It takes a lot of balls to intercept and escort a plane you know the Soviets were actively trying to intercept and shoot down. These guys were definitely risking their lives and I’m glad it was able to be declassified so they could get the recognition they deserve.
A fine gesture of USAF to recognise and honour an incident from +30y ago. And as a swede, i get very proud, of our excellent military force, always handling themself professional
You guys are hero's who rescued my Jewish grandparents from Nazis.. Also Covid lockdown nonsense. You should give a Nobel prize! I am putting in for Swedish citizenship .
To the four Swede heros, my humblest thank you for a job well done! When the Swede pilot mentions he flew as close to the Blackbird as possible, he was literally protecting that US plane with his life. The Swede was betting that the Mig pilot wouldn't shoot the SR with Swedish Viggens next to it, and there was only one way to find out. At that moment the Swede put himself in the line of fire to save two Americans he had never met. All four Swede pilots risked death that day. All four bet their lives they could save that crippled Blackbird. And they did. Well Done, Gentlemen, Very Well Done!
Sovjet didn't have anything against the Viggen at the time. Nor did the Nato. A Legend and a true lone wolf of it's time. The Viggen sound was the sound of freedom when it flew over our rooftops.
Fun thing is, before that, the Viggens of Swedish Air Force had, multiple times, gotten missile lock on the plane too, illustrating their rather understandable dislike of the USAF violating Swedish airspace.
@@oddballhippie7363 same with the Draken. Saab was killing it back then with fighter designs. They definitely visited the "one up's" aisle in Ikea and put NATOs aircraft to shame.
@@imadequate3376 I remember watching them do dogfights when i was a kid. Probably from Uppsala and Söderhamn, my town was between those bases. I still remember that background noise. I later experienced a STOL from close range. That was loud and impressive. -Peace and stay healthy.
The Swedish are no joke. Nor are the Finns and the Norwegians. They are dedicated, professional and tough. Plus their gear is very high quality. The message is, do not mess around with the Scandinavian countries. They’ll take you to the cleaners.
Both Sweden and Norway, my home counties are prepared to deal with Russians in the air and absolutely dominate on the water. Not braggers, good stoic people. They are ready for a fight and will take Russians on as a first line of defense.
They’ll take you to the cleaners. I am a Swedish Citizen. I applaud your confidence and sentiments. Historically, Principalities of Moscovie and Kieve were Swedish. The word Roos is Swedish. ibne Fudhlan, the Abbasi Envoy of the 10th Century wrote about his visit and the treatment he was given by the Prince. Entire Scandinavia and Finland is Socialist in the Real Sense of the word. It has worked. One is allowed to make tons and tons of money as long one pays due taxes. However, Scandinavia without NATO, is not able to defend and thwart the possible invasion. That is Reality. Not only Scandinavia but even the Western Europe was too vulnerable to the Soviets. .
I'm an American who studied at Stockholms Universitet in the 1990s for free! I have a 22 year old daughter studying at KTH in Stockholm, for free. Jag faktist älskar Sverige!!! Kom Igen Sverige! Blå Gult!
4 Swedes in Viggens..... Against 20 Russians in whatever.... I'll take those odds, Thanks. From a former USAF Staff Sergeant- well done to the Swedes as well as the 71 crew who managed to get their plane under control after a 40000 foot plunge.
As an American, I am pleased that Sweden finally got the recognition they deserved, as many people and countries deserve, for coming to our aid in times of need.
my sister helped build that awesome machine, she was a wiring tech at skunk works , I got to see it up close and in person back in 1973 at a Lockheed open house for plant family members only. I love and miss you so much Sandee. I'm a wiring tech now and will keep up the tradition of excellence in your memory.
Hal May, thank you for the work and service you provide at SW. I feel fiercely proud of the work you do, especially under the wickedly tight security required to work in such a place. God bless you and your family .
To the Swedish pilots and their command apparatus, it is quite an honor to have been helped by you in this very desperate incident . I believe there may have been a similar incident during which we stood more than ready to offer the same assistance to you. The Swedes KNOW the right thing to do at all times and they can be relied upon to do it. Never provoke the Swedes or ANY Scandinavian military unit for any reason for they are always extremely well-prepared and well-trained....and they are such loyal allies. They deserve every ounce of protection they may ever request or require.
OMG this made me cry. as an American, i want to thank the pilots of the Swedish Air Force for helping those SR-71 pilots. i am glad that my country recognized your bravery and heroism. again, thank you.
Being a Swedish person aiming to become a fighter pilot, I can definetly say that our military is mostly focused on defending ourselves and people in need, and while I may not speak for the viggen pilots that day, I can very well say that I hope that you guys over in America treat others the same way.
@@potatopower707 Indeed, I mean, the only fighter plane that our military uses is the gripen, while the Saab 105 if used for training, if I'm correct, that is.
@@lightningthewolf hell yeah. I love Swedens, they don’t get enough appreciation, especially not their planes. After all, they were the first ones to create the cobra.
We lost a few on surveilance missions. Shot down by migs on international territory. During the cold war not anybody did anything on these matters. That Korean passenger jet in my time got me started.
My heart is overflowing with gratitude and respect for those four pilots that day but also to an amazing country, people and culture. I’m just one humble American sending a giant Tack sa mycket!
Those Swedish pilots, and their commanders who despatched them, all top blokes. Would US, Brit or other NATO guys go out to stand between Swedish planes and Russians? I hope so. They earned it.
It was our humble duty! Americans are safe in, around, over and under the Nordic country's land. We serve as brothers around the world. Here you are our family!
@@bcdushman Actully the Vigen pilots did that all the time when the SR-71 flow in the Baltic region on its way to there mission. The SR-71 was always on a public fly list when it crossed radar sectors so it was easy for the swedish airforce to figure out when it would show up and Vigen pilots was constantly using the SR-71 for high altitude and high speed targeting practice. Ofc the Vigen hade no chans in keeping up in speed or altitude. But becouse of the advanced notice they could launch ahead of the SR-71 do a 180 and fly right at it at a lower altitude. With practise and radar cordination they could eventually predict the exact moment to light the afterburners and point straight up to se the SR-71 fly by and simulate a radar lock and missile launch. Ofc they never actully fired anything that would have been a decleration of war i bet. But eventually several Vigens did each there own successful attack run everytime the SR-71 flow past the Baltic for its mission.
@@blameyourself4489 Really?? They don't fly anymore and haven't for over 22 years, so what's your point??? There's always an idiot who feels the need to show his arse. FFS....
@@fyoukungflu5881 his point was that Trump destroyed another thing we are here celebrating. He just made it poorly because he was too worked up to put it clearly
That blackbird, is really for all of us that are allies. As a military vet from the U.S. and engineer in civilian life afterward, that worked on the blackbird, I thank you Sweden for your protection you gave to our pilots.
@@kristofferhellstrom That bird went through a lot of engines. Very high maixtenance. When operating correctly? Nothing could touch it. Not even missiles. Now days, maybe the Space shuttle LOL
A fun and interesting fact in this context is that the designer of The Mighty SR-71Blackbird named Clarence Johnson was a Swedish descendant whose parents Peter Jönsson and Kristina Andersson emigrated from Malmö in Sweden to the USA. It can be said that the Swedish Viggen Pilots not only assisted The USA and their aircraft with its crew, but also protected the fantastic creation of their former emigrated citizens .. 🇸🇪😉 🇸🇪
The Blackbird is actually the national bird of Sweden since 1962. Did Kelly pick the name and if so, is that why he did it? The SR-71 Blackbird was operated by the USAF from 1964 to 1998.
