Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum

Initially flown in 1962, Blackbird performed sensitive reconnaissance missions while flying at speeds over Mach 3. The aircraft was the creation of Lockheed's famous "Skunk Works" division, headed by Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. Single-seat Blackbirds flew at altitudes up to 100,000 feet (30.480 meters). Its top recorded speed was 2,269 mph (3,651 kph). Fewer than 50 were built. The early A-12s were used by CIA surveillance missions for the Air Force and NASA.
This A-12 was the first production unit. It served as a radar-test example early in 1962 at the secret base Area 51. A special radar signature-lowering paint covered its mostly titanium airframe, which incorporated carbon fiber composites. Two massive Pratt and Whitney J-58 turbo-ramjets each with 32,000 pounds of trust were used only in the Blackbird. The adjacent starter cart uses two Buick 401 cubic-inch Wildcat powerplants of 350 horsepower each, engines akin to the V-8 engines of American "muscle cars" of the era.
This aircraft and its starter cart are on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
Did you know that the A-12 Blackbird was equipped with high-power cameras whose photos, taken from 80,000 feet, revealed such details as cars, roads, and individual trees?

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