A-12 OXCART
Encyclopedia
The Lockheed A-12 was a reconnaissance aircraft
built for the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) by Lockheed
's famed Skunk Works
, based on the designs of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
. The A-12 was produced from 1962 through 1964, and was in operation from 1963 until 1968. The single-seat design, which first flew in April 1962, was the precursor to both the twin-seat U.S. Air Force
YF-12
prototype interceptor
and the famous SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft's final mission was flown in May 1968, and the program and aircraft retired in June of that year. Officially secret for over forty years, the CIA began declassifying A-12 program details for release in 2007.
to reduce the radar cross section
of the U-2
, preliminary work began inside Lockheed in late 1957 to develop a follow-on aircraft to overfly the Soviet Union. The designs were nicknamed "Archangel", after the U-2 program, which had been known as "Angel". As the aircraft designs evolved and configuration changes occurred, the internal Lockheed designation changed from Archangel-1 to Archangel-2, and so on. These nicknames for the evolving designs soon simply became known as "A-1", "A-2", etc.
These designs had reached the A-11 stage when the program was reviewed. The A-11 was competing against a Convair
proposal called Kingfish
, of roughly similar performance. However, the Kingfish included a number of features that greatly reduced its radar cross section
, which was seen as favorable to the board. Lockheed responded with a simple update of the A-11, adding twin canted fins instead of a single right-angle one, and adding a number of areas of non-metallic materials. This became the A-12 design. On 26 January 1960, the CIA ordered 12 A-12 aircraft. After selection by the CIA, further design and production of the A-12 took place under the code-name Oxcart.
After development and production at the Skunk Works, in Burbank
, California, the first A-12 was transferred to Groom Lake
test facility, where on 26 April 1962, Lockheed test pilot Lou Schalk took the A-12 on its shakedown flight
. Many internal documents and references to individual aircraft used Johnson's preferred designation, using the prefix, "the Article" for the specific examples. Thus on the A-12's first flight, the subject aircraft was identified as "Article 121". The first official flight occurred on 30 April. On its first supersonic flight, in early May 1962, the A-12 reached speeds of Mach 1.1.
The first five A-12s, in 1962, were initially flown with Pratt & Whitney J75
engines capable of 17000 lbf (75.6 kN) thrust
each, enabling the J75-equipped A-12s to obtain speeds of approximately Mach
2.0. On 5 October 1962, with the newly developed J58
engines, the A-12 flew with one J75 engine, and one J58 engine. By early 1963, the A-12 was flying with J58 engines, and during 1963 these J58-equipped A-12s obtained speeds of Mach 3.2. Also, in 1963, the program experienced its first loss when, on 24 May, "Article 123" piloted by Kenneth S. Collins crashed near Wendover
, Utah.
The reaction to the crash illustrated the secrecy over, and importance of, the project. The CIA called the aircraft an F-105 as a cover story; local law enforcement
and a passing family were warned with "dire consequences" to keep quiet about the crash. Each was also paid $25,000 in cash ($ today) to do so; the project often used such cash payments to avoid outside enquiries into its operations. The project received ample funding; contracted security guards were paid $1,000 monthly ($ today) with free housing on base, and chefs from Las Vegas
were available 24 hours a day for steak, Maine lobster
, or other requests.
In June 1964, the last A-12 was delivered to Groom Lake, from where the fleet made a total of 2,850 test flights. A total of 18 aircraft were built through the program's production run. Of these, 13 were A-12s, three were prototype YF-12A
interceptors for the Air Force (not funded under the OXCART program), and two were M-21 reconnaissance drone carriers. One of the 13 A-12s was a dedicated trainer aircraft
with a second seat, located behind the pilot and raised to permit the Instructor Pilot to see forward. The A-12 trainer "Titanium Goose", retained the J75 powerplants for its entire service life.
and Cuba
, the A-12 was never used for either role. After a U-2 was shot down in May 1960, the Soviet Union was considered too dangerous to overfly except in an emergency (and overflights were no longer necessary due to spy satellite
s) and, although crews trained for the role, U-2s remained adequate for Cuba.