A big "thanks" to the four Swedish airmen, the Swedish government and to everyone else involved in this operation. As a retired US airman I know that there are always many people behind the scenes that made this event successful. Thank you all. 👍
Best description of Viggen I've heard tbh th-cam.com/video/fBE41A9VT3Q/w-d-xo.html Did you know they had a horn? It was so they could honk at cars as they drove down the road.
Highest respect from India. The swedish armed forces are highly professional... They make the best military weapons in world. A disciplined military force.
Back then we were a force to be reckoned with. Had the 4th largest airforce in the world with over 1000 top of the line fighters, that even made the soviets think twice before acting.
The Swedes used that "Klingon-look" in their fighter designs for a reason! No need to fire the "photon torpedoes" if you can just SCARE them away, LOL! Salute!
Sweden is a grossly underestimated military power. They have some of the best fighter aircraft in the world on top of great professionalism and courage.
During the cold War Sweden had one of the biggest airforce in the entire world. Housing over 1000 fighter aircrafts. Take the size of the country in calculation, and realize that's pretty impressive.
Proud of the very professional Swedish Airmen who came to help. Also excited as a Filipino to receive the jas Gripen C/D to be delivered in 2024 🇵🇭 ♥ 🇸🇪
Interesting, at this time i served in a anti-aircraft rocket unit in the east-german army as radio operator and we often had alarms when the SR 71 („Jastreb“ code in Warshaw treaty) appeared in the Baltic area. But our S4 rockets were too slow to fight this aircraft and the jumps on radar screens were huge and hard to handle for the radar operators. Finally i saw one 1992 on the aircraft carrier „Interpid“ in New York harbour.
Could you lock the distance beam at target? I remember the visible ghost echo on old crt rader monitors. Easy to se the speed .. just 1 cm = mach 1 and 2 cm = one FOXBAT in CS .. not exactly but close .. ;O)
My father in law was a surveillance system operator on an sr-71. He was a military and commercial pilot, I knew nearly his entire military career was classified, he never talked about it. We would often talk planes, when he was dying (of an illness caused by his work in the Cold War) I wondered how noisy an SR-71 was when it was flying supersonic. He looked at me from bed and said "It's not noisy. It's quiet. After you pass Mach 1 you're leaving the sound behind." I asked how he knew and he stated "It's classified but I guess it doesn't make any difference now." and he told me what he did. He told me nothing about what he actually did on his missions, but just his job title and about a lot of the aircraft's idiosyncrasies eg when at high speed the fuel had to be pumped between fuel tanks to balance the aircraft properly to make a turn, if this was not done the turbulence would be so severe during the turn that there was a risk of passing out. The aircraft really did fly at the far edge of what was possible for its time. The world's cold warriors (regardless of which side they were on) are dying out, and their stories are dying with them. It is a shame as it is history, and many of the stories deserve to be heard.
God Bless Sweden! The decency, bravery and morality of your country and it's people is demonstrated in your four aviators featured here, and the Command that sent them to intercept.
The Swedes are awesome. Saved our guys from being lunch for the Soviets. The Russians would have loved to have gotten their hands on a SR 71 Black Bird! Thank you Swedish Air Force for saving American lives. Truly Great Allies of the United States!
This case is not so simple....In this situation, Russians can't shoot down SR-71, because is too big political and economical risky between Russia - U.S... maybe also Sweden. Remember, Russia is worlds biggest titanium producer and U.S and their world's mighty's army biggest customer, also today. But this is a typical herostory: west vs. east, David vs. Goliath, good vs. evil, 2 Viggen vs. 20 MiG's!!!!!!!. Who count and how many witness, how much is true, how much is hollywood, who ask also MiG -pilots, what happen...? Everyone can think..?.🤔
" It's not often that you get to meet someone that saved your life." No truer words. Thousands of heroes out there we will never meet, hundreds, thousands of years. Of course. the honor deserved for these men - just doing their jobs, they would humbly say.. Peace to all and this world.
Swedish flag is actually real nice in its simplicity. Like a suncross over blue water... is how i see it anyway. I hope viggen comes to wt soon, the draken is in at least... guess viggen is too good still compared to what else is in... th-cam.com/video/LVmyrLK1yDw/w-d-xo.html but likely in 2021...we get it
I'd say, he thought he was fucked. As he stated at the end, he wouldn't be here making this video giving his testimony if they didn't take to the skies....
Those Swedish pilots knew their lives were in danger from the Russian migs but stayed the course and put themselves in harms way, I salute you gentlemen for saving our pilots.
@@danielnilsson5384 Tunnan is awesome to see in air :D But seeing (and hearing the deep roar from) two or four Viggen in formation licking the ground right over you is something unique!
Wow an amazing story im glad they were awarded for protecting the SR-71. Thank you for the clear skies and escort. Us American are truly appreciative for your actions. Much love to Sweden and its citizens
The medals they received had some real symbolism to them. "Viggen" roughly translates to thunderbolt- and the eagle depicted in the medals is holding two of them, one in each claw. Very beautiful!
Contrary to what some may believe, Sweden and America are of best of friends. As a an American, of swedish decent,this was wonderful to see. Thank you for sharing this! God 🙏 Bless
I don't know why someone would believe otherwise. Sweden and the US have always been best of friends. Anyone who ever goes to Stockholm, Sweden should take a look at the US embassy there. It's not just a small office building or an office in a building as is the case is some western European countries. The US embassy in Stockholm Sweden is a compound that sits on what I think must be at least two acres. Behind gates and fenced all around. So it's not an embassy you just walk into and say you lost your passport and need a new one. Highly secure. Just a guess but I believe this may be due to Sweden's close proximity to Russia and what has always been a strong and friendly relationship between Sweden and the US even though Sweden always maintained a "neutral" status rather than becoming a NATO member. Never any doubt who's side they were on though. And if Turkey could just stop their idiotic games of getting attention, Sweden will soon be part of NATO too along with Finland who's already in. The exact opposite of what Putin had in mind. What a fool he is.
This story made my heart well up with pride and thanksgiving to the Swedes for defending our stricken USAF pilots in what could have ended very differently such as the Gary Powers event of the early 1960s....I was a very young boy, but I recall it very well and how Powers was captured by the Russians...I am thankful that our USAF recognized these heroes of the Swedish Airforce...we certainly owe them this debt of gratitude....Let Peace Reign over Tyranny!
I remember watching an SR-71 make an unscheduled approach to Stavanger airport in Norway in early March the same year, 1987. I was walking home from school and just happened to turn round at the right time and see its approach. We had never seen one before but it was an unmistakable shape. According to the papers it had also suffered an engine failure. Must have been a common occurrence, or just a freakish coincidence that two such similar events occurred so close together. A week later a C-5 Galaxy arrived with a new engine and wing. We all went out to the airport to watch. Impressive aircraft, both of them 😊
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Damn that's awesome, a shame I'll never get to see it in action
No wonder Grandpa (Victor Horton of NASA) always spoke so highly of the Viggen! He flew on the NASA Blackbirds out of Edwards AFB from 1969 until the early 80s and would have certainly heard about this.
The Swedes are an underrated civilization! These guys gave us the Volvo XC90. Anyone who builds a car that good, is excellent at almost everything else.
I'm sorry the XC90 is a horrible car, and the big problem is the transmission not the cooling. They lifted the engine and transmission from the S80. In the S80 the trans and engine worked fine, but the XC90 was much heavier than the S80 and overtaxed the transmission causing premature failure.
For sure, especially with countries who claim to be neutral (like Sweden), who in pratice are everything but neutral. The same goes for WW II and every other war that ever has been waged, the plebs only hear the heavely sanitized political pro nationalistic versions. One of my hobbies is reading declassified files from various nations of WWII and the Cold war, often finding amazing stories, but also finding whole other truths than the ones they teach us at school and in documentary series.
