Sr-71 Blackbird Documentary Part 2

[mauricioalfredo83]

everything was fine until propaganda about U2 when MiG25 fly faster and higher...still the Blackbird its one of the coolest ones :)

[musiclover3928]

The SR-71 was the succesor of the YF-12. However, the YF-12 was an armed interceptor. SR-71 was a recoinassance aircraft with no armament.

[votran333]

The music that starts at about 6:00 sounds like Mortal Kombat 1 intro screen.

[MrDannytrance]

Did some1 just add this music in???sounds like it!!

[kimura2Loc]

50's technology, just imagine what Lockheed is up to now? i mean Lockheed Martian corp.

[Antifaith29]

@kimura2Loc they dont need spy planes anymore so probably nothing like this. Sattelites do the job now. Still, theres bound to be somerthing interesting.

[JesperA86]

@Antifaith29 No, sattelites does not do the job today.....even if there where thousands and thousands of spysatelites there still could take over 24 hours before any satelite is over the area you want to spy on, and even then, maybe you dont get a solid picture, and have to wait until the next satelite is over the area. Way to long time for spying, to much is happening in that timeframe. Airplanes is still today the most used way of spying.....

[JesperA86]

@Antifaith29 Oh, and the main reason spysattelites isnt the prefered way of spying: A spysatelite trajectory is to predictable, an airplane is 100% unpredictable, an enemy cant guess what time, height, speed an airplane is spying on. When developing the SR-71 USA had to roll the airplane back into the hangar when a passing russia spysatelite was closing in on the area....so no, satelites is not the main usage for spying....

[Antifaith29]

@JesperA86 If you say so champ. There are alot more up there now than there used to be. Having spent 22 months in Astan i can tell you we used imagery almost every day, it's a little different to the 60's,70's and 80's my friend.

[RoyalSwissNavy]

Many thanks for uploading the series, Matt . . . words just fail. I do have one question about the music: the bluesy piece between :37 and 1:48 of Part 2 blows me away. Do you have any information on it? Thanks again. Best wishes.

[racecardriver467]

had the Canadian Avro Arrow CF-105 interceptor not been canceled, it would of been the only aircraft to have tail grabed this plane in its time....not saying it would of been as fast or faster but would of been amazing with upgraded engines then what it was gonna have

[cupcakesweee]

"This is a restricting slot to occupy"

That's what she said

[DaOneAndOnly97]

The 4 dislikes are from the people who's records got Broken !

[TheGratziani]

Nice music!..better watch opera...at least nobody speaks...

[executor46]

hahahah nice one there..

[platypusone]

Documentary makers: "HEY WE'VE GOT THIS SERIOUS DOCUMENTARY WE'RE WORKIN ON...COULD YOU PUT MUSIC TO IT???"

Bozo the clown: "A HILK! HILK! WHY SURE I CAN *honks his nose"

Documentary makers: OH AND BE SURE AND JAM THAT SHIT, JUST IN CASE SOME OF THE VOICEOVER CONTENT IS STILL CLASSIIFED.

[mryellow123]

@platypusone back in the day we used to have a thing called "dynamics". Soft things were soft, loud things loud... Somewhere along the line record companies, advertisers, and TV people realised if you make everything the same volume, people buy more. Now everything is the same volume, whispering is as loud as kick drums, is as loud as commercials, compressed, limited. This video has been run through some compression when it was ripped. Original would have had room to breath.

[smeghead666]

20th century planes...

"what an awesome engine... lets make it fly"

"man that's a huge gun... it should fly!"

"How many engines is too many?"

"whats better than a transport plane with no guns? a transport plane with guns... lots of guns"

"lets fly on the edge of space, faster than a bullet, at hundreds of degrees in a plane that leaks fuel"

21st century planes

"Hey let's make an amstrad fly!"

[MrChrisivisi]

our spyplane is in tha air

[DasShurikenRoy]

btw groom lake= area 51 look it up

[wnowak1]

music is annoying



[Defenseman619]

A place like that surely doesn't exist... oh, snap.

