MEMBERS. THE FIRST PRIMARY SOURCE WAS THE B-58 HUSTLER SUPERSONIC BOMBER.
12:31AND THEY SELECTED SEVERAL CREWS FROM THAT SOURCE.
12:34AND THEN THEY WENT TO THE U-2 PROGRAM, AND THEY PICKED 10 OF US FROM THE U-2 PROGRAM TO COME UP TO BEAL AIR FORCE BASE IN CALIFORNIA AND FORM THE FIRST SQUADRON.
12:44WELL, MY FIRST THOUGHT WAS, I SURE HOPE THAT I'M SELECTED FOR THE PROGRAM. I MEAN, THAT WAS ULTIMATE, TO GET SELECTED FOR THE PROGRAM.
12:53IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THE SR-71, YOU HAD TO BE VERY GOOD AT WHAT YOU WERE DOING THUS FAR IN YOUR AVIATION CAREER.
13:01IN FACT, YOU HAD TO BE PRETTY MUCH THE BEST AT WHAT YOU DID TO BE CONSIDERED AS A CANDIDATE.
13:07EACH BLACKBIRD NEEDED TWO CREW MEMBERS, THE PILOT AND THE RSO, THE RECONNOCENCE SYSTEMS OFFICER.
13:15IT WAS EXTREMELY EXCITING TO, UH, JUST TO GET SIGNED INTO BUILD AIR FORCE BASE AND TO THINK THAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE FLYING ON THIS AIRPLANE. YOU CANNOT WAIT.
13:23BUT THE SELECTION INTERVIEWS AND EVALUATIONS ALONE LASTED A WEEK AND INCLUDED A RIGOROUS PHYSICAL EXAMINATION, THE SAME AS EXPERIENCED BY THE ASTRONAUT CORE.
13:33THE FIRST TWO DAYS WERE PHYSICALS, AN ASTRONAUT PHYSICAL IN A SENSE, TAKING AN EKG ON A TREADMILL, FULL BODY X-RAYS, JUST VERY EXTENSIVE PHYSICAL EXAM.
13:45THEY ALSO WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU WERE THE KIND OF PERSON THAT THEY COULD LIVE WITH ON THE ROAD BECAUSE YOU HAD TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER.
13:52YOU KNOW, IN THE SENSE IT'S PART OF YOUR FAMILY. AND THEY WANTED TO EVALUATE PEOPLE TO SEE IF THEY'D BE A GOOD MEMBER OF THAT FAMILY.
14:04THE PILOT BEGAN HIS ACTUAL TRAINING WITH LONG HOURS IN T-38S AND IN THE SR-71 SIMULATOR. THE INTENSE SIMULATOR SESSIONS TESTED THE CREW MEMBERS TO THEIR LIMITS.
14:16THEY BASICALLY MADE IT A GRUELING EXPERIENCE. THEY WOULD JUST GIVE ME MULTIPLE MALFUNCTIONS TO DEAL WITH.
14:24IN FACT, THEY JUST KEEP GIVING YOU ANOTHER PROBLEM ON TOP OF ANOTHER PROBLEM UNTIL YOU'RE JUGGLING FIVE OR SIX OR SEVEN BALLS AT ONCE.
14:32AND EVENTUALLY YOU HAVE TO START DROPPING THEM. AND THEY WOULD EVALUATE HOW YOU PRIORITIZED, WHICH BALL DO YOU DROP.
14:40AFTER MONTHS OF TRAINING, THE CREWS WERE READY FOR THEIR FIRST FLIGHT TOGETHER. THE EXTREME SPEED AND ALTITUDE CALLED FOR SPECIAL PROTECTION.
14:50AND THIS CAME IN THE SHAPE OF THE $120,000 PRESSURE SUIT.
14:55TWO TECHNICIANS SUIT YOU UP. YOU STEP DOWN INTO IT, YOU PUT YOUR ARMS INTO IT, AND IT COMES UP TO YOUR BACK.
15:01THE BOOTS ARE SEPARATE FROM THE SUIT, AND THEY'RE JUST REGULAR REAL COMBAT BOOTS.
15:07THE GLOVES ARE ESPECIALLY HANDMADE FOR YOU, AND THEY SNAP ON WITH LITTLE O-RINGS ONTO YOUR SUIT.
15:13THEN YOU PUT THE HELMET ON, IT'S QUITE HEAVY, AND ONCE THEY SNAP IT DOWN, YOU HEAR YOURSELF BREATHING.
15:18FOR A FEW MOMENTS THERE, YOU GET SOME CLAUSTOPHOBIA. I DID, ANYWAY.
15:23THE SUIT WAS DESIGNED TO HAVE 100% OXYGEN IN THE NASAL CAVITY AREA, AND THEN COMPRESSED AER,
15:30AND COMPRESSED AIR IN THE REST OF THE SUIT. SO THAT IF YOU WERE TO LOSE CABIN PRESSURE AT 80,000 FEET OR ABOVE,
15:39THE NITROGEN BUBBLES IN YOUR SYSTEM WOULD COME OUT AND YOUR BLOOD WOULD BOIL.
15:43SO YOU NEED SOME KIND OF AN ENVIRONMENT AROUND YOU. THAT'S WHAT THE PRESSURE SUIT PROVIDED.
15:50SUITED UP, THE PILOT AND RSO ARE READY TO BE ESCORTED OUT TO THE AIRCRAFT FOR THEIR FIRST FLIGHT TOGETHER.
15:59THERE ARE THREE PEOPLE THAT DO NOTHING BUT STRAP YOU INTO THE COCKPIT.
16:06AND UNLIKE A LOT OF AIRCRAFT, THIS COCKPIT IS DOWN SORT OF IN THE BOWELS OF THE AIRCRAFT.
16:11YOU GET PLACED DOWN INSIDE THE COCKPIT AND STRAPPED IN.