@@minuterepeater2257 When I was growing up we had a World War One Royal Flying Corps pilot as a neighbour and you should have heard the shit he had to say. Completely different from anything you would read in any official history. The Billy Bishop claims were completely embellished in order to boost morale on the home front according to him in addition to a number of other things. I still have pictures that he gave to me way back in the 70 s. He was a real character.
Awesome job guys! Many thanks from the U.S., I know Sweden is very active in it's NATO participation/exercises and that the U.S.-Swedish relationship is excellent. It's reassuring to know we have such fearless, competent, and deadly friends watching our eastern skies. Fantastic heads-up play. Tack Sverige för dina blixtsnabba, modiga åtgärder för att skydda våra piloter och deras plan.Det är en ära att ha en så bra relation mellan våra länder.
@@No-timeforimbeciles basically been for the longest time, with nato and especially USA. Don't get fooled by Olof Palme, he especially was close to usa. We might have tricked some russians along the way, who knows for how long, as Palme was killed..perhaps by moscow.
This very much reminds me of a story my dad witnessed when stationed in Sigonella, Sicily between 1970-72. One of our scout aircraft, I don't remember if it was an OV-10 or what, had lost all engine power. A Viggen pilot was very near, heard the mayday, got above the stricken aircraft and close enough to keep the aircraft in its air envelope. The Swedish pilot basically carried one of our guys to Siggy and got him close enough to a glide slope to dead stick it. By dad's job was to work on the radar and radio in the control tower, heard the radio transmissions, and saw the plane dead stick it...also saw the pilot jump out of his plane and make a B-line for the bushes to puke his guts out. Not surprisingly, he was scared shitless and very thankful to be on terra firma. The Swedish pilots are due a lot of respect, they've well earned it. Good allies are WONDERFUL things to have.
Very beautiful and courageous job of the Swedish Air Force pilots, we are never alone. Thanks again for the rescue mission by your Air Force pilots in reference to the problem of the SR 71 flight crew.
It was right and proper to award those pilots for doing the right and proper thing so long ago. I realize that there is an entire command chain behind them, giving the orders to do so, and thanks to them as well. *Salute*
Sweden is a great nation as are most of the countries around this part of the World. Demark, Norway, Finland, and others alike are great democracies and believe in being there for other nations that respect liberty, freedom, and above all brilliant leadership and care for the people. God bless the Scandinavians with lots of love from France and Australia xoxo
The accent of Lars Eric Blad when speaking English is VERY similar to some parts of Scotland, it's fascinating how the commonality of language goes much further than is first apparent. And yes, their ability to speak with such accuracy, far greater than many native English speakers is wonderful.
I have often felt in my life that there are no coincidences! It feels good to know that the guys could meet and hug the Swedish pilots that watched their back without knowing what the situation was (just that with a Blackbird at that altitude the shit must have really hit the fan!) and because of this being a classified mission without recognition and further explanation at the time. And it is in the highest military tradition to honor the Swedish pilots after declassification albeit after 30 years. Well done by everybody involved!
@Jeff Clark no, Sweden leaned towards the brits during the 40s. But you'll probably understand why they caved to some of the german demands, if you look at Sweden on a map from back then.
@Jeff Clark No, they did not let Germany use their territory to invade Norway. That's just a stupid lie, the Germans invaded from the sea. They did, however, let one German division pass through on it's way to the Soviet Union. This was one isolated event, and under a German threat of war. Compare that to the allied personnel who was permanently based in Sweden. Sweden even formed an Norwegian and a smaller Danish army in exile, using Swedish armaments, Swedish funds and Swedish training. And that without having to be threatened. Sweden really had no reason to favor Nazi Germany. It was a democratic nation, and heavily dominated by democratic socialists, the SAP. Not only was there a large ideological rift, the SAP had extra close ties with their German counterparts, the SDP. And the SDP was, as we all know, one of the first groups to suffer from Hitlers murderous henchmen. And, finally, with the fall of Denmark and Norway, even large parts of the political right started to shun Hitler, the heyday of pan-Scandinavian sentiments still being in living memory.
@Jeff Clark "German Soldiers on leave". The germans were unarmed, and going in the wrong direction. Permittenttrafiken also didn't start until after the invasion was completed, so I'm really curious how you can twist that into "use swede territory toninvande norway". The Swedish government was told that the Engelbrecht division would make it's way through Swedish territory, either on it's railroads or it'd fight it's way through. Sure, it was controversial, but it's another blatant lie to try and use that as proof that Sweden "leaned to" the nazis. As I said, Sweden caved on a few demands, but only to save herself, not to support the nazis. Check out operation Sonnie (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernt_Balchen#World_War_II), polititroppene (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_police_troops_in_Sweden_during_World_War_II), Den Danske Brigade (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_Brigade_in_Sweden) for a few examples. I also know that the brits had intelligence personnel based in Sweden, mostly taking advantage of the telegraph lines running from Oslo to Copenhagen being tapped by the swedes.
@Jeff Clark Again, look at a map from back then. Sweden was totally surrounded by the nazis, of course they're gonna export stuff to them. They did sell ball bearings to the brits aswell, but had to smuggle it through the blockaded Skagerack. Also, no threat in '43? Spring that year was probably the most perilous time for the swedes, except maybe for early 1940. Trading with your de facto only neighbor during a crisis is not in any way, shape or form the same thing as supporting them. Switzerland played the same realpolitik as Sweden. The swiss, for example, attacked and shot down american planes while Sweden practically gave them a whole air field. The swiss also traded heavily with Germany, including strategic materials, not to mention all the looted gold and art that ended up there.
@Jeff Clark We sold iron to Germany, otherwise the Germens would have invaded Sweden. But one thing you have forgotten and it is Bofors automatic cannon that was on all allied ships in the Pacific Ocean it was Swedish cannons that ended the Japanese flight
@@lothwinmore2536 It is called "Incidentberedskap" ("Incident readiness"). And it is not actually 24/7. The readiness level varies depending on time of day, day of week, weather, national security readiness level, and other factors. At the highest level, the pilots are seated in the cockpit, ready to spin up the engines and be airborne within a few minutes. At lower levels, they can be resting indoors, and have up to an hour to get airborne. And sometimes, there is no readiness at all, simply because "nothing" ever happens at those times anyway. And the reason I know this is that I - as part of my military service - sat as the service crew for a few of these readiness teams.
i feel certain that the Swedish pilots were impressed with the SR-71, as any pilot of that time would be amazed that any aircraft could fly at those altitudes and at that speed. The cold war tensions of that era kept the US and Russian military at the leading edge of aviation accomplishments - and the Soviet Union was not happy being behind without an equivalent aircraft of their own. But I did not realize that the Viggens were such an exemplary military fighter plane... but sure am glad that they were.
WOW!!! As a Navy Vet of 20+ years..............Sweden Pilots, You Guys are Alright By Me!!! Thank you for helping & saving our boys!! I bet they were All boys back then! Thank you, Gentlemen!
Free huh... if that was the mission then the military would also be building sustainable housing, work for biotecture and permaculture projects at home as well over seas. They might a little bit, but this should be one of the main objectives. Basis for Higher quality of life
Shhh. That part's supposed to be silent you know. The others who have gotten their membership premiums revised lately might get the crazy idea we're skimping out over here.
Yeah, yeah, and that's really doing much well to the world. The Swedish government goes very far in that, they even came up with some weird false accusations against Julian Assange in order to help the most war-mongering entity in the world to get hold of him. And that whilst Stockholm has become the rape capital of the world and none of these brave Swedes is doing anything against it... Bravo!
