In March 1966 Lockheed began development of an advanced armed heli¬copter, designated as the AH 56A Cheyenne. Known as a compound helicopter, being provided with small low set cantilever wings to off load the main rotor in high speed flight, it was designed to have a maximum level speed 244 mph (393 km/h). Army support came to an end in 1969, and economic considerations eventually caused Lock¬heed to end its development programme.
AH-56A Cheyenne Engines: 1 x General Electric T64 GE 16, 3925 shp. Rotor dia: 51 ft 3 in (15.62 m). Length: 60 ft 1 in (18.31 m). Height: 13 ft 8.5 in (4.18 m). Max TO wt: 18,300 lb (8300 kg). Max level speed: 244 mph (393 kph). Range: 1,225 miles. Ceiling: 20,000 ft.
Potential of the QT-2 / Q-Star was such that Lockheed produced a refined version for the US Army: The YO-3A. Also based on the Schweizer SGS 2-32 Sail-Plane wings and tail unit, but with wings mounted low on the fuselage, retractable landing gear, upgraded (SLAE) avionics, State-Of-The-Art Sensor (NVAP with LTD) and the Tactical Observer seated forward for better visibility. A 156.5kW IO-360D Continental Engine provided propulsion power. The YO-3A was deployed in Southeast Asia from mid-1969 to late-1971.
It was the first military aircraft to employ an integrated NOD Sensor with a YAG Laser. It also had an Infrared Illuminator for other tactical sensors (INFANT LLTV, NODs, etc). The YO-3A was deployed in Vietnam for more than a year.
It was later operated by the Louisiana Dept of Wildlife & Fisheries (LDWF) and FBI. NASA operated the former 69-18010 as NASA 818 (or similar).
One YO-3A is preserved in the Army Aviation Museum at Fort Rucker, Alabama. YO-3A 69-18005 is on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. YO-3A 69-18006 is on display at the Pima Air and Space, Tucson AZ. YO-3A 69-18007 is in storage at the Western Museum of Flight in Torrance, California. As of 2014, YO-3A 69-18010 (NASA 818) is in flyable storage at Armstrong Flight Research Center.
YO 3A Engine: Continental, 210 hp. Wing span: 57 ft 0 in (17.40 m). Length: 30 ft (9.14 m). Gross weight: 2,167 lb (983 kg). Max speed: 149 mph (240 km/h). Crew: 2.
Faced with the military requirement for a quiet observation aircraft, Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. (LMSC) developed the “Q” Series Aircraft: QT-1 (conceived, but not constructed), QT-2 (N2471W and N2472W) later modified to QT-2PC configuration (#1 and #2), and Q-Star. Note: “QT: for Quiet Thruster.
The Q-Star Aircraft was LMSC’s “House Aircraft” for evaluating “quiet recon” concepts. Eighteen propeller/reduction systems and other items were evaluated. It flew early versions “Black Crow” Sensors and was the first aircraft to use a rotary combustion chamber (Wankel) engine for primary power.
Two Schweizer 2-32s (67-15345 and 67-15346) from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School X-26 Program (USNTPS) were modified to QT-2 configuration (QT for Quiet Thruster) by the Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. (LMSC) and civil registered as N2471W and N2472W.
In 1967 the aircraft were modified by adding a Continental O-200 engine, V-Belt RPM reduction system, four-bladed fixed pitch wood (Fahlin) propeller, and airframe upgrades. The QT-2 first flew in August 1967.
After demonstrating quiet flight, the aircraft were again modified to military QT-2PC configuration, known only as Tail Numbers “1” and “2”, with GFE avionics and camouflage for night operation. They were successfully evaluated in Southeast Asia (Prize Crew OpEval) for covert (“stealth”) tactical airborne observation in the spring of 1968 (during Têt). Arriving in South Vietnam just before the 1968 TET Offensive, they accumulated approximately 600 hours flying exclusively tactical night missions during the first three-month deployment. They continued to operate in Vietnam during most of 1968 (Prize CrewII) and were then transferred to the Navy (NTPS Pax. R.) as X-26Bs in 1969. The QT-2PCs were the first military aircraft to use “Starlight Scopes”.
QT-2PC #1 in the Soc Trang, RVN Army Airfield Hangar in 1968
The two QT-2PCs were returned to USNTPS in 1969 and re-designated X-26Bs.
The #1 QT-2PC was re-designated “67-15345” and the #2 aircraft was used for spare parts.
The #1 ship is now at USAAM at Ft. Rucker, AL. The #2 ship QT-2PC N2472W was retro-verted to SGS 2-32 configuration and is operated by Mile High Gliders in CO.
Lockheed Aircraft Corp. offered the rotating combustion engine its first chance to fly. Under a Navy contract, Lockheed was experimenting with ul¬tra quiet aircraft for undetected low altitude reconnaissance. Several air¬frame configurations, were developed culminating in the QT 3. Basically the QT 3 (QT for quiet thruster) consisted of a highly modified Schweizer 2 32 sailplane equipped with art amidship mounted Continental 100 horsepower engine turning a large slow turning propeller through a reduction drive and long overhead propeller shaft. The QT 3 yielded airframe and propellor noise so low that the most noticeable remaining sound was valve action in the engine. Endeavoring to eliminate valve noise, Lockheed’s engineers seized upon the RC engine since it has no valves, only ports.
Replacing the air cooled Continen¬tal with an RC 2 60 U5 liquid cooled engine required extensive reengineer¬ing. A Corvette aluminum radiator was grafted to the nose and redesigned reduction gearing was required. A 5.34/1, two stage ‘V’ belt reduction system reduced 6,000 rpm at the en¬gine down to 500 propeller rpm. Only 185 horsepower was used in the Q Star due to carburetor limitations. Nevertheless, power was increased by 85% with only a 6% increase in air¬frame weight. A three blade 90 100in constant speed propeller converted power to thrust. Laminated birch was used for blade material but at least one propeller had a balsa wood core covered with glass fibre.
Throughout the QT proj¬ect, Lockheed tested five 4 blade, two 6 blade, and two 3 blade props.
Flight testing revealed previously un¬attainable levels of quiet flight. Com¬pound muffling culminated in a discharge pipe pointing straight up. Re¬sidual noise was thereby directed away from the ground. As a test a Cessna 182 and the Q Star, both load¬ed to 2,600 pounds gross weight, were flown over the airport at 800 feet. The 182 was easily detectable by engine and propeller noise; Q Star was almost impossible to detect. Even at 400 feet the Q Star sounded only like leaves rustling in a light wind. In the cockpit, engine noise is similar to the hum of an electric motor and even then, most noise in the cockpit seemed to be aerodynamically originated.
Potential of the QT-2 / Q-Star was such that Lockheed produced a refined version for the US Army: The YO-3A.
Engine: 1 x Cont. IO-360, 154kW Wingspan: 17.4 m / 57 ft 1 in Length: 9.2 m / 30 ft 2 in Wing area: 17.0 sq.m / 182.99 sq ft Crew: 2
QT-2PC Engine: 1 × Continental O-200, 100 hp (75 kW) Propeller: Ole Fahlin four-blade, 8 inch chord, fixed-pitch 100 inch diameter Wingspan: 57 ft 1.5 in (17.37 m) Wing area: 185 ft² (16.7 m²) Wing aspect ratio: 18 Length: 30 ft 9 in (9.33 m) Height: 9 ft 3 in (2.74 m) Loaded weight: 2,500 lb (kg) Fuel Capacity: 20 gallons (nominal) Service ceiling: 13,000 ft (m) Rate of climb: 200 ft/min (m/s) Quiet cruise speed: 70 – 80 mph Wing loading: kg/m² (lb/ft²) Flight endurance: Planned = 4+ hours; demonstrated = 6.7+ hours Crew: two
North American Aviation Inc, designed during 1937 the prototype of a lightweight primary trainer which it designated North American NA-35. Powered by a 93kW Menasco Pirate inline engine, it was of low-wing monoplane configuration with fixed tail-wheel landing gear, and seated the instructor and pupil in tandem open cockpits. First flown in October 1940, piloted by B A “Bud” Martin.
