THE 456th FIGHTER INTERCEPTOR SQUADRON

THE PROTECTORS OF  S. A. C.

 

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THE A-12 BLACKBIRD

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The First Blackbird Wasn't Even Black.

 

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Most people who know about the blackbird, or at least don't mistake it for "the stealth," are familiar with the SR-71.  What many don't realize is that the SR-71 was the last in a series of aircraft based on the same airframe concept.  The first in that series was the A-12 (not to be confused with the US Navy's A-12 Avenger, otherwise known as the Flying Dorito).  Lockheed's A-12 was an internal designation that was never adopted by the Air Force, primarily because it was built for the CIA.

The A-12 was built under the codename Archangel, since it was a follow-on to the U-2 which had been built under the codename Angel.  The first concept in the Archangel program was called the A-1, the next A-2, and so on.  Those who hold the opinion that everything Kelly Johnson and his Skunk-works team touched turned to gold, might be disillusioned to know that the aircraft didn't start to resemble the final configuration until about the 7th design.  The original concept more closely resembled a grossly oversized F-104, and would have been fueled by liquid hydrogen.

The first flight of an A-12 took place on April 26, 1962, less than 30 months after the CIA gave Lockheed the go-ahead on the project.  Considering that everything on the airplane, including the engines, airframe materials, fuels, lubricants, fluids, tires, and navigation systems, had to be designed from scratch, then considering that there was no "prototype," the A-12 will probably remain for all time as the single greatest leap in aviation technology, ever.


 

A-12 Development And Operations

The development of the A-12 began back in the mid 1950s when the CIA decided that it would be best to replace the U-2. They desired an aircraft that would travel much faster and higher to avoid enemy defenses. Lockheed, the developer of the U-2 was also given the contract to develop this supersonic aircraft after a competition with Convair. Funded by the CIA, the project was called ARCHANGEL. The Skunk Works, a division of the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation went through twelve design proposals before they reached their final design, the A-12.

On 26 January 1960, the CIA ordered twelve A-12 aircraft. The next month, Lockheed began to search for 24 pilots for the A-12. Soon after in May of 1960, Francis Gary Powers was shot down in a U-2 over the Soviet Union. This event resulted in the United States and the Soviet Union signing an agreement not to fly manned vehicles over the Soviet Union again, a treaty that was undermined even before the SR-71 was built.

Research and development continued for a couple years before the first A-12 was completed and taken from Burbank to the Groom Lake test facility on 26 February 1962. A few months later, the A-12 made its first flight on April 25 with Lockheed test pilot Lou Schalk. During this flight, there were a few technical problems with the aircraft so the aircraft did not make its official first flight until 30 April 1962. After this event, a few days later, the aircraft went supersonic for the very first time and reached Mach 1.1 during the second test flight.

The A-12 was primarily an over-flight vehicle that was configured to fly over a target at a very high speed and high altitude. It got all of the coverage that it could and then made it back to the base. Now that the United States signed the treaty with the Soviet Union, the A-12 could never fly over the target that it was designed for. Therefore, the United States Air Force needed something more, the SR-71. The SR-71 was configured to use cameras that were for peripheral coverage. The aircraft did not need to go into enemy airspace. On 13 June 1962, the SR-71 mock-up was reviewed by the Air Force. A month later, the J58, the turbojet engine that is used in the SR-71 and A-12 completed its pre-flight testing. At this point in time, the A-12 still was going through flight-testing. When the A-12 made its first flight, it was with two J75 engines since Pratt & Whittney did not have the powerful J58 completed. On 5 October 1962, with the J58 testing complete, the A-12 flew with a J75 in the left nacelle and the new J58 on the right nacelle.

Early in 1963, the A-12 made its first flight with two of the J58 engines. During this year, the program experienced its first Blackbird loss when an A-12 crashed near Wendover, Utah on May 24th. Also, the aircraft made its first flight at Mach 3.2, the speed that the aircraft was intended to fly at in November. Due to a political motivation brought on by Barry Goldwater during the upcoming election, President Johnson announced the existence of the Blackbird on 29 February 1964. In June of 1964, the last A-12 was delivered to the Groom Lake test facility.

