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      • Chris Hobson
      • Dave Lovelady
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    • About the Data
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  • Sidelines
    • Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia
    • 1961 to 1964: Civil War in Laos/Early Operations in South Vietnam
    • 1965: Escalation of the War/Start of Rolling Thunder
    • 1966: Rolling Thunder Gets into its Stride
    • 1967: Rolling Thunder - The Peak Year
    • 1968: Tet, Khe Sanh, and the End of Rolling Thunder
    • 1969: Interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
    • 1970: The Year of Withdrawal
    • 1971: A Much Reduced Presence
    • 1972: The Spring Invasion/Linebacker Campaigns
    • 1973: Winding Up the War
  • Statistics
    • Loss Statistics
    • Losses Due to Air Base Attacks
    • Losses Due to Accidents on the Ground or Aboard Ship
    • US Air Force Loss Statistics
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    • US Marine Corps Loss Statistics
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The SR-71 in Southeast Asia (May 1970)

The first SR-71 Mach-3 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was delivered to the USAF on 6 January 1966 following four years of operations by the highly secret, CIA-sponsored Lockheed A-12. The aircraft’s unsurpassed performance and intelligence-gathering capability made it a prime candidate for deployment to Southeast Asia. Such was the sensitivity and secrecy of the SR-71 programme that the aircraft were based in special facilities at Kadena AB on the island of Okinawa. The first aircraft arrived at the 9th SRW’s Operating Location-8 on 8 March 1968, followed by two more aircraft in the next few days. This and subsequent deployments to and from the USA were code named Glowing Heat while the SR-71 programme as a whole was named Senior Crown and the operational missions in Southeast Asia were called Giant Scale. The aircraft was soon nicknamed the Habu, after a type of deadly black snake found on Okinawa. The SR-71 flew its first operational mission from Kadena on 21 March 1968 and averaged about one sortie a week for the first two years and two sorties a week in 1970, culminating in a sortie every day by 1972. Operating at altitudes up to 80,000 feet and speeds of around 2,000 mph, the SR-71 could easily outrun SA-2s and MiGs and employed its impressive array of cameras, radar and ELINT equipment to obtain coverage of North Vietnam. Even though the SR-71 arrived in the theatre towards the end of Rolling Thunder, the intelligence provided was of great value. Each flight took off from Kadena and refueled from special KC-135Q tankers before entering the Gulf of Tonkin for a high-speed pass over North Vietnam. The SR-71 would then refuel again from a tanker over Thailand or Laos prior to making a second run over the target area before heading back to Kadena, refueling once more en route. Several occasions arose when SR-71s had to make emergency landings at U-Tapao and the aircraft suffered badly from engine flameouts, especially in the early days. The Kadena detachment was increased from three to four aircraft in the spring of 1970.

 

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© Chris Hobson and David Lovelady. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • About
    • About Us
      • Chris Hobson
      • Dave Lovelady
    • About the Book
    • About the Data
    • About this Site
  • Sidelines
    • Background to the Wars in Southeast Asia
    • 1961 to 1964: Civil War in Laos/Early Operations in South Vietnam
    • 1965: Escalation of the War/Start of Rolling Thunder
    • 1966: Rolling Thunder Gets into its Stride
    • 1967: Rolling Thunder - The Peak Year
    • 1968: Tet, Khe Sanh, and the End of Rolling Thunder
    • 1969: Interdiction on the Ho Chi Minh Trail
    • 1970: The Year of Withdrawal
    • 1971: A Much Reduced Presence
    • 1972: The Spring Invasion/Linebacker Campaigns
    • 1973: Winding Up the War
  • Statistics
    • Loss Statistics
    • Losses Due to Air Base Attacks
    • Losses Due to Accidents on the Ground or Aboard Ship
    • US Air Force Loss Statistics
    • US Navy Loss Statistics
    • US Marine Corps Loss Statistics
  • Details
    • Order of Battle
    • Index of Names
    • Abbreviations and Glossary of Operations, Code Names, and Projects
    • Bibliography
  • Searching the Database
    • Hints on How to Search
    • Notes and Caveats
    • Searching for Call Signs
    • Search Forms
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contact Us
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