Vega 35-67 NX14299
When the NA-35 failed to win a US Army Air Corps contract in 1939, North American sold all rights, along with prototype NX14299 and 4 unfinished planes, to Lockheed’s Vega subsidiary in October 1940.
Vega 35-67 NX14299
Vega built only four of these Vega 35 aircraft (ATC 741), NX21760, and NX28351-28353, two converted to 35-70 (ATC 741) with more powerful 119kW Menasco Pirate D-B engines, the first flown in 1941, but by then the company had no manufacturing capacity available and Vega 35 production was abandoned. The wing design was used as basis for prototype NAvion.
Vega 35-67 NX21760
The model 37 of 1941 was wartime production of Lockheed Vega.
35-67 Engine: 125hp Menasco D-4 Wingspan: 9.07 m / 29 ft 9 in Length: 25’6″ Useful load: 549 lb Max. speed: 124 mph Cruise speed: 108 mph Stall: 48 mph Range: 320 mi Seats: 2
35-70 Engine: 150hp Menasco C-4S Wingspan: 9.07 m / 29 ft 9 in Length: 25’6″ Useful load: 542 lb Max speed: 140 mph Cruise speed: 124 mph Stall: 46 mph Range: 305 mi Seats: 2
The U 2 was designed by Kelly Johnson to fly high and far. His equation stressed simplicity: flush rivets, high aspect ratio wet wing, ultralight structure, stunning power to weight ratio. Conceived originally to meet a CIA requirement for an aircraft with the potential of operating at extreme altitude and first flown in the mid-1950s, the U-2’s unique capabilities rendered it virtually immune from interception, and made possible repeated overflights of the Soviet Union, as part of the intelligence-gathering efforts of that era.
The requirement for high altitude and long range needed an aircraft with low wing loading, the latter large quantities of heavy fuel to confer the necessary range. Therefore the U-2 is of very lightweight construction, dispensing with conventional landing gear and pressurisation to save extra weight, and having wings of large area. Landing gear is of bicycle type with single wheels fore and aft, and balanced on the ground by wing-tip ‘pogos’ – a strut and wheel device which drops away when the U-2 becomes airborne – was selected. The pilot is accommodated on a light-weight seat, dressed in a semi-pressure suit with his head enclosed in an astronaut-type helmet, and forced to breathe pure oxygen for his survival. A medium-powered turbojet is adequate to lift this lightweight aircraft, and long range is possible by shutting it down and gliding for long periods.
Development of the U-2 began in the spring of 1954 to meet a joint CIA/USAF requirement for a high-altitude strategic reconnaissance and special-purpose research aircraft. It took place in the Lockheed ‘Skunk Works’ at Burbank, California, where – after acceptance of the design in late 1954 – two prototypes were hand-built in great secrecy by a small team of engineers. The aircraft’s true purpose was cloaked under the USAF U-for-Utility designation U-2, and the first flight took place on or about 1 August 1955. Once military power is on the engine for takeoff, the throttle was not touched again until ready for descent. Speed is kept fairly constant at Mach 0.715, and excess power was traded for cruise-climb altitude gain.
At about the same time US President Dwight D. Eisenhower was proposing his ‘Open Skies’ policy, one of mutual East/West aerial reconnaissance of territories. President Eisenhower hoped that his policy would reduce tension between East and West, thus preventing the growth of the nuclear arms race. Unfortunately the Soviet Union would have nothing to do with this proposal. Consequently ‘Kelly’ Johnson’s new ‘spy plane’ assumed greater importance. The prototypes were followed by production of about 48 single-seat U-2A and U-2B with differing power plant, and five two-seat U-2D. Some U-2B were converted later to U-2D standard.
By 1960 about 25 U-2s had operated from bases in Japan, Pakistan, Turkey and Europe since 1957 on flights around and over Russian-controlled territory.
An additional batch of 12 U-2R was ordered in 1967. A new version, known as the TR-1, entered production as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft, equipped with a variety of electronic sensors.
Referred to as just U-2, there has been reference to a U-2B and U-2D, as well as single-seat and two-place versions. Early Lockheeds were powered by a single 11,000-1b thrust P&W J57, later models are reported to have the more powerful J75P-13. Forward landing gear is dual pneumatic type, approximately 20 in diameter, is non-steerable; rear gear is dual hard rubber of approximately 8″ diameter and steerable. A lightly stressed thin skin covers the U-2. Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has rewired the U-2s over the years during maintenance checks to make the aircraft compatible in the electro-magnetic interference environment.
The initial U-2As built by Lockheed in the 1950s either have been destroyed by accidents, combat or have been retired. They have been operating from Edwards AFB since 1957. The 40% larger U-2R was developed in the late 1960s, and deliveries to the Air Force started in 1969.
In addition to photo and electronic reconnaissance, U-2 were used for weather reconnaissance, high-altitude research, measurement of radiation levels, and for the tracking and recovery of space capsules. They were used for reconnaissance during the Cuban crisis, in Vietnam and during the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The destruction of the U-2B aircraft being flown by Francis ‘Gary’ Powers on 1 May 1960 brought an abrupt halt to this phase of activities, CIA attentions then focussing on the People’s Republic of China which in the early 1960s was fast emerging as a major nuclear power.
In August 1964 an Air Force U-2 crashed bear Boise, Idaho, the Chinese Nationalist Air Force officer pilot being trained at Davis-Monthan AFB 4080th Wing, parachuted to safety. This was the first indication that Chinese Nationalist pilots were being trained in the US. Three U-2s piloted by Chinese Nationalist pilots from Formosa bases had been shot down over Communist China, the first in September 1962. The US had reported selling only two U-2s the Formosa.
U-2 and TR-1 operations are usually conducted in what is best described as a ‘permissive’ environment on the friendly side of important frontiers.
Powered by the Pratt & Whitney J75, the craft rotates in less than 200 feet as wheeled outriggers fall away. Climbing at 160 knots and 6,000 plus fpm initially, sustaining 45 degrees pitch up. Only to the 45,000 foot physiological limit in the two seat trainer version without pressure suits, but the U 2 will climb to 70,000 plus. Stressed for 1.7 positive Gs and half a G negative, the U 2 demands a gentle hand.
Scrupulous energy management alti¬tude, attitude, airspeed, power setting ¬measures successful landings. Each ex¬cess foot at the threshold puts you 1,000 foot farther to touchdown. Two point land¬ings are essential; touching front wheel first causes ballooning in ground effect.
A couple of original production examples were assigned to NASA.
The Strategic Air Command use the U-2R which entered service in the late 1960s and which differs from its predecessors by virtue of greatly increased length and wing span. The U-2R was joined by an increasing number of TR-1s, these externally being very similar although they are intended for tactical rather than strategic missions. At least 25 of these were ordered by the USAF in 1968.
From 2002, Lockheed Martin upgraded the 31 strong U-2 fleet with state of the art glass cockpit displays and controls as the U-2S.
The service bought 37 TR-1 s in the 1980s, with the last one delivered in 1989, and these were the core of the U-2S and U-2STs in operation by the 9th Reconnaissance Wing here. The replacement of the Pratt & Whitney J75 turbine engine by the General Electric F101-GE-F29 turbofan in the 1990s caused the redesignation of the U-2R to the U-2S. The GE engine was later redesignated the F 118-GE-101.
