Japan, for processing. This arrangement
continued until March 29, 1971, after
which the 548th Reconnaissance Technical
Group (RTG), at Hickam AFB, Hawaii,
assumed responsibility. The SLAR imagery
was sent to Beale AFB for processing
by the 9th RTS, before being sent on to
Washington DC for analysis by national-
level agencies.
After two nights at CCK, the crew ferried
976 back to Kadena. The post-mission
intelligence results were stunning.
The SLAR that Payne had manually
programmed had indeed worked. Its ‘take’
revealed the location of the heavy artillery
emplacements around Khe Sanh, and a
huge truck park used in support of the
guns; these sites had eluded US sensors
on other recce aircraft up to that point.
Within days of receipt of this intelligence,
air strikes were mounted against both
targets, reducing their effectiveness
dramatically. After a 77-day siege, Khe
Sanh was at last relieved on April 7, 1968,
two weeks after 976’s ‘flight of discovery’.
As a result of their significant
contribution to this highly successful
mission, O’Malley and Payne were
each awarded the Distinguished Flying
Cross (DFC).On its very first operational sortie, the
SR-71 had proven its value, as it would
on countless other occasions over the
coming years.Running the gauntlet
During Operation ‘Black Shield’, A-12s had
a total of between 10 and 12 SA-2s fired
at them on three separate occasions. All
missed their intended target, which was
due to a combination of the aircraft’s
relatively small RCS and its extremely high
altitude and speed, coupled with a highly
effective electronic countermeasures
(ECM) suite. The first attempted SR-71
intercept by an enemy missile system
occurred in the vicinity of Hanoi on July
26, 1968. Maj Tony Bevacqua and his RSO
Maj Jerry Crew launched in 976. The ECM
suite enabled Crew to warn Bevacqua of
the launch, and although neither crew
member saw the SA-2 — which ended
up well behind them — it was captured
on film by the SR-71’s camera system. In
more than 20 years of operational flying
over or adjacent to some of the world’s
most highly defended areas, it’s estimated
that dozens of SAMs (probably all SA-2s),
were fired at the SR-71, and every one of
them missed.Top: Frame 264
from one of the
OOC’s recordings
of the SAM attack
on 976 — note
the missile
contrail. Exact
time, speed and
position details
are captured at
the extreme left
and right of each
frame. USAF via
Lin Xu
Above left to
right: An essential
life-support
system was
the David Clark
full-pressure suit,
which underwent
a number of
updates during
the course of
Senior Crown. Its
final version was
the S1030 suit.
Paul F. Crickmore
The SR-71’s front
cockpit betrays
its 1960s vintage.
Paul F. Crickmorewere involved in the North Vietnamese
siege of Khe Sanh.
For this run the primary sensor was the
sideways-looking airborne radar (SLAR),
which could penetrate the heavy jungle
canopy, but when Payne attempted a
built-in test (BIT) check the system failed.
Despite this, he decided to position the
system manually and took some shots
on the off-chance that it might locate
something. Soon afterwards, the jet exited
the ‘sensitive’ area and they made their
way back to Okinawa.
Inbound to Kadena they were informed
that the base was completely ‘fogged
in’. After attempting a landing using
ground-controlled approach (GCA) radar
assistance, O’Malley was still unable
to locate the runway and therefore
conducted an overshoot. It was decided
that the ‘Habu’ should divert to Ching
Chuan Kang (CCK) Air Base in Taiwan. Two
ever-dependable KC-135Q tankers were
scrambled to provide 976 with additional
fuel and recovery into the Taiwanese base
was completed without further incident.
Once securely hangared, the
reconnaissance ‘take’ was downloaded
and flown to the 67th Reconnaissance
Technical Squadron (RTS) at Yokota AB,http://www.combataircraft.net // April 2018 103
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