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Description
| Manufacturer: | Lockheed | |
| Base model: | A-12 | |
| Designation: | A-12 | |
| Nickname: | Blackbird | |
| Designation System: | U.S. Tri-Service | |
| Designation Period: | 1962-Present | |
| Basic role: | Reconnaissance | |
| Crew: | Pilot | |
Specifications
| Length: | 102' | 31.0 m | |
| Height: | 18' 3" | 5.5 m | |
| Wingspan: | 55' 7" | 16.9 m | |
| Wingarea: | 1,604.9 sq ft | 149.0 sq m | |
| Empty Weight: | 80,000 lb | 36,281 kg | |
| Gross Weight: | 119,998 lb | 54,421 kg | |
| Max Weight: | 120,000 lb | 54,421 kg | |
Propulsion
| No. of Engines: | 2 | ||
| Powerplant: | Pratt & Whitney J58 turbo ramjets | ||
| Thrust (each): | 32,500 lb | 14,739 kg | |
Performance
| Range: | 2,500 miles | 4,025 km | |
| Cruise Speed: | 2,269 mph | 3,661 km/h | 1,978 kt |
| Ceiling: | 84,978 ft | 25,908 m | |
Known serial numbers
Examples of this type may be found at
| Museum | City | State |
| Air Force Flight Test Center Museum | Edwards AFB | California |
| Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum | New York | New York |
| Minnesota Air Guard Museum | Minneapolis | Minnesota |
| San Diego Aerospace Museum | San Diego | California |
| U.S. Space & Rocket Center | Huntsville | Alabama |
| USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park | Mobile | Alabama |
A-12 on display
Air Force Flight Test Center Museum | Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum | Minnesota Air Guard Museum | San Diego Aerospace Museum | |
USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park |
Recent comments by our visitors
| Glenn Columbus, GA | I too was there when the A-11 was trucked in. Most sites give the first flight date as 26 April. It actually first flew on 25 April. Wasn't far--- wasn't fast---but was airborne. Will never forget the sight the next day as the F-104 chase plane was trying to catch up with the A-11 as it lifted lifted off the runway. 07/09/2008 @ 14:45 [ref: 21812] |
| CHARLIE O WOODSTOCK, GA |
I WAS AT AREA 51 WHEN THIS A12 WAS TRUCKED FROM THE SKUNK WORKS IN BURBANK. I FOLLOWED HER TRANSITION THROUGH PRODUCTION FLIGHT TEST TO FULL OPERATIONAL READINESS WITH THE 1129TH SAS. A REUNION WITH HER IN JANUARY, 2005, UP CLOSE, THANKS TO ROGER HUNTER, WAS VERY EMOTIONAL FOR ME. 05/20/2008 @ 20:20 [ref: 20963] |
| Craig Clary , CA | The film Space Cowboys was a big hit alot of people in the surounding community of Riverside County as well as other places, the Blackbird in the film is not an A-12, it's actually an SR-71 Spy plane. 03/18/2007 @ 13:12 [ref: 15937] |
| Dan M Minneapolis, MN | The SR71 at the Minneapolis airport was hacked into pieces with a Sawzall, trucked to Minneapolis, and pieced together to look like an airplane. Sadly, this effort to relocate it destroyed a historically significant aircraft. 08/12/2006 @ 05:10 [ref: 13867] |
| david w betzer Jamestown, RI | I had the great pleasure of watching the Habue(not sure of the spelling) at Kedina AFB in Okinawa in 1968/69.
I have never seen anything get off the ground and gone like that ship could. It was laugh to see all the locals outside the perimeter fence with there telephoto lenses trying to get pitchers. 08/25/2005 @ 20:55 [ref: 11091] |
| mark , AZ | they have one in tucson az as well at the pima air and space museum 07/27/2005 @ 12:28 [ref: 10854] |
| George S. , TN | The information on the A-12 serial numbers is wrong. I don't know who gave this info, but who ever it is is wrong.
Serial numbers that follow: 60-6924 60-6925 60-6926 60-6927 60-6928 60-6929 60-6930 60-6931 60-6932 60-6933 60-6937 60-6938 60-6939 60-6940 M/21 60-6941 M/21 01/09/2005 @ 19:12 [ref: 9096] |
| TR-1 , TX | Simply one hell of an aircraft.
Thank You 05/01/2004 @ 09:09 [ref: 7339] |
| V. Berquam San Diego, CA | One of the best websites around with a very extensive photo catalog is one called www.habu.org. Beautiful photos, as well as links, videos, and books. For those looking for the
manual, this site seems to be offering two versions. Another good site is Leland Haye's; he's worked on the planes and has many good offerings at his site. 05/06/2002 @ 10:21 [ref: 4881] |
| V. Berquam San Diego, CA | Thank you for having me as a guest on this site. I too admire this series of planes, as a general enthusiast of aerospace technology. Oh, if there is anybody else on this site that recognises my name, hello to you. I always find myself looking at all sorts of sites about the -bird; I guess a real big prompt was when I was looking at "Space Cowboys" on television, and there was the scene where the character played by Tommy Lee Jones was told he had pancreatic cancer by the lady representing the staff doing his medical exam so he could go on a space mission, and then
one day not long after seeing this movie I found myself at Balboa Park, where I was told to meet with other people from my company for a job assignment. There I was driving around the parking lots looking for the others, when I decided to drive to the Aerospace Museum parking lot, and saw the plane on static display in front of the place. Fascinating,captain. 05/03/2002 @ 10:40 [ref: 4857] |
Recent photos uploaded by our visitors