After lengthy debate, the CIA decided to deploy the A-12s to Asia. The first A-12 arrived at Kadena Air Base
, Okinawa, Japan, on 22 May 1967. With the arrival of two more aircraft (24 May, and 27 May) the unit was declared operational on 30 May, and began Operation Black Shield on 31 May. Mel Vojvodich flew the first Black Shield operation, over North Vietnam
, photographing Surface-to-air missile
(SAM) sites, flying at 80000 ft (24,384 m), and at Mach 3.1. From Kadena, during 1967, the A-12s conducted 22 operations in support of the Vietnam War
. During 1968, Black Shield conducted operations in Vietnam and also supported the Pueblo Crisis
with North Korea
. The operational use of the A-12 was nearly a decade after the original conception of the Oxcart program.
During its deployment on Okinawa, the A-12s (and later the SR-71) and by extension their pilots, were nicknamed Habu
after a cobra-like Okinawan pit viper
which the locals thought the plane resembled.
The A-12 program was officially canceled on 28 December 1966 — even before Black Shield began in 1967 — due to budget concerns and because of the forthcoming SR-71, which arrived in Kadena in March 1968.
Ronald L. Layton flew the 29th and final A-12 mission on 8 May 1968, over North Korea. On 4 June 1968, just 2½ weeks before the retirement of the entire A-12 fleet, an A-12 out of Kadena, piloted by Jack Weeks, was lost over the Pacific Ocean near the Philippines while conducting a functional check flight after the replacement of one of its engines. Francis J. Murray took the final A-12 flight on 21 June 1968, to Palmdale
, California.
On 26 June 1968, Vice Admiral Rufus L. Taylor, the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, presented the CIA Intelligence Star
for valor to Weeks' widow and pilots Collins, Layton, Murray, Vojvodich, and Dennis B. Sullivan for participation in Black Shield.
The deployed A-12s and the eight non-deployed aircraft were placed in storage at Palmdale. All surviving aircraft remained there for nearly 20 years before being sent to museums around the United States. On 20 January 2007, despite protests by Minnesota's legislature and volunteers who had maintained it in display condition, the A-12 preserved in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was dismantled to ship to CIA Headquarters to be displayed there.
For the continuation of the Oxcart timeline, covering the duration of operational life for the SR-71, see SR-71 timeline.
The A-12 training variant (60-692 "Titanium Goose") was a two-seat model with two cockpits set horizontally with the rear cockpit raised and slightly offset. In case of emergency, the trainer was designed to allow the flight instructor to take control. Other than the modifications required to accommodate the dual controls and new cockpit configuration, the trainer was very similar to A-12 in terms of appearance and performance.
, since much of the design and development work on the YF-12 had already been done and paid for. Thus, in 1960 the Air Force agreed to take the seventh through ninth slots on the A-12 production line and have them completed in the YF-12A interceptor configuration.
The main changes involved modifying the aircraft's nose to accommodate the Hughes AN/ASG-18
fire-control radar originally developed for the XF-108, and the addition of a second cockpit for a crew member to operate the fire control radar. The nose modifications changed the aircraft's aerodynamics enough to require ventral fins to be mounted under the fuselage and engine nacelles to maintain stability. Finally, bays previously used to house the A-12's reconnaissance equipment were converted to carry missiles.
The program to develop this system was canceled in 1966 after a drone collided with the mother ship at launch, destroying the M-21. The crew survived the midair collision but the LCO drowned when he landed in the ocean and his flight suit filled with water. The modified D-21B drone was carried on a pylon under the wing of the B-52
bomber. The drone performed operational missions over China from 1969 to 1971.
Reconnaissance aircraft
A reconnaissance aircraft is a manned military aircraft designed, or adapted, to carry out aerial reconnaissance.-History:The majority of World War I aircraft were reconnaissance designs...
built for the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) by Lockheed
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
's famed Skunk Works
Skunk works
Skunk Works is an official alias for Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs , formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. Skunk Works is responsible for a number of famous aircraft designs, including the U-2, the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-117 Nighthawk, and the F-22 Raptor...
, based on the designs of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson
Clarence Johnson
Clarence Leonard "Kelly" Johnson was an aircraft engineer and aeronautical innovator. 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"...
