File A121-R-61-7976SR-71AArticle 2027

61-7976

SR-71A · Article 2027
On displayWright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio

National Museum of the United States Air Force
Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, USA · 39.78, -84.11

SR-71A 61-7976 on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio, on 27 May 2017.
SR-71A 61-7976 on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio, on 27 May 2017.Dsdugan (Wikimedia Commons user) · 2017-05-27 · CC0 1.0 · Source

Record

61-7976
2027
SR-71A
2,981
May 1967
Preserved, on display
National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, USA

Career

  • 21 March 1968: first operational SR-71 sortie (Vietnam), Jerome F. O'Malley and Edward D. Payne
  • 942 total sorties, more than any other SR-71, including 257 operational missions
  • Operated from Beale, Palmdale, Kadena and RAF Mildenhall

Fate

Flown to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB on 27 March 1990 (Don Watkins and Bob Fowlkes) and kept indoors ever since; now in the museum's Cold War Gallery.

In the chronology

8 Mar 1968First SR-71s deploy to Kadena (OL-8) SENIOR CROWN
SR-71A 61-7978 arrived at Kadena AB, Okinawa, followed by 61-7976 on 10 March and 61-7974 on 13 March, forming Operating Location 8 to take over the reconnaissance role of the CIA's A-12s. All three were reported operational by 15 March 1968.
21 Mar 1968First operational SR-71 sortie SENIOR CROWN
Maj. Jerome F. O'Malley and Maj. Edward D. Payne flew the first operational SR-71 sortie, over North Vietnam from Kadena, in 61-7976. That airframe went on to log 2,981 flying hours and 942 sorties, more than any other SR-71, including 257 operational missions.
27 Mar 1990First operational SR-71 flown to the Air Force Museum Legacy
Don Watkins and Bob Fowlkes flew 61-7976, which had flown the first operational SR-71 sortie in 1968, to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Habu.org calls it the last Blackbird flown to a museum in the 1990 retirement.

Where the record disagrees

First flight is given only as May 1967 (sr-71.org, Baugher). Hours: 2,981 (NMUSAF) versus 2,985.7 (sr-71.org). NMUSAF fact sheet blocks automated fetches; its text was confirmed via search snippet and the verbatim copy on thesr71blackbird.com. Coordinates are the museum site (Wikipedia infobox, cross-checked against OpenStreetMap).

Sources

  1. National Museum of the United States Air Force. Lockheed SR-71A fact sheet. Open · Archived · In the register
  2. SR-71 Online (sr-71.org), via Internet Archive. SR-71A #61-7976 gallery page (archived copy). Open · In the register
  3. Habu.org. 61-7976 (Blackbird Photo Archive). Archived copy · In the register
  4. Joe Baugher. 1961 USAF Serial Numbers (61-7950 to 61-7981). Open · Archived · In the register
  5. The SR-71 Blackbird (thesr71blackbird.com). SR-71A Blackbird #17976 / #2027. Open · Archived · In the register
  6. SR-71 Online (sr-71.org), via Internet Archive. SR-71 Locations (archived copy, lists serial / Lockheed article number and fate). Open · In the register