SR-71 anomaly

[charlie_c67]

So browsing the web as I do during the calmer moments of the day I came across the interesting pic below. The most interesting part being the twin cockpitted mount second from the right. Is this a real aircraft (shadow doesn't seem any different, though may be the angle) or is it just the art of the photoshopper at play again?

 

[VMA131Marine]

It's likely one of the two SR-71B's that were built as pilot trainers.

[Dave Fleming]

Yes, it's real, SR71B (orC)

[Dave Fleming]

Different view of same line up:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/7a/05/01/7a05018317f1bd97afe776b810f78042.jpg

[sinnerboy]

 

[charlie_c67]

Cheers chaps, never seen anything about it before so nice to see a little variation!

[Jessica]

Dividing rabbits a little, those are all A-12s in that lineup rather than SR-71s (look closely; there's no rear cockpit and the nose is narrower). The trainer was 'affectionately' called the "Titanium Goose", and was the only blackbird which only flew with J-75s. It was also the only Blackbird that Kelly Johnson got to fly in.

[charlie_c67]

Would that engine change explain the wobbly dancing diamonds on the last picture sinnerboy posted? 

[PhantomBigStu]

25 minutes ago, charlie_c67 said:

Would that engine change explain the wobbly dancing diamonds on the last picture sinnerboy posted? 

 

Nope, thats an actuall SR71B with the J58 engines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_diamond

Edited December 29, 2016 by PhantomBigStu

[71chally]

As Jessica says they are A-12s with the sole a A-12 trainer built.

 

The pics in Sinnerboys posts are SR-71Bs and were J-58 powered.

[oggy4624]

and here it is at its current home in the LA science museum.

 

[BIG X]

This is not my normal field of interest - but very interesting all the same - thanks for asking an interesting question & thanks for all the very educated answers - you have set me off on a quest to find out more about the SR71

[Darth Vader]

The more you find out the more amazing the aircraft becomes.

Arguably the greatest aircraft ever built .Saw one fly at mildenhall in 86 -incredible

[BIG X]

21 hours ago, Jessica said:

Dividing rabbits a little, those are all A-12s in that lineup rather than SR-71s (look closely; there's no rear cockpit and the nose is narrower). The trainer was 'affectionately' called the "Titanium Goose", and was the only blackbird which only flew with J-75s. It was also the only Blackbird that Kelly Johnson got to fly in.

What is the difference between an A-12 & an SR71 - pardon my ignorance - but I am genuinely interested

[JeffreyK]

The A-12 came first, had a one-man crew, sensors in the nose only, was CIA operated. Airframe wise, the tail is shorter, the cockpit and nose area narrower and there are triangular RAW panels all around the fuselage (chines).

The SR-71 had a second cockpit with a dedicated RSO (no flight controls), multiple sensor bays all around the fuselage (no RAW triangles there), an extended tail and various other different bits. And it was operated by the Air Force, SAC to be precise.

J

[Jessica]

In addition, the A-12's were equipped with cameras only, while the SR-71s carried side looking radar and other sensors. The A-12's cameras had better resolution than those the SR-71 carried, but the increased versatility of the SR-71's systems led the intelligence community to prefer it.

 

Much about the Blackbird program is still highly classified, but for a very quick overview, I recommend the Osprey Air Vanguard books A-12 and SR-71. They're a tiny peek into the nuts and bolts of high-speed flight and intelligence operations. There are also a few other books which have been written about the SR-71, each more or less accurate depending upon their publication dates and what the author was allowed to write about at the time.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Jessica
Added links.

[BIG X]

Thanks Jeffrey & Jessica - much appreciated - I am getting more interested by the second - my normal area of interest is BOB - but these seem absolutely fascinating - almost Sci-Fi in their appearance.

 

Now just to be a nerd - I love BIG models - does anyone do a 1/24 / 1/32 / 1/48 of either of these - not my normal field - but I feel a bit of research coming on & some gluey fingers twitching

[Jessica]

Italeri/Testors have released a 1/48 SR-71. It's available from time to time, but the YF-12 hasn't been seen for ages. Kiwi Resins advertise an A-12 conversion, seen in action here. However, even in seventy-twoth, it's still an impressive model.

