And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Dunno when this photo was taken, but these are nine planes out of 13 built, with three lost to accidents and one configured with a second seat for training. Kelly Johnson’s biography about those days is well worth the read.
No, not Hustlers. They are A12's according to the caption, a design that preceded the well known SR71. I thought the A12's had a cutout in the chine for radar but am happy to bow to someone that knows more than I do. What I love is that they are made largely from titanium and the US had to import it from the USSR to make a spy aircraft that would be able to operate with impunity over the USSR.
The one with the truncated chine was the YF-12A interceptor. The nose was modified and lengthened to hold the fire control radar, and a 2nd seat added for weapons operator). The leading edge of the truncated chines on each side had infrared search and track sensors in them.
The A-12 Oxcarts were built for the CIA, the SR-71s for the Airforce. Both reconnaissance. Separate aircraft. Good summary here at https://worldwarwings.com/the-distinct-differences-between-the-a-12-and-sr-71/
Dunno when this photo was taken, but these are nine planes out of 13 built, with three lost to accidents and one configured with a second seat for training. Kelly Johnson’s biography about those days is well worth the read.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this is the B-58 "Hustler"?
ReplyDeleteNo, not Hustlers. They are A12's according to the caption, a design that preceded the well known SR71. I thought the A12's had a cutout in the chine for radar but am happy to bow to someone that knows more than I do. What I love is that they are made largely from titanium and the US had to import it from the USSR to make a spy aircraft that would be able to operate with impunity over the USSR.
ReplyDeleteThe one with the truncated chine was the YF-12A interceptor. The nose was modified and lengthened to hold the fire control radar, and a 2nd seat added for weapons operator). The leading edge of the truncated chines on each side had infrared search and track sensors in them.
DeleteThe A-12 Oxcarts were built for the CIA, the SR-71s for the Airforce. Both reconnaissance. Separate aircraft. Good summary here at https://worldwarwings.com/the-distinct-differences-between-the-a-12-and-sr-71/
ReplyDeletelook like knife blades
ReplyDeleteAmerican ingenuity at its finest. - Nemo
ReplyDeleteThey were relatively quickly and inexpensively compared to today’s boondoggles like the f35
ReplyDeleteone sits on the entrance sidewalk at the Huntsville, AL Spacecenter
ReplyDelete