The F 118 fuel consumption is some 16% less than the J75, which allows for a 1,220-naut.-mi. increase in range, or increased time on station. The 1,300-1b. lower weight of the General Electric engine also allows a 3,500-ft. increase in operational altitude and an increased payload. The U-2’s primary defense against both aircraft and surface-to-air missiles is its altitude, although newer variants of air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles can reach the U-2’s altitude. The reconnaissance aircraft is equipped with a radar warning system, but not with active defenses, such as flares or chaff.
The Air Force will still only say that the U-2 will fly above 70,000 ft., but the actual normal operational altitude is below 80,000 ft. and above 75,000 ft.
For descent almost everything possible on the aircraft is extended. The throttle to idle, lowered landing gear, raised spoilers and flaps in the gust-up configuration and extended fuselage-mounted speed brakes. Once stable on descent, the rate is dose to 3,000 fpm. A speed of Mach 0.715 is used to 53,000 ft., when a speed of 160 kt. is established. In the case of either an engine or electrical failure, with the aircraft descending clean, it could easily take longer than an hour to descend from altitude. The battery in the U-2S has a life of about 1 hr. and would run out just about when you needed to talk with the tower about deadstick landing instructions. The pilot also is able to raise the spoilers for landing with a micropump and accumulators, a new feature to the U-2.
Pilots claim that the U-2 is one of the hardest aircraft to land because of the need to stall the aircraft on landing and touch down rear wheel first, not to mention the effect of wind on the glider-like aircraft.
TR-1A
The U-2 aircraft was ordered back into production in 1979 as a high altitude tactical reconnais¬sance platform, this time as the TR-1A. The TR-1A is designed for tactical reconnaissance primarily in the European theatre, using UPD-X side-looking airborne radar (Slar) for surveillance up to 55km into hostile territory from friendly areas.
The first TR-1A flew on 1 August 1981 and the USAF acquired 26 of these single seaters plus two two-seat TR-1Bs. In 1984 the TR-1A flew with the precision location/strike system (PLSS) and, following successful trials, at least some of the fleet were to be allocated to this role. PLSS involves the use of three TR-lAs to detect and locate emitters and then direct attacks upon them.
In 1982 the USAF began taking delivery. Using the same basic airframe as the U-2R, the TR-1A high altitude battlefield reconnaissance aircraft was operational with the USAF flying from bases in Europe including the UK in 1990. It is equipped with an advanced sideways looking airborne radar (SLAR) and incorporates the latest ECM.
Two examples of a two-seat variant known as the TR-1B were assigned to training duties at Beale AFB, California. The TR-1B trainer has a second, raised cockpit in tandem.
ER-2
Replacing earlier U 2C’s, NASA took delivery of three ER-¬2’s, (the NASA designation for the TR 1A). The three are 80¬1063 / N706NA, 80 1069 / N708NA and 80 1097 / N709A. The first was delivered in June 1981 and the last (80 1097) was delivered in April 1989. Two are owned by NASA, while the third is leased from the USAF.
A Lockheed U-2S Dragon Lady, assigned to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing (RW) at Beale Air Force Base (AFB), California, successfully completed a test flight equipped with an AI algorithm under the control of USAF pilot, Maj “Vudu” on December 15, 2020. The first US military aircraft to fly with an artificial intelligence (AI) co-pilot.
Maj “Vudu” USAF U-2S Dragon Lady pilot assigned to the 9th RW on December 15, 2020.
The U-2S, developed by Air Combat Command’s U-2 Federal Laboratory, the algorithm – known as ARTUμ – was named in reference to the fan-favourite droid, R2-D2, from the Star Wars franchise. The system is designed to completed specific in-flight tasks that would otherwise have been completed by the pilot.
During the test flight, ARTUμ took control of the U-2’s sensors and tactical navigation systems, leaving Maj “Vudu” to fly the aircraft and coordinate with the AI on sensor operation. The Dragon Lady flew a reconnaissance mission during a simulated missile strike, in which ARTUμ was responsible for locating enemy launchers, while the pilot looked out for threatening aircraft. Both the human pilot and AI co-pilot shared the U-2’s radar throughout the test sortie.
The USAF adds that the test flight “was part of a precisely constructed scenario, which pitted the AI against another dynamic computer algorithm in order to prove the new technology.” It explained that control of the U-2’s sensors was handed over to ARTUμ after take-off, which then used insight gained from more than half-a-million computer simulated training missions to manipulate the sensors in-flight. Maj “Vudu” and ARTUμ successfully teamed-up during the demonstration to share the Dragon Lady’s sensors and all mission objectives were achieved, the service concluded.
A Lockheed U-2S Dragon Lady high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, 9th Reconnaissance Wing (RW), Beale AFB, California, on December 15, 2020.
A two-seat TU-2S trainer variant of the U-2 logged a more than 14h flight covering over 6,000nm (11,110km) while overflying the 48 contiguous states of the continental USA setting a new endurance record for the type. The US Air Force (USAF) confirmed the flight on 1 August, noting the long-distance sortie launched from the U-2 fleet’s home base at Beale AFB in California’s Sacramento Valley on 31 July 2025. The success of the long-endurance mission pushed the U-2S “beyond its known limits”, the air force says. “The flight itself maxed out the operational range of the U-2 and placed the pilots at the edge of their physiological limit,” the service notes.
TU-2S
The timing of the record-setting sortie was likely deliberate. The USAF is seeking to retire is fleet of 24 operational U-2S and three TU-2S jets by 2026, while advocates for the Cold War-era platform look for arguments to keep the type flying.
U-2A Engine: 1 x Pratt & Whitney J57 P 37A turbojet, 11,200 lb (5,080 kg) st. Wing span: 80 ft 0 in (24.38 m). Length: 49 ft 7 in (15.11 m). Height: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m). Gross weight: 15,850 lb (7,190 kg). Max speed: 495 mph (797 km/h) at 40,000 ft (12,200 m). Crew: 1. Armament: None. Typical range: 2,200 miles (3,540 km).
U-2B Engine: 1 x Pratt & Whitney J75. Seats: 1.
U-2C Engine: 1 x Pratt-Whitney J75-P-13B, 7711kg Max take-off weight: 10225 kg / 22542 lb Wingspan: 24.38 m / 80 ft 2 in Length: 15.24 m / 49 ft 8 in Height: 4.57 m / 14 ft 12 in Wing area: 52.49 sq.m / 565.00 sq ft Cruise speed: 740 km/h / 460 mph Op speed: Mach .73 to .80 Ceiling: 27000 m / 88600 ft Range: 4635 km / 2880 miles at 475-mph at 70,000-ft Flight endurance: 7.5 hr Crew: 1 Rate of climb: 8,000 fpm at 160-kt Time to 30,000 ft: 5 min Time to 50,000 ft: 9 min Time to 60,000 ft: 12.5 min Cruise climb to 70,000 ft: 28 min Indicated airspeed (IAS) above 70,000 ft:110 kt Mach buffet speed: 115 kt IAS / 410 kt TAS
U-2D Engine: 1 x Pratt & Whitney J75. Seats: 2.
U-2R Range: 3,000-plus miles (2,609 nautical miles).
U-2S
TR-1A Engine: 1 x Pratt & Whitney J75-PW-13B turbojet, 7711 kg (17,000-lb) thrust Estimated maximum cruise speed at over 21335 m (70,000 ft) 692 km/h (430 mph) (Mach 0.57) Operational ceiling est: 27430 m (90,000 ft) Maximum range: 4825+ km (3,000+ miles). Fuel internal: 4450 lt. Endurance: 12 hr. Air refuel: No. Seats: 1. Empty weight: about 7258 kg (16,000 lb) Maximum take-off 18144 kg (40,000 lb). Wing span 31.39 m (103 ft 0 in) Length 19.20 m (63 ft 0 in) Height 4.88 m (16 ft 0 in) Wing area about 92.90 sq.m (1,000 sq ft).
TR-1B Seats: 2.
