Summary and Key Points: For more than three decades, the official story of the SR-71 Blackbird’s retirement has been simple: ...
Between its maiden flight in 1964 and its retirement in 1999, the U.S. Air Force lost 12 of its Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft to non-combat accidents — but only one of those 12 ...
Leaving the airspace above New York City at 2,455 miles per hour, SR-71 tail number 64-17972 would set a transatlantic speed record on Sept. 1, 1974. Stationed at Beale Air Force Base (AFB) California ...