SR-71A Blackbird or "Habu"
The SR-71 is one of the most famous military aircraft ever, and still holds the records for the fastest and the highest flying operational aircraft in the world. Developed in the early 1960s from the A-12 and the YF-12A, the SR-71 was a high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, capable of speeds over 2,000 mph and altitudes of over 80,000 feet. It played significant roles during the Vietnam war, as well as conflicts in the Middle East and around the world. It was based out of Beale AFB in Northern California, and its two forward operating bases, Kadena AB in Okinawa, Japan, and RAF Mildenhall, East Anglia, England. While more officially known as the Blackbird, it was commonly known by those around it as the Habu, after an indigenous venomous snake in Okinawa.
As a personal note, I would frequently see this particular aircraft in person when it was operational. It would take off almost directly over my house in Sunabe, Okinawa, during the Vietnam War, and then I would later see it on and around RAF Mildenhall in the early 1980s.
Taken at the Air Force Museum
www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Shee...
SR-71A Blackbird or "Habu"
The SR-71 is one of the most famous military aircraft ever, and still holds the records for the fastest and the highest flying operational aircraft in the world. Developed in the early 1960s from the A-12 and the YF-12A, the SR-71 was a high-speed, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, capable of speeds over 2,000 mph and altitudes of over 80,000 feet. It played significant roles during the Vietnam war, as well as conflicts in the Middle East and around the world. It was based out of Beale AFB in Northern California, and its two forward operating bases, Kadena AB in Okinawa, Japan, and RAF Mildenhall, East Anglia, England. While more officially known as the Blackbird, it was commonly known by those around it as the Habu, after an indigenous venomous snake in Okinawa.
As a personal note, I would frequently see this particular aircraft in person when it was operational. It would take off almost directly over my house in Sunabe, Okinawa, during the Vietnam War, and then I would later see it on and around RAF Mildenhall in the early 1980s.
Taken at the Air Force Museum
www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Shee...