Two years later on 28 December 1966, the decision is made to terminate A-12 operations by 1 June 1968. The BoB (Bureau of the Budget) decided that it would be too costly to have both the SR-71 and the A-12 programs at the same time because both aircraft are very similar and do similar tasks. In May of 1967, A-12s were flown to Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, Japan and BLACK SHIELD unit was declared operational. Near the end of May in 1967 was the first flight of the A-12 in a combat mission over North Vietnam, which lasted three hours and thirty-nine minutes. In November of 1967, the A-12 and the SR-71 conducted a reconnaissance fly-off to decide which aircraft was superior and worthy to keep. The final choice was the SR-71 but it is still debatable that the A-12 is superior.

In February of 1968, Lockheed was ordered to destroy all tooling used to create the Blackbirds. Also during this year, the first SR-71 arrived at Kadena to replace the A-12s and it also flew its first operational mission on March 21st. May 8th saw the last operational mission of an A-12, which was over North Korea. After this, all A-12s were sent back to Palmdale to be put into storage for several decades before going to museums around the United States.

 

 

The First "Flight" Was An Accident

During A High-Speed Taxi Test On April 26, 1962

Pilot Lou Schalk recalls:

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924 takes off on her official maiden flight, flown by Lou Schalk

"It was determined that we would make a high-speed taxi test going down our 8000-foot concrete runway towards the Groom Lake bed which had probably 4-5 miles of lake bed suitable for landing beyond the end of the runway, so that seemed like a safe direction to go. The idea was that as I reached takeoff speed was to lift it off the ground and set it back down to see how it felt.

"Well, when we went down the runway and hit takeoff speed and lifted off, it was immediately out of control. It was oscillating longitudinally and laterally. It was obvious the airplane was very unstable. We did not have the damper systems on; no one ever turned the damper systems on on the first flight because you didn't trust them!

"Finally I got hold of it, set it back down on the ground, and was probably a mile or so out on the lakebed at that point in time. Immediately disappeared into a cloud of dust. The tower called to see if I was all right. I replied 'I'm fine, I'm rolling out to slow down and turn around and taxi back.' The tower couldn't hear me because the antenna for my UHF transmitter was on the bottom of the fuselage and was blanked out for the direction of the tower's line of sight. So no one knew what was happening and in the dust kept waiting for the burst of flames as I ran into the mountains. After I turned the corner, if Kelly Johnson hadn't already had a heart attack, he probably breathed a sigh of relief. I taxied back in, and we talked about it that night...I said, 'Why don't we turn the dampers on before we try this again?' We all agreed that was a very good idea!

"I still didn't know what had gone wrong, but I did know we had 12 to 15 thousand pounds of fuel on board for the taxi test. Flying an F-104, that's an awful lot of fuel, that's more that it carries, but we carried 76,000 pounds of fuel so we hardly had anything at all. It was all in the back end. The airplane was statically unstable, which meant that anytime you move the controls or if the airplane had any movement, you had to make a correctional movement with the controls to stop it, otherwise it would keep right on going; where if the airplane is stable, that means it will tend to return to its normal position, say if it hits some rough air or something like that. This is because of the center of gravity and its location to the center of pressure, which is usually about the midpoint of the wing.

"We had so much fuel in the back end of the airplane that the center of gravity was about 3 percent beyond the aft limit, and we were terrifically unstable. On the actual flight where we got airborne and stayed there, we were probably 3 percent forward of where our normal fuel loading would be. The reason that happened was that the ground crew and most of the people who were getting the airplane ready for this taxi test didn't know that we had decided to lift off the airplane and set it back down again that night except for Kelly, myself and the flight test engineer...no one told them!"

 

 

 A-12sTail Number / Build Number
 

Locations of A-12s, YF-12As & SR-71s
 

A-12s

Tail number/ build number

 

 

A-12's That Were Lost
 

A-12  60-6924  / #121

On display at Blackbird Airpark, Palmdale, CA

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The first A-12, 60-6924, dumping fuel during an early test flight

 

 

 Another fuel dump from the same flight; this photo is unusual in that is shows an F-101 flying chase - in almost all other photos the chase plane is an F-104

 

 Another fuel dump from the same flight

 

 
60-6924 completing her "official" maiden flight, April 30, 1962, flown by Lou Schalk

 

 Lockheed Martin photo of 924's cockpit as it appeared prior to her first flight (the drift-sight hasn't been installed yet)...

 

 ..and as it appears today

 

 
    A-12 #06924 and SR-71 #17973 are on display together at Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale, California.


