YF‑12A records

It is probably no coincidence that the date chosen to demonstrate some of the YF‑12A’s awesome capabilities was May 1, 1965 – five years to the day since Gary Powers was shot down by a Soviet SA‑2 during a U‑2 overflight. It should also be noted that as impressive as the figures below are, they are not demonstrations of the airplane’s absolute capabilities. For example, on November 20, 1965, an A‑12 attained speeds in excess of Mach 3.2 and a sustained altitude capability above 90,000ft. During the first operational deployment of a CIA A‑12, from Area 51 to Kadena Air Base on the island of Okinawa, pilot Mele Vojvodich covered the distance in Article 131 (60‑6937) in just six hours, six minutes; had it not been for security considerations, this could easily have been recognized as a new trans‑Pacific speed record.

^{Note the cut‑back chine of the YF‑12A to accommodate a radome within which was located a 40in‑diameter scanning dish for the AN/ASG‑18 radar. The GAR‑9 or AIM‑47 radar‑guided air‑to‑air missile sits on its trolley. The three AIM‑47 mission marks below the cockpit indicate that this aircraft is Article 1003 (60‑6936), it having participated in three missile firings. (Lockheed Martin)}

On May 1, 1965, Article 1003 (60‑6936), crewed by Col Robert L. “Fox” Stephens and Fire Control Officer (FCO) Lt Col Daniel Andre, simultaneously achieved an absolute altitude record of 80,257ft and an absolute speed over a straight course of 2,070.101mph. Lt Col Walter F. Daniel and FCO Maj James P. Cooney took 60‑6936 to a speed of 1,688.889mph over a 500km closed course and the same crew got the 1,000km closed course record in 60‑6936 at 1,643.041mph.

SR‑71

The final variation of the A‑12 design was of course the legendary SR‑71, but this will be covered in depth in a separate Air Vanguard volume.

^YF‑12

^{The YF‑12 interceptor’s cockpit canopy was higher than that of the single seat A‑12, due to the slightly wider forward fuselage to accommodate the large radar scanning dish housed within the radome. It was equipped with the very long range AIM‑47 Falcon missile (later to be developed into the naval AIM‑54 Phoenix) and Hughes AN/ASG 18 fire control system, both of which had been developed for the canceled XF‑108 Rapier.}