Awesome that this occurrence became revealed to the public after that secrecy was lifted and honored by the US. I'm deeply proud of those Swedish/US air men's.
Obviously, Americans had no idea this incident occurred due to the idea that everything that happens has to be classified and kept from the public. I’ve followed the SR-71 since it’s inception and early retirement. To say it is an amazing one-of-a-kind aircraft really does it no justice. Its only operational defense is its blazing speed and high-altitude abilities. It is defenseless without them. The Swedish pilots not only understood the Blackbird was defenseless but also in grave danger. Soviet pilots were on their way to force a landing or splash the Blackbird. Thankfully the Soviets backed off not willing to test the Swedes. I commend and thank our Swedish brothers for coming to the aid of our pilots. Without their bravery it would have been a very ugly incident. We all like to think this type of chivalry is mostly done by US Armed Forces but as we see here the Swedish Armed Forces are just as capable.
No one succeeds without help, thank you to these men and to the people behind them, and to Sweden... you made sure a bad situation didn't become worse.
And has a catastrophic engine malfunction at 80,000' at Mach 3 and was able to survive that! The stress on that aircraft must of been tremendous. Thank you Sweden for watching out for our pilots that day.
@@colinsdad1 Known records. A commercial satellite got a picture of a contrail that started from Nevada and it went across the US and miles over the Atlantic ocean. The contrail didn't have enough time to start breaking apart until the aircraft was somewhere over the Atlantic ocean.
It takes a lot of balls to intercept and escort a plane you know the Soviets were actively trying to intercept and shoot down. These guys were definitely risking their lives and I’m glad it was able to be declassified so they could get the recognition they deserve.
A fine gesture of USAF to recognise and honour an incident from +30y ago. And as a swede, i get very proud, of our excellent military force, always handling themself professional
Rättelser: *Swede (stort S), "get proud" är egendomligt, använd "am proud", *themselves, och slutligen *professionally!!
@@thedude4795 Not only is it a bit silly to correct their spelling when you can easily understand, honour wasn't even misspelled.
@@thedude4795 but why?
You guys are hero's who rescued my Jewish grandparents from Nazis..
Also Covid lockdown nonsense.
You should give a Nobel prize!
I am putting in for Swedish citizenship .
too bad the US uses faul play to prevent countries from buying saab planes tho...
To the four Swede heros, my humblest thank you for a job well done! When the Swede pilot mentions he flew as close to the Blackbird as possible, he was literally protecting that US plane with his life. The Swede was betting that the Mig pilot wouldn't shoot the SR with Swedish Viggens next to it, and there was only one way to find out. At that moment the Swede put himself in the line of fire to save two Americans he had never met. All four Swede pilots risked death that day. All four bet their lives they could save that crippled Blackbird. And they did. Well Done, Gentlemen, Very Well Done!
Sovjet didn't have anything against the Viggen at the time.
Nor did the Nato. A Legend and a true lone wolf of it's time.
The Viggen sound was the sound of freedom when it flew over our rooftops.
It's the Swedish thing to do. Never a doubt.
Fun thing is, before that, the Viggens of Swedish Air Force had, multiple times, gotten missile lock on the plane too, illustrating their rather understandable dislike of the USAF violating Swedish airspace.
@@oddballhippie7363 same with the Draken.
Saab was killing it back then with fighter designs. They definitely visited the "one up's" aisle in Ikea and put NATOs aircraft to shame.
@@imadequate3376 I remember watching them do dogfights when i was a kid.
Probably from Uppsala and Söderhamn, my town was between those bases.
I still remember that background noise.
I later experienced a STOL from close range. That was loud and impressive.
-Peace and stay healthy.
The Swedish are no joke. Nor are the Finns and the Norwegians. They are dedicated, professional and tough. Plus their gear is very high quality. The message is, do not mess around with the Scandinavian countries. They’ll take you to the cleaners.
As a dane I would rather we had an alliance with Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland than be part og NATO.
Both Sweden and Norway, my home counties are prepared to deal with Russians in the air and absolutely dominate on the water. Not braggers, good stoic people. They are ready for a fight and will take Russians on as a first line of defense.
Well they do make alot of our equipment like Carl Gs and at4s
They’ll take you to the cleaners.
I am a Swedish Citizen. I applaud your confidence and sentiments. Historically, Principalities of Moscovie and Kieve were Swedish. The word Roos is Swedish. ibne Fudhlan, the Abbasi Envoy of the 10th Century wrote about his visit and the treatment he was given by the Prince. Entire Scandinavia and Finland is Socialist in the Real Sense of the word. It has worked. One is allowed to make tons and tons of money as long one pays due taxes.
However, Scandinavia without NATO, is not able to defend and thwart the possible invasion. That is Reality. Not only Scandinavia but even the Western Europe was too vulnerable to the Soviets. .
HAIL ODIN!
I'm an American who studied at Stockholms Universitet in the 1990s for free! I have a 22 year old daughter studying at KTH in Stockholm, for free. Jag faktist älskar Sverige!!! Kom Igen Sverige! Blå Gult!
:D Blå gult!
Sverige är bäst! 🇸🇪
А в РФ вшарагах бесплатно можно учиться, на повара или на слесаря с зарплатой 35-40000 рублей 👌😁🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@КаналКлима-ж8ю That is like half of existencial minimum payed by the state in most western countries...🤣
@@КаналКлима-ж8ю Noone can live on that wage of 1-2€ or whatever the ruble is worth now. And live in a shithole of a country meanwhile.
Great respect to our Swedish neighbours. 🇸🇪
Cheers from Denmark 🇩🇰
finally a danish person who respects the swedish military
Cheers from Sweden XD
You traitors!
Tack!
Thank you brother
4 Swedes in Viggens..... Against 20 Russians in whatever.... I'll take those odds, Thanks.
From a former USAF Staff Sergeant- well done to the Swedes as well as the 71 crew who managed to get their plane under control after a 40000 foot plunge.
As an American, I am pleased that Sweden finally got the recognition they deserved, as many people and countries deserve, for coming to our aid in times of need.
my sister helped build that awesome machine, she was a wiring tech at skunk works , I got to see it up close and in person back in 1973 at a Lockheed open house for plant family members only. I love and miss you so much Sandee. I'm a wiring tech now and will keep up the tradition of excellence in your memory.
Thank you for sharing your memories, its quite heartwarming to learn you have been able to follow in your sisters footsteps.
That sounds really awesome! Thanks for sharing. Cheers from Sweden!
Hal May, thank you for the work and service you provide at SW. I feel fiercely proud of the work you do, especially under the wickedly tight security required to work in such a place. God bless you and your family .
To the Swedish pilots and their command apparatus, it is quite an honor to have been helped by you in this very desperate incident . I believe there may have been a similar incident during which we stood more than ready to offer the same assistance to you. The Swedes KNOW the right thing to do at all times and they can be relied upon to do it. Never provoke the Swedes or ANY Scandinavian military unit for any reason for they are always extremely well-prepared and well-trained....and they are such loyal allies. They deserve every ounce of protection they may ever request or require.
OMG this made me cry. as an American, i want to thank the pilots of the Swedish Air Force for helping those SR-71 pilots. i am glad that my country recognized your bravery and heroism. again, thank you.
Being a Swedish person aiming to become a fighter pilot, I can definetly say that our military is mostly focused on defending ourselves and people in need, and while I may not speak for the viggen pilots that day, I can very well say that I hope that you guys over in America treat others the same way.
@@lightningthewolf oh yeah baby, what you aiming for, the gripen? I love those Swedish birds, such beauties.