. The A-12 was produced from 1962 through 1964, and was in operation from 1963 until 1968. The single-seat design, which first flew in April 1962, was the precursor to both the twin-seat U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
YF-12
Lockheed YF-12
The Lockheed YF-12 was an American prototype interceptor aircraft, which the United States Air Force evaluated as a development of the highly-secret Lockheed A-12 that also spawned the SR-71 Blackbird.-Design and development:...
prototype interceptor
Interceptor aircraft
An interceptor aircraft is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to prevent missions of enemy aircraft, particularly bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Interceptors generally rely on high speed and powerful armament in order to complete their mission as quickly as possible and set up...
and the famous SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft's final mission was flown in May 1968, and the program and aircraft retired in June of that year. Officially secret for over forty years, the CIA began declassifying A-12 program details for release in 2007.
Design and development
With the failure of the CIA's Project RainbowProject Rainbow
Project Rainbow was the name given by the CIA to a research project aimed at reducing the radar cross section of the Lockheed U-2 to reduce the chance that it would be detected and tracked by Soviet radars during its overflights of the USSR.-Early Flights:...
to reduce the radar cross section
Radar cross section
Radar cross section is a measure of how detectable an object is with a radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected.An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy...
of the U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
, preliminary work began inside Lockheed in late 1957 to develop a follow-on aircraft to overfly the Soviet Union. The designs were nicknamed "Archangel", after the U-2 program, which had been known as "Angel". As the aircraft designs evolved and configuration changes occurred, the internal Lockheed designation changed from Archangel-1 to Archangel-2, and so on. These nicknames for the evolving designs soon simply became known as "A-1", "A-2", etc.
These designs had reached the A-11 stage when the program was reviewed. The A-11 was competing against a Convair
Convair
Convair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft and Consolidated Aircraft, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36 bomber, and the F-102...
proposal called Kingfish
Convair KINGFISH
The Kingfish reconnaissance aircraft design was the ultimate result of a series of proposals designed at Convair as a replacement for the Lockheed U-2...
, of roughly similar performance. However, the Kingfish included a number of features that greatly reduced its radar cross section
Radar cross section
Radar cross section is a measure of how detectable an object is with a radar. A larger RCS indicates that an object is more easily detected.An object reflects a limited amount of radar energy...
, which was seen as favorable to the board. Lockheed responded with a simple update of the A-11, adding twin canted fins instead of a single right-angle one, and adding a number of areas of non-metallic materials. This became the A-12 design. On 26 January 1960, the CIA ordered 12 A-12 aircraft. After selection by the CIA, further design and production of the A-12 took place under the code-name Oxcart.
After development and production at the Skunk Works, in Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, California, the first A-12 was transferred to Groom Lake
Groom Lake
Groom Lake is a salt flat in Nevada used for runways of the Nellis Bombing Range Test Site airport on the north of the Area 51 USAF military installation. The lake at elevation is ~ from north to south and from east to west at its widest point...
test facility, where on 26 April 1962, Lockheed test pilot Lou Schalk took the A-12 on its shakedown flight
Shakedown (testing)
A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to...
. Many internal documents and references to individual aircraft used Johnson's preferred designation, using the prefix, "the Article" for the specific examples. Thus on the A-12's first flight, the subject aircraft was identified as "Article 121". The first official flight occurred on 30 April. On its first supersonic flight, in early May 1962, the A-12 reached speeds of Mach 1.1.
The first five A-12s, in 1962, were initially flown with Pratt & Whitney J75
Pratt & Whitney JT4A
|-See also:-External links:*...
engines capable of 17000 lbf (75.6 kN) thrust
Thrust
Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's second and third laws. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction on that system....
each, enabling the J75-equipped A-12s to obtain speeds of approximately Mach
Mach number
Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...
