A-12

The A-12 Oxcart was designed to be a replacement for the U-2 spy plane, which the Soviets had become able to track and were attempting to intercept. The CIA selected Lockheed's "Skunk Works" division to design such a replacement. The A-12 was the twelfth aircraft design in the series (preceded by A-1 through A-11).

The A-12 was a predecessor to the more-famous SR-71 Blackbird.

The USSRC's A-12 has sit along the road running next to the "old" museum building, on a slight hill, for many years (aerial view). During my September 2014 visit, I saw a sign announcing that it would be moved to east of the Marriott, near the I-565 off ramp. This proposal, however, was short-lived due once concerns regarding selfie-takers posing a traffic hazard were considered.

Historically, the USSRC has seemed to like calling its aircraft an "A-12 Blackbird," even though the name "Blackbird" is more generally associated with the SR-71. Although the entire family of related aircraft (A-12, YF-12, and SR-71) is sometimes collectively referred to as "Blackbird," the CIA program under which the A-12 was developed was called "Oxcart" (or in all caps, "OXCART"), and the A-12 itself seems to generally be called the "A-12 Oxcart." In fact, the CIA would have you call the entire series of aircraft "the OXCART family."

I mentioned this to the current museum curator, who agreed with my frustration regarding the plane's inaccurate signage. He further assured me that the aircraft would have "correct designation and call sign for the aircraft in its interpretive signage." Since that time, I've seen "A-12 Oxcart" T-shirts in the museum gift shop, which I attributed directly to the curator.

The CIA has a short online book, Archangel: CIA's Supersonic A-12 Reconnaissance Aircraft.

As of now, I have not yet sorted through all of my pictures of the USSRC's A-12, but some other page references this location. Thus, this is a "place holder" version right now, with only the pictures actually referenced. Come back some time later to see if I've finished up, or drop me an email to request me to prioritize the rest of these pictures.