Genius of Aviation: KELLY JOHNSON. Skunk Works | The Man Behind The SR-71 Blackbird
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- Опубликовано: 19 май 2023
- Learning history: American Aviation Genius, Kelly Johnson was the Founder of Skunk Works, maker of extraordinary aircraft, such as the SR-71 Blackbird, U-2 Dragonlady, P-38 Lightning, F-80 Shooting Star, T-33, F-104 Starfighter, and many more.
Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson (February 27, 1910 - December 21, 1990) was an American aeronautical and systems engineer. He is recognized for his contributions to a series of important aircraft designs, most notably the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird. Besides the first production aircraft to exceed Mach 3, he also produced the first fighter capable of Mach 2, the United States' first operational jet fighter, as well as the first fighter to exceed 400 mph, and many other contributions to various aircraft.
As a member and first team leader of the Lockheed Skunk Works, Johnson worked for more than four decades and is said to have been an "organizing genius". He played a leading role in the design of over forty aircraft, including several honored with the prestigious Collier Trophy, acquiring a reputation as one of the most talented and prolific aircraft design engineers in the history of aviation.
In 2003, as part of its commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' flight, Aviation Week & Space Technology ranked Johnson eighth on its list of the top 100 "most important, most interesting, and most influential people" in the first century of aerospace. Hall Hibbard, Johnson's Lockheed boss, referring to Johnson's Swedish ancestry, once remarked to Ben Rich: "That damned Swede can actually see air."
Kelly Johnson was born in the remote mining town of Ishpeming, Michigan. His parents were Swedish, from the city of Malmö, county of Scania. His father ran a construction company. Johnson was 13 years old when he won a prize for his first aircraft design. He attended Flint Central High School and graduated in 1928, then went to Flint Junior College, now known as Mott Community College, and finally to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he received a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
While attending grade school in Michigan, he was ridiculed for his name, Clarence. Some boys started calling him "Clara". One morning while waiting in line to get into a classroom, one boy started with the normal routine of calling him "Clara". Johnson tripped him so hard the boy broke a leg. The boys then decided that he was not a "Clara" after all, and started calling him "Kelly". The nickname came from the popular song at the time, "Has Anyone Here Seen Kelly? (Kelly from the Emerald Isle)". Henceforth, he was always known as "Kelly" Johnson.
In 1937, Johnson married Althea Louise Young, who worked in Lockheed's accounting department; she died in December 1969.
In May 1971, he married his secretary Maryellen Elberta Meade of New York; she died after a long illness on October 13, 1980, aged 46.
He married Meade's friend Nancy Powers Horrigan in November 1980.
His autobiography, titled Kelly: More Than My Share of it All, was published in 1985.
Johnson died at the age of 80 at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after physical deterioration and the advancement of senility, caused by the hardening of his arteries connecting to his brain. During his visits to the hospital, his good friend Ben Rich watched his condition worsen, writing, "His eyes seemed unfocused and lifeless, and increasingly began to slip in and out of coherence. I could barely stand to visit him, and many times he seemed not even to recognize me." He is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Los Angeles, California.
Skunk Works is an official pseudonym for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. It is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, highly classified R&D programs, and exotic aircraft platforms. Known locations include United States Air Force Plant 42 and United States Air Force Plant 4. Most notably, a majority of classified testing is thought to be conducted at sites such as the Nevada Test Site.
Skunk Works history started with the P-38 Lightning in 1939 and the P-80 Shooting Star in 1943. Skunk Works engineers subsequently developed the U-2, SR-71 Blackbird, F-117 Nighthawk, F-22 Raptor, and F-35 Lightning II, the latter being used in the air forces of several countries.
The Skunk Works name was taken from the "Skonk Oil" factory in the comic strip Li'l Abner. The designation "skunk works" or "skunkworks" is widely used in business, engineering, and technical fields to describe a group within an organization given a high degree of autonomy and unhampered by bureaucracy, with the task of working on advanced or secret projects.
#skunkworks #kellyjohnson #aviation 
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This man should have a monument made to him for contributions to the USA and aviation in general.
👍 Agreed!
Completamente de acuerdo con vos ( I agree with you ) 👋👋👋👋👋👍🇦🇷
Johnson was a genius of The aviation industry.He deserves a monument
I believe he was given several Collier Trophy's. But he needs a statue.
I'm thinking the man should have his own national holiday here in the USA with a few more folks that have not received enough recgonition.