 

 

A-12 60-6925  /  #122

On display at USS Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum

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You'll have to take their word for it that this is 925 - her tail is completely unmarked (annoying but historically accurate, since many of the A-12s flown from Kadena had fictitious tail numbers or no markings at all)

 

 

Touring an A-12 Blackbird Cockpit

 


 

A-12 6927  /  #124B

 

A-12 #06927, nicknamed "Titanium Goose," is sometimes referred to as the "A-12B" because of its SR-71B-like rear seat. The only A-12 trainer ever built, it is displayed on a pedestal near the parking facility at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, CA. This A-12 sat at Lockheed's location at AF Plant #42 in Palmdale, CA for a number of years before finally being moved here in August 2003, and is the last A-12 to be put on permanent display. Like M-21 #60-6940, it is one of only two Blackbirds still sporting a mostly bare-metal motif. This A-12 logged more than twice as much flight time as any other A-12, 1076.4 hours.

 

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Known as the "Titanium Goose," #927 was the only "B-model" in the A-12 series.

 
927 takes off from Groom Dry Lake

A rare glimpse of 927 from a chase plane - Lockheed

927 at Groom Lake

In storage at Palmdale, CA -Skunk Works
Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, about to get the first "check ride" in 927 with Lockheed test pilot Lou Schalk.  Contrary to some reports, this was not the only time he flew in a blackbird; in his book Kelly: More than My Share of It All", Johnson states that he was also in the back seat of a YF-12 on one of the missile test firings.


 

 

A-12 60-6929  /  #126

 

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8 A-12s and 2 YF-12s lined up on the ramp at Groom Dry Lake.  929 is the fourth aircraft in line, to the left of 924, the Titanium Goose 927, and 928 .

This aircraft was lost on 28 December 1965 seven seconds into an FCF (Functional Check Flight) from Groom Lake performed by CIA pilot Mel Vojvodich. The SAS (Stability Augmentation System) had been incorrectly wired up, causing the airplane to lose complete control just seconds after takeoff and the pilot was unable to control the aircraft 100 feet above the runway and ejected safely at an altitude of 150 feet. .

All future SAS installations used polarized connectors.  You live, you learn.

A similar accident occurred when the first production Lockheed F-117 was flown on 20 April 1982 by Bob Ridenaeur. It's control system had been hooked up incorrectly. Ridenaeur survived the accident but had injuries serious enough to remove him from flight status.

At the time of Mele's crash, Col. Slip Slater, commander of the 1129th SAS at Groom Lake was in California visiting his daughter during the Christmas holiday. This left Colonel Holbury in command at the facility. Maj. Harold Burgeson was on duty at the Ops building when the accident occurred. Hearing that Mele had just crashed, he headed for the Ops vehicle at a dead run. Just as he reached the outside gate Col

 Holbury screeched to a halt in his staff car, picked him up and they went to the site together. After assuring that Mele was OK they took a look at the wreckage before going to see him. The aircraft was grossly out of trim.  Project Test Pilot, Denny Sullivan was in another station wagon monitoring the take-off and narrowly missed Mel when he drove to the crash site.

Maj. Roger Andersen

Maj. Roger Andersen was on duty in the Command Post monitoring the tower frequencies during take -off. As soon as he heard that the aircraft crashed, he ran to the front of the operations building, jumped into one of the station wagons and headed out on the lake bed. It was about dusk and the fire trucks were on the scene quickly. Mele had landed quite close to where the bird crashed. One of the fire trucks was also quite close to Mel. Heavy black smoke and orange flames boiled from the wreckage until the fire trucks gained control. Andersen recalls some fuel from the crash area flowing out onto the lake bed and getting under a thin layer of ice. It was burning under the ice with an eerie bluish white flame. It looked like a large votive candle as darkness began to arrive at Groom Lake.

Andersen spoke to Mel a number of times before he died and on one occasion they discussed the December 28th crash. Mele had sprained his ankle when he bailed out and when he returned to L.A. his wife, Carol, asked him why he was limping. He told her that he had sprained his ankle playing tennis.

CIA A-12 Project Pilot Frank Murray
CIA A-12 Project Pilot Jack Layton

Maj. Burgeson was a member of the accident board where the Lockheed team determined that the SAS connections had been reversed so that Pitch and Yaw signals were misinterpreted. A few days later Col. Slater, the project pilots, Major Burgeson and Bill Park were sent to Beale to check the cable reversal out in their new simulator.

 

Lockheed Test Pilot Bill Park

 Accompanying them were Mele and a Col from Wright Pat. Bill Park took the first flight in the simulator with the cables reversed while the rest waited in an adjacent room. Bill Park had a tremendous sense of humor and when he returned he winked at Burgeson then remarked that it was a rough ride but flyable. Burgeson then took his flight and when he returned he continued the charade with a similar remark. According to Burgeson, Mele looked so crestfallen that they burst into laughter and confessed that they had both crashed in the simulator.

