SR-71s - Det 4, RAF Mildenhall

[James Cutting]

Absolutely stunning shots Daz! Great to be able to get a hold of some absolute gems like these! Processed well too mate. One that I would have absolutely loved to see.

[AndrewBarclay]

I have a framed picture frame with two photographs of the Under the title Det.4 RAF. MILDENHALL. The signed names of The Blackbird Flight Crew Brian Shul pilot Pilot Frank Stamp RSO Blair Bozek RSO Ted Ross RSO Walt Watson RSO Jim Jiggins Pilot Nevin Cunninham Det 4 Commander The pictures include. Ground Crew and PSD Support this is the top half of the frame photograph the underneath photograph is but includes more SR 71 Crews TR 1 crew l want to give it too somebody who might appreciate them.

[iainpeden]

There,s a volunteer at Duxford who does the insight talk into the SR71 at Duxford. Pm me if you want his email

[quid21]

I have a framed picture frame with two photographs of the Under the title Det.4 RAF. MILDENHALL. The signed names of The Blackbird Flight Crew Brian Shul pilot Pilot Frank Stamp RSO Blair Bozek RSO Ted Ross RSO Walt Watson RSO Jim Jiggins Pilot Nevin Cunninham Det 4 Commander The pictures include. Ground Crew and PSD Support this is the top half of the frame photograph the underneath photograph is but includes more SR 71 Crews TR 1 crew l want to give it too somebody who might appreciate them.

I have a small but growing collection of SR-71 stuff, would you PM a photograph of the frame with dimensions.

[F3]

Treasure indeed! Nice set of a truly iconic a/c. Wonder what else maybe in there?

[XR713]

Those were the days.

[Typhoon17]

Only just seen these. My favorite aircraft, so thank for posting these great images. Bringing back the memories. Out of interest what scanner are you using because the quality is very good?

[Pune]

Great set, thanks for processing and sharing, brilliant.

[Knife 04]

Thanks for the all the comments on these - much appreciated

Out of interest what scanner are you using because the quality is very good?

Using a vintage Minolta DiMage Scan Dual IV from about 2003 - still works and images are coming out OK. Had to put some 'patches' on the software as it originally ran on Windows XP (remember that)!

[quid21]

The SR-71 Blackbird first flew 60 years ago yesterday! Awesome machine, still looks futuristic even today! Still in a class of one, unequalled.

[XR713]

Those were the days.

[AndrewBarclay]

Bxxxxxxxxxs lve pressed the wrong key an hour and a half of typing has disappeared it was about Sleds

[quid21]

Not sure if you saw my post above Andrew, but I'd possibly be interested in your photographs in a frame if they need a new home.

[Mike]

His name is Frank, his username comes from 'Andrew Barclay' which was the name of a company that made locomotive engines for the railways!

[127.65]

Wow, only just seen these images. Great to see images of it’s operational life, as I was only a kid when it operated from the Hall. Only got to see the SR71 at Mildenhall Air Fete’s.
Probably my only other sighting of a flying SR71 was performing a missed approach at RAF Manston of all places!

[Drinkmat]

It's always nice to see SR-71 photos like these. In the mid-80's I worked at Eastern Radar (RAF Watton) when we conducted SR-71 ops from RAF Mildenhall and U2/TR-1 ops from RAF Alconbury. I recall the Tote Board in Eastern just showed the letter "S" (for Special) and a precise time. From that we knew it was either a departure from MLD or ALC, depending on where the S was on the board.

Departures were usually made with radio silence, but the '71 take-offs were given away by the huge tanker stream of KC-135Q's flying out to the North East to be in position! The final tanker would carry out a timed turn-back towards MLD to meet the '71 about four minutes after the brake release on the runway at around FL260, turning back NE to it's original track when about 80nm nose-to-nose range from the fast jet. Once steady on heading, the SR-71 would be in a good pre-contact position for the first refuelling. Once refuelled, the SR-71 would accelerate on track and soon disappear from our long range radar. The SSR transponder would be switched off at FL600, which was also the maximum altitude our Height Finder would operate. The return to MLD was normally not so dramatic, but the SR-71 would wash off a lot of speed over the North Sea rather than overland.

Slightly off-topic, I watched one TR-1 recovery to ALC when the pilot contacted us at Watton from Southern Germany stating that he technically had an emergency - engine failure. Asked what his intentions were, he said he would land back at Alconbury. Gliding all the way, he still had to orbit for about 20 minutes to lose height before his landing!

[NickC]

Very interesting Drinkmat, thanks for that.

[H.A.Bucken]

Re: Drinkmat's obs. of a TR-1 IFE, there was the case during the Cuban Crisis of a U-2A/C? flaming out at altitude and having to glide over 200 miles to safety- think it landed in Bermuda.
Roger in a misty Kendal

[quid21]

His name is Frank, his username comes from 'Andrew Barclay' which was the name of a company that made locomotive engines for the railways!

Thanks for the correction - easy mistake to make!

[Mustang531]

Very nostalgic to see these, thanks for sharing them with us. Always something special to see one in the air.