Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More In 1972, an SR-71 Lost Both Engines Over Hanoi — North Vietnam Didn’t Shoot It Down Because They Thought It Carried a Nuclear Bomb On May 15, 1972, an SR-71 Blackbird called the “Rapid Rabbit” — distinguished from the rest of the fleet by the Playboy Bunny logos... Stephen SilverMay 9, 2026
Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More In 1984, an SR-71 Blackbird Suffered an Engine Unstart at Mach 3 Over Russia — It Almost Crashed Into the Barents Sea In 1984, an SR-71 Blackbird operating at 83,000 feet and Mach 3 over the Soviet Union suffered a sudden engine unstart that yawed the... Jack BuckbyMay 9, 2026
Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More The SR-71 Stopped Flying Nearly Three Decades Ago — Its Mach 6 Successor SR-72 Could Restore U.S. Edge, but No One Knows If It’s Real Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has been publicly discussing the SR-72 “Son of Blackbird” — a hypersonic reconnaissance and strike aircraft designed to fly at... Brandon WeichertMay 8, 2026
Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More The SR-71 Blackbird’s Pratt & Whitney J58 Engines Suffered an ‘Unstart’ at 83,000 Feet — and the Aircraft Began Falling Sideways In 1984, an SR-71 Blackbird flying at 83,000 feet over the Soviet Kola Peninsula lost both Pratt & Whitney J58 engines simultaneously — and... Kris OsbornMay 8, 2026
Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More The CIA Built 13 A-12 Oxcarts to Spy on Russia — Then Lost 5 of Them in Accidents Before the Program Was Killed in 1968 In April 1962, Lockheed Skunk Works flew an A-12 Oxcart spy plane that required an entirely new American titanium industry just to manufacture and... Jack BuckbyMay 8, 2026
Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More 2,455 Miles Per Hour Battle: 6 Russian MiG-31 Foxhounds Tried to Trap a U.S. SR-71 Blackbird Over the Barents Sea In June 1986, six Soviet MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors tried to trap a single American SR-71 Blackbird over the Barents Sea. The Soviet pilots had... Brandon WeichertMay 7, 2026
Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More ‘Hurled From His Aircraft at Mach 3’: An SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane Broke Apart Flying at 78,000 Feet and the Pilot Survived In 1966, Lockheed test pilot Bill Weaver became the only man in history to survive an SR-71 Blackbird disintegrating around him at Mach 3.18... Isaac SeitzMay 5, 2026
Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More A SR-71 Blackbird Pilot Survived a Supersonic Ejection at Mach 3.18 and 78,800 Feet On January 25, 1966, Lockheed test pilot Bill Weaver became the first man in history to survive a supersonic parachute ejection from an SR-71... Christian OrrMay 5, 2026
Military Hardware: Tanks, Bombers, Submarines and More ‘She Froze’: An SR-71 Blackbird Broke Apart at Mach 3 Over Okinawa — The U.S. Navy Buried It 25,597 Feet Deep On April 21, 1989, an SR-71 Blackbird nicknamed “Ichiban” was racing past Mach 3 over the Pacific when its left compressor bearing suddenly froze,... Christian OrrMay 5, 2026