 

 

A-12 60-6930  /  #127

A-12 #06930 is on display at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near Huntsville, AL. The display carries NASA markings similar to those carried by the YF-12s flown by NASA in the 1970s, although NASA never flew the A-12. Also, note that this A-12 carries a false tail number of 7930 when the actual tail number is 60-6930 or 06930 as it would be displayed on other A-12s. These photos were taken on 30 July 2001.

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She bears the same markings as the YF-12s flown by NASA from 1969 thru 1979.  However, none of the A-12s were ever flown by NASA.
 

 

 

A-12 60-6931  /  #128

06931 is on display at the Minnesota Air National Guard Museum in Minneapolis.

 

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Her wings severed by an acetylene torch, an un-flyable 931 is loaded onto another Lockheed wonder, the C-5A Galaxy, at Lockheed's facility in Palmdale on October 27, 1991.  At 102 feet, this was the longest load ever put inside another aircraft up to that time.  While several other A-12s and SR-71s also had their wing spars cut in order to transport them to museums, many were spared this fate: 924, 925, 927, and 940 in particular. - Lockheed Martin photo

Once delivered to her new home, Article 128 was completely repainted and restored, and is widely considered to be the best-looking of all restored museum blackbirds.

 

When the A-12s were briefly operated out of Kadena AFB in Okinawa, Japan, it wasn't unusual for them to be marked with false tail numbers, red numbers, or no markings at all.  This was to confuse spies and spotters who tried to figure out how many of these black aircraft were being operated, and what their range and performance was.

 

 

  • A-12 60-6933  /  #130

    A-12 #60-6933 is on display at the San Diego Aerospace Museum in San Diego, CA.

     

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    YF-12 60-6934  /  #1001

    This aircraft, the first YF-12A, was seriously damaged on 14 August 1966 during a landing accident at Edwards AFB. The rear half was later used to build the SR-71C (61-7981) which flew for the first time on 14 March 1969.
     

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    A-12 Losses

    60-6926 (A-12) This was the second A-12 to fly but the first to crash. On 24 May 1963, CIA pilot Ken Collins was flying an inertial navigation system test mission. After entering clouds, frozen water fouled the pitot-static boom and prevented correct information from reaching the standby flight instruments and the Triple Display Indicator. The aircraft subsequently entered a stall and control was lost completely followed by the onset of an inverted flat spin. The pilot ejected safely. The wreckage was recovered in two days and persons at the scene were identified and requested to sign secrecy agreements. A cover story for the press described the accident as occurring to an F-105, and is still listed in this way on official records.

    60-6928 (A-12) This aircraft was lost on 5 January 1967 during a training sortie flown from Groom Lake. Following the onset of a fuel emergency caused by a failing fuel gauge, the aircraft ran out of fuel only minutes before landing. CIA pilot Walter Ray was forced to eject. Unfortunately the ejection seat.. man-seat separation sequence malfunctioned and Ray was killed on impact with the ground, still strapped to his seat.

    60-6929 (A-12) This aircraft was lost on 28 December 1967 seven seconds into an FCF (Functional Check Flight) from Groom Lake performed by CIA pilot Mel Vojvodich. The SAS (Stability Augmentation System) had been incorrectly wired up, and the pilot was unable to control the aircraft 100 feet above the runway. The pilot ejected safely. A similar accident occurred when the first production Lockheed F-117 was flown on 20 April 1982 by Bill Park. It's control system had been hooked up incorrectly. Bill Park survived the accident but had injuries serious enough to remove him from flight status.

    60-6932 (A-12) This aircraft was lost in the South China Sea on 5 June 1968. CIA pilot, Jack Weeks was flying what was to be the last operational A-12 mission from the overseas A-12 base at Kadena AB, Okinawa. The loss was due to an in-flight emergency and the pilot did not survive. Once again the official news release identified the lost aircraft as an SR-71 and security was maintained. A few days later the two remaining planes on Okinawa flew to the US and were stored with the remainder of the OXCART (CIA) family.

    60-6939 (A-12) This aircraft was lost on approach to Groom Lake on 9 July 1964 following a Mach 3 check flight. On approach, the flight controls locked up, and Lockheed test pilot Bill Park was forced to eject at an altitude of 200 feet in a 45 degree bank angle!