@@potatopower707 Indeed, I mean, the only fighter plane that our military uses is the gripen, while the Saab 105 if used for training, if I'm correct, that is.
@@lightningthewolf hell yeah. I love Swedens, they don’t get enough appreciation, especially not their planes. After all, they were the first ones to create the cobra.
We lost a few on surveilance missions. Shot down by migs on international territory. During the cold war not anybody did anything on these matters. That Korean passenger jet in my time got me started.
My heart is overflowing with gratitude and respect for those four pilots that day but also to an amazing country, people and culture. I’m just one humble American sending a giant Tack sa mycket!
Thank you Sweden. love and respect from India
Shivaji Vythi India is a true friend of USA. Amazing country 🇮🇳🇨🇦🇺🇸
Tanks! It may surprise you to know that Sweden and USA is very intertwined on a "Deep State" level! Has been for a long time!
Sweden, the nation that raided the whole Europe.
@@moravianmargrave6509 what's the relevance with this clip?
Hats off to the Swedish Pilots who came to the aid of this SR-71 to see it back home! Thank you brothers and sisters.
Thank you Sweden, and in particular to these Swedish Airmen.
Those Swedish pilots, and their commanders who despatched them, all top blokes.
Would US, Brit or other NATO guys go out to stand between Swedish planes and Russians?
I hope so. They earned it.
Almost makes up for WW2! (Joke)
Your welcome American!
*laughs in svenska*
Your welcome- Sweden.
Nice to see our Swedish brothers being on top of things.
Greetings from Norway.
Congrats to our Swedish military friends. From this U.S.Vet to the Swedish Vets, a belated THANK YOU. It's an honor to regard you as my friend.
And mine, Semper FI
You are not our friends. You are our enemies. Too bad most of us Swedes fall for your anti-Russian propaganda.
@@asdf3568 Sorry but I did not write propaganda. Where did you get that idea from, anyway? Be well.
@@nyrmk1 I was referring to the American government. Not you.
@@asdf3568 you’re kinda nuts dude us American civilians have not hate for Sweden dude and yeah we’re anti Russian who wants communism
Thank you to the Swedish pilots for saving our guys. I got chills watching this. Amazing heroic story.
I hope that you guys will help us in the future if “someone”trying to invade us.
nah, it was nothing. We just did the right thing.
like PewDiePie use to do, bro dust to out Friends
🇸🇪🤜🤛🇺🇲
They should have shot it out of the sky.
It was our humble duty! Americans are safe in, around, over and under the Nordic country's land. We serve as brothers around the world. Here you are our family!
@@donquixote1502 - THANK YOU, much respect!!
As a born and bred American (of German decent), my sincere and deepest Thank You. May Freedom and Peace always be upon the Swedish people.
”We’d never seen an SR-71 from above...” :-)
And if it had 2 working engines you would not have a chance to see it from below...
@@bcdushman Actully the Vigen pilots did that all the time when the SR-71 flow in the Baltic region on its way to there mission. The SR-71 was always on a public fly list when it crossed radar sectors so it was easy for the swedish airforce to figure out when it would show up and Vigen pilots was constantly using the SR-71 for high altitude and high speed targeting practice. Ofc the Vigen hade no chans in keeping up in speed or altitude. But becouse of the advanced notice they could launch ahead of the SR-71 do a 180 and fly right at it at a lower altitude. With practise and radar cordination they could eventually predict the exact moment to light the afterburners and point straight up to se the SR-71 fly by and simulate a radar lock and missile launch. Ofc they never actully fired anything that would have been a decleration of war i bet. But eventually several Vigens did each there own successful attack run everytime the SR-71 flow past the Baltic for its mission.
@@Shiftry87 Thank you for the history lesson! Interesting stuff!
@@blameyourself4489 Really?? They don't fly anymore and haven't for over 22 years, so what's your point??? There's always an idiot who feels the need to show his arse. FFS....
@@fyoukungflu5881 his point was that Trump destroyed another thing we are here celebrating.
He just made it poorly because he was too worked up to put it clearly
That blackbird, is really for all of us that are allies. As a military vet from the U.S. and engineer in civilian life afterward, that worked on the blackbird, I thank you Sweden for your protection you gave to our pilots.
Wow.. Nice to see a comment from a person who actually worked on blackbirds. All my respect to you!
@@kristofferhellstrom That bird went through a lot of engines. Very high maixtenance. When operating correctly? Nothing could touch it. Not even missiles. Now days, maybe the Space shuttle LOL
Quite a moving story of those who put their lives at risk to save others. Well done to all concerned and thank you for your Service to protect us
A fun and interesting fact in this context is that the designer of The Mighty SR-71Blackbird named Clarence Johnson was a Swedish descendant whose parents Peter Jönsson and Kristina Andersson emigrated from Malmö in Sweden to the USA.
It can be said that the Swedish Viggen Pilots not only assisted The USA and their aircraft with its crew, but also protected the fantastic creation of their former emigrated citizens .. 🇸🇪😉 🇸🇪
I like your name
@@Wloppish Thank you :)
Nobody recognizes Clarence, but you say Kelly, and heads nod. Note that Kelly Johnson was also behind the A-10 Warthog
The Blackbird is actually the national bird of Sweden since 1962. Did Kelly pick the name and if so, is that why he did it? The SR-71 Blackbird was operated by the USAF from 1964 to 1998.
Amazing name and fun story! ;)
I was almost in tears watching this. What an incredible story.
The Swedes always do the right thing. Very decent people. It's nice to see the mutual respect these pilots have for each other.
@andyandyandy360 it was more important that sweden stayed out of the war. Imagine how much iron the nazis would have got if they invaded.
Airmen are airmen......in an emergency, it's all hands on deck to save an airman.....as it was with ships on the sea.......
@@ZimowHD You know nothing of what you're talking about. Your mind is too shallow without understand the "why"?
A big "thanks" to the four Swedish airmen, the Swedish government and to everyone else involved in this operation. As a retired US airman I know that there are always many people behind the scenes that made this event successful. Thank you all. 👍
Base: what is it! They Russian! We under attack?
Pilot's: no... looks like Batman built a plane, must be American...
Yeah, Kelly Johnson could be Batman on his off time.
Haha 🤣
Best description of Viggen I've heard tbh th-cam.com/video/fBE41A9VT3Q/w-d-xo.html
Did you know they had a horn? It was so they could honk at cars as they drove down the road.
@@karl-erikmumler9820 - That is freakin' awesome! BeepBeep!
@@jamesredman1263 Probably louder but wtf do I know? Still; not a lot of jets can 'honk' historically.
Thank you Sweden! With the highest respect from the USA.
🇸🇪 Sweden. Brilliant and professional armed forces, the new Gripen MRF looks amazing. Much respect. 🏴🇬🇧
Highest respect from India. The swedish armed forces are highly professional... They make the best military weapons in world.
A disciplined military force.
The threat of 2 Swedish pilots held off 20+ Soviet pilots. Sweden is awesome.
Back then we were a force to be reckoned with. Had the 4th largest airforce in the world with over 1000 top of the line fighters, that even made the soviets think twice before acting.
"Speak softly and carry a big stick" Even though Teddy Roosevelt said it, I feel like it applies very very well to Sweden.
The Swedes used that "Klingon-look" in their fighter designs for a reason! No need to fire the "photon torpedoes" if you can just SCARE them away, LOL! Salute!
@@mattgrant9479 Today the Swedes live in a world of dreams and are only interested in hosting Arabs and hating Israel.
@@mattgrant9479 there's always that one idiot in a thread... congrats!
Sweden is a grossly underestimated military power. They have some of the best fighter aircraft in the world on top of great professionalism and courage.
And Japan have the best cars ey. VTEC kicked in yo.
