visibility Similar

Artwork: "EC-135, Grissom AFB, IN" Artist: Bill Miller, USAF Art Collection

President Donald J. Trump departs from a flight aboard

A fighter jet flying through a blue sky. Fighter airplane raptor.

An A10 Thunderbolt II sits in a hangar prior to being

A U.S. Air Force F-16 “Viper” Fighting Falcon pilot

The Tarhell II, the last KC-135A Stratotanker aircraft to leave the base, makes a flyby. The aircraft is being reassigned to Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma

An F-15C Eagle assigned to the 493rd Fighter Squadron

A U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry from the 964th Expeditionary

An F-35 Lightning II pilot flies under a KC-10 Extender

code Related

A view of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft in flight. The aircraft, from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, will be refueled by a KC-10 Extender aircraft during testing

A view of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft, from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, taking off. The aircraft will be refueled by a KC-10 Extender aircraft in flight during testing

A view of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft, from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, taking off. The aircraft will be refueled by a KC-10 Extender aircraft in flight during testing

A view of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft in flight. The aircraft, from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, will be refueled by a KC-10 Extender aircraft during testing

A view of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft in flight. The aircraft, from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, will be refueled by a KC-10 Extender aircraft during testing

An air-to-air left side view of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. The aircraft will be refueled by a KC-10 Extender aircraft during testing

An air-to-air front view of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft being hooked up with a KC-10 Extender aircraft for refueling during testing. The aircraft, from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, is seen from the refueling boom operator's section

Pilots from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing sit in the cockpit of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft prior to flight. The aircraft will be refueled by a KC-10 Extender aircraft while in flight during testing

Front view of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft approaching a KC-10 Extender aircraft for in-flight refueling during testing. The aircraft, from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, is seen from the refueling boom operator's section

Front view of an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft, from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, taxiing out of a hangar. The aircraft will be refueled by a KC-10 Extender aircraft in flight during testing

description

Summary

The original finding aid described this photograph as:

Base: Beale Air Force Base

State: California (CA)

Country: United States Of America (USA)

Scene Camera Operator: SSGT Bill Thompson

Release Status: Released to Public

Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files

The SR-71 carried many nicknames like the "Habu," "SR," "Lady in Black," and "Sled;" but most of us know the SR-71 as the "Blackbird." The SR-71 was developed as a long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft capable of flying at speeds over Mach 3.2 and at 85,000 feet. The first SR-71 to enter service was delivered in 1966 and retired in 1990. The USAF kept a few SR-71s in operation up until 1998, after a few were brought back to service in 1995. NASA's also flew the SR-71 from 1991 until its final flight in October 1999.

label_outline

Tags

front view sr blackbird aircraft blackbird aircraft strategic reconnaissance strategic reconnaissance hangar extender extender aircraft california in flight kc 10 extender sr 71 blackbird staff sergeant hangars high resolution sr 71 blackbird aircraft kc 10 extender aircraft beale air force base ssgt bill thompson us air force usaf air force base flight military aircraft jet aircraft us national archives
date_range

Date

02/08/1981
collections

in collections

Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird"

Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft that was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12.
place

Location

create

Source

The U.S. National Archives
link

Link

https://catalog.archives.gov/
copyright

Copyright info

No known copyright restrictions

label_outline Explore Sr 71 Blackbird Aircraft, Blackbird Aircraft, Strategic Reconnaissance

A C-5 Galaxy aircraft is unloaded at sunrise during exercise BRIGHT STAR '80

Pilot MAJ Bob Aboe and co-pilot 1LT John Burda of the 2nd Airborne Command and Control Squadron, 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, prepare for a flight in an EC-135C Stratolifter advanced airborne command post aircraft (AABNCP).

A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft pulls away from a KC-10 Extender aircraft after an aerial refueling mission over the skies of Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom on Nov. 18, 2004. (USAF PHOTO by TECH. SGT. Erik Gudmundson) (Released)

A right side view of aircraft in flight over the desert during exercise Bright Star '82. The aircraft are from front to back: a MiG-21, F-16 Fighting Falcon, MiG-17 and an A-10 Thunderbolt II

U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters

SSGT Chuck Hensley of the 55th Organizational Maintenance Squadron services communications equipment in the battle staff compartment of an EC-135 Stratolifter "Looking Glass" aircraft of the 2nd Airborne Command and Control Squadron, 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, prior to a mission. Named "Glory Trip 143GB," the mission will be the first remote launch of a silo-housed Minuteman III missile by an aircraft based at Offutt. The missile will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Airmen assist LTC Bob Crowder, from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, put on his high-pressure suit. LTC Crowder will fly an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft which will be refueled by a KC-10 Extender aircraft during testing

An air-to-air right side view (from top to bottom) of an A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft, an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, and an Egyptian (Soviet built) MiG-21 aircraft

An air-to-air front view of an SR-71 strategic reconnaissance aircraft known as the "Blackbird."

A U.S. Air Force MC-130J Commando II aircrew assigned

SSGT Steve Rasmussen, left, and TSGT Chuck Christie, both electronic maintenance technicians with the 6949th Electronic Security Squadron, monitor equipment at a systems maintenance station aboard a 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing RC-135 Stratolifter aircraft

Airmen assist pilots aboard an SR-71 Blackbird aircraft, from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. The aircraft will be refueled by a KC-10 Extender aircraft in flight during testing

Topics

front view sr blackbird aircraft blackbird aircraft strategic reconnaissance strategic reconnaissance hangar extender extender aircraft california in flight kc 10 extender sr 71 blackbird staff sergeant hangars high resolution sr 71 blackbird aircraft kc 10 extender aircraft beale air force base ssgt bill thompson us air force usaf air force base flight military aircraft jet aircraft us national archives