[ripplecutbuddha]

Area 51 was established by the US Government for Lockheed as a secure place to test fly the U-2 spy plane. Later the same facility was used for the SR-71, F-117, B-2, and other secret projects in development. If you want the details, read "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich, who worked on the U-2 and SR-71 projects, as well as being project manager for the F-117.

[TheycallmehQuiet]

@mikel1982 And yeah I caught that part at 6:32 also, does anyone know what that section is and why its not explained?

[mikel1982]

@TheycallmehQuiet This docu is so sketchy with the loud music and random cuts haha perfect old school docu.

[1234567890janoy12345]

b2 i way better :)

[slickstrings]

The U2 looks beautiful in polished aluminium finish. Imagine what the blackbird would have looked like in polished titanium! the russians would have thought it was a ufo

[cyrex686]

Someone needs to slap the videographer of that interview with a white balance stick. Even back then, you could get filters for florescent lamps.

[mikel1982]

Anyone notice the censored part around 6:25? The music cuts and they skip describing one of the bays.

[x1on]

wth is with the music? shesh

[trashmail8]

For those who are [also] interested in the U2 and haven't seen it yet. Be sure to check out the ride on a U2 that was made by British TV presenter James May for his program "James May on the Moon" (now also on DVD AFAIK). It has amazing views:

watch a part of this @ watch?v=1PmYItnlY5M

[sefildogu]

cool

[daninflorida1]

hello anyone,can anyone tell me where I can buy this documentary on dvd or vhs,,,,,

[GelandnaleG]

5:07am Wednesday (CDT) - Time InIM

ANEWPLANEWASNEEDEDANEMRSY

AVIATIONWINGNUTSEEDEESSAGEM

ANEWPLANEWASNEEDEDANEMRSY

5:07am Wednesday (CDT) - Time InIM

[Mitch4402]

The music screws this.. it just makes it ... blahhhhh

[sr71ablackbird]

The guy 2nd on the on the far right towards the end of the table looks similar to Ben Rich.

[Smittymate]

who ever thinks it says '4AM - move to Area 51'. ur an idiot, get some glasses n you will see it is" 'move out to area 5'.

[yamumishot2001]

@Smittymate that mean's every other "1" i see on the BLACK-BOARD is a '

[TheycallmehQuiet]

@Smittymate wow your a complete idiot. it does say area 51. Area 51 was where the Sr-71 was basically created and tested. When your developing a top-secret spy plane you dont exactly want to be testing at any old air strip.

[TxGearhead]

Conceived in the late 1950s, flown in the early 1960s. This is why we need to invest heavily in science & engineering. Imagine what could be dreamed up today...

[GRATZIANI2002]

fuck the music level!..too much noise..

[chaitanya91000]

it good,look like arrow.

[tonyrosam]

0.O indeed at 5:43 the guy writes "Feb 26 4am move out to area 51." proof that area 51 had been test flying the sr-71 since its beggining.

[facialhairy]

@tonyrosam thats a fucking huge slip up by everyone in the US gov't hahahaha

they would argue that the full stop is part of the 1 and say it reads as "move to area 5!" hahaha but we ain that dumb

[lexichronicle2]

GRAB THE WING! That's his job at 5:20... wing man, quite literally :P

[lexichronicle2]

all these old millitary videos have the music track up way too loud

[chumbucket206]

aliens in area 51 made that shit LMFAO

[ilotitto]

The Area 51 part is at 5:44

[bfderef]

For the gods' sake - get rid of the music!

[zooch79]

This music is catchy

[Nnexxxx]

so that's what the skunk works looked like.... 0:55

[whiterottenrabbit]

What is the matter with these "old" documentaries about planes? The sound designer was deaf, otherwise I can't explain the fact that the plane sounds are sometimes almost louder than the narrator.

[MrROTD]

bad mix lol

[Elhombresombra]

The U2 had a hell of a rate of climb on takeoff...

