The duel in the skies which nearly sparked World War Three

A shoot-out in the skies was only narrowly avoided. Photo / Getty Images

A previously unknown Cold War skirmish in the skies which could have sparked a major diplomatic crisis between the West and USSR, has been revealed in a new book.

The incident above the Barents Sea, near Soviet waters, took place between a US Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and a MiG-31, the premier Soviet interceptor aircraft, at the height of the Cold War 30 years ago.

It is documented in recently declassified documents which are analysed in a new book.

A shoot-out in the skies - which would have had devastating ramifactions at a time of escalated tensions between the Cold War superpowers - was only narrowly avoided.

The alarming episode is revealed in British historian Paul Crickmore's new book Lockheed Blackbird, Beyond the Secret Missions.

On October 6, 1986, a SR-71 Blackbird was carrying out a reconnaissance mission just outside the territorial waters of Russia's Murmansk area coastline.

They were tasked with keeping an eye on a Soviet ballistic missile submarine fleet.

However, the Blackbird was not alone in the skies - there was a Soviet interceptor on their trail.

The Blackbird managed to shake off the hostile aircraft and complete its mission, but it was far too close for comfort.

In Crickmore's book, US pilot Lieutenant Colonel Ed Yeilding describes the terrifying incident.

The pilot stated: "In the distance far ahead, at perhaps 100 miles, I could see a long, bright white Russian contrail flying directly towards us, but at much lower altitude.

"I knew it must be a Soviet fighter, probably a MiG-31, then the newest Soviet interceptor.

"I raised my periscope and saw too that we were leaving a long contrail.

"I knew the fighter could see our contrail as easily as I could see his.

"I imagined the Soviet pilot was much like me, with a love of aviation and trying hard to be one of the very best.

"I also assumed he had orders to fire his missiles if I was late with my turn and slipped over Soviet territorial waters to within 12nm of Soviet land, and I assumed the pilot would like nothing better than an opportunity to fire his missiles at an SR-71 Blackbird.

"I believed the Soviet fighter would not fire his missiles as long as we stayed on our usual track, but I also knew he or his ground controllers could mistake our position as being closer than we actually were.

"We had no defences like flares against heat-seeking missiles, but again, we believed that missile 'probability of kill' was very low due to our high speed and altitude.

"I was determined to fly the track as planned and get the pictures.

"Flying straight toward each other in our supersonic jets, I was reminded of two gallant medieval knights galloping full speed toward each other, only I did not have a weapon.

"For survival, Curt (Lieutenant Colonel Curt Osterheld) and I depended on accurate navigation to keep us just outside Soviet territorial waters to prevent a launch, and we depended on our superior speed and altitude in case missiles were launched.

"From my F-4 experience with intercepts and visual acuity, my best guess is that eight miles was his closest approach.

"He appeared to run out of airspeed at the top of his contrail, at maybe 65,000ft or 10,000ft below us.

"I saw his nose below the horizon and fall away.

"Curt and I stayed the course and got the pictures."

Author Mr Crickmore, a former air traffic controller from Worcstershire, said there would have been 'hell to pay' if the plane had been shot down.

He said: 'If they had shot it down you were looking at a very, very serious international incident, particularly if it involved the fatality of crew members.

'There would have been hell to pay.