Lockheed A-12 and YF-12: books - history and deployment

Lockheed Blackbird Family - A-12, YF-12, D-21/M-21 and SR-71 Photo Scrapbook

Still the world's most popular and most exciting aircraft, the Lockheed family of A-12, YF-12, D-21/M-21, and SR-71 Blackbirds are to this day the highest-performance jet-powered airplanes ever flown. They have set numerous world speed and altitude records for manned aircraft powered by air-breathing engines that theoretically may never be broken. Although no longer operational, A-12s and SR-71s flew for nearly three decades at speeds in excess of Mach 3 and altitudes of up to 90,000 feet.

This book contains many never-before-published photos coupled with new de-classified information recently released by the CIA, including black-and-white and color photos of A-12 cockpits, early camera installations, and never-before-seen special camouflage schemes.

Lockheed A-12 - The CIA's Blackbird and Other Variants

During the early years of the Cold War, the most effective way to gather strategic intelligence about the Soviet Union and its allies was manned overflight. Lockheed's U-2 was spectacularly successful in this role, however, much to the concern of US President Eisenhower, its shape meant that it could be tracked on Russian radars.
Given the highly sensitive nature of such flights, the President insisted that every effort should be made to reduce to zero the U-2's radar cross section (RCS), thereby making the aircraft invisible. When this was proven to be impossible, the stage was set for a U-2 replacement. Following a competition between Lockheed and Convair, the former was declared the winner and the result was the A-12.
Designed to incorporate 'stealth' features before the term was even coined, the A-12 has to date proven to be the fastest, highest flying jet aircraft ever built.

This book also covers a two-seat variation of the design built as an advanced interceptor - the YF-12.

Contents: Introduction - Design evolution and development - Technical Specifications - Operational History - Conclusion - programme shut-down - The YF-12 evolution, flight test and cancellation - The M-21 D-21 evolution, flight test and cancellation.

YF-12A Flight Manual

Reprint of the pilot's flight manual for the YF-12A, the fighter version of the SR-71. This aircraft was intended to shoot down incoming Soviet Backfire bombers.