That's a good one. I had not heard that version.
The original name was indeed RS-71, RS for Reconnaissance-Strike (as the
aircraft was supposed to carry some type of weapon). LBJ made a mistake and
misspoke; he referred to it as an SR-71. This nomenclature was used
thereafter, SR for Strategic Reconnaissance.
The U-2, when it was put back into production, was renamed the TR-1, TR
being Tactical Reconnaissance. The Air Force wanted to get away from the
infamous U-2 name. However, the Dragon Lady (as the U-2 was known,)
regained its original name later on.
Denys
-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Shahan, Ray
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2005 11:46 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] [OT] Fun space shuttle facts!
Yes, the SR-71 was originally referred to as the RS-71. The RS
represented my initials (Raymond Shahan). But LBJ got angry at my dad
over a hunting incident (dad found more horny toads than Lynden did), so
LBJ changed the initials to SR from RS. :-D
Have a great weekend!
Ray Shahan
-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Dave Oksner
Sent: Friday, July 22, 2005 11:41 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [HP3000-L] [OT] Fun space shuttle facts!
On Fri, Jul 22, 2005 at 10:35:33AM -0600, Bill Cadier wrote:
>
> And wasn't the SR-71 actually supposed to have been the RS-71? The
> story I heard was that Lyndon Johnson erroneously referred to it as
the
> SR-71 and so it was renamed that. Apparently we don't want to let on
> that our presidents can actually make mistakes :-)
I've heard that story, too. And though I don't know if it's true, I'll
bet
there's at least someone on this list who can definitively confirm or
deny
that.
Dave
--
+--David Oksner-----http://www.case.net/--+
|Horngren's Observation: (generalized) |
| The real world is a special case. |
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