2.0. On 5 October 1962, with the newly developed J58
Pratt & Whitney J58
The Pratt & Whitney J58 was a jet engine used on the Lockheed A-12, and subsequently on the YF-12 and SR-71 Blackbird aircraft. The J58 was a variable cycle engine which functioned as both a turbojet and a fan-assisted ramjet. The J58 was a single-spool turbojet engine with an afterburner...
engines, the A-12 flew with one J75 engine, and one J58 engine. By early 1963, the A-12 was flying with J58 engines, and during 1963 these J58-equipped A-12s obtained speeds of Mach 3.2. Also, in 1963, the program experienced its first loss when, on 24 May, "Article 123" piloted by Kenneth S. Collins crashed near Wendover
Wendover, Utah
Wendover is a city in Tooele County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Elko Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,537 at the 2000 census, with a 2006 estimated population of 1,632....
, Utah.
The reaction to the crash illustrated the secrecy over, and importance of, the project. The CIA called the aircraft an F-105 as a cover story; local law enforcement
Sheriffs in the United States
In the United States, a sheriff is a county official and is typically the top law enforcement officer of a county. Historically, the sheriff was also commander of the militia in that county. Distinctive to law enforcement in the United States, sheriffs are usually elected. The political election of...
and a passing family were warned with "dire consequences" to keep quiet about the crash. Each was also paid $25,000 in cash ($ today) to do so; the project often used such cash payments to avoid outside enquiries into its operations. The project received ample funding; contracted security guards were paid $1,000 monthly ($ today) with free housing on base, and chefs from Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
were available 24 hours a day for steak, Maine lobster
American lobster
The American lobster, Homarus americanus, is a species of lobster found on the Atlantic coast of North America, chiefly from Labrador to New Jersey. Within North America, it is also known as the northern lobster or Maine lobster. It can reach a body length of , and a mass of over , making it the...
, or other requests.
In June 1964, the last A-12 was delivered to Groom Lake, from where the fleet made a total of 2,850 test flights. A total of 18 aircraft were built through the program's production run. Of these, 13 were A-12s, three were prototype YF-12A
Lockheed YF-12
The Lockheed YF-12 was an American prototype interceptor aircraft, which the United States Air Force evaluated as a development of the highly-secret Lockheed A-12 that also spawned the SR-71 Blackbird.-Design and development:...
interceptors for the Air Force (not funded under the OXCART program), and two were M-21 reconnaissance drone carriers. One of the 13 A-12s was a dedicated trainer aircraft
Trainer (aircraft)
A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows...
with a second seat, located behind the pilot and raised to permit the Instructor Pilot to see forward. The A-12 trainer "Titanium Goose", retained the J75 powerplants for its entire service life.
Operational history
Although originally designed to succeed the U-2 in overflights over the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, the A-12 was never used for either role. After a U-2 was shot down in May 1960, the Soviet Union was considered too dangerous to overfly except in an emergency (and overflights were no longer necessary due to spy satellite
Spy satellite
A spy satellite is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications....
s) and, although crews trained for the role, U-2s remained adequate for Cuba.
After lengthy debate, the CIA decided to deploy the A-12s to Asia. The first A-12 arrived at Kadena Air Base
Kadena Air Base
, is a United States Air Force base in the towns of Kadena and Chatan and the city of Okinawa, in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Kadena Air Base is the hub of U.S. airpower in the Pacific, and home to the USAF's 18th Wing and a variety of associate units.-Units:The 18th Wing is the host unit at Kadena...
, Okinawa, Japan, on 22 May 1967. With the arrival of two more aircraft (24 May, and 27 May) the unit was declared operational on 30 May, and began Operation Black Shield on 31 May. Mel Vojvodich flew the first Black Shield operation, over North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
, photographing Surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
(SAM) sites, flying at 80000 ft (24,384 m), and at Mach 3.1. From Kadena, during 1967, the A-12s conducted 22 operations in support of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. During 1968, Black Shield conducted operations in Vietnam and also supported the Pueblo Crisis
USS Pueblo (AGER-2)
USS Pueblo is an American ELINT and SIGINT Banner-class technical research ship which was boarded and captured by North Korean forces on January 23, 1968, in what is known as the Pueblo incident or alternatively as the Pueblo crisis or the Pueblo affair. Occurring less than a week after President...
with North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. The operational use of the A-12 was nearly a decade after the original conception of the Oxcart program.
