From the end of World War II to well into the third quarter of the twentieth century, the United States and the Soviet Union saw a plethora of political and military tensions termed the Cold War between them. Though major wars were avoided, the era was nevertheless characterized by an unyielding race to technological preeminence, with speed at its heart.
Thus, speed became an important factor in the strategy of both countries since it was expressed in the most advanced models of conventional and nuclear weapons. During this period, several great breakthroughs were achieved both in military high-speed jet aircraft and ICBMs, which revolutionized methods of warfare and further influenced the whole world community.
By the end of the 1940s, the United States hoped to offset the numerical preponderance of the Soviet Union with high-speed aircraft. The research was consolidated at Edwards Air Force Base in California where military and civilian researchers tested the new generations of aircraft. The first supersonic flight was achieved by a Bell X-1, flown by Chuck Yeager in October 1947. Further high-speed flight records were built by the Bell X-2 and X-15.
The Bell X-2 was the joint product of Bell Aircraft, the U.S. Air Force, and NACA in the interests of flying between Mach 2 and Mach 3. The first flights at Mach 2.8 were made by Lt. Col. Frank “Pete” Everest in July of 1956. The program was terminated after reaching Mach 3.2; Capt. Milburn G. Apt became the first man to break the Mach 3 barrier but was killed instantly in a crash moments later.
The most successful of these programs was NASA’s X-15 (1959-1968), which studied hypersonic flight to the edges of space. One X-15 reached 67 miles over Earth at Mach 6.7 (4,534 mph): it was, in fact, an “aerospace” aircraft.
New military aircraft, including high-speed reconnaissance and jet fighters, were driven by the Cold War. A new kind of propulsion system, the jet engine, made flight at supersonic velocities possible. The North American F-100 Super Sabre became the first airplane that could sustain supersonic speeds in level flight in 1953, as part of the Century Series supersonic fighter aircraft.
Chief among these aircraft designers at Lockheed was Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson, who had previously designed the Mach 2 F-104 Starfighter interceptor and the near-legendary Mach 3 SR-71 Blackbird. First flown in 1964, the SR-71 Blackbird is still the world’s fastest-piloted aircraft, having cruised at Mach 3 and reached altitudes above 85,000 feet. It established a speed record, averaging 2,124 mph from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in just over an hour.
ICBMs became the face of war, with their deliverance capability of nuclear warheads across continents. The Titan I was the very first multi-stage ICBM of the United States, reaching 6,330 miles at 21 times the speed of sound. However, throughout the Cold War, the lethality of ICBMs continued to increase, with models such as the LGM-118 Peacekeeper with up to ten warheads.
The SR-71 Blackbird was an integral part of US diplomatic and military operations through the Cold War era. Unarmed, the plane provided much-needed intelligence from high-speed reconnaissance flights. Blackbird’s operational sorties began in 1968, with active service carrying over into the late 1990s. On its last flight in 1990, the SR-71 set various speed records including flying from Los Angeles to Washington DC in just over one hour.
The Cold War emphasis on speed seemed to drive technological development in the name of military strategy to dizzying heights, leaving its mark on society worldwide. In evidence are the high-speed aircraft and ICBMs that came out of this era, testifying to the relentless pursuit of technological superiority that defined this period.