A12

By 1962, Kelly Johnson had done at least a few studies on using the A-12 as a carrier for a QF-104 Starfighter

The A-12 was the result of the military’s secret Project Oxcart, which aimed to create a high-altitude, high-speed reconnaissance aircraft. The A-12 was built by Lockheed’s Advanced Development Projects office, currently known as Skunk Works, and had its maiden flight in 1962. The A-12 could reach speeds above Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound, while conducting sensitive intelligence-gathering missions. Up until 1968, the A-12 was employed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for surveillance missions. Through the 1990s, later models dubbed the SR-71 Blackbird, were used by NASA and the US Air Force (USAF) for test and reconnaissance missions.

In the book Origins and Evolution Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, Scott Lowther says that two of the A-12 airframes were initially constructed for an entirely different purpose. As the program was developed, the CIA was worried about the dangers of flying a manned vehicle over enemy territory, especially one as advanced as the A-12. As the shootdown of Francis Gary Powers plainly illustrated, the loss of a pilot and advanced technology over “denied” territory may prove to be both politically embarrassing and technologically devastating. As a backup, they asked Kelly Johnson and his group to research unmanned drones that could be launched from the back of the A-12.

Johnson had conducted at least a few studies on the A-12’s potential use as a carrier for a QF-104 by 1962. There is little more to go on than the simple description of the idea; therefore, it’s unclear how different the QF-104 would have been from the standard F-104. This diagram should be regarded as completely provisional.

On the other hand, the concept appears feasible enough initially. However, using a more or less stock F-104, which can reach a ceiling of 50,000 feet and a speed of around Mach 2, from an aircraft that can travel more than 50% faster and higher would be unusual. It is also probable that a ramjet, with modified aerodynamics and structure to allow for higher speeds and altitudes, would have taken the place of the J-79 turbojet.

It appears that the CIA was more interested in the AQ-12, a brand-new, highly optimized drone, rather than in the A-12/QF-104 concept. Under the program, the AQ-12 would be launched from the back of an A-12 designated “M-21,” where M stands for “Mother” and 21 is just the 12 reversed to avoid misunderstanding. The AQ-12 was renamed D-21, where D stands for “Daughter.”

During the fourth flight test, the mothership pitched up and collided with the D-21 at Mach 3.25 as a result of an “asymmetric unstart” that occurred as the D-21 went through the M-21’s bow wake. Ray Torick and Bill Park, two of the crew, were ejected from the M-21, but Torick drowned after his flight suit tore and filled with water.

The M-21 launch program was halted following the mishap. Under the secret Tagboard test program, testers still believed the D-21 would make a valuable reconnaissance vehicle and chose to launch the drone from B-52Hs. Senior Bowl was the new code name assigned to the D-21 project.

D-21s were used on four missions over communist China under Senior Bowl, although none of these missions was a complete success. In 1971, the USAF terminated the program and put in storage the remaining D-21 aircraft.

Origins and Evolution Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is published by Mortons Books and is available to order here.

Photo by U.S. Air Force and Scott Lowther via Mortons Books

Code-named “Nice Girl,” the recon fly-off between the A-12 and the SR-71 took place between October 20 and November 3, 1967

Unofficially referred to as the “Blackbird,” the SR-71 is a sophisticated, long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft. Dec. 22, 1964, saw the first SR-71 flight, and in January 1966, the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base (AFB), California, received the aircraft. On January 26, 1990, the US Air Force (USAF) retired its fleet of SR-71 aircraft due to rising operating expenses and a dwindling defense budget.

For almost 24 years, the SR-71 held the record for being the fastest and highest-flying operational aircraft in the world. It could cover 100,000 square miles of the Earth’s surface per hour from 80,000 feet. The SR-71 was derived from the A-12 Oxcart, another Mach 3 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft.

The CIA operated the A-12, but its operational lifetime was short-lived because the CORONA reconnaissance satellite, which was first launched in June 1959, began providing worldwide imagery without much of the risk associated with airborne reconnaissance. The A-12 was retired in 1968 as a result of the SR-71 joining the US Air Force (USAF) at the same time. Why did the A-12 Oxcart lose out to the SR-71 Blackbird?

Code-named “Nice Girl,” the recon fly-off between the A-12 and the SR-71 took place over the United States from October 20 to November 3, 1967. It involved refueling and flying identical routes one hour apart on three different days, and both aircraft completed the entire sortie with collection sensors operational.

The SR-71 performed well on the first attempt, but the A-12 had an issue. The situation was the opposite on the second day. Both aircraft completed the trip successfully on day three. That day, there was an undercast over the northern region (from California to Kentucky); therefore, the SR-71 was able to collect ELINT and SLR data while the A-12 could only take pictures of the clouds. Both increased speed and altitude over the Gulf of Mexico after receiving air refueling. The weather was CAVU from New Orleans to the San Francisco area, and both aircraft were able to provide all of the data they needed for the evaluation.

The aircrews that took part in the program were:

• Lt. Col. Al Hichew and I, Maj. Tom Schmittou, flew mission #1.
• Maj. John Storrie and Maj. Coz Mallozzi flew mission #2 Maj.
• Bill Campbell and Capt. Al Pennington flew mission #3.
• Jack Weeks flew all three A-12 missions.

The first two flight days were inconclusive. Intelligence evaluators concluded that the SR-71 was a better overall investment after the third day of flying. While the A-12s’ cameras were superior due to their wider swath and higher resolution, the SR-71 was able to gather a greater variety of intelligence than the CIA aircraft. These additional sensors included side-looking airborne radar, infrared detectors, and ELINT-collection devices required for the SR-71 post-nuclear strike reconnaissance mission.

The conclusion was that they picked the SR-71 to continue flying. The A-12s were retired. The A-12s were put in hangars until 1984.

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Photo by Lockheed Martin and U.S. Air Force