16:17AND THEN THE CANOPY IS LOWERED ON TOP OF YOU. YOU DON'T EVEN LOWER IT YOURSELF.
16:22SOMEONE HAS TO DO THAT FOR YOU AND LOCK IT DOWN.
16:24YOU'RE KIND OF BECOMING PART OF THE AIRCRAFT AND IT'S BECOMING PART OF YOU.
16:29A SHOT OF TRIATHYL BOREN GAS IGNITES THE FUEL AND THE J58 ENGINES ARE STARTED.
16:44WHERE IT REALLY GOT IMPRESSIVE IS WHEN IT STARTS TAXIING OUT OF THE HANGAR.
16:48AND IT'S 110 FEET LONG AND SO THIS THING KEEPS COMING OUT, KEEPS COMING OUT, KEEPS COMING OUT.
16:53AND ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU REALIZE THAT'S AN AWESOME LOOKING AIRPLANE AS IT GRADUALLY COMES OUT OF THE HANGAR.
16:59SO HERE WE WERE LOOKING AT AN AIRPLANE THAT WAS GOING TO BE GOING 2,000 MILES AN HOUR AND ITS DESIGN WAS SO FUTURISTIC
17:09IT WAS LIKE NO OTHER AIRPLANE THAT HAD EVER BEEN DESIGNED BECAUSE IT WAS GOING TO FLY IN AN ENVIRONMENT THAT NO OTHER AIRPLANE HAD EVER BEEN IN.
17:16I NEVER FORGET HOW IT FEELS TO LIGHT THOSE AFTERBURNERS AND FEEL ONE LIGHT BEFORE THE OTHER ONE DOES AND IT JERKS YOU PRETTY HARD.
17:27AND IT ACCELERATES RATHER RAPIDLY.
17:32IN JUST A MATTER OF SECONDS YOU'RE HITTING 180 Knotts INDICATED AIR SPEED, LIFTING OFF AT 210,
17:39MAKING SURE YOU GET THE GEAR RETRACTED BEFORE IT OVER SPEEDS AT 300 Knotts.
17:43AND YOU KEEP PULLING THAT NOSE UP TO TRY TO ACHIEVE THE 400 Knot CLIMBOUT.
17:48AND IN LESS THAN TWO MINUTES FROM BREAK RELEASE YOU'RE PULLING OUT OF AFTERBURNING YOUR LEVEL AT 24,000 FEET.
17:54IT'S QUITE A RIDE.
17:56I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I TOOK THE AIRCRAFT UP TO SPEED AND TO ALTITUDE, I WENT THROUGH MACH 1.
18:06THEN I APPROACHED MACH 2 AND IT WENT THROUGH MACH 2 WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST INDICATION OF ANY PROBLEMS.
18:13AND I MARVELLED AT THAT. AND THEN IT ROLLED RIGHT ON THROUGH MACH 3.
18:19OF COURSE, NONE OF US HAD EVER BEEN THAT FAST BEFORE, BUT YOU DID ALL OF THIS EFFORTLESSLY.
18:25AND THAT WAS THE FEELING YOU HAD, THAT YOU HAD CONTROL OF SO MUCH POWER ON THIS AIRCRAFT THAT IT WAS ALMOST LIMITLESS.
18:35THE SR-71 ACCELERATES THROUGH MACH 3, THE TRIPLE SONIC BOOM IS FOLLOWED BY A BLAST OF HEAT RADIATING FROM ITS BLACK SKIN THAT REACHES TEMPERATURES OF 1,100 DEGREES.
18:47IT TRULY FLEW THROUGH THE AIR LIKE A HOT KNIFE THROUGH BUTTER. IT REALLY DID.
18:51SO IT WAS POINTY ON EVERY END, BUT IT HAD ELEGANCE. BUT IT WAS AN ELEGANCE THAT WAS DESIGNED FOR PERFORMANCE.
19:00AFTER TEN MONTHS OF GRUELING TRAINING, THE SR-71 CREWS WERE READY TO GO OPERATIONAL.
19:06FLYING OVER HEAVILY DEFENDED AREAS IN ENEMY TERRITORIES WOULD PUSH BOTH THE AIRCRAFT AND THE CREWS TO THEIR LIMITS.
19:17ON MARCH 21, 1968, THE FIRST SR-71 OPERATIONAL SORTEE WAS FLOWN OUT OF KADENA AIR FORCE BASE, OKINAWA, JAPAN.
19:37THE VIETNAM WAR HAD BEEN RAGING FOR FIVE YEARS, AND THE UNITED STATES WAS DETERMINED TO CONTAIN AND DEFEAT COMMUNISM IN SOUTH EAST ASIA.
19:47THE ROLE OF THE SR-71 WOULD BE TO GATHER PHOTOGRAPHIC AND ELECTRONIC INTELLIGENCE OF THEIR ENEMIES.
19:57THEY WOULD FLY DAILY OVER TERRITORIES WHERE ONE MISTAKE COULD COST THE LIVES OF THE CREW AND PROVOKE AN INTERNATIONAL INCIDENT.
20:05IN THIS PROGRAM THE MARGIN FOR ERROR WAS SO NARROW, ALMOST TO NOTHING, THAT IT REALLY WAS THE PRESSURE OF FLYING THE MISSION FLAWLESSLY.
20:15SO THAT BECAUSE IF ANYTHING WENT WRONG WE WOULD BE ON THE SIX O'CLOCK NEWS.
20:21SR-71 MISSIONS WERE ALWAYS CAREFULLY PLANNED.
20:25IN THEIR BRIEFING THE CREWES THOROUGHLY STUDY THE MISSION ROUTE AND SURVEILLANCE AREAS AND ARE WARNED OF POTENTIAL ENEMY THREATS.
20:33WELL WE TRY TO STAY WELL INFORMED ABOUT OUR ADVERSARY'S CAPABILITIES, ABOUT THEIR ABILITY TO TRACK OUR MOVEMENT, OUR AIRCRAFT,
20:43ANY POTENTIAL SURFACE TO AIR MISSILES THAT MIGHT BE A THREAT TO US OR ANY AIRCRAFT THAT MIGHT BE A THREAT TO US DURING A FLIGHT.
