6 ms·
Which is really odd, as Titanium is not that rare. Are we sure that story about the Titanium coming from the USSR is accurate?
by ben7799 4y ago
Which is really odd, as Titanium is not that rare.
Are we sure that story about the Titanium coming from the USSR is accurate?
- throwmeaway1212 4y agoIt's a fairly well known and documented story, do you have anything similar in evidence rather than just conjecture?
- pc86 4y ago[flagged]
- smburdick 4y agoI think it's mostly anecdotal (I have heard it too, but I can't think of where) Not a metallurgist, but if I had to guess it was hard to find in large enough quantities at the time. I also understand that it's a lot harder to work with than say aluminum or steel Speaking of which, King Louis served his guests with aluminum silverware, since at the time it was more valuable than gold due to the difficulty of extracting it at the time, despite its abundance.
- ckozlowski 4y ago"Skunk Works" by Ben Rich is a first hand account by the (eventual) lead of that Lockheed division, and he describes this in his book. https://www.amazon.com/Skunk-Works-Personal-Memoir-Lockheed/dp/0316743003 https://www.amazon.com/Skunk-Works-Personal-Memoir-Lockheed/...
- dylan604 4y agoWhy deplete your own supplies when you can use your opponents?
- philipkglass 4y agoTitanium is very common in the Earth's crust. But turning titanium minerals into pure, ductile titanium metal is more energy intensive and complex than making most other metals: https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Inorganic_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_and_Websites_(Inorganic_Chemistry)/Descriptive_Chemistry/Elements_Organized_by_Block/3_d-Block_Elements/Group_04%3A_Transition_Metals/Chemistry_of_Titanium https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Inorganic_Chemistry/... At the time, the USSR had already invested significant resources into making titanium for submarines. Buying titanium under false pretenses was easier than increasing the domestic industrial capacity for making titanium, particularly when the plane was not going to be produced in large numbers.
- StrangeATractor 4y agoRelated: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Losos-class_submarine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Losos-class_submarine
- justin66 4y agoThe Alfa submarine would seem to be more relevant.
- stametseater 4y agoAlso the Papa-class (only one built), which preceded the Alfa and remains the fastest submarine ever built. And the Sierra-class submarines which followed the Alfa class.
- StrangeATractor 4y agoI don't disagree but the Piranha is damn cool. Crew of 9!
- billfor 4y agohttps://mentourpilot.com/sr-71-when-cia-used-soviet-titanium-to-spy-on-ussr/ https://mentourpilot.com/sr-71-when-cia-used-soviet-titanium...
- dendrite9 4y agoThere was a government arranged meeting betweeen Boeing and Soviet engineers to discuss working with titanium for the SST: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-titanium-gambit-3804526/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/the-titani... In the alpine climbing world Soviet climbers used titanium gear that was considered very good and light. Some of it was from scraps and spare material, but they had access to titanium.