Some small time ago, Paul Vreede suggested that the Spacex Reconnaisance 2 ship might be based on the Blackbird SR-71 and the earlier YF12A spyplanes. Recent declassification of information by the CIA of photographs from Area 51 and the Skunk Works from 1963 show the precursor test vehicle - project OXCART or what would become the Archangel A12.
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| OPERATION OXCART - ARCHANGEL A-12 |
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| BLACKBIRD RADAR TEST |
A great article on National Geographic shows the great lengths that the crews had to go to after an A-12 plane crashed in Wendover, Utah in 1963.
The super streamlined fuselage and silver finish have a much closer look and feel to the later Blackbird, but its unlikely the top secret OXCART programme could have directly influenced the Tri-ang designers, unless they managed to sneak past the security at the Skunkworks!
pretty amazing pics. And funny to see how the trucks really date those A-12 pictures of what is otherwise a pretty timeless design.
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Paul
now commenting as anonymous because bloody blogger insists on making me sign up for a blog of my own before letting me leave my comment. prolly (I hope for the rest of you) intended to get users in bloody belgium to start using bloody blogger. used to have an error in it that let me go back while staying logged in, but it seems they found out and fixed it. grrrrrrrrr.
Hi Paul, I was having problems leaving comments yesterday too, the same thing happened to me. I thought it was something wrong at my end, but it seems to have cleared.
ReplyDeleteMike B
Mr V - nice bit of aliteration there!
ReplyDeletewell, better a graceful grumble than a boring bending of ears, what? :)
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Paul