A-12 OXCART

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Image:A-12 Oxcarts.jpg Image:A12Blackbird.JPG

The A-12 is often referred to as OXCART, but this actually was the codename assigned by the CIA to the program to build the aircaft; it never actually had an official 'name.' The A-12 was a reconnaissance aircraft built for the Central Intelligence Agency by Lockheed's famed Skunk Works. The single-seat design, which first flew in 1962, was a precursor to the later Air Force YF-12 interceptor and SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft.

The A-12 designation was a Lockheed internal reference to the ARCHANGEL program, which was a CIA design competition to define a successor to the U-2 spyplane. Lockheed won the competition with the 12th variation of their design, hence the designator 'A-12.'

On 26 January, 1960, the CIA ordered twelve A-12 aircraft under the program name OXCART. One was a dedicated trainer with a second, higher seat. The first A-12 flew in 1962. The first five A-12's were initially flew with J75 engines (17,000 lbs. thrust each), as the more powerful (31,500 and later 34,500 lbs. thrust) J58s were not yet available due to development problems. These J75-engined aircraft were only capable of approximately Mach 2.0. Starting in 1963 the J75 engines were replaced with the J58's as the new engines became available, with the exception of the A-12 trainer "Titanium Goose," which retained the J75 powerplants for its entire service life. All those engined with the Pratt & Whitney J58 engines were capable of approximately Mach 3.2.

A total of 18 aircraft were built in the production run. Of these, 13 were A12's, three were YF-12A interceptors for the Air Force (not funded under OXCART), and two to M-21's (see below). Five A-12s, two of the YF-12s, and one of the M-21's were destroyed in flight test and other accidents.

In 1960 the Air Force agreed to fund conversion of three A-12 production slots into two-seat YF-12 interceptors capable of Mach 3. The program, while successful, never entered production, and YF-12 was again redesigned into the famous SR-71 Blackbird. Outwardly quite similar to the original A-12s, the SR-71 was longer by 5.05 feet, had a sensor payload that was 1,500 lb heavier, and a second crew member who operated the reconnaissance equipment and cameras.

A variant was the M-21, configured as a platform for launching the Lockheed D-21, a Mach 3+ reconnaissance drone that began development in October 1962. Originally known by the Lockheed designation Q-12, it was intended to be launched off the back of the M-21 for extra-long range flights and/or missions that were too dangerous for a manned vehicle, but the program was cancelled when the second conversion model crashed, killing a Lockheed test crewman.

The A-12s were deployed operationally by the CIA in Operation Black Shield to Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan, in 1967 during the Vietnam War and the Pueblo Crisis. Three A-12s flew 29 operational reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam (and after the Pueblo was seized, over North Korea) between May 31, 1967 and May 8, 1968, after which they were retired from active service and replaced by the SR-71. Shortly after operations ceased, an A-12 out of Kadena was lost over the Pacific Ocean and its CIA pilot missing while on a test flight after an engine change.

During its deployment on Okinawa, the A-12's (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.

After their retirement, the remaining A-12s were sent back to Palmdale, California and placed in storage for several decades before going to museums around the United States.

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