@@jasonlay9492 Koenigsegg... just sayin 😉
During the cold War Sweden had one of the biggest airforce in the entire world. Housing over 1000 fighter aircrafts. Take the size of the country in calculation, and realize that's pretty impressive.
@@bjure8111 not even just the biggest, but arguable the best.
Proud of the very professional Swedish Airmen who came to help. Also excited as a Filipino to receive the jas Gripen C/D to be delivered in 2024 🇵🇭 ♥ 🇸🇪
Fun fact, the actual blackbird, Turdus merula, is the national bird of Sweden.
koltrast
@@7gugts3d4ROBOTufyuguhihimpl9 :)
SR-71 Koltrast!
I think Turdus Underpantsus would have been more relevant 😀
just doesn't have the same cool factor in Swedish 😄
The Swedes are such good people! I've never met one that wasn't a joy to be around.
Incredible act of bravery, friendship and camaraderie. From this American citizen, I salute and thank the Swedish.
Interesting, at this time i served in a anti-aircraft rocket unit in the east-german army as radio operator and we often had alarms when the SR 71 („Jastreb“ code in Warshaw treaty) appeared in the Baltic area.
But our S4 rockets were too slow to fight this aircraft and the jumps on radar screens were huge and hard to handle for the radar operators.
Finally i saw one 1992 on the aircraft carrier „Interpid“ in New York harbour.
Really interesting comment, thank you
Good thing you didn't try to shoot it down :) and it's cool that you as a former "enemy" is on youtube commenting about your experiences.
I think it's Lockheed A-12 on the Intrepid museum. A very, very close relative to the SR-71..
Thank you for your perspective.
Could you lock the distance beam at target? I remember the visible ghost echo on old crt rader monitors. Easy to se the speed .. just 1 cm = mach 1 and 2 cm = one FOXBAT in CS .. not exactly but close .. ;O)
Very emotional.... Hats of to Swedish forces for acting swifly to save the black bird and the crew. salutes from india... 🇮🇳❤️❤️❤️🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
My father in law was a surveillance system operator on an sr-71. He was a military and commercial pilot, I knew nearly his entire military career was classified, he never talked about it. We would often talk planes, when he was dying (of an illness caused by his work in the Cold War) I wondered how noisy an SR-71 was when it was flying supersonic. He looked at me from bed and said "It's not noisy. It's quiet. After you pass Mach 1 you're leaving the sound behind." I asked how he knew and he stated "It's classified but I guess it doesn't make any difference now." and he told me what he did. He told me nothing about what he actually did on his missions, but just his job title and about a lot of the aircraft's idiosyncrasies eg when at high speed the fuel had to be pumped between fuel tanks to balance the aircraft properly to make a turn, if this was not done the turbulence would be so severe during the turn that there was a risk of passing out. The aircraft really did fly at the far edge of what was possible for its time.
The world's cold warriors (regardless of which side they were on) are dying out, and their stories are dying with them. It is a shame as it is history, and many of the stories deserve to be heard.
An American citizen here is very grateful to the Swedish people and those brave pilots, for helping our pilots come home to their families.
Thank you!
Thanks for saving our aircraft and pilots. Salutes from Texas!
God Bless Sweden! The decency, bravery and morality of your country and it's people is demonstrated in your four aviators featured here, and the Command that sent them to intercept.
You guys in the Viggens are great. Thank you for saving our SR71 🇸🇪 🇺🇸
The most secure feeling we have is knowing that we have an ally to watch our back in times of dire situations.
Always.
The Swedes are awesome. Saved our guys from being lunch for the Soviets. The Russians would have loved to have gotten their hands on a SR 71 Black Bird! Thank you Swedish Air Force for saving American lives. Truly Great Allies of the United States!
This case is not so simple....In this situation, Russians can't shoot down SR-71, because is too big political and economical risky between Russia - U.S... maybe also Sweden. Remember, Russia is worlds biggest titanium producer and U.S and their world's mighty's army biggest customer, also today. But this is a typical herostory: west vs. east, David vs. Goliath, good vs. evil, 2 Viggen vs. 20 MiG's!!!!!!!. Who count and how many witness, how much is true, how much is hollywood, who ask also MiG -pilots, what happen...? Everyone can think..?.🤔
@@jyrkikoskinen8402 th-cam.com/video/y5Z2Bb-wnls/w-d-xo.html
Thank you Sweden and Swedish pilots. It's good to have allies such as you.
" It's not often that you get to meet someone that saved your life." No truer words. Thousands of heroes out there we will never meet, hundreds, thousands of years. Of course. the honor deserved for these men - just doing their jobs, they would humbly say.. Peace to all and this world.
Makes me proud to be Swedish when I see this and Im sure the US would have done the same thing regardless that we are not a NATO country.
Jag är också svensk hej Richard
We have your backs as well.
You damned bet ya we would! 😀
America loves Sweden...
@@makeamericagreatagain7314 Sweden loves America...
Great story. This is one reason why we must always remember how important it is to have allies around the world.
My deepest respect for Sweden and the 4 brave airmen that came to the aid of our SR-71 crew! God bless the Swedish.
The American pilot seems like he loves the Swedish flag to this day. 🇺🇸🇸🇪
Sorry, but thats the Norwegian flag's color... Swedens flag is Blue and Yellow ;)
Swedish flag is actually real nice in its simplicity. Like a suncross over blue water... is how i see it anyway.
I hope viggen comes to wt soon, the draken is in at least... guess viggen is too good still compared to what else is in... th-cam.com/video/LVmyrLK1yDw/w-d-xo.html but likely in 2021...we get it
To this day...
To this day.
I'd say, he thought he was fucked. As he stated at the end, he wouldn't be here making this video giving his testimony if they didn't take to the skies....
@@per-erikfskerud5425 it’s also the US flag’s colors ;)
Those Swedish pilots knew their lives were in danger from the Russian migs but stayed the course and put themselves in harms way, I salute you gentlemen for saving our pilots.
That Viggen though... what a fine machine. And I say that as an American, very proud of the SR71 development & deployment.
Favorite jet of all time is the Viggen😍. Much respect to Sweden.👍
Tunnan❤️❤️
@@danielnilsson5384 Tunnan is awesome to see in air :D
But seeing (and hearing the deep roar from) two or four Viggen in formation licking the ground right over you is something unique!
My favorite is the Draken. Double delta wing shape is just so cool.
Wow an amazing story im glad they were awarded for protecting the SR-71. Thank you for the clear skies and escort. Us American are truly appreciative for your actions. Much love to Sweden and its citizens
The medals they received had some real symbolism to them. "Viggen" roughly translates to thunderbolt- and the eagle depicted in the medals is holding two of them, one in each claw. Very beautiful!
why do they say its a viggen ? it was a swedid saab that helpthat situstion
Contrary to what some may believe, Sweden and America are of best of friends. As a an American, of swedish decent,this was wonderful to see. Thank you for sharing this! God 🙏 Bless
Sweden was the first country to recognize USA as a country. so it go way back
I don't know why someone would believe otherwise. Sweden and the US have always been best of friends. Anyone who ever goes to Stockholm, Sweden should take a look at the US embassy there. It's not just a small office building or an office in a building as is the case is some western European countries.
The US embassy in Stockholm Sweden is a compound that sits on what I think must be at least two acres. Behind gates and fenced all around. So it's not an embassy you just walk into and say you lost your passport and need a new one. Highly secure. Just a guess but I believe this may be due to Sweden's close proximity to Russia and what has always been a strong and friendly relationship between Sweden and the US even though Sweden always maintained a "neutral" status rather than becoming a NATO member.