20:53THREE HOURS BEFORE THE MISSION THEY HAVE A MEDICAL CHECKUP AND EAT A HIGH PROTEIN MEAL OF STEAK AND EGGS.
20:59THE CREW CHIEF AND HIS STAFF SPEND HOURS INSPECTING THE SR-71 FOR ANY POSSIBLE MECHANICAL PROBLEMS.
21:07PRE-FLIGHT ON THE AIRCRAFT STARTS AROUND MIDNIGHT. WE'RE STAYING FOR A SIX OR SEVEN O'CLOCK LAUNCH IN THE MORNING.
21:15AND THERE'S A LOT OF PROCEDURES THAT YOU GO THROUGH. CAMERAS HAVE TO BE UPLOADED.
21:21THE BAYS ARE IN THE FORWARD SECTION OF THE CHINES. AND THEN THE CAMERAS WAS ELECTRICALLY LIFTED UP INTO IT.
21:28WE ALWAYS LOADED A LIGHT LOAD OF FUEL FOR THE MERE FACT THAT IT'S A LOT EASIER ON THE AIRFRAME,
21:34IT'S A LOT EASIER ON THE TIERS, THE LANDING GEAR AND SO FORTH LIKE THAT.
21:38THERE WAS ALWAYS EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR, ELECTRIFYING. EVERY TIME YOU FILED THE AIRPLANE, EVERYBODY WAS KEYED UP.
21:46EVERYBODY DID THEIR JOB AND DID IT EXTREMELY WELL AND TOOK IT VERY, VERY SERIOUSLY.
21:50EVERYBODY WORKED TOGETHER AND IT WAS A TEAM EFFORT AND EVERYBODY KNEW THAT THEY WERE STRIVING FOR THAT ONE THING AND IT WAS PERFECTION.
22:00THE SR-71 DEMANDED IT BECAUSE THERE WAS NO ROOM FOR ERROR.
22:06WHEN YOU GET READY TO LAUNCH THE AIRPLANE THERE, THINGS ARE HAPPENING SO FAST THAT YOU SEND THE AIRPLANE OFF AND OF COURSE YOU'RE GOING TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT IT'S GOING TO COME BACK.
22:16YOU'RE CONSTANTLY THINKING WHETHER EVERYTHING IS CORRECT OR NOT AND THOSE QUESTIONS KIND OF CREEP INTO YOUR MIND.
22:37ABOVE 60,000 FEET, THE CREW SWITCHES OFF ALL CONTACT WITH AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL.
22:42ONLY A SELECT FEW KNOW WHERE THE BLACKBIRD GOES NEXT.
22:49THE PILOT IN THE SR-71 SPENT ALL OF HIS TIME FLYING THE AIRPLANE.
22:55THE AIRPLANE OPERATED ON AUTOPILOT, THAT'S TRUE, BUT YOU HAD TO KIND OF HANDFLY THE AUTOPILOT.
23:01IT DEMANDED YOUR ATTENTION ALL THE TIME.
23:03AND SO THE FELLOW IN THE BACK SEAT, THE RECONSTANCE SYSTEMS OFFICER, HE HANDLED ALL OF THE AXILIARY SYSTEMS.
23:12SITTING IN THE REAR COCKPIT, THE RSO MUST KEEP THE PLANE ON THE BLACK LINE, THE PREPLANNED ROUTE TO THE TARGET.
23:19AS THEY REACH ENEMY TERRITORY, HE CONCENTRATES ON THE RADAR AND DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS, TRYING TO JAM ENEMY COMMUNICATIONS IN THE EVENT OF A MISSIL LAUNCH.
23:28WE CARRIED THE SAME TYPE OF JAMMER THAT WAS USED THROUGHOUT THE VIETNAM WAR BY ALL OF THE FIGHTERS AND BOMBERS, WHICH ATTEMPTED TO JAM THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE RADAR SITE AND THE MISSIL ITSELF.
23:43ONCE THEY BEGAN THE COMMUNICATION, OUR INDICATIONS IN THE COCKPIT WOULD GO FROM WARNING TO JAMMING, AND IT WOULD BE JAMMING THAT COMMUNICATION LINK TO THE MISSLE.
23:58BUT SOMETIMES THE ENEMY WOULD TRY TO ATTACK THE SR-71 BY LAUNCHING A MISSIL WITHOUT ANY RADAR GUIDANCE.
24:07WE WERE COMING IN OFF THE WATER, HEADED IN LAND, AND THE PILOT SAYS, HEY REG, LOOK OUT YOUR RIGHT WINDOW, AND HERE IS WHAT LOOKS LIKE A TELEPHONE POLL ABOUT 150 YARDS AWAY THAT'S GOING JUST STRAIGHT UP.
24:26HE SAID, WAS THAT CLOSE ENOUGH? AND I SAID, YEAH, THAT WAS CLOSE ENOUGH.
24:33OUR MAIN DEFENSE THAT WE WERE FIRED UPON WAS INCREASED SPEED.
24:39AND WE COULD CREASE 100-200 NOTTS IN JUST A MATTER OF SECONDS, WHICH IS A LOT OF DIFFERENTIAL IN SPEED FOR A MISSIL TO COPE WITH.
24:49APPROACHING THE TARGET AREA, THE RSO CONCENTRATES ON OPERATING THE HIGH-TECH SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT.
24:55THE SIX DIFFERENT CAMERAS WERE ABLE TO PHOTOGRAPH 100,000 SQUARE MILES IN AN HOUR, PRODUCING IMAGES WITH SUCH HIGH RESOLUTION THAT A VEHICLE'S NUMBER PLATE COULD BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED.