ER-2 Engine: 1. Wing span: 105 ft. Op alt: 68,000 ft. Endurance: 8 hr.
A-11 / A-12 In response to a programme for the construction of a high-speed, high-altitude, long-range reconnaissance conventional aircraft, funded by and earmarked for service with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a number of US companies submitted proposals for consideration, Lockheed’s ‘Ox-cart’ from the design team led by C. L. ‘Kelly’ Johnson eventually being adjudged most suitable, and this duly received the go-ahead in the autumn of 1959.
Construction of the prototype (60-5932) single-seat A-12, as the machine was officially known, forged ahead at the ‘Skunk Works’, the virtually complete prototype being taken by road to the remote Groom Lake flight test facility during January 1962 for final assembly and flight testing. The A-12 got airborne for its first official flight on 26 April 1962, this event being preceded by a totally unexpected ‘hop’ during the course of high-speed taxi trials two days earlier.
Construction was largely of titanium to maintain structural integrity, as localised skin temperatures of up to about 427°C could be reached through air friction.
Lockheed A-12
In the early days of the flight test the first A-12 relied upon two Pratt & Whitney J75 turbojet engines for power, the same company’s J58 turbo-ramjet engine not being installed until much later in the year. Almost inevitably, with such a sophisticated machine, the project suffered from many problems during the early stages of flight testing, these being experienced in virtually every area, but despite this the CIA apparently began to take formal delivery of its initial fleet of 10 aircraft (serial numbers 60-6924/6933) shortly before the end of 1962 and these were later joined by a second batch of five A-12s (60-6937/6941). Of these 15 machines, one (60-6927) was completed as a two-seater for training duties, this differing from its counterparts by virtue of having a second, raised, cockpit and featuring conventional J75 engines which bestowed a maximum speed of about Mach 1.2, well below that of the standard A-12 which was apparently capable of approximately 3860 km/h 2,400 mph) or Mach 3.6 at altitudes in the order of 28040 m (92,000 ft), figures which significant exceeded those records established by the YF-12A at the beginning of May 1965.
A-12
In addition, the last two production examples of the A-12 were configured to carry the GTD-21B drone and these also featured a second crew station aft of the pilot’s cockpit, his housing the Launch Control Officer. As far is is known the GTD-2 1 B/A- 12 pairing was not employed operationally but the drone may have undertaken reconnaissance missions after launch from a specially configured Boeing B-52H Stratofortress.
This A-12 crashed near Wendover, Utah in 1963 after entering an unrecoverable flat spin. Pilot Ken Collins managed to eject safely. He then successfully deterred several locals, who had come to his aid with the canopy of the shadowy A-12 on the back of their pickup, from the crash site by telling them the wreck was that of an F-105 Thunderchief with a nuclear weapon onboard. That same day, the CIA administered sodium pentothal to ensure Collins had divulged every last detail of the incident. When the men in black later carried him home, still heavily under the drug’s influence, Collins’ wife angrily assumed he’d been out drinking all day with his friends. Several decades later, the retired A-12 pilot was finally able to reveal the truth. X-Plane hunters continue to find components of the top secret aircraft wreck at the remote site.
As far as operational employment is concerned, the CIA continues to maintain a tight-lipped silence about the A-12 but the type’s great speed coupled with its capacity for inflight-refuelling made range considerations virtually irrelevant, the major factor in mission scheduling almost certainly being one of crew fatigue. In view of this and the nonstop 24140km. (15,000-mile) missions accomplished by the later SR-71A it would seem reasonable to assume that intelligence-gathering was accomplished from Groom Lake until at least the summer of 1968, which most sources state as marking the cessation of A-12 activity. In addition, Kadena Air Base on the Pacific island of Okinawa has also been linked with A-12 operations as well as those of the SR-71A, and could well have served for some considerable time as a forward operating location for CIA intelligence gathering activities directed against the People’s Republic of China and North Korea. Reliable reports attest that such activity ceased abruptly on 5 June 1968 following the loss of A-12 60-6932, apparently after take-off from Kadena. By then the SR-71A had attained full operational status and the latter type is believed to have assumed responsibility for A-12 missions at about this time. Eight of the 15 A-12s eventually appeared in open storage at Palmdale during October 1977 though where they had spent the intervening nine years remains a mystery.
Lockheed A-12s while in secret storage at Palmdale, CA
In a Presidential announcement of February 1964, Lyndon Johnson formally revealed the existence of the ‘A-11 aircraft’.
YF-12
YF-12A
The second major ‘Blackbird’ variant to appear was the YF-12A, and it was this model which formed the basis of the Presidential announcement of February 1964 when Lyndon Johnson formally revealed the existence of the ‘A-11 aircraft’, adding that it was then under test as a long-range interceptor’. Three aircraft (606934/6936) of this type were built, the first example making its maiden flight from Groom Lake on 7 August 1963. Eventually to become the most publicly visible of all the ‘Blackbirds’, the three aircraft all featured significantly different nose contours, the forward fuselage chine having had to be redesigned to permit the installation of the Hughes AN/ASG- 18 long range radar required in the interceptor role. Armament was intended to be the Hughes AIM-47A air-to-air missile, four of which would have been housed internally, occupying space which was presumably given over to reconnaissance sensors and systems on the A-12. The type is based on advanced aerodynamics using a blended fuselage/wing design built largely of titanium alloys and covered in a special heat-radiating paint that led to the type’s nickname. The powerplant comprised a pair of 32,500-lb (14740-kg) afterburning thrust Pratt &Whitney J58 (JT11D-20B) bypass turbojets (or turbo-ramjets) which at high speeds produced their power not only as direct thrust from the exhaust nozzle but also as suction at the inlet. The fighter derivative of the basic model was the experimental YF-l2A, of which at least four were produced with the A-11’s original short fuselage, a Hughes pulse-Doppler fire-control system and, in the fuselage chine bays originally used for the carriage of reconnaissance equipment, four AJM-47A air-to-air missiles. The YF-12A never served operationally, but was important in several evaluation programmes.
The YF-12A programme, seen as important in its own right, distracted attention from the more sinister A-12, the model which mounted an assault on several world records at the beginning of May 1965, capturing the headlines and setting new marks for sustained altitudes and speed with what appeared to be consummate ease. That the A- 12 was able to exceed these figures handsomely was not brought to anyone’s attention.
Subsequently, the YF-12As and a single YF-12C (itself simply the demilitarized second production SR-71A with the bogus serial number (06937) spent most of their flying careers at Edwards AFB, California, eventually being used until 1999 by NASA in a major research effort into high-speed flight. This came to an end during 1979, the sole surviving YF-12A (60-6935) being turned over to the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, in November while the YF-12C was apparently placed in storage at Palmdale. Of the other two YF-12As, 60-6934 fell victim to a landing accident at Edwards at a fairly early stage, most of the rear fuselage later being used as a basis for the sole SR-71C, while 60-6936 was destroyed Arhen it crashed on approach to Edwards during June 1971.
Crewed by a pilot and flight test engineer, these aircraft flew under NASA for 10 years.
On 1 May 1965, a YF-12A established records including 2062 mph and 80,000 ft sustained horizontal flight. The YF-12As were capable of speeds in excess of Mach 3 and of sustained supersonic flight at heights of up to 24,385m.
The YF-12A paved the way for the SR-71A ‘Blackbird’ strategic reconnaissance platform that was retired from first-line USAF service in 1989, but even so the whole programme is still shrouded in secrecy and uncertainties.
SR-71
SR-71A
On Dec. 28, 1962, Lockheed got the contract to build the first group of SR-71s, which were to become the largest and best known branch of the Blackbird family. Bob Gilliland made the first flight on Dec. 23, 1964. One year after the YF-12, the first SR-71 arrived at Beale Air Force Base, California, operational home of the Black¬bird. First flown on 22 December 1964, the SR-71 is an unarmed strategic reconnaissance aircraft. The SR-71B and SR-71C are training variants.
