The Lockheed A12 was the forerunner of the SR71and was a Mach 3+ high altitude reconnaissance aircraft built by the infamous Skunk Works for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Based on the designs of Kelly Johnson, the A12 flew from 1963 to 1968 and was the first in a family of super spy planes.
The A-12
Despite its short service life the A12 introduced revolutionary concepts in both aviation and manufacturing and still holds the world record for the fastest and highest air breathing aircraft ever to fly: Mach 3.29 at 90,000 feet.
The A-12
Today we will take a look at the development and operational history of this legendary aircraft. Additionally the pressure suits worn by the pilots will be covered in a separate video which can be found over at Uniform History.