25:10THE SURVEYING CAPABILITY OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS FANTASTIC, BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING IN A STRAIGHT LINE FOR 2,000 MILES, YOU COULD LOOK OUT AS FAR AS THE HORIZON GOES,
25:22AND FROM HORIZON TO HORIZON, THAT'S WHAT YOU COULD SURVEY.
25:33FOR THE CREWS FLYING IN THE TOP 1% OF THE ATMOSPHERE, IT GAVE THEM A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD.
25:40THE FIRST THING THAT YOU NOTICE THAT'S PHENOMENAL IS THE CHANGE OF THE SKY COLOR.
25:44AT ABOUT 60,000 FEET, THE SKY TURNS A DEEP INDIGO STEEL BLUE THAT IS SO MESMERIZING.
25:50YOU JUST WANT TO LOOK AT IT, AND IT'S FASCINATING.
25:56IF I FLEW THE AIRCRAFT UP NEAR THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, AND I MIGHT ACTUALLY TRAVERSE DAWN TO DUSK AND BACK TWO OR THREE TIMES.
26:05I'VE SEEN THE SUN RISE AND SET THREE TIMES ON A FLIGHT, WHICH IS VERY UNUSUAL.
26:09AND WE'RE ACTUALLY FLYING FASTER THAN THE URSS ROTATION, SO WE'RE OUTRUNNING THE SUN.
26:20LOCKHEED'S SR-71 BLACKBIRD WAS A UNIQUE FLYING MACHINE THAT OFFERED THE UNITED STATES AWESOME OPPORTUNITIES OF SURVEILLANCE OVER ITS ENEMIES.
26:32THE ROLE OF THE SR-71 IS STRICTLY RECONNAISANCE.
26:37IT'S DESIGNED TO FLY WHEN YOU WANT IT TO FLY, OVER HEAVILY DEFENDED AREAS.
26:43WE HAVE SATELLITES, BUT THE SATELLITE IS VERY PREDICTABLE.
26:48THE SR-71 PROVIDES FLEXIBILITY. THEY CAN BE THERE ANY TIME, DAY OR NIGHT.
26:54WHEN THE SR-71 RETURNED FROM A RECONNAISANCE MISSION, THE HIGHEST PRIORITY WAS TO DOWNLOAD THE CAMERAS, KNOWN AS SENSORS, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
27:03EVERYONE WAS DEEPLY CONCERNED THAT THEIR SENSOR PERFORMED AS IT WAS DESIGNED TO DO AND PROGRAMED TO DO.
27:09SO THERE WAS A LOT OF SERIOUS CONCERN THERE AND THERE WAS A LOT OF HAPPINESS BECAUSE THE PLANE HAD MADE A SUCCESSFUL MISSION AND THE CREWS WERE HOME.
27:17THE FILMS WERE THEN RUSHED OFF FOR PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS.
27:23THE PHOTO INTERPRETERS WERE A BRILLIANT BUNCH OF YOUNG AIRMEN AND THEY COULD LOOK AT THAT FILM AND THEY COULD SPOT SOMETHING HAD BEEN MOVED OR A NEW FACILITY WAS GOING UP.
27:32THEY WERE GREAT AT THAT. AND THEY WOULD CALL OUR SUPERVISORS IF THEY SAW SOMETHING OF INTEREST, YOU KNOW, THAT NEEDED TO BE FLAGGED AND BROUGHT THE ATTENTION OF THE INTELLIGENCE PEOPLE.
27:42ONE OF THE THINGS I ENJOYED ABOUT FLYING THE BLACKBIRD WAS KNOWING THAT INFORMATION IS POWER.
27:48THE INFORMATION WE WOULD GATHER COULD VERY WELL PRECLUDE BOMBS HAVING TO BE DROPPED AT ALL.
27:54IT COULD SAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE'S LIVES BY HAVING THE RIGHT INFORMATION AT THE RIGHT TIME.
27:59THE BLACKBIRD CREWS WERE SUCCESSFULLY INFILTRATING ENEMY TERRITORY AND GATHERING A MASS OF INTELLIGENCE ABOUT THEIR ADVERSARIES.
28:06BUT WITH THE IRON CURTAIN STILL FIRMLY IN PLACE AND SOVIET TECHNOLOGY CONSTANTLY IMPROVING, HOW LONG WOULD THE SR-71 REMAIN FLYING SAFELY IN SUCH DANGEROUS AREAS?
28:17IT WOULD SOON FACE THE ULTIMATE TEST.
28:24IN THE EARLY 1970S, TENSION BETWEEN AMERICA'S ALLY ISRAEL AND HER ARAB NEIGHBORS WAS REACHING BREAKING POINT.
28:43AT A SUMMIT IN JUNE 1973, THE SOVIET LEADER BREZNER WARNED RICHARD NIXON THAT AMERICA'S STRONG PRO-ISRAELI STANCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
28:52WAS MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR THE SOVIETS TO HOLD BACK THEIR ARAB ALLIES.
29:00ON THE 6TH OF OCTOBER 1973, SOVIET-BACKED EGYPT AND SYRIA ATTACKED ISRAEL
29:06AND MADE DRAMATIC TERRITORIAL GAINS.
29:14WITH THE MIDDLE EAST CAUGHT UP IN THE POLITICS OF THE COLD WAR, AN ISRAELI DEFEAT WOULD BRING WITH IT THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR CONFLICT.
29:21THE SOVIETS HAD LAUNCHED THEIR COSMOS 596 SATELLITE, BRINGING THEM IMMEDIATE INTELLIGENCE FROM THE BATTLEFRONTS AND PUTTING THEM ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE UNITED STATES.
29:33THE STATE DEPARTMENT NEEDED TO KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
29:37WE COULDN'T AFFORD TO TAKE A SATELLITE OUT OF ITS ORBIT.
29:40THERE WERE PRIORITY MISSIONS IN RUSSIA.
29:43AND THE RUSSIANS HAD PUT UP SEVERAL SATELLITES KNOWING WHAT WAS HAPPENING THERE.