Developed from the A-12 and flown for the first time during December 1964, the Lockheed SR-71A was the world’s fastest operational aircraft, approximately 12 examples being active with the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at any given time. Possessing the ability to survey 260000 sq.km (100,000 sq miles) of the Earth’s surface in just one hour, the SR-71A routinely cruises at Mach 3 at altitudes in excess of 24385 m (80, 000 ft) during the course of its duties, and is able to gather a variety of data by virtue of highly classified but interchangeable photographic and electronic sensors which are installed to meet specific mission objectives. Deliveries to Strategic Air Command began in January 1966, and it is believed that a total of 32 aircraft was built, this figure including two examples of the two-seat SR-71B plus a single SR-71C, the latter model also being a two-seater for pilot training, built of components taken from crashed aircraft and a structural test specimen.
Unlike the A-12, the SR-71 is a two-seat aircraft with additional accommodation for a Reconnaissance Systems Officer (RSO). Externally, this model also differed from its predecessors in that it has a fully extended chine which is much broader around the nose while the rear fuselage boat-tail was extended by some 1.83 m (6 ft) aft of the trailing edge to improve overall fineness ratio and provide additional fuel capacity. JP-7, the fuel used by the SR-71, is so special due to its properties for operations at the high temperatures caused by Mach 3 cruise that the aircraft has its own fleet of tankers, designated KC-135Q.
The configuration of this aircraft results from extensive wind-tunnel testing to evolve a minimum-drag fuselage providing maximum speed while keeping kinetic heating to the minimum; and to maintain the best possible handling characteristics at supersonic, take-off (about 370km/h) and landing (about 278km/h) speeds. Power plant comprises two 144.6kN Pratt & Whitney turbojets. The 36,287kg of special fuel for these engines – which is contained within upper-fuselage and inner-wing tanks – acts as a heat sink for the entire aircraft, fuel temperature being raised to 320°C before being injected into the engines. Highly complex air intakes with computer-controlled fail-safe systems are essential to ensure that smooth airflow to the engines is maintained over the enormous forward speed range of 0-3,200km/h, at the upper limit of which the engines are virtually operating as turbo-ramjets.
An initial batch of six aircraft formed the subject of the first contract which was placed in December 1962, and the first example took to the air for its maiden flight from Palmdale on 22 December 1964.
Deliveries to the designated operating agency (Strategic Air Command) began on 7 January 1966, the first example assigned actually being the second SR-71B to be produced. SR-71As began to follow during June of the same year to the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing.
Attaining operational status in mid-1967, over 16 years later virtually everything about the SR-71’s usage and mission-related sensor equipment was still the subject of a stringent security blanket, although the USAF has revealed that it can survey 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface in one hour’. It seems certain that the intelligence-gathering effort entails unauthorized overflights of potentially hostile territory every now and then. However, since much valuable data can be obtained without recourse to actual overflight, it seems probable that many missions are of a peripheral nature, the SR-71A operating in international air space at extreme altitude whilst going about its duties.
Operations were routinely conducted from two forward operating locations by aircraft detached from the wing’s headquarters at Beale AFB, California. Kadena in Okinawa, normally had three aircraft attached at any time, while Mildenhall in the United Kingdom was the location of the second SR-71 detachment which usually controled the activities of two aircraft. In addition, 9th SRW’s headquarters at Beale served as the centre for crew training. The two-crew members, comprising a pilot and a reconnaissance systems operator, both wear full pressure suits similar to those of astronauts.
Regardless of the equipment fitted, it is apparent that the ‘Blackbird’ was highly regarded as an intelligence-gathering tool, clear evidence of this being provided by the massive expense incurred in supporting just a handful of aircraft. There is the large fleet of Boeing KC- 135Q Stratotankers (specially modified to carry the SR-71A’s unique JP-7 fuel. In addition, the unique aspects of high-altitude flight require the services of a large physiological support division, further 9th SRW infrastructure including a reconnaissance technical squadron with the task of processing data, and an extensive training element which uses several Northrop T-38A Talons as well as a surviving SR-71B.
A total of 31 new-build SR-71 Blackbird aircraft were constructed in addition to the SR-71C. Of the total production, 29 examples (64-17950/17955 and 64-7958/17980) are SR-71As, the two remaining (64-17956/17957) being completed SR-71Bs with a second, raised, cockpit for pilot training duties. 64-17956, was originally built as an SR-71A, but was later converted to an SR-71B trainer by the addition of a second cockpit. Two aircraft were converted.
They have the capability to survey an area of 155,400sq.km within an hour and in 1976 established a closed-circuit speed record of 3,367.221km/h; a world absolute speed record of 3,529.56km/h; and a sustained-altitude record of 25,929.031m.
Including all three members of the ‘Blackbird’ family, production of new airframes totalled just 49, a fiftieth hybrid machine being completed with parts from a wrecked YF-12A and an engineering mockup.
The SR-71 left US Air Force service in January 1990. On a flight from the West Coast to the East Coast, where the aircraft was to retire to permanent static display at the Smithsonian, the Blackbird set a new transcontinental speed record, flying from Los Angeles to Washington D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds, averaging a speed of 2,124 mph.
SR-71
SR-71
Records Absolute speed: 2193.17 mph / 3529.56 kph – 28 July 1976 1000km / 621.1mi closed circuit speed: 2092.294 mph / 3367.221 kph – 27 July 1976 Sustained flight in horizontal flight: 85,059 ft / 25,939 m – 28 July 1976
Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird Engines: 2 x P&W JT11D, 32,500 lb / 14,742 kg thrust Wingspan: 55 ft 11 in / 16.94 m Length: 107 ft 5 in / 32.74 m Height: 18 ft 6 in / 5.64 m Wing area: app 1000 sq.ft / 92.9 sq.m Empty weight: 60,000 lb / 27,216 kg MTOW: 170,000 lb / 77,111 kg Speed: 2250 mph / 3620 kph Ceiling: 100,000 ft/ 34,800 m Range: 2980 mi / 4850 km Seats: 2
SR-71A Engines: two Pratt & Whitney J58 turbo-ramjet engines, 14742-kg (32,500-1b) afterburning thrust. Wing span 16.94 m (55 ft 7 in) Wing area: 167.2 sq.m / 1799.72 sq ft Length 32.74 m (107 ft 5 in) Height 5.64 m (18 ft 6 in) Wing area 166.76sq.m (1,795 sq ft). Empty weights: 27216 kg (60,000 lb) Maximum take-off 78019 kg (172,000 lb) Fuel capacity 13,000+ USG Maximum speed at 24385 m (80,000 ft) 3661 km/h (2,275 mph) or Mach 3.35 Operational ceiling 26060 m (85,500 ft) Maximum unrefuelled range at Mach 3: 5230 km (3,250 miles). Crew: 2
The S-3 is a carrier-based, subsonic, all-weather, long-range, multi-mission aircraft. It operates primarily with carrier battle groups in anti-submarine warfare roles. It carries automated weapon systems and is capable of extended missions with in-flight refueling.