[elijah5674]

Light weight with high lift wings...go figure. :D

[ludwigvonsteampole1]

Notice @ 3:02 the U2 changes from silver to black...This i suspect would be a black coating of stealth paint like material...They where indeed a head of the game...

[DiEGO2DaBAY]

Two different U2's...... look at the AIRFORCE star, and bars on the intakes. The silver U2 has them, them Black U2 doesnt..

[barthoedemaker]

Prototype 1955 !! Goddamn. The second world war was finished only 10 years back.

[woody2327]

It's cool that many people caught 'Move out to Area 51' at 5:42.

But look at how he,Richard Bissel, get's distracted at 5:24.

Just checking on a piece of paper!

Awesome bird and developing!

[308scoutrfl]

is there a "ceiling" over a "no fly zone"? it seems there must be a limit, because of all the satallites and shit everybody has floating around in space. anybody?

[DeltaFoxtrottBravo]

The sky above an altiutde of 100 kilometres is considered space and therefore free to use.

[jasonkolo]

oh i missed the answer

[jasonkolo]

good question...

[81broncoman]

The Soviets did the world a MASSIVE favor in flying into space first, because it set the president that if you were above the atmosphere in space, you could fly over anybody without reprisal. Technically anybody is justified in shooting down a spacecraft over their territory, but nobody does, thank you Nikita Khrushchev.

[StephenAnthonyMusic]

I am so glad the USSR is gone. Whew.

[swartzap]

Kick the tires and light the fires................ lets pour the coal to that BlTCH

[xXFOX619Xx]

Such an amazing plane... i envy the pilots and groundcrew of the HABU teams

[h8liver]

*****Excellent series packed with many facts revealing it's earliest conception.

All memories cherished.

~Semper Paratus

9th SRW, SAC, OMS, BAFB, Det 1 (HABU)

[brianslcut]

I have worked on both the sr71 and u2 in 1980s.

[Kangarupe]

ahhh, would that mean you worked at groom lake?

[deokumarrai]

by the way who are you....

[tuxmant2]

I envy you! I'd love to just be able to TOUCH the SR-71 with my pinkie!

[AcesHigh2007]

My dad worked on SR-71s and U-2s too. Black Cats for the U-2 and SR-71 at Beale and Osan i think. MAybe you knew him?

[vvEgiB]

awesome! I envy you

[mdaspinall]

Have you noticed that half-way through the video, it shows a scene, presumably filmed in the late 1950's early 1960's. It shows a guy, probably a Lockheed Employee writing on a blackboard for his colleagues, most likely at Lockheed's facilities. The last lines read something pretty close to 'Dissassemble and load' plus '4AM - move to Area 51'. Check yourself !!! Proof indeed that area 51 existed back then and was known to the CIA and Lockheed!!! Deny That eh...

[stevel666]

A guy?? :-O Thats Kelly Johnson! :-) It's common knowledge that the U-2 was tested at Groom with CIA involvement.

[elkranch]

The Ranch was first established to test Lockheed a/c...the U-2....Kelly Johnson found the site.......

[DEDEDESAMLOL]

um no they were planing way after when the sr 71 was made in 1965 if you were paying attention you would know idiot.

[Camerameister]

I don't think anyone denies the existence of Area 51... just some of the detail of what was there and what it was used for.

[woody2327]

That guy is Kelly Johnson.

[TheRobsDad]

@mdaspinall Great point. So given that they supposedly obtained the ability to obtain interplanetary travel at the required speeds from the information obtained from area 51, why did they limit themselves to flying over the USSR at a mere 3 times the speed of sound? No doubt area 51 is a secure testing area. The fact the wobbly goblin entered service without being identified by the public illustrates this point. The Cold war was a public relations war. Why resist firing off your big shots?

[kozmocramer24]

@mdaspinall yeah see that shit man



[TxGearhead]

@mdaspinall Considering Lockheed was the group that selected & rebuilt the abandoned facility into "Area 51" to develop the U-2 & Blackbird, I'd assume they'd know about it.

