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This SR-71 Lives Again . . .

Old 09-23-2007 | 07:11 AM
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. . . but, why as the A-12? Since when has it been doing any attacking?

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Old 09-23-2007 | 09:21 AM
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It was the A-12 long before it was the SR-71. what a magnificent aircraft had the opportunity to see them many times up close at Mildenhall RAF.
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Old 09-23-2007 | 10:57 AM
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. . . but, why as the A-12?
Think he means why was it called the A-12.

There was a thread in the photos forum that discussed this. I dunno if you can search a closed forum, but it was about high-altitude stuff.
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Old 09-23-2007 | 12:23 PM
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Dunno...but when it was first developed out at the Palmdale skunkworks the first few prototypes were called the A-12.... there have been whole books written on the "black bird"....im sure some one knows.
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Old 09-23-2007 | 02:12 PM
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The original concept for the A-12 was for a high-supersonic platform which could be adapted to a variety of missions. There were planned or prototyped variants for interceptor and nuclear strike, and the names changed frequently while the program was in black development.

The A-12 was the CIA version of the SR-71, and was produced first. The SR-71 was opeerated by the USAF (and NASA which I think still has one or two).
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Old 09-23-2007 | 02:39 PM
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Brilliant design those birds have
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Old 09-23-2007 | 08:04 PM
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A shame they were retired. I'm sure the EPA hated them with the whole leaking fuel thing...but they were fast and good at their job.
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Old 09-23-2007 | 08:07 PM
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Originally Posted by the King
A shame they were retired. I'm sure the EPA hated them with the whole leaking fuel thing...but they were fast and good at their job.
Someday we'll find out what replaced them...
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Old 09-23-2007 | 08:32 PM
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The A-12 and SR-71 are NOT the same airplane. They were similar, but they are not the same.

First of all, there is no dude yapping from the backseat in an A-12 (single seat). A most desirable quality in any fast jet.

Second, they were built for different customers (both by Lockheed)...A-12 was CIA. SR-71 was USAF.
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Old 09-23-2007 | 08:58 PM
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Originally Posted by TBoneF15
First of all, there is no dude yapping from the backseat in an A-12 (single seat). A most desirable quality in any fast jet.
Do you have any time in a fast jet without a T prefix that has more than one seat?
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