29:48THEY WERE SUPPORTING THE EGYPTIANS.
29:49WE HAD PROMISED TO GO AHEAD AND SUPPORT THE ISRAELIES.
29:52BUT WE HAD NO INTELLIGENCE COMING IN AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME.
29:59IT WAS TIME TO BRING IN THE BLACKBIRD.
30:03THE SR-71 WOULD FLY DIRECTLY FROM GRIFFIS AIR FORCE BASE NEW YORK TO THE MIDDLE EAST.
30:09THE FLIGHT WOULD BE OVER 11 HOURS LONG WITH SIX REFUELINGS.
30:14NO BLACKBIRD CREW MEMBER HAD EVER EXPERIENCED SUCH A LENGTHY, COMPLEX MISSION.
30:21I FLEW A TEN AND A HALF HOUR TRAINING FLIGHT AND I WAS BEAT BY THE TIME I GOT OUT OF THE AIRPLANE.
30:26I SAID, WHO, THAT'S ABOUT AS FAR AS I CAN FLY.
30:29BUT WHEN THEY SAID YOU CAN FLY 11 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES, YOU JUMP UP AND YOU SAY, YES SIR, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
30:35I PICK JIM SHELTON AS THE FIRST PILOT TO FLY THE MISSION.
30:38I KNEW HE WAS AN EXTREMELY RELIABLE, HIGHLY QUALIFIED, AND HAD DONE EXTREMELY WELL IN ALL OF HIS TRAINING AND EVERYTHING.
30:44SO I HAD TOTAL CONFIDENCE THAT IF THE MISSION COULD BE DONE, THAT JIM WOULD DO IT.
30:50ON THE 12TH OF OCTOBER, UNDER CODE NAME GIANT REACH, THE MISSION BEGAN.
30:55WE TOOK OFF FROM ROME, NEW YORK, AROUND 1 OR 2 IN THE MORNING, BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BE OVER A TARGET AREA SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 11 AND 1 O'CLOCK.
31:04THIS ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE SOME SHADOWS SO THE PHOTO INTERPRETERS CAN GO AHEAD AND JUDGE ELEVATION, BUT YET GETS YOU THE BEST SUN POSITION YOU CAN HAVE.
31:14BY 10 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING, THE SR-71 HAD REACHED ITS SECOND REFUELING POINT OVER PORTUGAL.
31:20BECAUSE OF THE HIGHLY CLASSIFIED NATURE OF THIS MISSION, NO ONE OTHER THAN THE TANKER CREW KNEW THEY WERE COMING.
31:27ON THE WAY INTO THAT PARTICULAR REFUELING, THE TANKER CREW SAID THE PORTUGESE CONTROL KEPT CALLING OUT AN AIRPLANE IN RELATION TO THE TANKER.
31:39AND THE TANKER SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T SEE ANYBODY, OF COURSE THEY KNEW IT WAS US, BUT I'M SURE THAT THEY COULD TELL ON THEIR SCOPE SOMETHING WAS HAPPENING BECAUSE THE TWO BLIPS MERGE FOR A WHILE, FOR 20 MINUTES, AND THEN THIS ONE ACCELERATES ON.
31:52JIM SHELTON APPROACHED THE EGYPTIAN COASTLINE.
31:58THE EGYPTIANS WERE WELL-EQUIPPED, WITH THEIR SOVIET ALLIES CONSTANTLY REPLENISHING THEIR SUPPLIES.
32:04RUSSIA WAS DEVELOPING THE SA-5, WHICH WAS A MISSLE THAT WOULD GO UP, WELL ABOVE YOUR ALTUDE, AND COME BACK DOWN AT YOU.
32:12AND, YES, THAT WAS A CONCERN.
32:17WITH 160 SAM MISSILES SITES, MANY SECRETLY COMMANDED BY SOVIETS, AND SOPHISTICATED RADAR TRACKING SYSTEMS, THEY WERE ON FULL SCALE ALERT, WATCHING THE SKIES FOR ANY ENEMY INFILTRATION.
32:33AS SOON AS WE GOT INTO RANGE OF THE EGYPTIAN SAM SITES, THEY STARTED TRACKING US.
32:40THE EGYPTIANS, ALERTED TO AN UNIDENTIFIED AIRCRAFT APPEARING ON THEIR RADAR SYSTEMS, AND PRESUMING THE PLANE TO BE EITHER ISRAELI OR AMERICAN, SCRAMBLED TO LAUNCH THEIR SURFACE TO AIR MISSILES.
32:5280,000 FEET ABOVE THEM, TRAVELING AT A SPEED OF OVER Mach 3, JIM SHELTON'S BLACKBIRD WAS GATHERING THOUSANDS OF FEET OF FILM, CAPTURING THE EXTENT AND WHEREABOOTS OF THE EGYPTIAN MILITARY FORCES.
33:08YOU HAD THE RADAR RECEIVER IN THE BACK COCKPIT.
33:13GARY COULD TELL ME THAT, YES, NOW WE'RE BEING TRACKED BY SOME SAM MISSLE.
33:18WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING. SO AT THAT PARTICULAR POINT WE WOULD JAM, WE WOULD SPEED UP.
33:23BY THE TIME THE EGYPTIAN MISSILES WERE READY TO FIRE, THE SR-71 HAD ALREADY CLEARED THEIR AIR SPACE AND WAS SPEEDING TOWARDS ISRAEL.
33:32BUT THE HEAVILY ARMED ISRAELIES ALSO HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THIS COVERT BLACKBIRD OPERATION AND IMMEDIATELY WENT ON FULL ALERT.
33:42WHEN WE ROLLED IN ON THE FIRST PASS OVER ISRAEL, MY DEFENSIVE SYSTEM JUST LIGHTED UP LIKE A PINBALL MACHINE.