 

 

 

 

[71chally]

2 hours ago, BIG X said:

Thanks Jeffrey & Jessica - much appreciated - I am getting more interested by the second - my normal area of interest is BOB - but these seem absolutely fascinating - almost Sci-Fi in their appearance.

And don't forget the even more intriguing M-21 / D-21 programme, which was based on the A-12.

 

 

The YF-12A essentially led to the SR-71 in layout.

 

I believe that initially Blackbird wasn't a recognised name as such, but was coined as a generic name for the 'black' birds family produced by Lockheed.

Edited December 30, 2016 by 71chally

[Jessica]

That's correct. The CIA's code name for the A-12 program was "Oxcart". All the aircraft were "Articles", with a sequential number for each one as they came off the production line. The YF-12 was a "distraction", so that any Soviet spies who learned anything about a secret Lockheed Mach 3 aircraft would find the fighter program and pass the CIA program by. the SR-71 was developed once the YF-12 became public knowledge, and was designed to be more versatile and adaptable than the A-12 (and again to divert attention away from the CIA's aircraft. Any blackbird anyone spotted was sure to be a USAF aircraft, right? Security Through Obscurity at its finest).

 

In a typical story of Government 'efficiency', the A-12 program was closed almost as soon as it became fully operational. The SR-71s were better at intelligence gathering, were publicly acknowledged and the US Government could only afford one fleet of mach 3 spy planes, so the A-12s were parked for the next 30 years.

[charlie_c67]

So....why was it named the A-12 numbered thusly if it was "just" for recon? Or was it mis-direction like the F-117 being classed as a fighter when in the truest sense it was really an attack craft?

[TallBlondJohn]

The A-12 wasn't USAF so just got a company designation. The Lockheed designs were named sequentially, A-12 just happened to be the one that got built and by chance the F-12 fighter version appears to fall into the USAF/USN combined fighter numbering sequence, though this is just fortuitous.

Edited December 31, 2016 by TallBlondJohn

[cmatthewbacon]

Your best bets for info are the most recent editions of books by Rich Graham and Paul Crickmore: they're the experts (Rich Graham is an ex sled driver himself). And more information is steadily becoming available and publishable, so the latest editions have much more content than earlier books, even if they have the same title...

 

This is free, and a good start (though note who it's published by!)

https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/a-12/Archangel-2ndEdition-2Feb12.pdf

bestest,

M.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2016 by cmatthewbacon
More info

[Richard E]

18 hours ago, BIG X said:

Thanks Jeffrey & Jessica - much appreciated - I am getting more interested by the second - my normal area of interest is BOB - but these seem absolutely fascinating - almost Sci-Fi in their appearance.

 

Now just to be a nerd - I love BIG models - does anyone do a 1/24 / 1/32 / 1/48 of either of these - not my normal field - but I feel a bit of research coming on & some gluey fingers twitching

 

I'd also point you to any of Colonel Rich Graham's books on the SR-71: he is a former Blackbird pilot and Wing Commander of the 9th SRW which operated the aircraft from Beale AFB in California and visits the UK on a regular basis - he has given talks at the American Air Museum at Duxford (which has a suitable backdrop on display) so it may be worth contacting them to see if they have any future events planned.

 

Paul Crickmore has also written a number of very interesting books on the subject and you can track a copy down you might enjoy Brian Shul's Sled Driver which is a very entertaining collection of the author's personal photographs and from the cockpit anecdotes.

[bentwaters81tfw]

Kelly Johnson worked on a variety of airframe layouts, numbered A-1 upwards to about A-18. The calculated the A-12 would be the best option.

Rich Graham was the final commander of 9 SRW, and fought the closure vigourously. Probably why he only made Colonel. I've been to two of his lectures, we even had him come out to Bentwaters for a museum visit and lecture. He has promised to come back and talk about his Vietnam tour with Robin Olds. I can also claim to have acted as his navigator. He didn't know his way back from Bentwaters to the main A14 in the dark.

 

Richard E beat me to it. 'Sled Driver' changes hands for upwards of £500 a copy. Rich Graham has no lecture tours planned for the UK at present, but I will be notified when he does. He has a house near Cambridge, but his home is in Texas.