Ben Rich said that he went to Kelly Johnson about a thermodynamics problem in the SR-71, Johnson looked at the problem, determined the friction heat could be dealt with, and without any calculation gave Ben Rich the thermal maximum to be included into the design. Ben Rich went back to his desk and ran a series of thermodynamic calculations and determined that Kelly Johnson had come up with the correct figure, within 10 degrees, in less than a minute... And it took Ben Rich the better part of a day to confirm it. The man had a slide rule brain.
Read the book "SR-71 Blackbird." He is an anomaly vastly more brilliant than today's so called geniuses. A man more honest than any in recent history.
which author?
@@DevRajyaguru-lx8pi Ben Rich
Thank you. I’ll look out for this here in 🇬🇧
When I saw the SR 71 at Duxford it was like seeing a UFO. Also took an audience with Richard H Graham. Phenomenal and I’m not an aviation ‘nerd’ but on this aircraft I became one 👌🏻
One of my good friends worked at the Skunk Works for over two decades. He's pretty much been on his death bed due to respiratory disease for going on 12-years now. He's still proud of his contribution.
And He Should 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸👍🏻
@@jimmysapien9961ahs
Al
Sgashajhsas
Kelly was one of those rare individuals who was not only a genius in their field, but was equally capable in his practical ability to see a project from concept to completion, on time or early and on or under budget.
Well said
A Visionary- God Gifted & I am Thankful he Was An American 🇺🇸 R.I.P. Amen 🙏
I liked that he would cancel something if it didn't meet expectations, or was too dangerous.
This guy and the aeronautical engineers who worked in the development of our countries most state of the art airplanes deserve credit we can't pay them back for, their contributions are immeasurable 🇺🇸
what a true and humble and extraordinary engineer and manager
I would so loved to have met this man. A true legend & a patriot. RIP sir. And God bless you. 🫡 🇺🇸
Yes he Was 🇺🇸🇺🇸👍🏻👍🏻🙏
Growing up, my friends' idols were sports players or rockstars and rappers. Mine was this man
Fascinating! I once met a SR-71 pilot. He was impressed...and impressive.
Lucky You 👍🏻
Kelly is a legend, and was given fair credit and recognition in Ben Rich's book "Skunk Works" a must read if you watched this video.
Ben Rich also Another Great Man of his Time . 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸👍🏻
What a great story, told well and solid narration.
🙏
True. Don’t forget the bycicle makers
My grandmother immigrated from Sweden ~1905. Her last name was Johnson. She has spawned 3 generations of engineers.
Are you related to Kelly Johnson?
@@Dronescapes Probably just in my imagination. 50k people in Sweden have the surname Jansson [Swedish spelling, Johnson spelling from Ellis Island].
He might of had a girls' name but he was a pure genius. Imagine if you had a scholarship or apprenticeship with Johnson, imagine the excitement and magic you would feel. So what if he designed machines to deal death from above, if he had been a tractor designer, he would of made the best tractors in the world. A hero and a gentleman. They don't come much brighter than this chap. Glorious days.
A true visionary for the aviation world. What makes it all that much more, all of his calculations, done with a slide rule and paper, no computers back then.
Still have my high school slide rule, can still do things on it, over fifty years later.
I agree
Kelly and his slide rule, still beats today's computer's brains.
Imagine if we revived Kelly and gave him a dedicated supercomputer, and software engineers to tweak our best AI's.
Smart man, everything he did was very special, what a time to be involved, wow, just WOW...
Blackbirds only defense was itself, go like crazy...
Thank you Mr Kely Johnson🙏
His predictions were spot on
The Constellations flew into Durango Colorado in the 1960's ---Frontier airlines ....Return to Denver
I watched my father board the elegant aircraft and was envious of his flights.
Legend. Thanks uploader.
🙏👍
Outstanding documentary on the man and his machines..... Thank You...
Russ
🙏🙏
Some of Johnson’s best ideas for manufacturing was A; to have one person in charge (no committee) B; Putting the design Dept or design Engineers on the floor with the people actually doing the building if not also being involved in the building so they could resolve issues immediately. In other words making people responsible for there work! Especially engineers!
Don't forget, productivity. Johnson kept producing results and moving forward. Many engineers today are stalled by Analysis Paralysis. 🤠🧐
Johnson was Top 5 greatest minds in the 20th century.
An American hero for certain!