    A-12 M-21 YF-12A SR-71A SR-71B SR-71C
    Built 13 2 3 29 2
    Lost 5 1 2 11 1


    A-12 (60-6926 / 123)
    This aircraft was the third A-12 built, the second to fly, and the first to crash. On 24 May 1963, CIA pilot Ken Collins was flying an inertial navigation system test mission. After entering clouds, frozen water fouled the pitot-static boom and prevented correct information from reaching the standby flight instruments and the Triple Display Indicator. The aircraft subsequently entered a stall and control was lost completely followed by the onset of an inverted flat spin. The pilot ejected safely. The wreckage was recovered in two days and persons at the scene were identified and requested to sign secrecy agreements. A cover story for the press described the accident as occurring to an F-105.

    A-12 (60-6928 / 125)
    This aircraft was lost on 5 January 1967 during a training sortie flown from Groom Lake. Following the onset of a fuel emergency caused by a failing fuel gauge, the aircraft ran out of fuel only minutes before landing. CIA pilot Walter Ray was forced to eject. Unfortunately, during ejection, the man-seat separation sequence malfunctioned and Ray was killed on impact with the ground, still strapped to his seat.

    A-12 (60-6929 / 126)
    This aircraft was lost on 28 December 1965, seven seconds into a functional check flight (FCF) from Groom Lake performed by CIA pilot Mele Vojvodich. The Stability Augmentation System (SAS) had been incorrectly wired up, and the pilot was unable to control the aircraft 100 feet above the runway. The pilot ejected safely.

    A-12 (60-6932 / 129)
    This aircraft was lost in the South China Sea on 5 June 1968. CIA pilot, Jack Weeks was flying what was to be the last operational A-12 mission from Kadena AB, Okinawa. The loss was due to an inflight emergency and the pilot did not survive. Once again the official news release identified the lost aircraft as an SR-71 and security was maintained. A few days later the two remaining planes on Okinawa flew to the U.S. and were stored with the remainder of the OXCART (CIA) family.

    YF-12A (60-6934 / 1001)
    This aircraft, the first YF-12A, was seriously damaged on 14 August 1966 during a landing accident at Edwards AFB. The rear half was later used to build the SR-71C (61-7981) which flew for the first time on 14 March 1969.

    YF-12A (60-6936 / 1003)
    This aircraft, the third YF-12A, was lost on 24 June 1971 in an accident at Edwards AFB. Lt. Col. Ronald J. "Jack" Layton and systems operator Maj. William A. "Billy" Curtis were approaching the traffic pattern when a fire broke out due to a fuel line fracture caused by metal fatigue. The flames quickly enveloped the right side of the aircraft, and on the base leg both crewmembers ejected.

    A-12 (60-6939 / 133)
    This aircraft was lost on approach to Groom Lake on 9 July 1964 following a Mach 3 check flight. On approach, the flight controls locked up, and Lockheed test pilot Bill Park was forced to eject at an altitude of 200 feet in a 45 degree bank angle!

    M-21 (60-6941 / 135)
    This was the second A-12 to be built as an M-21 for launching the D-21 reconnaissance drone. During a flight test on 30 July 1966 for launching the drone, the drone pitched down and struck the M-21, breaking it in half. Pilot Bill Park and Launch Control Officer (LCO) Ray Torick stayed with the plane a short time before ejecting over the Pacific Ocean. Both made safe ejections, but Ray Torick opened his helmet visor by mistake and his suit filled up with water which caused him to drown. This terrible personal and professional loss drove Lockheed's Clarence "Kelly" Johnson to cancel the M-21/D-21 program.

    SR-71A (61-7950 / 2001)
    The prototype SR-71 was lost on 10 January 1967 at Edwards during an anti-skid braking system evaluation. The main undercarriage tires blew out and the resulting fire in the magnesium wheels spread to the rest of the aircraft as it ran off the end of the runway. Lockheed test pilot Art Peterson survived.

    SR-71A (61-7952 / 2003)
    This aircraft disintegrated on 25 January 1966 during a high-speed, high-altitude test flight when it developed a severe case of engine unstart. Lockheed test pilot Bill Weaver survived although his ejection seat never left the plane! Reconnaissance System Officer (RSO) Jim Zwayer died in a high-G bailout. The incident occurred near Tucumcari, New Mexico.

