barney@procyon.usc.edu (Barney Lum) (04/06/91)
From: barney@procyon.usc.edu (Barney Lum) In article <1991Mar12.230042.27317@cbnews.att.com> dvlssd@zeus.cs.umu.se (Stefan Skoglund) writes >S : Strategic.Usuall in this meaning : Strategic Reconnaisance. > SR-71 and and also SB52C I think. It was actually an RS-71. When then-president Johnson introduced it to the public, he erroneously called it "SR-71." The brass didn't want to correct our "leader" so the name stuck :] . -- Barney@usc.edu Barney@USCVM.Bitnet Permanent Student Pilot, On the Numbers
wb9omc@ee.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick) (04/10/91)
From: wb9omc@ee.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick) barney@procyon.usc.edu (Barney Lum) writes: >It was actually an RS-71. When then-president Johnson introduced >it to the public, he erroneously called it "SR-71." The brass didn't >want to correct our "leader" so the name stuck :] . Although it has been said, probably correctly, that the Strategic Recon, i.e., SR, probably is more accurate for the 71's mission than RS, which was Recon/Strike. [Didn't it used to the YF-12 or something anyway? --CDR] Duane [I'M KIDDING! DON'T tell me the life story of the SR-71, I know it already, I'm just kidding. --CDR]
henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (04/10/91)
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) >From: wb9omc@ee.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick) >Although it has been said, probably correctly, that the Strategic >Recon, i.e., SR, probably is more accurate for the 71's mission than >RS, which was Recon/Strike. Well, for the mission it turned out to spend all its time flying. It did have a theoretical nuclear-strike capability, although I forget where the bomb was supposed to be carried. That was secondary from the start and receded rapidly into the background. -- And the bean-counter replied, | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology "beans are more important". | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
swansonc@stolaf.edu (Chris Swanson) (06/15/91)
From: swansonc@stolaf.edu (Chris Swanson) As an interesting note, the SR-71 started out it's life as a long-range, strategic interceptor (designator YF-?) that was to carry nuclear warhead AAM's that would engage an incomming Soviet bomber flight over international water, long before it got feet dry over the US. The plane had a slightly different configuration, with some IR detectors at the forward wing-fuselage junction. I was never aware of the Strike capability, anybody else have any info on this? -- Chris Swanson, Chem/CS/Pre-med Undergrad, St. Olaf College, Northfield,MN 55057 DDN: (CDS6) INTERNET: swansonc@acc.stolaf.edu UUCP: uunet!stolaf!swansonc