Editing Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (section)

====1950s–1960s====
* 24 December 1957: First J58 engine run
* 1 May 1960: [[Francis Gary Powers]] is shot down in a [[Lockheed U-2]] over the Soviet Union
* 13 June 1962: SR-71 mock-up reviewed by the USAF
* 30 July 1962: J58 completes pre-flight testing
* 28 December 1962: Lockheed signs contract to build six SR-71 aircraft
* 25 July 1964: President Johnson makes public announcement of SR-71
* 29 October 1964: SR-71 prototype (AF Ser. No. 61-7950) delivered to [[Air Force Plant 42]] at Palmdale, California
* 7 December 1964: [[Beale AFB]], California, announced as base for SR-71
* 22 December 1964: First flight of the SR-71, with Lockheed test pilot Robert J "Bob" Gilliland at Palmdale, California<ref name=Landis_p58>{{harvp|Landis|Jenkins|2004|p=58}}</ref>
* 21 July 1967: Jim Watkins and Dave Dempster fly first international sortie in SR-71A, AF Ser. No. 61-7972, when the Astro-Inertial Navigation System (ANS) fails on a training mission and they accidentally fly into Mexican airspace
* 5 February 1968: Lockheed ordered to destroy A-12, YF-12, and SR-71 tooling
* 8 March 1968: First SR-71A (AF Ser. No. 61-7978) arrives at [[Kadena AB]], Okinawa to replace A-12s
* 21 March 1968: First SR-71 (AF Ser. No. 61-7976) operational mission flown from Kadena AB over Vietnam
* 29 May 1968: CMSgt Bill Gornik begins the tie-cutting tradition of Habu crews' neckties
* 13 December 1969: Two SR-71s deployed to [[Taiwan]].