Quick Overview

The Lockheed SR-71 is an advanced, long range Mach 3 Strategic reconnaisance aircraft developed from the Lockheed YF-12A and A-12 aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk works.

The SR-71 was considered the world's fastest and highest-flying piloted aircraft 30 years ago up till now.

The SR-71 was unofficially named Blackbird and was called Habu (snake) by its crews. The SR-71 was the first aircraft shaped to reduce its radar cross selection although, unlike later stealth aircraft, its radar signature could be tracked by contemporary systems. The defensive feature of the SR-71 aircraft is its high-speed and operating altitude.

The SR-71 has a predecessor, the A-12 Oxcart, which was designed for the CIA by Kelly Johnson at Lockheed Skunk Works. He later renamed it "Archangel" for its design, but many documents use Johnson's preferred name for the aircraft, the "Article."

The USAF had planned to redesignate the A-12 aircraft as the B-71, which was the B-70 Valkyrie's successor. The public disclosure of the program and its renaming came as a shock to everyone at Skunk Works and to Air-Force personnel involved in the program.

Although the predecessor A-12 first flew in 1962, the first flight of an SR-71 took place on December 22, 1964 at the air force plant 42 in Palmdale, California. The first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th Strategic Reconnaisance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, California in January 1966.

A total of 32 SR-71 aircrafts were built.This handcrafted wooden model is signed by Robert "Bob" Gilliland, who piloted the first flight of the SR-71 on December 22, 1964.

Handcrafted and handpainted wooden model.