    SR-71A (61-7953 / 2004)
    This aircraft was lost on 18 December 1969 after an in-flight explosion and succeeding high-speed stall. Col. Joe Rogers and RSO Maj. Gary Heidelbaugh ejected safely. The specific cause of the explosion has never be determined. The loss occurred near Shoshone, California.

    SR-71A (61-7954 / 2005)
    This aircraft crashed on 11 April 1969 under conditions similar to 61-7950. New aluminum wheels and stronger tires with a beefed up compound were retrofitted to all SR-71s because of the crash. Lt. Col. William "Bill" Skliar and his RSO Maj. Noel Warner managed to escape uninjured.

    SR-71B (61-7957 / 2007)
    This aircraft was the second SR-71B built and only B model to crash. It crashed on approach to Beale AFB on 11 January 1968 when instructor pilot Lt. Col. Robert G. Sowers and his "student" Capt. David E. Fruehauf were forced to eject about seven miles from Beale after all control was lost. The aircraft had suffered a double generator failure followed by a double flameout (caused by fuel cavitations) and impacted upside down in a farmer's field.

    SR-71A (61-7965 / 2016)
    This aircraft was lost on 25 October 1967 after an INS platform failed, leading to incorrect attitude information being displayed in the cockpit during a night flight. There were no warning lights to alert pilot Maj. Roy L. St. Martin and RSO Capt. John F. Carnochan. In total darkness, with a steep dive and no external visual references available, the crew had little alternative. They were able to eject safely. The loss occurred near Lovelock, Nevada.

    SR-71A (61-7966 / 2017)
    This aircraft was lost on the evening of 13 April 1967 after it entered a subsonic, high-speed stall. Pilot Capt. Earle M. Boone and RSO Capt. Richard E. "Butch" Sheffield ejected safely. The incident occurred near Las Vegas, New Mexico.

    SR-71A (61-7969 / 2020)
    This aircraft was lost on 10 May 1970 during an operational mission from Kadena AB, Okinawa against North Vietnam. Shortly after air-refueling, the pilot, Maj. William E. Lawson initiated a normal full power climb. Stretching before him was a solid bank of cloud containing heavy thunderstorm activity which reached above 45,000 feet. Heavy with fuel, the aircraft was unable to maintain a high rate of climb and as it entered turbulence both engines flamed out. The RPM dropped to a level too low for restarting the engines. Lawson and RSO, Maj. Gilbert Martinez ejected safely after the aircraft stalled. The plane crashed near Korat RTAFB, Thailand.

    SR-71A (61-7970 / 2021)
    This aircraft was lost on 17 June 1970 following a post-tanking collision with the KC-135Q (59-1474) tanker. Lt. Col. Buddy L. Brown and his RSO Maj. Mortimer J. Jarvis ejected safely although the pilot broke both legs. The SR-71 crashed 20 miles east of El Paso, Texas, but the KC-135 limped back to Beale AFB, California with a damaged refueling boom and aft fuselage.

    SR-71A (61-7974 / 2025)
    This aircraft was lost on 21 April 1989 over the South China Sea and is the last loss of any Blackbird. Pilot Maj. Daniel E. House said the left engine blew up and shrapnel from it hit the right-side hydraulic lines, causing a loss of flight controls. House and RSO Capt. Blair L. Bozek ejected and came down safely in the ocean. They had been able to broadcast their position before abandoning the Blackbird, and rescue forces were immediately on the way. However, the crew was rescued by native fisherman.

    SR-71A (61-7977 / 2028)
    This aircraft ended its career in flames by skidding 1000 feet off the end of runway 14 at Beale AFB, California on 10 October 1968. The takeoff was aborted when a wheel assembly failed. Capt. James A. Kogler was ordered to eject, but pilot Maj. Gabriel Kardong elected to stay with the aircraft. Both crew members survived.

    SR-71A (61-7978 / 2029)
    Nicknamed "Rapid Rabbit," this aircraft was written off on 20 July 1972 during the roll out phase of its landing at Kadena AB, Okinawa. The pilot, Capt. Dennis K. Bush, had practiced a rapid deploy-jettison of the braking parachute. A go-around was initiated after the chute was jettisoned. On the next landing attempt, the aircraft touched down slightly "hot," but had no chute to reduce the aircraft's speed. The pilot was unable to keep the plane on the runway. The aircraft suffered significant damage. The pilot and the RSO, Capt. James W. Fagg escaped without injury.