Really appreciate the multiple research positions your compilations take. Creates a much more fleshed out historical account. Even when some aspects contradict , you can see possible reasons why.
It was said that Johnson had a knack for visualizing air flow on his creations. I have found the similarities of the shapes on the P80 to be interestingly similar to the P38, Thus making use of known aerodynamic solutions to solve a new problem.
Legend has it that the machine he's sitting in in the thumbnail was his daily driver. Lol!
As of 5:05 I've known of Kelly Johnson for many years, but never knew much his personal life. Seems to me that this man, in part, shaped the history of the USA.
Thanks for great and long text description of his life.
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Amazing genius. Excellent documentary of the career of a brilliant mind. GO M BLUE!!!!
Hollywood should make a movie about Kelly....
They really should!
They can’t make anything good or original,they are a bunch of drugged out freaks
Mind blown...! The concepts Mr K Johnson had in 1959 were truly science fiction in nature for the eventual SR 71. I just love the fact that this happened in America...! I just hope that the same talent and foresight is current in America today...! I really do...! Walk softly, but carry a bloody BIG stick....!
A lot of younger people work in the HERMEUS company to create a hypersonic aircraft (the company was even created 5 years ago). So I would say certainly the talent is still there. In addition I imagine there have been quite a few younger people working on the SR-72 (which I am VERY sure is near completion if not 100% completed by now)
good work
These designs were what he imagined in his childhood ❤ love them Kelly ❤
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"Few good people, they can do remarkable things"
Kelly Johnson
These stories are so priceless. I have had the privilege to know the mission director for Lockheed Martin. We actually made a sign for her when they landed on Mars. So I tell everyone I made a few things for Lockheed.
Really good show! thank you...🇺🇸 😎👍☕
AWESOME, THANKS DS
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"Genius" doesn't come close to describing his, uh, genius.
The "Connie" is still one of the most beautiful airliners ever due to its "dolphin" hull. Unlike all other airliners which are just tubes, the Connie's hull varied in diameter to make it more aerodynamic. That's part of the reason it could reach about 400mph, which was fighter jet speeds!
The final Blackbird flight (20:50) took place when I lived in LA. The plane went west over the Pacific, did a 180, and hit it. I heard the very unique double sonic boom as it headed for Washington, setting a record that I'm sure will never be broken.
About five years ago I was able to touch an SR-71 on display on the grounds of the USS Alabama in Mobile. My bucket list got shorter! It was smaller than I thought it would be.
Great video. Johnson is one of my favorites along with Massimo Tamburini
One of a kind!!
Kelly made things that optimized reality instead of design by compromise
What a man and what a story. Hopefully maybe Hollywood can do him justice in a several part saga. Getting the best of others and what he had loved to be doing. Yet. He sure worked hard especially when it was demanding and time limits...I loved the p38. I didn't realize he developed that as well..USA should be proud of such a man.
Thank God we h Johnson when he showed up.
Fantástico documental dedicado a un genio de la aeronautica
Very good.
Don Clarence " Kelly" Johnson ... Un GRANDE DE VERDAD 👋👋👋👋👋👋🇦🇷
👍👍
@@Dronescapes Siempre tengo presente su frase preferida : " mantenlo sencillo, estúpido - Keep simply, stupid " ... 👍👍👍😎
He was a genuine genius.......the.U2! With CIA Dick Bissell!
He was indeed a great person
Unfortunately, America's "Ace of Aces" Col. Richard "Ira" Bong who had achieved 40 air-to-air kills in Kelly's radical P-38 Lightning, died while test flying the P-80, and never even saw the end of the war.
It wasn't Johnson who named it Skunk Works but some members of his staff because of the smell of another factory nearby - Johnson didn't like the name but was powerless to stop it becoming standard
5:50 the P-38 had no double fuselage, it had one fuselage in the middle where the pilot seats, and 2 boobm where the engines where installed.
Ty dronescapes
1980 1985 calibrated scales at there location it was not easy watch me all the time
Been a lot more enjoyable documentary without a commercial ad every 5 minutes that you have to skip over😑
Oldiron, perhaps you are not aware that you have options. You might want to take a look at RUclips Premium, among the many perks, it also eliminates all ads. More or less 20% of our RUclips users have it and appreciate the benefits it comes with. It’s a nice option that gives you a choice, unlike most other popular social platforms. By the way, even if you do not want to watch ads for watching free videos, there are many ways to skip them
🤨 This was a GREAT Man.!!! 🤔✴️⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐✴️👍
Be quick be quite and be on time!