33:53AND I INDICATED TO MY PILOT, I GOT ALL THESE INDICATIONS BACK HERE.
33:59I SAID, JUST, YOU KNOW, MAYBE KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN, BECAUSE SEEMS LIKE SOMEBODY'S SHOOTING AT US.
34:08DESPITE LAUNCHING A BARRAGE OF MISSILES, THE ISRAELIES DID NOT MANAGE TO SHOOT THEIR PRESUMED ENEMY OUT OF THE SKY.
34:15THE BLACKBIRD HEADED BACK TO THE UNITED STATES.
34:19WE GOT EVERYTHING WE WERE TASKED FOR, GOT THE AIRPLANE BACK, AND THAT'S THE FIRST TIME AIRPLANE, THE SR-71, HAD FLOWN 11 HOURS AND 20 MINUTES.
34:28AFTER WE LAND, THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, GARY AND I GET INVITED TO THE PENTAGON.
34:33ADMIRAL MOORE, CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS, WANTED TO THANK US FOR THE WORK THAT WE HAD DONE, AND THEY SHOWED US SOME PHOTOS.
34:42THE PHOTOGRAPHS WERE DETAILED ENOUGH TO SHOW HOW MANY ISRAELI TANKS HAD BEEN DESTROYED IN THE INITIAL BATTLES.
34:48WE WERE TO GO AHEAD AND RESUPPLY THE ISRAELIES WITH SOME OF THEIR LOST EQUIPMENT.
34:55SO THE PHOTO INTERPRETERS ARE COUNTING THE NUMBER OF TANKS THAT WE WOULD BE REPLACING.
35:00SO IT WAS A VERY CRUCIAL POINT FOR THE SR-71.
35:04IT WAS A VERY SENSITIVE MISSION AND THERE WAS A LOT OF PRESSURE TO GET THAT FIRST ONE DONE.
35:10JIM AND HIS BACKSEATER NAILED THEM. HE GOT ALL THE TARGETS AND EVERYONE WAS ABSOLUTELY ELATED.
35:17EIGHT MORE SUCCESSFUL BLACKBIRD MISSIONS SUPPLIED DETAILED INTELLIGENCE THAT THE WAR WAS NOW TURNING IN ISRAEL'S FAVOR.
35:24WITH THIS INFORMATION, THE UNITED STATES WAS ABLE TO BROKER AN EVENTUAL CEASEFIRE ON THE 24TH OF OCTOBER.
35:31I THINK THE SR-71 CONTRIBUTED GREATLY TO THE RESOLUTION OF THAT WAR.
35:37NO ONE KNEW THE AIRPLANE COULD FLY THAT FAR AND PERFORM A MISSION LIKE THAT AND COME BACK AND HAND THE INTELLIGENCE PEOPLE THE PRODUCT.
35:50THE BLACKBIRD WAS ALSO A RECORD-BREAKER.
35:53ON SEPTEMBER THE 13TH, 1974, KELLY JOHNSON'S SR-71 FLEW ACROSS SEVEN TIME ZONES FROM LONDON TO LOS ANGELES IN A RACE WITH THE SUN, TAKING JUST 3 HOURS, 47 MINUTES, AND 39 SECONDS.
36:09FOR THE RECORD-BREAKING FLIGHT, I WAS OVER AT THE FAA CONTROL CENTER, AND THE CONTROLLER WAS A HUGE SCREEN, AND HE SAID,
36:19IT WAS A 747 COMING OUT OF PHOENIX, AND IT GO BLIP, BLIP.
36:25IT MOVED ABOUT HALF-INCH OR A QUARTER-INCH.
36:28HE SAID, OKAY, GET READY, HERE COMES THE SR-71 OUT OF CANADA.
36:33AND IT GOES, AND THERE GOES MY ATTANA, AND GET READY, BOOM!
36:40AND IT ALMOST BLUE US OUT OF WAY, BECAUSE HE WAS RIGHT OVERHEAD.
36:44AND HE WAS STARTING TO DESEL, BUT HE MANAGED TO BLOW THE WINDOWS OUT OF ZAZI GORE'S HOUSE IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS.
36:53IN THE SAME YEAR, THE BLACKBIRD HAD FLOWN A RECORD-BREAKING FLIGHT FROM NEW YORK TO LONDON.
37:0052 YEARS EARLIER, CHARLES LINDBURG HAD FLOWN APPROXIMATELY THE SAME DISTANCE IN 33 HOURS.
37:07THE SR-71 MADE THE FLIGHT IN ONE HOUR, 55 MINUTES, AND 42 SECONDS.
37:13BUT THE SR-71 WOULD SOON BE NEEDED IN A MORE SERIOUS CAPACITY.
37:21ANOTHER SOVIET-BACKED MIDDLE EASTERN ENEMY WAS ON THE WARPATH, AND WAS DETERMINED TO HUMILIATE THE UNITED STATES.
37:28THERE WOULD BE NO BETTER WAY THAN TO SHOOT THE SR-71 OUT OF THE SKY.
37:34TENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MUCH OF THE ARAB WORLD CONTINUED.
37:51IN 1972, THE REVOLUTIONARY LEADER OF LIBYA, COLONEL MUHAMMAR GADDAFI, ANNOUNCED THAT HE WAS GIVING AID TO TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS IN EUROPE AND THE MIDDLE EAST.
38:05HE ISSUED REPEATED THREATS TO AMERICA, AND INDICATED THAT THOSE WHO CROSSED THE GULF OF SIDRA WOULD BE CROSSING A LINE OF DEATH.
38:17BY THE SPRING OF 1986, WORLDWIDE TERRORISM HAD REACHED UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS. PRESIDENT REAGAN'S PATIENCE WAS WEARING THIN.
38:26KADHAVI DESERVES TO BE TREATED AS A PARIAH IN THE WORLD COMMUNITY.
38:30WE CALL ON OUR FRIENDS IN WESTERN EUROPE AND ELSEWHERE TO JOIN WITH US IN ISOLATING HIM.