     

    YF-12  60-6935  /  #1002

     

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    YF-12A #935 on the ramp at NASA FRC, April 28, 1971 - photo courtesy of NASA NASA crewmen Fitz Fulton and Don Mallick with 935  

    935's last final approach - photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin

    The only surviving YF-12A, 935 was delivered to the U.S. Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio, by Col. Jim Sullivan and Col. Richard Uppstrom on Wednesday, November 7, 1979, and has been on permanent display ever since.  The museum is also home to an SR-71 (61-7976).

    YF-12 radar systems engineer Ray Scalise recalls one adventure in 935, during the US Air Force's test program:

    "One of the things that was done to the YF12As at Edwards was to paint a white cross on the bottom of the aircraft to make it visible against the black sky so it could be spotted by a ground observer who was stationed on the hangar roof during missions (they used high power binoculars). He was in radio contact with the engineers in the radio room in the hangar.

    "On one mission the observer said he did not need the binoculars to see the airplane because he could see the "contrail." Airplanes con at 35,000 ft, NOT AT 80,000 ft. At about the same time my pilot noted we were losing fuel at a very high rate. He guessed a fuel line to the left engine had burst and was feeding raw fuel into the engine. He immediately declared an emergency, throttled back on the engines and began a spiral descent to Edwards since we were right overhead. I kept my hands on the eject handle in case the airplane decided to explode. We landed OK and when the plane stopped the base commander was there with his car. Emergency vehicles had not arrived on the scene yet, so the base commander drove up to the plane on the right side by the cockpits.

    "Both the pilot and I regressed the aircraft by jumping on the roof, then the hood of the car and started to run away from the bird. It looked like it had just come out of a car wash and was leaking fuel all over the runway. I still do not know why it did not explode. YEAH, the fuel was of low volatility, but come on!

    "Anyway, because I was carrying almost double my weight (the pressure suit weighs 35 lbs and the parachute weighs 70 lbs; I only weighed 120 lbs), I was concerned about falling off the airplane and breaking my neck. SO...I walked down the chine on my spurs to keep from slipping on the wet skin (the spurs were strapped to your boots, and were used to hook into cables on the seat which were designed to pull your feet back into the seat to prevent leg loss during an ejection). In doing so I punched a couple of holes in the upper chine skin. Thus, I have always contended I "signed my signature" to the plane.

    "If you are ever in Dayton, Ohio at the National Museum Of The United States Air Force, there you can see the patches on the upper chine, right side by the rear cockpit where they repaired my 'signature.'"

    Ray Scalise
     

     

    YF-12A  60-6936  /  #1003

    YF-12A (60-6936 / 1003)
    This aircraft, the third YF-12A, was lost on 24 June 1971 in an accident at Edwards AFB. Lt. Col. Ronald J. "Jack" Layton and systems operator Maj. William A. "Billy" Curtis were approaching the traffic pattern when a fire broke out due to a fuel line fracture caused by metal fatigue. The flames quickly enveloped the right side of the aircraft, and on the base leg both crewmembers ejected.

    Click on Picture to enlarge

    YF-12 photo courtesy of NASA/Dryden

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    951 in flight under NASA colors; notice the red rectangular markings on the upper wing surfaces, the clearly visible anti-collision beacon near the center of the fuselage, and the pilot's white pressure suit - photo courtesy of NASA


    This aircraft, the third YF-12A, was lost on 24 June 1971 in an accident at Edwards AFB. Lieutenant Colonel Ronald J Layton and systems operator William A Curtis were approaching the traffic pattern when a fire broke out due to a fuel line fracture caused by metal fatigue. The flames quickly enveloped the entire aircraft and on the base leg both crew members ejected. 936 was totally destroyed.

    On Saturday, May 1, 1965, YF-12A #60-6936 was used to set several speed and altitude records (notice the white reference cross just visible on the underside of the engine near the landing gear).  This was "coincidentally" the Russian New Year, and 5 years to the day that Gary Powers was shot down flying his U-2 over the Soviet Union.  The plan was to have 2 airframes (936 and 934) each set different records, but 934 developed problems at the last minute, and so 936 was used to set all of the following records that day:

    She was still wearing that cross when she was lost on Thursday, June 24, 1971.  On approach to Edwards Air Force Base, a fire broke out from a ruptured fuel line and quickly engulfed the entire left engine.  Pilot Lt.Col. Jack Layton and Systems Operator Billy Curtis ejected safely, but the aircraft was a total loss.  Shortly thereafter, SR-71 #951 was reassigned the bogus tail number 06937, re-designated as a "YF-12C", and continued with NASA's YF-12 program until its conclusion in 1979.