The Benchmark 👍
The absolute one!
Can you imagine how big the world is, located between the Atlantic and the Pacific on the East and on the West, Canada in the North and Mexico in the South.
Kelly Johnson made Ben rich and Ben made F117. Finally F117 made whole world of stealth air crafts
Ben Rich 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
At 23 : 21 ,,,,, what the heck is that behind that guy in the middle ? Behind his left ?
I was a chew chief on the 52 and the FB-111 the F-111 was awful to work on 20 minute flight turn into 16hrs of maintenance a 52 could fly 10hrs and problems code 3
The man
Indeed Ryan
The P-80 was not the first American jet, as is asserted at 11:37. That honor went to the Bell P-59.
You are correct, the first jet to fly on US soil was the XP-59, powered by the British turbojet (Whittle’s), given to G.E. By the British government
The planes are cool, but his palmade-and-comb perfect hair-part should be mentioned, too.
Danny Kay sang Danny Boy many times
I want some kickakoo juice
The John browning of aircraft
..68 minutes...damn.
Now the engineers main directive is cover thy ass.
Kelly and his wife saw an enormous black triangular UFO fly near them. An air force Intelligence gathering plane happened to gather radio signals emminating from a ufo nearby as well and he conferred with that crew about the 2 simultaneous incidents
There's a photo of my brother, who passed away 14-years ago, hanging here on the wall with his Lockheed T-33 trainer with nose # TR-338. He's not here anymore, or I'd ask him if the number indicated it was the 8th T-33 trainer.
Bless him! Do you have that photo?
@@Dronescapes It's hanging here on the wall.
Mind you, he also told Lockheeds management that building C-130 will destroy the company!
He was not perfect, but who is? He was still a genius, and there are few of those, and they all make mistakes (Steve Jobs docet)
Admittedly a nit of a comment. The Air Force did not give the go-ahead for the A-12. The A-12 Oxcart program came out of the CIA, not the Air
Force.
One if his best emplyees and friend was Cheny. Niw you know why the F117 was first into Iraq.
17:18
You screwed up in the intro Kelly Johnson started with Lockheed in the 30's and designed the P-38.
the music in the background is so bullshit (-sorry-) and annoying. the video is really great. and Johnson is one of the best aircraft engineers ever. would very nice to have this video without music - my god - this sound succs ..
The background music makes this video unwatchable.
Is that the original "cigarette smoking man"?
🇸🇪 🧬 ❤
Of Swedish descent
@@Dronescapes
Yes he is. I love Sweden soo much! 🇸🇪❤️
The SR71 was not the fastest nor highest flying aircraft . That distinction belongs to the CIA's magnificent A12 OXCART!
And the SR-71 comes from that. By The way, did you ever notice that on Kelly Johnson's desk, the nameplate of the model is: F-12B? Interesting!
It was great but he didn't believe in stealth
Oh wow let's repeat ourselves
"Skunk" seems to be an appropriate appelation to be associated with this pouchy faced creature.
Read SKUNK WORKS buy Ben L Rich.
Genius? No. An engineer and a smart one at that.
You look in that era, there were quite a few talented aircraft engineers, but what let them excel was there were MANY aircraft companies. Today, all imagination is stifled by there only being 2-3 big companies, where engineers go to be drowned by "the system".
After the Americans study how the germans did everything after the war and operation paper clip
Habu, not Hay bu, is an Okinawan snake. Pretty plane and great engineering, but such a waste when more pressing needs are evident.
Yeah I know how it works, everybody is a "genius" except me.
Well, your video information was ripped off from someone else and is no longer accurate. The SR-71 (and A-12) are no longer flying at all anywhere.
This is an old documentary...We are licensing from the producers. We assumed it was obvious.
@@Dronescapes Oh. Well, in that case, please keep giving out incorrect information.
We cannot go back in time (at least in 2023) and make him update the documentary, I hope you understand that. If you have a time machine, please let us know, we will be happy to buy one.
@@Dronescapes Yes. I know how video editing software works and can delete that part of the video or silence the audio and replace it with some cool trance music.
@@Dronescapes "Peabody here. Stepping into the Way back with my boy Sherman....."
Bah nothing wow from him but others 😂 sr71 a leaky joke
MY HERO
He supposedly said we are capable to fly ET back home...
He did not say that Ben rich was the one who said that
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