[55t1]

@mdaspinall I believe that it was this and another related picture of Kelly Johnson at a blackboard with "Area 51" plainly in sight is how the public became aware of the base's code name, and that it is related to it's location in the Nevada nuclear test range. The real name of this facility remains classified.

[XKopaka85X]

@mdaspinall Ya. I read a book about the blackbirds-from the A-12 to the SR-71's retirement and some of the pilot who contributed to the book stated that they flew test flights out of are 51.

[sr71ablackbird]

@mdaspinall yes, I did notice that, and the guy that wrote that was Clarance "Kelly" Johnson himself.

[aviationwingnut]

@mdaspinall Yep, you beat me to the comment. I have watched this before and never realized what he had written. I pulled the slider back a bit and watched it again. I believe that is Kelly Johnson doing the writing. Check out Area 51 on Google Earth. They're lengthening runways, again. Crystal clear satellite photos.

[douchechillum]

@mdaspinall Nice catch man!

[ringer454]

@mdaspinall I read Area 51 but i don't know about the 4Am part.. But it doesn't really matter :/

[ringer454]

@mdaspinall Good eye mate!

[lexichronicle2]

@mdaspinall there's a photo on wiki of them testing the Sr-71's radar profile.

Even today, looking at it as a 26 year old, without it's paint on, the thing looks like something out of a comic or from the future. back then, I can certainly imagine people thinking "WTF IS THAT!?" if they saw it. this is only a few tens of years after they were seeing prop driven things made of cloth. and here's this mirror finish, liquid metal looking weird thing zooming around.

[TheLastBurningTree69]

@mdaspinall Well spotted! Its @ 5:43 . So much for the american government never having named a facility area 51!

[T3c4x3r0]

@mdaspinall Of course. But it will not be made public knowledge until it is no longer useful. Such is the way the Govt. needs to work in order to keep secrets, secret.

[ICARUSSPLAT]

@mdaspinall

That, my friend, was Kelly Johnson himself.!

[Krukester]

@mdaspinall Didn't see it! Time ?

[Krukester]

Chalkboard at 5:43

Feb 17 - Aircraft Complete

Feb 18 - Aircraft put down (unknown)

Feb 18 - Feb 22 - Engineering (unknown)

Feb 23 - Feb 25 - Unknown

Feb 26 - 4:20 AM - Move out to Area 51.

[mindeloman]

@mdaspinall That's no emplyee. That's Mr. Blackbird himself. Kelly Johnson.

[clearjet]

@mdaspinall The "Groom Lake Test Site" mentioned at 1:20 is indeed located within Area 51. The UFO hype is the only thing that separates area 51 from area 50, area 37 or any other of the sectional areas. It's just a place...

[alexvdbroek]

thanks, great doco

[Jpilkey]

ok i guess they show a blacbird towards the end

[zmatt]

Its the second video of the show, to understand the development and reasons why the sr-71 was developed you must know the history of earlier aircraft which paved the way.

[theboarman]

@zmatt who made this doumentary bbc i think am i wrong

[Jpilkey]

ummmm... okay im sure most figured out that thats not an SR-71 Blackbird as the title says, thats a U-2

[DubeyPotter]

it's a spy plane neat:)

[LOCKHEED2011]

i think the music is just fine, its soposed to sound very exclusive, besides what music would you choose, let me guess rap crap.

[LOCKHEED2011]

i live 15 miles from beale afb (home of the u-2) so i see them alot, they are such an under estemated airplane.

[bali105]

What are you talking about? you can see arial photos of the groom lake facility.

[codyman333]

Well thay say there is no Grom lake test site but they say it in her so type in area 51 and then you will no what I am talking about

[Parthamasiris]

Music could be much better LOL but let's focus on the plane.

[rcpyt]

badigerprateek...

go away

[unsound64]

OMG that music is retarded

[rcpyt]

unsound64 .....

please enlighten us....