38:35IF THESE STEPS DO NOT END KADHAVI'S TERRORISM, I PROMISE YOU THAT FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN.
38:42THEN ON THE 5TH OF APRIL, 1986, A BOMB EXPLODED IN A WEST BERLIN DISCO.
38:49AMONG THE 232 CASUALTIES, TWO AMERICAN SERVICEMEN WERE KILLED.
39:00THE UNITED STATES FOUND CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT LIBYAN LEADER COLONEL GADHAVI WAS BEHIND THE ATTACK.
39:12AT RAF Mildenhall IN ENGLAND, SR-71 PILOT BRIAN SCHOOLE KNEW THAT THEY WERE ON COURSE FOR RETALIATION.
39:19WE KNEW THAT SOMETHING WAS GOING ON BECAUSE ALL OF A SUDDEN THE Mildenhall BASE HAD AN EXTRA SECURITY ARM OF GUARDS AROUND IT.
39:26OUR BOQ LIVING QUARTERS HAD ARMED GUARDS AT THE DOORS.
39:29THE NEXT THING YOU KNEW, EVERY TANKER IN THE AIR FORCE PRACTICALLY WAS LANDING AT Mildenhall.
39:33THERE WERE NEW AIRPLANES ON THE RAMP THAT YOU HADN'T SEEN BEFORE.
39:36AND IT WAS NO SECRET TO EVERY BRIT AIRCRAFT SPOTTER OUT THERE THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON.
39:43THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT GAVE PERMISSION FOR THE UNITED STATES TO FLY THE MISSIONS FROM THEIR BASES IN ENGLAND.
39:51AT 9.30 A.M. ON THE 14TH OF APRIL, THE SR-71 CREW MEMBERS WERE ORDERED TO A TOP SECRET BRIEFING.
39:58THEY WERE INFORMED THAT THE 48TH TACTICAL FIGHTER WING AT LAKENHEATH WOULD BE STRIKING SELECTED LIBYAN TARGETS WITHIN HOURS.
40:05WHEN WE HEARD THE WORDS, YOU KNOW, THIS MORNING AT 2 A.M. THE F-111S ARE LAUNCHING, WE WERE A LITTLE SURPRISED THAT, WOW, THIS IS FOR REAL, IT'S HAPPENING.
40:17THE SR-71'S JOB WOULD BE TO RECORD THE RESULTS OF THE AIR STRIKES AGAINST TRIPOLI AND BENGHAZI.
40:25THAT NIGHT, THE F-111S BEGAN THEIR MISSION.
40:29SO WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT YOU'RE AWAKENED BY THE ROAR OF F-111S TAKING OFF.
40:36LISTENING TO THAT, IT WAS QUITE SERIOUS AT THAT TIME BECAUSE WE KNEW MAYBE SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE WOULDN'T COME BACK.
40:47BY THE TIME THE SR-71 CREWS ARRIVED TO PREPARE FOR THEIR MISSION, THE F-111S WERE ALREADY BOMBING LIBYA.
40:57MY FELLOW AMERICANS, AT 7 O'CLOCK THIS EVENING, EASTERN TIME, AIR AND NAVAL FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES LAUNCHED A SERIES OF STRIKES AGAINST THE HEADQUARTERS, TERRORIST FACILITIES AND MILITARY ASSETS THAT SUPPORT MUHAMMAR QADDAFI'S SUBVERSIVE ACTIVITIES.
41:15TODAY, WE HAVE DONE WHAT WE HAD TO DO. IF NECESSARY, WE SHALL DO IT AGAIN.
41:23THE 111S HAD A NUMBER OF TARGETS TO TAKE OUT MISSILE DEFENSE SITES AND THINGS, BUT ALSO ALL THE TERRORIST TRAINING CAMPS AND TO REALLY HIT QADDAFI'S HEADQUARTERS, BASICALLY, TO REALLY SHOW HIM THAT WE'RE GOING TO COME RIGHT INTO HIS BACKYARD.
41:37OUR JOB WAS TO COME AND ASSESS EVERYTHING THAT WAS DONE, GATHER PICTURES AND TARGET DATA FOR MAYBE SUCCEEDING STRIKES.
41:47FLYING IN DIRECTLY AFTER A BOMBING RAID, THE CREWS COULD EXPECT LIBYA'S SOPHISTICATED AIR DEFENSE NETWORK TO BE ON FULL ALERT AND EAGER TO RETALIATE.
41:57WE WERE SUBSONIC OFF LANDS AND GETTING READY TO GET TO THE TANKER AND WE SAW THE STRING F-111S COMING BACK.
42:09AND MY BACKSEATER WALTER WAS COUNTING THE PLANES AS THEY CAME BACK AND PASSED US.
42:14AND HE CAME UP ONE SHORT AND HE KNEW THAT SOMEBODY HAD NOT MADE IT HOME.
42:19AND WE WERE VERY SAD IN THE COCKPIT AT THAT TIME BEFORE WE EVEN STARTED IT.
42:23WE HAD LOST AN ENTIRE CREW, BUT YET IT GAVE US MORE RESOLVE.
42:33AFTER REFUELING AND NOW TRAVELING AT SUPERSONIC SPEEDS, THEY NEAR THE GULF OF SIDRA AND THE LIBYAN TARGET AREA.
42:43WE'RE DOING OVER 2,000 MILES AN HOUR AT THIS POINT, AND WE WERE LIKE A SPEEDING BULLET EXCEPT FASTER.
42:50AND WE HAD CROSSED THE LINE OF DEATH WITH IMPUNITY.
42:57BUT THE LIBYANS, EQUIPPED WITH THE LATEST SOVIET LONG RANGE HIGH ALTITUDE MISSILES, POSE THE GREATEST THREAT YET TO THE BLACKBIRD.
43:04IT WAS AT THAT TIME THAT WALTER STARTED PICKING UP SOME MISSILES SIGNALS.
