2011 Issue

57 S PEND AN AFTERNOON on-line Googling SR-71 and you can findphotos, videos, and facts that a few years ago were closely guarded national secrets. Equally fascinating is the engineering that was required to keep the SR-71 in the air to perform its mission. A key requirement was lots and lots of in-flight refueling from the KC-135Q. See Figure 1. In fact, the Q model tanker was an integral part of the SR-71 weapon system. Without it, the SR-71 could only take off and then immediately land. As a son of a World War II (WWII) Army Air Corps gunner, commissioned in theUSAF in 1976, pilot and engineer, my service experi- ence was the Cold War . Part of this service was KC-135Q aircraft commander. And to me, the SR-71 Habu was the epitome of the bright, shining, streamlined future. The 1970s and 80s were a unique time when the amazing aerospace technologies of the post WWII period were being employed on a routine basis. In my case, it was the remarkable SR-71. The SR-71was developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s to provide invincible reconnaissance of our enemy’s ability to launch bombers ormissiles against our country. It could fly very high and very fast to spy on enemy territory without being shot down. (More information can be found by serching U-2, Francis Gary Powers, Black- bird, SkunkWorks, Kelley Johnson, Strategic Bombing, V-2, ICBMs, nuclear war.) Even before entering the service, I grew up aware of this bright future. My father had helped create it. DuringWWII, as amember of the Army Air Corps, Dad had blasted away at Nazi aircraft from the bottom of a B-24 Consolidated Liberator, a then-state- of-the-art strategic bomber. His B-24s were flying out of Southern Italy and he was a ball-turret gunner. (His photo shown here, taken from the right gunner position of his Refueling the SR-71 During the Cold War CHARLIE VONO, COL, USAF (RET) Learning about the SR-71, an aircraft that was decades before its time, is a delight to the student of engineering or any aerospace fan. The SR-71 delivered invincible strategic reconnaissance because it could fly fast – very, very, very fast. aircraft, theball turret gunon thebelly of the ship is clearly visible. See Figure 2.) In 1947, the Army Air Corps became the U.S. Air Force. The concept of strategic bombing hadbeen proven. But the nation’s newest military service was not resting on memories of victories. They were reaching for the stratosphere, and beyond. By 1952, the Air Force had a new bomber, the B-52 Stratofortress. This ship could touch the edge of space at 50,000 feet and deliver nuclear death across the North Pole to the USSR. Its phenomenal reach was due to the other wonder of the 1950’s, the KC-135 Stratotanker. This airborne gas station also had a ceiling of 50,000 feet. I can tell you from first-hand experience, thismeans dark skies at mid-day -- above 50,000 feet, space suits are required. Beyond the stratosphere? The Air Force was also building missiles that could throw nuclear warheads high above the strato- sphere and precisely impact pre-selected targets. Thesewere Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). The Air Force’s bombers and ICBMs, and the Navy’s Sea Launched Ballistic Missiles, still form the nuclear triad. This triad has a 50-year history of discourag- ingadventurous foreign states fromcrossing the oceans to strike our country. Figure 1. KC-135Q Refueling and SR-71: Department of Defense Photo, Ken Hackmand, USAF Figure 2. B-24