The Viking’s primary flight controls are fully powered and are integrated with the automatic flight control system to relieve the pilot of routine anti submarine warfare manoeuvring. Primary flight controls are servo operated by dual hydraulic systems the loss of either hydraulic system results in the loss of half the available hinge moment. Reversion to manual control is automatic if both hydraulics are lost. In normal powered operation series inputs to the elevator and rudder servos compensate for pitching moments and provide turn co ordination and yaw damping. During autopilot operation parallel inputs to the power servos permit the pilot to, anticipate automatic manoeuvres. The roll axis is controlled by short-span ailerons aug¬mented by differential spoilers mounted on the upper and lower surfaces of each wing. The servo actuators have artificial feel built in to minimise variations in manoeuvring forces throughout the flight envelope. Ailerons and spoilers act together for rolling, with the spoilers acting alone as airbrakes when required. During emergency manual opera¬tion when there is no hydraulic power the spoilers are inhibited and the control column operates only the ailerons. The pitch axis is controlled by a hydraulically powered elevator servo; trim is via an electrically powered actuator. The elevator servo can be operated in normal powered, series or parallel modes. In the emergency manual mode, and in the normal powered mode, the servo is controlled by the pilot. In the series mode during manual approach with the approach power compensator on the servo is under the joint control of the pilot and the automatic flight control system. Rudder control allows an engine failure to be coped with at low speed or following asymmetric stores release. The rudder servo, like that for the elevator, can operate: in normal power, series, parallel or emergency manual modes. During the fin folding sequence rudder pedal input to the rudder servo is disconnected to enable the pilot to continue steering the aircraft on the ground using the rudder pedals.
The first S 3A Viking was rolled out at Lockheed’s Burbank, California factory on November 8 1971 and was first flown on 21 January 1972. The S-3A Viking replaced the piston-engined Grumman S-2 Tracker and entered fleet service in 1974. The last production S-3A was delivered in August 1978.
Used exclusively by the US Navy (firstly VS-41 in February 1974), a total of 187 were built before production ended in 1978, these being powered by two 9,275 lb thrust General Electric TF34 GE 2 turbofan engines.
Lockheed received an initial contract in April 1986 to supply 22 production conversion kits to modify S-3As to upgraded S-3B standard. Two S-3As were modified by Lockheed in 1984/85 to serve as S-3B prototypes, the first flying on 13 September 1984. The S-3B incorporates increased acoustic processing, expanded ESM coverage, improved radar processing, a new sonobuoy reference system, and Harpoon ASM capability. The S-3B version can be fitted with buddy stores, external fuel tanks that refuel other aircraft, to act as an airborne tanker.
Sixteen S-3As were converted to ES-3A Shadows for carrier-based electronic reconnaissance (ELINT) duties.
The Lockheed US 3A Viking car¬rier on board delivery development aircraft, a version of the S 3A Viking, was flown for the first time on 2 July1976. Four US-3As are used for COD. A few units were also converted for utility and limited cargo duty, known as the US-3B, all of which were retired by 1998.
Since the submarine threat has been perceived as reduced Vikings have had their antisubmarine warfare equipment removed and are now used primarily for sea and ground attack, sea surface search, over the horizon targeting, and aircraft refueling. As a result, crews are now usually limited to two people, but three people crews are not unusual with certain missions. Navy plans called for the retirement of all Vikings by 2009.
S-3B Viking
On May 1, 2003, US President George W. Bush rode in the co-pilot seat of a Viking that landed on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, where he delivered his “Mission Accomplished” speech announcing the end of major combat in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. That Navy flight is the only one to use the callsign “Navy One”.
S-3A Engines: 2 x General Electric TF34-GE-2 turbofan, 9275 lb (4207 kgp) thrust. Wing span: 68 ft 8 in (20.93 m). Length: 53 ft 4 in (16.26 m). Height: 22 ft 9 in (6.93 m). Wing area: 55.6 sq.m / 598.47 sq ft Max take-off weight: 19280 kg / 42505 lb Empty weight: 12070 kg / 26610 lb Max. speed: 815 km/h / 506 mph Cruise speed: 650 km/h / 404 mph Ceiling: 11000 m / 36100 ft Range w/max.fuel: 5700 km / 3542 miles Crew: 4
S-3 Viking Engines: 2 x General Electric TF-34-GE-400B turbofan engines rated at 9,275 lb thrust each Length: 53 feet, 4 in Wingspan: 68 ft, 8 in Height: 22 feet, 9 in Weights Empty weight: 26,650 lb Maximum takeoff weight: 52,539 lb Speed: 518 mph Ceiling: 40,000 ft Range: 2,645 mi Armament: Up to 3,958 lb Crew: Four Unit Cost: US$27 million
When in August 1957 the US Navy needed an advanced ASW/maritime patrol aircraft, it was suggested that a variant of a type then in production would be most suitable for this requirement. Lockheed proposed a developed version of the L-188 Electra, gaining an initial research and development contract on 8 May 1958.
Lockheed’s Model 186, which retained the wings, tall unit, power plant and other components of the commercial Electra, as well as much of the fuselage structure which was, however, shortened and provided with a 6.9m3 weapons bay, and there are 10 under-wing pylons for a variety of stores. The first Lockheed P 3 Orion, NP 3A BuNo 148276, was converted from the third L.188 Electra airliner by removing 7ft (2.1m) from the fuselage, flying from Burbank in August 1958. The air¬craft saw extensive use as an aero-dynamics test bed. It was eventually transferred to NASA.
Pressurised for the higher altitudes, the aircraft can operate from sea level, (usually 200ft minimum) up to 30,000 ft with a speed range from 140 to 405 knots. The engines are four x 4600 hp Allison turbo props with Hamilton Standard propellers. Maximum all up weight at take off is 14,500 lbs (6577 kg) higher than the original airliner at 127,500 lbs (57,800 kg) including a maximum of 60,000 lbs (34,000 lites) of fuel.
This was followed by the Lockheed YP3V-1 operational prototype, later named Orion, which first flew on 25 November 1959. The first production P3V-1 was flown on 15 April 1961, with initial deliveries being made to US Navy Patrol Squadrons VP-8 and VP-44 on 13 August 1962, by which time the type had been redesignated the P-3.
In August 1963 a US Navy crew flew a P-3A nonstop from California to Japan, 5280 miles, in 14 hr 30 min. After several demonstration flights it returned nonstop in 14 hr 5 min.
One hundred and fifty seven P-3As and 144 P-3Bs followed and production switched to the origi¬nal P-3C in 1968. P-3C is powered by 4,910 ehp (3 661 kW) Allison T56-A-14 turboprops. Progressive development of the P-3C’s systems through Update I and II has led to the production P-3C Update III model. The first P-3C Update III, with IBM Proteus acoustic processors, was delivered in May 1984. Update IV will improve the P-3’s ASW capability by the use of new acoustic processing systems and Litton AN/ALR-77 tactical ESM equipment. The P-3G would also feature Allison 501 turboprops in place of the T56-A-14s of the preceding model.
By 1994, production in Georgia was with wings built by Daewoo Aerospace in Korea and tail surfaces by Jetstream Aviation at Prestwick in Scotland, and remaining in production in the U.S.A. until 1995.
The first Kawasaki-assembled P-3C Orion was accepted by the Maritime Self-Defence Force at Gifu, Japan, on 27 May 1982. Flown for the first time on 17 March 1982, this aircraft was built from knocked-down components, and Kawwasaki was scheduled to deliver four more by March 1983. All were to be assigned to the 4th Air Group at Atsugi AB, near Tokyo.
Following the assembly in Japan of four P-3C aircraft from Lockheed-built components, Kawasaki produced the Lockheed Martin P-3C Orion for the JMSDF; 101st and final aircraft delivered in 1997, when four EP-3/UP-3D electronic intelligence/training variants remained to be delivered up to the year 2000.
Other export P-3s feature various equipment changes: Australian P-3Cs used Marconi Avionics AQS-901 acoustic processing; the 21 Canadian CP-140 / CP-140A Auroras have S-3 Viking avionics; and New Zealand’s P-3Bs are fitted with Boeing’s UDACS display and control consoles. The US Customs Service became the first customer for Lockheed’s P-3 (AEW&C) airborne early warning aircraft in May 1987. These aircraft will have a reduced mission system suitable for their task, while the full AEW&C aircraft would have a General Electric AN/APS-138 radar and APA-171 rotodome above the fuselage, together with a M1L1553A communications and data handling system. During 1984 Lockheed converted an ex-RAAF P-3B to serve as the AEW&C prototype, featuring the dorsal “rotodome”. Designated EP-3Es and converted from P-3As, twelve versions serve with the US Navy to provide electronic surveillance. The EP-3s are equipped with APS-120 radar plus extensive jamming, detection and analysis equipment.