During its deployment on Okinawa, the A-12s (and later the SR-71) and by extension their pilots, were nicknamed Habu
Trimeresurus flavoviridis
Trimeresurus flavoviridis is a venomous pitviper species found in Japan in the Ryukyu Islands. No subspecies are currently recognized.-Description:...
after a cobra-like Okinawan pit viper
Crotalinae
The Crotalinae, commonly known as "pit vipers" or crotaline snakes, are a subfamily of venomous vipers found in Asia and the Americas. They are distinguished by the presence of a heat-sensing pit organ located between the eye and the nostril on either side of the head...
which the locals thought the plane resembled.
Retirement
Ronald L. Layton flew the 29th and final A-12 mission on 8 May 1968, over North Korea. On 4 June 1968, just 2½ weeks before the retirement of the entire A-12 fleet, an A-12 out of Kadena, piloted by Jack Weeks, was lost over the Pacific Ocean near the Philippines while conducting a functional check flight after the replacement of one of its engines. Francis J. Murray took the final A-12 flight on 21 June 1968, to Palmdale
Palmdale, California
Palmdale is a city located in the center of northern Los Angeles County, California, United States.Palmdale was the first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city on August 24, 1962; 47 years later, voters approved creating a charter city in November, 2009. Palmdale is...
, California.
On 26 June 1968, Vice Admiral Rufus L. Taylor, the Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, presented the CIA Intelligence Star
Intelligence Star
The Intelligence Star is an award given by the Central Intelligence Agency for a "voluntary act or acts of courage performed under hazardous conditions or for outstanding achievements or services rendered with distinction under conditions of grave risk." The award citation is from the Director...
for valor to Weeks' widow and pilots Collins, Layton, Murray, Vojvodich, and Dennis B. Sullivan for participation in Black Shield.
The deployed A-12s and the eight non-deployed aircraft were placed in storage at Palmdale. All surviving aircraft remained there for nearly 20 years before being sent to museums around the United States. On 20 January 2007, despite protests by Minnesota's legislature and volunteers who had maintained it in display condition, the A-12 preserved in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was dismantled to ship to CIA Headquarters to be displayed there.
Timeline
The following timeline describes the overlap of the development and operation of the A-12, and the evolution of its successor, the SR-71.- 16 August 1956: Following Soviet protest of U-2 overflights, Richard M. Bissell, Jr.Richard M. Bissell, Jr.Richard Mervin Bissell, Jr. was an American Central Intelligence Agency officer responsible for major projects such as the U-2 spy plane and the Bay of Pigs Invasion.-Early years:...
conducts the first meeting on reducing the radar cross section of the U-2. This evolves into Project RainbowProject RainbowProject Rainbow was the name given by the CIA to a research project aimed at reducing the radar cross section of the Lockheed U-2 to reduce the chance that it would be detected and tracked by Soviet radars during its overflights of the USSR.-Early Flights:...
. - December 1957: Lockheed begins designing subsonic stealthy aircraft under what will become Project Gusto.
- 24 December 1957: First J-58 engine run.
- 21 April 1958: Kelly Johnson makes first notes on a Mach 3 aircraft, initially called the U-3, but eventually evolving into Archangel I.
- November 1958: The Land panel provisionally selects Convair Fish (B-58-launched parasite) over Lockheed's A-3.
- June 1959: The Land panel provisionally selects Lockheed A-11 over Convair Fish. Both companies instructed to re-design their aircraft.
- 14 September 1959: CIA awards antiradar study, aerodynamic structural tests, and engineering designs, selecting Lockheed's A-12 over rival Convair's KingfishConvair KINGFISHThe Kingfish reconnaissance aircraft design was the ultimate result of a series of proposals designed at Convair as a replacement for the Lockheed U-2...
. Project Oxcart established. - 26 January 1960: CIA orders 12 A-12 aircraft.
- 1 May 1960: Francis Gary Powers is shot down in a U-2 over the Soviet Union.
- 26 April 1962: First flight of A-12 with Lockheed test pilot Louis Schalk at Groom Lake.
- 13 June 1962: SR-71 mock-up reviewed by USAF.
- 30 July 1962: J58 engine completes pre-flight testing.
- October 1962: A-12s first flown with J58 engines
- 28 December 1962: Lockheed signs contract to build six SR-71 aircraft.
