Fine-grain Kodak film carried in the Type 1 camera provided resolution of 12in at nadir. Enlarging just one apron area of Hwangji airfield reveals nine MiG-17 Fresco fighters.
Boeing KC-135Q tankers were used to refuel both the A-12 and SR-71 at 350kts and 26,000ft. Though not the ideal envelope for either Blackbird, it was about as high as a fully-laden KC-135 could operate at 350kts.
A Black Shield A-12 gets airborne from Kadena. Due to the highly classified nature of the programme, photographs from this period are extremely rare - this was copied from a 16mm movie clip taken by the CIA station head of security.
Самолет-разведчик SR-71, № ‘964, готовится к очередному вылету, декабрь 1987 года.
SR-71 64-17964 prepares to leave its Mildenhall 'taxi-in, taxi-out' 'barn' on December 17, 1987, for a 07:45 launch. Ground technicians would have begun to prepare the aircraft some 4 1/2 hours earlier. Their first task would have been to warm the tar-like engine oil prior to start-up: in UK winter temperatures it cooled to a solid mass.
Prior to launch, the aircraft was lined up on the runway, its wheels were chocked and the pilot increased engine power (one at a time) and fine-tuned the exhaust gas temperature before engaging the automatic engine trim to ensure maximum engine efficiency on take-off.
Col (Ret) Richard Graham (left) and Col (Ret) Don Emmons.
Due to outstanding maintenance support, the SR-71 enjoyed a very low degree of mission aborts. However, on June 29, 1987, during the course of a mission over the Baltic Sea to monitor Soviet submarine bases, 64-17964 suffered the loss of its starboard engine. (Note the different jet nozzle areas and offset rudders compensating for the asymmetric thrust. The aircraft diverted into Nordholz AB, West Germany.
11. Масса скафандра довольно велика, и чтобы ослабить нагрузку на мышцы плеч и шеи, летчики занимают положение полулежа. На этой стадии подготовки к полету еще раз проверяется герметичность снаряжения, подсоединяется штуцер системы охлаждения, состоящей из множества трубок и нормализующей температурно-влажностный режим в скафандре. В полете члены экипажа дышат чистым кислородом во избежание возникновения кессонной болезни (типичной, в частности, и для водолазов), связанной с возможным резким перепадом давления, провоцирующим образование в крови пузырьков азота.
Physiological Support Division specialists were responsible for servicing the $30,000 suits; they also assisted crews in getting into them. Here Major Brian Shul is about to undertake a suit pressure test to ensure that the unit inflates and does not leak.
In stark contrast to the SR-71's futuristic exterior, its cockpit consists of 1950s-technology analogue instruments, rather than multi-function displays.
