Century Wings CW001610 SR71 Blackbird Strategic Recon Die-cast Aircraft Model 1/72
Century Wing's CW001610 1/72nd scale Diecast Aircraft model of the Blackbird SR-71 U.S.A.F 9th SRW 61-7962 1990. This Aircraft can be seen at the American Air Museum Duxford in its actual markings, The aircraft on display first flew in April 1966 and was delivered to the USAF in May 1966. It operated from Beale Air Force Base, Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and RAF Mildenhall in the UK during its service career. It made its last flight in February 1990. It came to Duxford in 2001 from the USAF Plant 42 at Palmdale, California and is on loan from the US Air Force Museum. It is the only Blackbird on show outside the USA.
The Lockheed SR-71 was an advanced, long-range, Mach 3 strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft by the Lockheed Skunk Works. The SR-71 was unofficially named the Blackbird, and called the Habu by its crews. Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. A defensive feature of the aircraft was its high speed and operating altitude, whereby, if a surface-to-air missile launch were detected, standard evasive action was simply to accelerate. The SR-71 line was in service from 1964 to 1998, with 12 of the 32 aircraft being destroyed in accidents, though none were lost to enemy action.