Never any doubt who's side they were on though. And if Turkey could just stop their idiotic games of getting attention, Sweden will soon be part of NATO too along with Finland who's already in. The exact opposite of what Putin had in mind. What a fool he is.
This story made my heart well up with pride and thanksgiving to the Swedes for defending our stricken USAF pilots in what could have ended very differently such as the Gary Powers event of the early 1960s....I was a very young boy, but I recall it very well and how Powers was captured by the Russians...I am thankful that our USAF recognized these heroes of the Swedish Airforce...we certainly owe them this debt of gratitude....Let Peace Reign over Tyranny!
I remember watching an SR-71 make an unscheduled approach to Stavanger airport in Norway in early March the same year, 1987. I was walking home from school and just happened to turn round at the right time and see its approach. We had never seen one before but it was an unmistakable shape. According to the papers it had also suffered an engine failure. Must have been a common occurrence, or just a freakish coincidence that two such similar events occurred so close together. A week later a C-5 Galaxy arrived with a new engine and wing. We all went out to the airport to watch. Impressive aircraft, both of them 😊
Damn that's awesome, a shame I'll never get to see it in action
No wonder Grandpa (Victor Horton of NASA) always spoke so highly of the Viggen! He flew on the NASA Blackbirds out of Edwards AFB from 1969 until the early 80s and would have certainly heard about this.
The Swedes are an underrated civilization! These guys gave us the Volvo XC90. Anyone who builds a car that good, is excellent at almost everything else.
XC90: Too big engine in a too small motor bay = cooling issues. I'd strongly advise a MB suv of any type
I guess the cooling issues are not such a problem in Sweden. 🥶
What about "Geely"? Is "Volvo" a Swedish or a more or less "Chinese/Swedish" Brand?
I'm sorry the XC90 is a horrible car, and the big problem is the transmission not the cooling. They lifted the engine and transmission from the S80. In the S80 the trans and engine worked fine, but the XC90 was much heavier than the S80 and overtaxed the transmission causing premature failure.
@@mavo66 Volvo chinese? Of course it is swedish. I am astonished there are people who don't know the country of such a famous company
Wow, what an incredible story. I'm glad they finally got the official recognition they deserve for their heroic defense of a friend in need.
Helping fellow pilots out. Thanks Sweden's finest.
Cool story. There are probably many other incidents that occurred during the cold war that we will never hear about
Yup
For sure, especially with countries who claim to be neutral (like Sweden), who in pratice are everything but neutral. The same goes for WW II and every other war that ever has been waged, the plebs only hear the heavely sanitized political pro nationalistic versions. One of my hobbies is reading declassified files from various nations of WWII and the Cold war, often finding amazing stories, but also finding whole other truths than the ones they teach us at school and in documentary series.
@@minuterepeater2257 When I was growing up we had a World War One Royal Flying Corps pilot as a neighbour and you should have heard the shit he had to say. Completely different from anything you would read in any official history. The Billy Bishop claims were completely embellished in order to boost morale on the home front according to him in addition to a number of other things. I still have pictures that he gave to me way back in the 70 s. He was a real character.
@@iananderson7883 What stories did he tell you?
True enough. Know of some minor things (so they seem to me at least) myself.
Canada here.
You got to love the Swedish military its very impressive much respect from UK
We are not big and not funded well, but we got quality
Awesome job guys! Many thanks from the U.S., I know Sweden is very active in it's NATO participation/exercises and that the U.S.-Swedish relationship is excellent. It's reassuring to know we have such fearless, competent, and deadly friends watching our eastern skies. Fantastic heads-up play.
Tack Sverige för dina blixtsnabba, modiga åtgärder för att skydda våra piloter och deras plan.Det är en ära att ha en så bra relation mellan våra länder.
Sweden is not in nato
@@No-timeforimbeciles basically been for the longest time, with nato and especially USA. Don't get fooled by Olof Palme, he especially was close to usa. We might have tricked some russians along the way, who knows for how long, as Palme was killed..perhaps by moscow.
😢😢😮😊ü
As a pilot, I thank and honor you all for saving 2 fellow airmen.....God bless!!
All Swede's should rightly be proud of this matter. Thank you all!
Thank you for posting this, and thank you to Sweden. I had never heard this story before.
Your welcome 🙂
My favourite jet saved by my second favourite jet..
Amazing story, gentlemen. Thank you all.
This very much reminds me of a story my dad witnessed when stationed in Sigonella, Sicily between 1970-72. One of our scout aircraft, I don't remember if it was an OV-10 or what, had lost all engine power. A Viggen pilot was very near, heard the mayday, got above the stricken aircraft and close enough to keep the aircraft in its air envelope. The Swedish pilot basically carried one of our guys to Siggy and got him close enough to a glide slope to dead stick it. By dad's job was to work on the radar and radio in the control tower, heard the radio transmissions, and saw the plane dead stick it...also saw the pilot jump out of his plane and make a B-line for the bushes to puke his guts out. Not surprisingly, he was scared shitless and very thankful to be on terra firma. The Swedish pilots are due a lot of respect, they've well earned it. Good allies are WONDERFUL things to have.
Wow! Thanks for sharing your story! Really appreciate it
@@kristofferhellstrom Anytime
WOW,these guys are all heroes.I am in awe of them.God bless them all.
Thank You Sweden ! ! Much Love from America ! !
God bless our Swedish brethren in arms. Great country, great people. Honor and respect to you all.
As a former Navy pilot.....Thanks very much....My beat regards to yu'all
Very beautiful and courageous job of the Swedish Air Force pilots, we are never alone. Thanks again for the rescue mission by your Air Force pilots in reference to the problem of the SR 71 flight crew.
It was right and proper to award those pilots for doing the right and proper thing so long ago. I realize that there is an entire command chain behind them, giving the orders to do so, and thanks to them as well. *Salute*
Thank You Sweden we appreciate your support.
Amazing story! Proud of the Swedes for doing a great job in protecting our service men!
Thank you Sweden for backing us up! Respect from 🇺🇸
Thank you my Swedish brothers in arms for keeping our air crew safe. You are a credit to your unit, your nation, and the united states!!
❤ Sweden thank you so much! My grandmother Borghilda would have loved this story 🍻
Fantastic story and tremendous airmanship by all. A testament to the courage of Viggen pilots.
Sweden is a great nation as are most of the countries around this part of the World. Demark, Norway, Finland, and others alike are great democracies and believe in being there for other nations that respect liberty, freedom, and above all brilliant leadership and care for the people. God bless the Scandinavians with lots of love from France and Australia xoxo
Thank you, Royal Swedish Airforce. Well done, my friends.
Not only fine airmen, but every one of them with an easy and assured command of a foreign language too. What gentlemen!
I totally second the thought. They all displayed an impressive English. Such might not be the case in my own country.
The accent of Lars Eric Blad when speaking English is VERY similar to some parts of Scotland, it's fascinating how the commonality of language goes much further than is first apparent.
And yes, their ability to speak with such accuracy, far greater than many native English speakers is wonderful.
Nice happy story. As a kid i heard and saw Viggens many times. Viggens engine sound was loud and amazing.
I have often felt in my life that there are no coincidences! It feels good to know that the guys could meet and hug the Swedish pilots that watched their back without knowing what the situation was (just that with a Blackbird at that altitude the shit must have really hit the fan!) and because of this being a classified mission without recognition and further explanation at the time. And it is in the highest military tradition to honor the Swedish pilots after declassification albeit after 30 years. Well done by everybody involved!
And this is why Allies are so important! You know the SR-71 pilots were extremely happy to have 2 gun slingers escorting them when that MIG popped up.