43:08HE GOT TWO INDICATIONS AND THEN ACTUALLY GOT A LAUNCH INDICATION.
43:12AND WE HAD A BIG DECISION TO MAKE WHERE WE WERE RUNNING INTO THE TARGET AREA BEFORE WE MADE THE TURN.
43:18DO WE CONTINUE TO THAT POINT WHERE QADDAFI'S HEADQUARTERS WERE, OR DO WE MAKE A TURN AWAY NOW TO SAVE OURSELF FROM THE MISSILES?
43:27AND OUR DECISION WAS TO PUSH THE THROTLESS FORWARD.
43:28WE THOUGHT IN 14 SECONDS WE CAN BEAT THAT MISSILES TO THAT POINT AND THEN MAKE THE TURN.
43:34MADE THE TURN, WENT FEET WET, GOT THROUGH THE COAST, AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT WAS PROBABLY THE FASTEST I'VE EVER SEEN THE SR-71 FLY.
43:51THEY'D OUTRUN THE MISSILES, GATHERED THE PHOTOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE, AND WERE NOW HEADING AWAY FROM THE DANGER ZONE.
43:58WALT SAID, OKAY, YOU CAN PULL IT BACK NOW. MY HAND WAS STILL LOCKED IN THE FORWARD POSITION THERE.
44:03WE WERE SEEING MOCK NUMBERS THAT WERE A LITTLE SCARY THAT WE HAD NOT SEEN BEFORE, AND THE JET DID IT EFFORTLESSLY.
44:12THE INTELLIGENCE PHOTOS THAT WERE BROUGHT BACK CLEARLY SHOWED THAT THE BOMBING MISSION HAD BEEN A SUCCESS.
44:19IT WAS DECIDED THERE WOULD BE NO NEED TO RISK MORE AMERICAN AIRMEN'S LIVES OVER LIBYA WITH FURTHER BOMBING.
44:24WE BROUGHT BACK THE CONFIRMATION OF TO WHETHER WE NEEDED TO GO IN AGAIN OR NOT, WHAT WE HAD REALLY DONE, WHERE THEIR DEFENSES WERE, WHAT THEY REALLY HAD.
44:35BUT WE MADE A STATEMENT TO GADHAFI, AND IF YOU'LL NOTICE, YOU REMEMBER, YOU DIDN'T HEAR A LOT FROM HIM FOR A LONG TIME AFTER THAT.
44:41BUT DESPITE THE SUCCESS OF THE SR-71S OVER LIBYA, ITS DAYS WERE NUMBERED.
44:50AT THE END OF THE 1980S, IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE COST OF OPERATING THE SR-71 WAS NO LONGER SUSTAINABLE.
44:57THE BLACKBIRD PROGRAM WAS TERMINATED.
45:02FROM NOW ON, ALL AMERICAN SURVEILLANCE WOULD BE CARRIED OUT BY SATELLITES.
45:05THE REASON IT WAS GIVEN WAS THAT IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE.
45:10WELL, IT'S RECONNAISANCE.
45:14SOMETIMES THAT CAN BE VERY EXPENSIVE.
45:17AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE RECONNAISANCE, YOU'RE PRETTY BLINDED.
45:21AND NOW THEY LIKE TO SAY THAT THE SATELLITES CAN DO IT ALL.
45:23AND SATELLITES CAN DO A GREAT DEAL AND THERE ARE MAGNIFICENT CAPABILITIES.
45:28BUT THERE ARE THINGS THEY CAN'T DO, AND THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE UNIQUE THAT ONLY THE SR-71 CAN DO.
45:33ON DECEMBER 20, 1989, THE SR-71 MADE A FINAL PASS DOWN THE RUNWAY AT LOCKHEED'S BURBACK PLANT IN HONOR OF ALL THOSE WHO WORKED ON THIS EXCEPTIONAL PLANE.
45:46KELLY JOHNSON WAS THERE TO PAY AN EMOTIONAL FAIRWELL TO HIS FAVORITE CREATION.
45:51I CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ABOUT KELLY JOHNSON HIMSELF. YOU KNOW, HE WAS AN ABSOLUTE AERONAUTICAL GENIUS.
46:00WORKING FOR LOCKHEED, I THINK HE'S MADE THE GREATEST AIRCRAFT THAT EVER EXISTED.
46:06THERE'S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT THE SLEEC SR-71 THAT MAKES IT IN A CLASS OF ONE. THERE IS NO OTHER.
46:12IMPRESSIVE TO THE LAST, THE BLACKBIRD SET FOUR INTERNATIONAL SPEED RECORDS WHILE BEING DELIVERED TO THE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM.
46:23PEOPLE LOVE A WINNER. THEY LOVE WHEN SOMEONE IS THE BEST IN THEIR FIELD. THIS AIRCRAFT WAS THE BEST IN ITS FIELD.
46:29IT WAS THE PRIME SPEED MACHINE OF THE WORLD. EVERY SPEED AND ALTUDE RECORD THAT IT SET, IT HOLDS TO THIS DAY.
46:41THE SR-71 BLACKBIRD SERVED SIX DIFFERENT PRESIDENTS AND SAW ACTION ON HOT AND COLD WAR FRONTS ALIKE.
46:49AND DESPITE BEING SHOT AT OVER 4,000 TIMES, NO AIRCRAFT WAS EVER LOST TO ENEMY FIRE.
46:55IT IS THE ONLY OPERATIONAL AIRPLANE IN THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN AIR FORCE IN WHICH NO AIR FORCE CREW MEMBERS WERE EVER KILLED.
47:04THAT'S A RECORD THAT NO OTHER AIRPLANE HAS. AND WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH IT FLEW, THE SPEED, THE ALTITUDE, THE TEMPERATURES, THAT'S A REAL CREDIT TO KELLY JOHNSON.
47:16THAT'S A REAL CREDIT TO KELLY JOHNSON.
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