    Date
    Record
    Crew
    1 May 1965

    World absolute and class records for speed over a 15/25 km straight course:
    2,070 mph

    World absolute and class records for sustained altitude (horizontal flight):
    80,258 ft

    Col. Fox Stephens and LtCol. Daniel Andre
    1 May 1965

    World absolute and class records for speed (500 km closed circuit):
    1,643 mph
    Maj. Walt Daniel and Maj. Noel Warner

    1 May 1965

    World absolute and class records for speed (1,000 km closed circuit):
    1,689 mph

    Maj. Walt Daniel and Capt. James Cooney

    Source: Lockheed Martin press release, Sept. 1991


     

     

    A-12 60-6937  /  #131

    Was the first A-12 deployed to Kadena AB, Okinawa, in Operation Black Shield.

    It flew the first of the 29 A-12 missions over North Vietnam, on 22 May 1967

    Flew the last Black Shield mission in support of AGER-2 Pueblo, on 8 May 1968

    Made the last A-12 flight 21 June 1968

    Flew a total of 345.75 hours in 177 flights

     

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    A-12 number 06937 had been "displayed" at the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California behind a 12' chain link fence, visible from the guard's station at the entrance but off limits to the public. 

     In February of 2000 she was transported by WorldWide Aircraft Recovery to her new home at the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Alabama.

     Of the 13 A-12s originally built, only 8 remain and now 3 of them are in Alabama -only California has as many.

    There were two Blackbirds designated as 06937.  This A-12 (Lockheed/CIA article #131, USAF serial number 60-6937) on display in Birmingham was the first.
     

    "....It was the first A-12 to be deployed to Kadena AFB in Operation Black Shield.  It also flew the first of 29 A-12 operational missions over North Vietnam May 22, 1967, as well as the last operational Black Shield mission, in support of the AGER-2 USS Pueblo May 8, 1968.  It made its last flight June 21, 1968, the final [of any] A-12 flight.  This aircraft flew just 345.75 hours in 177 flights, while the entire A-12 fleet had flown only 4,804.38 hours in 2,083 flights." - William J. Simone, Lockheed Skunk Works Star, March 26, 1999 (quoted with permission)
     


     

    "The Other 937"

     

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    YF-12A in flight with "coldwall" experiment - a hollow tube to collect data on heat transfer and skin friction.

    YF-12s #6935 Back & YF-12C "#6937" Foreground

    		    


    In 1971, SR-71 #17951 was loaned to NASA to complete the testing of the YF-12A program (2 of the 3 YF-12s had already been lost in accidents). 951 was temporarily redesigned as a YF-12C (there being no B-model trainer for the YF-12 series) and given NASA#937.  This number was chosen for 2 reasons:
     

     

    On October 27, 1978, she was returned to the Air Force and given back her old number. She logged her final flight two months later, on December 22, 1978.

     

     

    A-12 60-6938  /  #132
     

    938 is on permanent display at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park near Mobile, Alabama.

     

    Click on Picture to enlarge
    This A-12 Blackbird (60-6938) was on display at the U.S.S. Alabama Battleship Park in Mobile, Alabama. Its condition after Hurricane Katrina is unknown to me, and the park has been closed indefinitely.  6938 prepares to take the runway in this rare glimpse of an A-12 in action

     

     

    		 Lockheed article #132 on the nose identifies this A-12 as #60-6938

     

     


     

    A-12  60-6939  /  #133

     

    Click on Picture to enlarge

    Photos of this particular bird are extremely rare, as she had less than 9 hours of flight time accumulated when she crashed on approach to Groom Dry Lake on Thursday, July 9, 1964.

              photo courtesy Lockheed Martin

    According to the official report, "Aircraft No. 133 [939] was making its final approach to the runway when at altitude of 500 feet and airspeed of 200 knots it began a smooth steady roll to the left.  Lockheed test pilot Bill Park could not overcome the roll.  At about a 45 degree bank angle and 200 foot altitude he ejected.  As he swung down to the vertical in the parachute his feet touched the ground, for what must have been one of the narrower escapes in the perilous history of test piloting.  The primary cause of the accident was that the servos for the right outboard roll and pitch control froze."

    Pilot Bill Park ejected safely, only to endure another ejection a few years later in 06941.  An outstanding test pilot (he would go on to join the HAVE BLUE / F-117 test program), he is the only pilot with the dubious honor of bailing out of more than one blackbird.


     

     

     

    Last Updated

    06/04/2009

     

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