The significantly upgraded Australian Orions, designated AP-3C, were introduced into service in 2002 and are fitted with a variety of sensors, including digital multi-mode radar, electronic support measures, electro-optics detectors (infra-red and visual), magnetic anomaly detectors, identification friend or foe systems, and acoustic detectors.
The major changes since the Orion entered service have been in avionics equipment and capability, and more than 640 have been built to 1989, with the type then continuing in production (at Marietta, Georgia) until 1995/56 for South Korea, who ordered eight P-3C Update Ills in December 1990. Other Orions were in service in Iran, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Spain and NASA and NOAA.
P-3 LSRS
The last of 18 upgraded AP-3C Orions was formally handed over to the RAAF in 2005. The first upgrade was performed by L-3 Communications in the USA and the remainder by L-3 and then Tenix in Australia. The programme was completed four years behind schedule.
L-3 Communications re-delivered the first of six P-3Ks to the RNZAF with sensor, communications and navigation systems upgrades in July 2005.
P3V-1 Orion Engines: 4 x Allison T56-A-10W, 4500 hp Wing span: 99 ft 8 in Length: 116 ft 8 in Height: 33 ft 8 in Wing area: 1300 sq.ft MTOW: 125,500 lb Max speed: 460 mph at 20,000 ft Service ceiling: 27,000 ft Endurnce -2 engines: 8 hr at 220 mph at 1000 ft
P-3B Orion Engines: 4 x Allison, 4910 shp. Wing span: 99 ft 8 in (30.37 m). Length: 116 ft 10 in (35.61 m). Height: 33 ft 8.5 in (10.29 m). Max TO wt: 134,000 lb (60,780 kg). Max level speed: 476 mph ( 765 kph).
P-3C Orion Engine: 2 x Allison T56-A-14 turboprop, 4910 shp / 3661kW. Installed thrust: 14,640 kW. Wingspan: 30.38 m / 99 ft 8 in Length: 35.61 m / 116 ft 10 in Height: 10.27 m / 33 ft 8 in Wing area: 120.77 sq.m / 1299.96 sq ft Empty wt: 27,890 kg / 61492 lb MTOW: 127,500 lb (57834 kg) Heavywt model MTOW: 135,000 lb (61,236 kg). Warload: 9070 kg. Max speed: 476 mph @ 15,000 ft. Cruise: 340 kt. Initial ROC: 880 m / min. Ceiling: 8600 m. T/O run: 1290 m. Ldg run: 845 m. Fuel internal: 34,830 lt. Max range: 4500nm. Endurance: 3 hr on station. Crew: 10 Air refuel: No. Armament: 9000kg
P 3K Engines: 4x Allison T56. Length: 36m. Wingspan: 30m. Height: 10m. Weight: 57,800kgs. Max range: 7100kms (3850 NM). Cruise speed: 260 750 km/hr. Endurance: 15hrs with 2 engines shut down to conserve fuel. Cruise speed: 195 205 km/hr. Equipment: Rescue winch 270kg max load, nightsun search light, nightvision goggles. Armament: 2 x M60D 7.62 machine guns. Crew: 2 pilots, 2 flight engineers, 2 navigators, 1 air electronics officer, 3 air electronics ops, 1 air ordnanceman Seating: up to 20.
Lockheed Martin AP-3C Orion Engine: Four Allison T56-A-14 (4600 shaft horsepower) Length: 35.6m Height: 10.44m Wingspan: 30.8m Maximum weight: 61,200Kg Maximum speed: 750 km/h (405 knots), Cruise speed: 650 km/h (350 kts) at 26,000 feet Loiter speed:370 km/h (200 kts) Endurance: 15 hours Crew: 13, two pilots (captain and co-pilot), two flight engineers, tactical co-ordinator, navigator/communication officer, sensor employment manager, six airborne electronic analysts.
Lockheed P 3 Sentinel Engine: 4 x T 56 A14, 3314 shp Length: 116.798 ft / 35.6 m Height: 33.793 ft / 10.3 m Wingspan: 99.738 ft / 30.4 m Wing area: 1300.291 sq.ft / 120.8 sq.m Max take off weight: 142024.1 lb / 64410.0 kg Weight empty: 61497.5 lb / 27890.0 kg Max. payload weight: 80526.6 lb / 36520.0 kg Max. speed: 410 kt / 760 km/h Landing speed: 112 kt / 208 km/h Cruising speed: 328 kt / 608 km/h Initial climb rate: 1968.5 ft/min / 10.0 m/s Service ceiling: 28297 ft / 8625 m Wing loading: 109.27 lb/sq.ft / 533.0 kg/sq.m Range: 2071 nm / 3835 km Crew: 10
The first US Navy contract for two XP2V-1 Neptune maritime-reconnaissance bombers was placed in April 1944.
The P2V / P-2 has mid-set unswept wing, unswept tail surfaces, and conventional control surfaces. The ailerons drop 10 degrees when the Lockheed-Fowler flaps are fully extended. The tricycle undercarriage has a single wheel on each unit with the nosewheel retracting rearward and mains forward into the engine nacelles.
The first prototype flew on 17 May 1945. From then Lockheed received contracts for the P2V-1 to P2V-7 versions which were subsequently redesignated in the P-2 category.
Last versions in operational service were the P-2E (formerly P2V-5) which introduced the glazed nose, MAD tailboom, Julie/Jezebel ASW systems, etc, and later fitted with auxiliary underwing turbojets; SP-2E, as for the P-2E but with modernised equipment; P-2H, the first version to introduce auxiliary underwing turbojets and incorporating equipment and detail changes; and the SP-2H, as for the P-2H but with modernised equipment. These served with the Argentinian Navy (P-2H), Australian Air Force (SP-2H), Brazilian Air Force (P-2E), French Navy (P-2H), JMSDF (P-2H, and Kawasaki P-2J), Netherlands Navy (SP-2H), Portuguese Air Force (SP-2E) and the US Navy (SP-2H).
The USA supplied Britain with P-2 Neptune under the Mutual Defence Aid Pact. British Neptunes served in four squadrons from 1952 to 1957.
Truculent Turtle
In 1946 US Navy Neptune ‘Truculent Turtle’ flew non-stop 11,229 miles from Perth, Australia, to Columbus, Ohio.
The P 2H Neptune was a variant used by the Maritime Patrol Command of the Canadian Armed Forces.
On 6 November 1951 a Lockheed P2V Neptune from VP-6 Squadron of the US Navy was shot down over the Sea of Japan near the Soviet naval base at Vladivostok. The Neptune, with a crew of 10 on board, was to have reconnoitred the weather near the Siberian coast. On 18 January 1953 an American P2V-5 Neptune maritime reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by Chinese MiG fighters near (over?) the coastal town of Swatou, opposite Taiwan. All thirteen crew were killed. The number of occupants appears to be a little on the high side for a normal patrol flight. In those days it was not unusual for American aircraft to drop secret agents over the People’s Republic of China. Such ‘cover-flights’ were usually flown from Nationalist Chinese Taiwan. On 4 September 1954 the third Neptune went down. A P2V-5 of the American Naval Squadron VF-19 was shot down by two Soviet MiG-15 over the Sea of Japan, about 40 miles from the Siberian coast. The Neptune, originating from Atsugi airbase in Japan, forced-landed in the sea after the attack. Nine of the ten crew escaped and were rescued later. On 22 June 1955 Soviet jets attached an American P2V-5 Neptune from Patrol Squadron VP-9 over the Bering Strait. With the starboard engine on fire the Neptune had difficulty in fore-landing near Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, barely 60 miles / 100 km from the Soviet coast but United Stated territory. Three crew members were injured during the Soviet attack. Washington demanded compensation of $724,947 but later accepted a Soviet offer of half that.