@Jeff Clark no, Sweden leaned towards the brits during the 40s. But you'll probably understand why they caved to some of the german demands, if you look at Sweden on a map from back then.
@Jeff Clark No, they did not let Germany use their territory to invade Norway. That's just a stupid lie, the Germans invaded from the sea. They did, however, let one German division pass through on it's way to the Soviet Union. This was one isolated event, and under a German threat of war. Compare that to the allied personnel who was permanently based in Sweden. Sweden even formed an Norwegian and a smaller Danish army in exile, using Swedish armaments, Swedish funds and Swedish training. And that without having to be threatened.
Sweden really had no reason to favor Nazi Germany. It was a democratic nation, and heavily dominated by democratic socialists, the SAP. Not only was there a large ideological rift, the SAP had extra close ties with their German counterparts, the SDP. And the SDP was, as we all know, one of the first groups to suffer from Hitlers murderous henchmen.
And, finally, with the fall of Denmark and Norway, even large parts of the political right started to shun Hitler, the heyday of pan-Scandinavian sentiments still being in living memory.
@Jeff Clark "German Soldiers on leave". The germans were unarmed, and going in the wrong direction. Permittenttrafiken also didn't start until after the invasion was completed, so I'm really curious how you can twist that into "use swede territory toninvande norway".
The Swedish government was told that the Engelbrecht division would make it's way through Swedish territory, either on it's railroads or it'd fight it's way through. Sure, it was controversial, but it's another blatant lie to try and use that as proof that Sweden "leaned to" the nazis. As I said, Sweden caved on a few demands, but only to save herself, not to support the nazis.
Check out operation Sonnie (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernt_Balchen#World_War_II), polititroppene (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_police_troops_in_Sweden_during_World_War_II), Den Danske Brigade (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_Brigade_in_Sweden) for a few examples. I also know that the brits had intelligence personnel based in Sweden, mostly taking advantage of the telegraph lines running from Oslo to Copenhagen being tapped by the swedes.
@Jeff Clark Again, look at a map from back then. Sweden was totally surrounded by the nazis, of course they're gonna export stuff to them. They did sell ball bearings to the brits aswell, but had to smuggle it through the blockaded Skagerack. Also, no threat in '43? Spring that year was probably the most perilous time for the swedes, except maybe for early 1940.
Trading with your de facto only neighbor during a crisis is not in any way, shape or form the same thing as supporting them.
Switzerland played the same realpolitik as Sweden. The swiss, for example, attacked and shot down american planes while Sweden practically gave them a whole air field. The swiss also traded heavily with Germany, including strategic materials, not to mention all the looted gold and art that ended up there.
@Jeff Clark
We sold iron to Germany, otherwise the Germens would have invaded Sweden. But one thing you have forgotten and it is Bofors automatic cannon that was on all allied ships in the Pacific Ocean it was Swedish cannons that ended the Japanese flight
Per Olof Eldh I believe was the first Viggen pilot who made the first radar lock on a SR-71. Quite interesting he was in command of the QRA that day.
What does QRA viggen mean?
@@Tjompa7 That, I believe is the Quick Reaktion Alert. The 24/7 alert to intercept unknown. They fly with live ammunition.
Draken did it as well. Getting a lock on an SR-71 was not hard. The issue was that no-one could get a firing solution.
@@lothwinmore2536 It is called "Incidentberedskap" ("Incident readiness"). And it is not actually 24/7.
The readiness level varies depending on time of day, day of week, weather, national security readiness level, and other factors.
At the highest level, the pilots are seated in the cockpit, ready to spin up the engines and be airborne within a few minutes. At lower levels, they can be resting indoors, and have up to an hour to get airborne. And sometimes, there is no readiness at all, simply because "nothing" ever happens at those times anyway.
And the reason I know this is that I - as part of my military service - sat as the service crew for a few of these readiness teams.
@@michaelkarnerfors9545 The Swedish pilots named it QRA (quick reaction alert) when speaking English. In Swedish it is as you say “incident beredskap”
i feel certain that the Swedish pilots were impressed with the SR-71, as any pilot of that time would be amazed that any aircraft could fly at those altitudes and at that speed. The cold war tensions of that era kept the US and Russian military at the leading edge of aviation accomplishments - and the Soviet Union was not happy being behind without an equivalent aircraft of their own. But I did not realize that the Viggens were such an exemplary military fighter plane... but sure am glad that they were.
I highly thank Sweden and Swedish Airforce for saving the lives of those SR71 pilots.
Regards and respect from India.🇸🇪🇮🇳🇺🇸🇸🇪🇺🇸🇮🇳
WOW!!! As a Navy Vet of 20+ years..............Sweden Pilots, You Guys are Alright By Me!!! Thank you for helping & saving our boys!! I bet they were All boys back then! Thank you, Gentlemen!
Makes me proud of my Swedish heritage and thanks to all those men for helping us all be free.
Free huh... if that was the mission then the military would also be building sustainable housing, work for biotecture and permaculture projects at home as well over seas. They might a little bit, but this should be one of the main objectives. Basis for Higher quality of life
I'm an American Swede. Thank you, Friends.
The Swedish people should know that though they are not NATO members they still are very much Allies of the United States! 🇺🇸🇸🇪
Shhh. That part's supposed to be silent you know. The others who have gotten their membership premiums revised lately might get the crazy idea we're skimping out over here.
Not really news to the swedish pepole :)
Yeah, yeah, and that's really doing much well to the world. The Swedish government goes very far in that, they even came up with some weird false accusations against Julian Assange in order to help the most war-mongering entity in the world to get hold of him. And that whilst Stockholm has become the rape capital of the world and none of these brave Swedes is doing anything against it... Bravo!
@@breakbollocks9164 You and APCOPILOT must be real fun at parties. 🙄
@APCOPILOT They're doing what's right because they're intelligent and mature enough to know better.
Awesome that this occurrence became revealed to the public after that secrecy was lifted and honored by the US. I'm deeply proud of those Swedish/US air men's.
Thank you Sweden for honoring our mutual respect for one another for the greater good....
Makes me very proud of my Swedish heritage!
You should come back to your homeland some day. You're always welcome :)
Vikings!!👍✌️
Obviously, Americans had no idea this incident occurred due to the idea that everything that happens has to be classified and kept from the public.
I’ve followed the SR-71 since it’s inception and early retirement. To say it is an amazing one-of-a-kind aircraft really does it no justice.
Its only operational defense is its blazing speed and high-altitude abilities. It is defenseless without them.
The Swedish pilots not only understood the Blackbird was defenseless but also in grave danger. Soviet pilots were on their way to force a landing or splash the Blackbird. Thankfully the Soviets backed off not willing to test the Swedes.
I commend and thank our Swedish brothers for coming to the aid of our pilots. Without their bravery it would have been a very ugly incident.
We all like to think this type of chivalry is mostly done by US Armed Forces but as we see here the Swedish Armed Forces are just as capable.
No one succeeds without help, thank you to these men and to the people behind them, and to Sweden... you made sure a bad situation didn't become worse.
Such courage and commitment from our Swedish brothers! Well done 👏
Aircraft designed and built in an era before modern computers using slide rules and drafting boards.
And has a catastrophic engine malfunction at 80,000' at Mach 3 and was able to survive that! The stress on that aircraft must of been tremendous. Thank you Sweden for watching out for our pilots that day.
That STILL owns Speed/Altitude records for aircraft.
with British technology
Same way they designed & built the olympic class liners in 1910-11
@@colinsdad1 Known records. A commercial satellite got a picture of a contrail that started from Nevada and it went across the US and miles over the Atlantic ocean. The contrail didn't have enough time to start breaking apart until the aircraft was somewhere over the Atlantic ocean.