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19FortyFive: A place where experts analyze defense, national security, foreign policy, and politics. We welcome all viewpoints and ideas.
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"It Can't Fire a Gun and Doesn't Carry a Bomb." That Was the Air Force Chief of Staff on the SR-71 Blackbird, an Aircraft With 17,300 Sorties and Zero Losses to Enemy Fire.
2+ min ago (1683+ words) Across its life the SR-71 Blackbird program flew 53,490 hours over 17,300 sorties, including 11,675 hours above Mach 3 — a record of production no other reconnaissance aircraft has approached. The airframe never lost a mission, never lost an aircraft to hostile fire, and still…...
The Pentagon Cut the B-2 Bomber Program From $75,400,000,000 to $61,100,000,000 and Made Every Aircraft More Expensive. Cutting the Order From 132 to 21 Nearly Quadrupled the Cost per Bomber.
36+ min ago (846+ words) What the money bought when it came to the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber: Four General Electric F118s at 17,300 pounds of thrust each, a 172-foot wingspan, 336,500 pounds maximum takeoff weight, 167,000 pounds of fuel and 60,000 pounds of payload, 6,000 nautical miles without a tanker, above…...
$850,000,000 Australian Submarine ‘Sank’ a $5,500,000,000 US Navy Nuclear Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier and 2 Nuclear Attack Submarines by Evading a Fleet of Warships and ‘Penetrating the Screen’
1+ hour, 1+ min ago (1028+ words) A nuclear submarine cannot switch off its reactor, which means coolant pumps, a steam plant and reduction gears are always turning. A diesel-electric boat shuts down its engines underwater and runs on batteries alone. At low speed the noise it…...
At 75,000 Feet an SR-71 Blackbird Pilot Could See the Horizon 335 Miles Away and Make Out the Curvature of the Earth. He Could Also See the Contrail of the Soviet Fighter Coming for Him, 100 Miles Out.
1+ hour, 29+ min ago (289+ words) A Soviet pilot's logbook later recorded 14 successful SR-71 Blackbird intercepts between August 1984 and January 1987. One of them is dated October 6, 1986....
On April 26, 1971 an SR-71 Blackbird Flew More Than 15,000 Miles in 10 Hours and 30 Minutes With 5 Aerial Refuelings. The Limit Was Not Fuel, Not the Engines, and Not the Crew. It Was 212 Liters of Liquid Nitrogen.
8+ hour, 49+ min ago (515+ words) The SR-71 Blackbird fuel tanks were bare titanium with no bladders — nothing in the 1960s survived the heat. Nitrogen filled the space above the JP-7 so there was no oxygen left to ignite....
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Came Back From Every Mission 3 to 4 Inches Longer Than It Took Off. At Mach 3.2 the Titanium Skin Ran Around 620 Degrees Fahrenheit, So Lockheed Built the Panels Loose on Purpose and the Fuel Tanks Leaked on the Ramp Until Heat Swelled the Joints Shut.
11+ hour, 50+ min ago (791+ words) A SR-71 Blackbird sitting cold looked badly made — gapped skin, razor edges, fuel pooling underneath. It only fit together properly at 600 degrees and three times the speed of sound....
The German WWII Panzer VIII Maus Tannk Was Specified at 100 Tonnes, Redrawn at 120, and Came Out Near 190. Hitler Ordered 5 Before the Design Was Finished and Wanted 10 a Month. Germany Completed 2 Prototypes, and Neither Ever Fought.
11+ hour, 50+ min ago (547+ words) The Soviets found both Maus tank wrecks, took the good turret off one and the good hull off the other, and welded them into a single working tank. It is still on display....
The F-111B Was Supposed to Be a US Navy Aircraft Carrier Fighter. It Exceeded 80,000 Pounds, Needed a Wingspan 7 Feet Wider Than the Air Force Version Just to Slow Down Enough to Land, and the Navy Walked Away in May 1968.
23+ hour, 8+ min ago (485+ words) McNamara ordered the Air Force and Navy to buy the same aircraft to save money. The two services needed opposite things, and the compromise could not land on a US Navy aircraft carrier. That's why the F-111B failed....
Over 4,000 Missiles Failed to Hit a Single US Air Force Mach 3.2 SR-71 Blackbird. Speed Was the Only Way to Survive as It Had No Weapons to Fire Back
23+ hour, 56+ min ago (1379+ words) An estimated 4,000 missiles were fired at the SR-71 Blackbird and not one hit. The complete story of the attacks, the fighters, and how speed beat them all....
The Mach 3 US Air Force SR-71 Blackbird Ran on a Fuel So Stable You Could Put Out a Match in It. Then They Had to Invent a Way to Light It.
1+ day, 9+ hour ago (1397+ words) The SR-71 Blackbird JP-7's real work was not burning. It was absorbing about 700 kilowatts of heat off the airframe and arriving at the burners already at 600 degrees Fahrenheit....