- January 1963: A-12 fleet operating with J58 engines
- 24 May 1963: Loss of first A-12 (#60–6926)
- 7 August 1963: First flight of the YF-12A with Lockheed test pilot James Eastham at Groom Lake.
- June 1964: Last production A-12 delivered to Groom Lake.
- 25 July 1964: President Johnson makes public announcement of SR-71.
- 29 October 1964: SR-71 prototype (#61-7950) delivered to Palmdale.
- 22 December 1964: First flight of the SR-71 with Lockheed test pilot Bob Gilliland at AF Plant #42. First mated flight of the MD-21 with Lockheed test pilot Bill Park at Groom Lake.
- 28 December 1966: Decision to terminate A-12 program by June 1968.
- 31 May 1967: A-12s conduct Black Shield operations out of Kadena
- 3 November 1967: A-12 and SR-71 conduct a reconnaissance fly-off. Results were questionable.
- 26 January 1968: North Korea A-12 overflight by Jack Weeks photo-locates the captured USS PuebloUSS Pueblo (AGER-2)USS Pueblo is an American ELINT and SIGINT Banner-class technical research ship which was boarded and captured by North Korean forces on January 23, 1968, in what is known as the Pueblo incident or alternatively as the Pueblo crisis or the Pueblo affair. Occurring less than a week after President...
in Changjahwan Bay harbor. - 5 February 1968: Lockheed ordered to destroy A-12, YF-12 and SR-71 tooling.
- 8 March 1968: First SR-71A (#61-7978) arrives at Kadena AB (OL 8) to replace A-12s.
- 21 March 1968: First SR-71 (#61-7976) operational mission flown from Kadena AB over Vietnam.
- 8 May 1968: Jack Layton flies last operational A-12 sortie, over North Korea.
- 5 June 1968: Loss of last A-12 (#60–6932)
- 21 June 1968: Final A-12 flight to Palmdale, California.
For the continuation of the Oxcart timeline, covering the duration of operational life for the SR-71, see SR-71 timeline.
Training variant
YF-12A
The YF-12 program was a limited production variant of the A-12. Lockheed convinced the U.S. Air Force that an aircraft based on the A-12 would provide a less costly alternative to the recently canceled North American Aviation XF-108XF-108 Rapier
The North American XF-108 Rapier was a proposed long-range, high-speed interceptor aircraft designed by North American Aviation. Initiated to defend the United States from supersonic Soviet bombers, the program, initially called NA-257, was cancelled in 1959 due to a shortage of funds and the...
, since much of the design and development work on the YF-12 had already been done and paid for. Thus, in 1960 the Air Force agreed to take the seventh through ninth slots on the A-12 production line and have them completed in the YF-12A interceptor configuration.
The main changes involved modifying the aircraft's nose to accommodate the Hughes AN/ASG-18
Hughes AN/ASG-18
The Hughes AN/ASG-18 was a prototype fire control system and radar, originally intended for the XF-108 Rapier interceptor aircraft, for the United States Air Force....
fire-control radar originally developed for the XF-108, and the addition of a second cockpit for a crew member to operate the fire control radar. The nose modifications changed the aircraft's aerodynamics enough to require ventral fins to be mounted under the fuselage and engine nacelles to maintain stability. Finally, bays previously used to house the A-12's reconnaissance equipment were converted to carry missiles.
M-21
One notable variant of the basic A-12 design was the M-21, used to carry and launch the Lockheed D-21, an unmanned, faster and higher-flying reconnaissance drone. The M-21 was a modified version of the A-12 with a second cockpit for a Launch Control Operator/Officer (LCO) in the place of the A-12's Q bay; the M-21 also included a pylon on its back for mounting the drone. The D-21 was completely autonomous; after being launched it would overfly the target, travel to a predetermined rendezvous point and eject its data package. The package would be recovered in midair by a C-130 Hercules and the drone would self-destruct.The program to develop this system was canceled in 1966 after a drone collided with the mother ship at launch, destroying the M-21. The crew survived the midair collision but the LCO drowned when he landed in the ocean and his flight suit filled with water. The modified D-21B drone was carried on a pylon under the wing of the B-52
B-52 Stratofortress
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, who have continued to provide maintainence and upgrades to the aircraft in service...
bomber. The drone performed operational missions over China from 1969 to 1971.