A small number of P2V 2 and P2V 7 Neptunes were in service with ski landing gear for operations in the Antarctic.
P2V-7 Neptune
Kawasaki developed from the Lockheed P 2H Neptune a new ASW and maritime patrol bomber which has the designation P 2J. First flown in July 1966, the P-2J ¬differed from the P-2H in having a lengthened fuselage, and 2,850 ehp General Electric T64-1HI-10 turboprops replacing original piston engines, plus underwing 3,085 lb st (1400 kgp) J3-1H1-7C turbojets.
Entering service with the JMSDF in 1969, the last of`82 production aircraft was delivered in 1979. Sixteen P2V-7 were supplied from the USA before Japanese production began. Armament of the P 2J comprises up to 8,000 lb (3,628 kg) of bombs, depth charges, or tor¬pedoes carried internally, and 16 5 inch rockets underwing.
An approach in Vietnam was the monitoring of electronic sensors on the ground, the signals being received by the AP 2E Neptune.
Between 1945 and 1962, 1195 were manufactured.
The CIA purchased seven Lockheed P2V-7U Neptunes for the USAF for clandestine missions along the Iron Curtain and beyond. The US Navy had not wished to be involved but the Navy bought the aircraft and the USAF operated them, with USAF markings. The USAF stated at the time they were purchased as RB-69 radio trainers.
RB-69
The RB-69 were converted by Lockheed into multi-purpose spying aircraft. They were able to perform low-level photographic reconnaissance, and with advanced ELINT equipment, electronic surveillance flights. Agents could be dropped through a panel in the belly, and tens of thousands of pamphlets could be dropped. Flights were planned from Eglin Air Base in Florida. The USAF Neptunes were observed from 1957 in Taiwan, in Japan, and on Wiesbaden airbase in West Germany. From Wiesbaden the blue-black RB-69 flew with a number of additional bulges and with two pencil-shaped antennas alongside the fuselage. The aircraft carried the first sideways-looking radar system and operated until modified to ordinary SP-2H Neptunes for anti-submarine warfare.
Hawkins & Powers enveloped civil conversions of C-130 and P2V-7 under TC A19NM, A30NM, and A34NM in the Restricted category as borate bombers for forest fire control.
P-2 Neptune Engines: 2 x Wright R-3350-32W, 2575kW Max take-off weight: 36191 kg / 79788 lb Empty weight: 22592 kg / 49807 lb Wingspan: 31.7 m / 104 ft 0 in Length: 27.9 m / 91 ft 6 in Height: 8.9 m / 29 ft 2 in Wing area: 92.9 sq.m / 999.97 sq ft Max. speed: 648 km/h / 403 mph Ceiling: 6800 m / 22300 ft Range w/max.fuel: 5930 km / 3685 miles Armament: 2 x 12.7mm machine-guns, bombs, missiles, torpedos Crew: 7
P2V-5 Neptune Engines: 2 x Wright, 3250 hp. Wing span: 102 ft 0 in (31.08 m). Length: 81 ft 7 in (24.87m). Height: 28 ft 1 in (8.56 m). Max TO wt: 76,152 lb (34,542 kg). Max level speed: 341 mph ( 549 kph).
P2V Neptune Length: 91.667 ft / 27.94 m Height: 29.331 ft / 8.94 m Wingspan: 103.904 ft / 31.67 m Max take off weight: 80085.6 lb / 36320.0 kg Max. speed: 309 kts / 573 km/h Service ceiling: 22014 ft / 6710 m Range: 3202 nm / 5930 km Engine: 2 x Wright R-3350-32W, 3452 hp Crew: 7 Armament: 3630kg
P2V-7 Neptune Engines: 2 x Wright R3350-30W Turbo-Cyclone 3,250 hp, 2 x Westinghouse J34 turbojets, 3600 lb Wingspan: 103 ft. 10 in Length: 91 ft. 8 in. Height: 29 ft 4 in Wing area: 1000 sq.ft Empty weight: 49,808 lb Loaded weight: 72,000 lb Fuel capacity: 1832 gal Opt bomb bay fuel: 583 gal Crew: 7 Max speed: 421 m.p.h. Ceiling: 31,000ft Service ceiling: 22,000 ft Range: 3,700 miles at 175 mph at 1000 ft Armament: 2x.50 in. machine-guns later 4 x 20mm canon Bombload: 2×294 mm. rockets or 8,000 lb; plus 16 x 5-in. rockets under wings.
AP 2E
Kawasaki P 2J Wing span is 97 ft 8.5 in (29.78 m). Max cruise: 250 mph (402 km/h).
In the 1960s, American Airlines approached Lockheed and competitor Douglas with a need for an aircraft smaller than the existing 747, but still capable of flying to distant locales such as London, the Caribbean, and Latin America from company hubs in Dallas/Ft Worth and New York. The Model L-1011 was designed to enter this category with optimum payload-range performance and short-field characteristics. The Model L-1011 is powered by three 42,000-lb. s.t. turbofan engines, two of which are mounted in pods underneath each wing, and the third is located in the rear of the fuselage at the base of the tail unit. The TriStar’s engine is integrated into the tail through an S-duct for improved quietness and stability. Fuel is carried in two integral wing tanks and an inboard tank. With a full load, the TriStar can travel a maximum of 4,467 miles. Accommodations provide for 256 passengers in a mixed coach and first-class arrangement or a maximum of 400 passengers in a high density all-economy configuration.
First flown on November 16, 1970, the twin-aisle TriStar’s design schedule closely followed that of its competitor, the DC-10, Douglas beat Lockheed to market by a year due to delays in powerplant development. Rolls-Royce, the maker of the TriStar’s RB211 turbofan engines, had filed for bankruptcy, halting L-1011 final assembly. The first flight was powered by Rolls Royce RB.211 high by pass ratio turbofan engines, from Palmdale, California.
The British government did not approve the large state subsidy used to restart Rolls-Royce operations until after the U.S. government had guaranteed the Lockheed loans previously provided to Rolls for the extensive engine contract. (The UK Goverment also took the contentious step (for a Conservative administration) of taking the aero-engine side of RR into public ownership, to maintain national defence capability). Its first revenue flight, for Eastern Air Lines, was made on 26 April 1972.
A longer-range variant of the standard-length L-1011 was developed in the late 1970s. Designated the L-1011-500, the fuselage length was shortened by 14 feet (4.3 m) to accommodate higher fuel loads.
Ironically, American Airlines never flew the “Ten Eleven,” purchasing many DC-10s instead.
Lockheed manufactured a total of 250 TriStars, ceasing production in 1984. Lockheed needed to sell 500 planes to break even. Failing to achieve profitability in the civilian airliner sector, the TriStar was to be Lockheed’s last commercial aircraft.
Flying all of its life on test and development work, the prototype was acquired by Aviation Sales of Ardmore in August 1986.
L-1011 Tristar Engines: 3 x Rolls Royce RB.211 22B turbofan, 42,000 lb / 180.5kN Wing span: 155 ft 4 in (47.34 m). Length: 178 ft 8 in (54.35 m). Height: 55 ft 4 in (16.87 m). Wing area: 312.1 sq.m / 3359.41 sq ft Empty wt. 102000 kg / 222,941 lb Max TO wt: 430,000 lb (195,045 kg). Fuel capacity 23,814 USG Max level speed: M0.9. Cruise 474 mph. Stall 144 mph. Initial climb rate 2,800 fpm Ceiling: 42,000 ft. Range w/max.payload: 5000 km / 3107 miles Pax cap: 345. Takeoff run 7,590 ft Landing roll 5,660 ft Crew: 2-3