A-12 aircraft production and disposition
| Serial number | Model | Location or fate |
|---|---|---|
| 60-6924 | A-12 | Air Force Flight Test Center Museum Annex, Blackbird Airpark, at Plant 42 Plant 42 Air Force Plant 42 is a federally owned military aerospace facility under the control of the Air Force Material Command in Palmdale, California... , Palmdale Palmdale, California Palmdale is a city located in the center of northern Los Angeles County, California, United States.Palmdale was the first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city on August 24, 1962; 47 years later, voters approved creating a charter city in November, 2009. Palmdale is... , California. 606924 was the first A-12 to fly. |
| 60-6925 | A-12 | Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum The Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum is a military and maritime history museum with a collection of museum ships in New York City. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street on the West Side of Manhattan. The museum showcases the World War II aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, the submarine , a Concorde... , parked on the deck Flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface from which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters and other VTOL aircraft is also referred to as the... of the aircraft carrier Aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations... , New York City |
| 60-6926 | A-12 | Lost, 24 May 1963 |
| 60-6927 | A-12 | California Science Center California Science Center The California Science Center is a state agency and museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. Billed as the West Coast's largest hands-on science center, the California ScienCenter is a public-private partnership between the State and the California Science Center Foundation... in Los Angeles, CA (Two-canopied trainer model, "Titanium Goose") |
| 60-6928 | A-12 | Lost, 5 January 1967 |
| 60-6929 | A-12 | Lost, 28 December 1967 |
| 60-6930 | A-12 | U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census.... , Alabama |
| 60-6931 | A-12 | CIA Headquarters, Langley Langley, Virginia Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School... , Virginia |
| 60-6932 | A-12 | Lost, 4 June 1968 |
| 60-6933 | A-12 | San Diego Aerospace Museum San Diego Aerospace Museum San Diego Air & Space Museum is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, USA... , Balboa Park, San Diego, California |
| 60-6937 | A-12 | Southern Museum of Flight Southern Museum of Flight The Southern Museum of Flight is an aviation museum located three blocks east of the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama. It features a valuable collection of aviation artifacts spanning the 20th century in the various areas of aviation. It explores eight decades... , Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S... , Alabama |
| 60-6938 | A-12 | Battleship Memorial Park Battleship Memorial Park Battleship Memorial Park is a military history park and museum located on the western shore of Mobile Bay in Mobile, Alabama. It has a collection of notable aircraft and museum ships including the South Dakota-class battleship USS Alabama and Gato-class submarine USS Drum... (USS Alabama), Mobile Mobile, Alabama Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest... , Alabama |
| 60-6939 | A-12 | Lost, 9 July 1964 |
| 60-6940 | M-21 | Museum of Flight Museum of Flight The Museum of Flight is a private non-profit air and space museum at King County International Airport , south of downtown Seattle, Washington. It was established in 1965 and is fully accredited by the American Association of Museums... , Seattle, Washington |
| 60-6941 | M-21 | Lost, 30 July 1966 |
Specifications (A-12)
See also
External links
- Archangel: CIA's Supersonic A-12 Reconnaissance Aircraft by David Robarge. (Cia.gov)
- FOIA documents on OXCART (Declassified 21 January 2008)
- "Sheep Dipping" Conversion of Air Force Officers to CIA For Project Oxcart
- A-12 page on RoadRunners Internationale site
- A-12T Exhibit at California Science Center
- Differences between the A-12 and SR-71
- Blackbird Spotting maps the location of every existing Blackbird, with aerial photos from Google Maps
- Photographs and disposition of the "Habu" aircraft at habu.org
- The U-2's Intended Successor: Project Oxcart (Chapter 6 of "The CIA and Overhead Reconnaissance", by Pedlow & Welzenbach)
- USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers for 1960, including all A-12s, YF-12As and M-21s
- "The Real X-Jet". Air & Space magazine, March 1999.
- Secret A-12 Spy Plane Officially Unveiled at CIA's Headquarters
- Project Oxcart: CIA Report