The Museum’s M-21 Blackbird first flew in 1964 and is the sole surviving example of its type.
Captured in 1991, the striking photo in this post shows an M-21 Blackbird taken apart and being moved to the Museum of Flight in Seattle. The aircraft was reassembled under a tent in the gravel parking lot, which is now the site of the Museum’s Wings Café.
The M-21 is the first of the rare two-seat versions of the original A-12. Developed for a CIA project known as “Tagboard,” it was designed to carry an unmanned D-21 reconnaissance drone. These drones were launched from the M-21 “mothership” to conduct surveillance flights over hostile territory. When a D-21 “daughter” drone was mounted on top, the combination was designated M/D-21. Key features of the M-21 include a second cockpit for the Launch Control Officer and a launch pylon on which the drone was attached. Only two M-21s were ever built; the second airframe was destroyed in 1966 during the fourth D-21 launch test.
In fact, as the D-21 passed through the bow shock of the M-21, it suffered an “asymmetric unstart,” which caused the mothership to pitch upward and crash into the drone at Mach 3.25. Both crew members, Bill Park and Ray Torick, ejected from the M-21, but Torick’s flight suit tore and filled with water after he hit the ocean, leading to his drowning.
Following the crash, the M-21 launch program was terminated. However, testers still considered the D-21 to be a promising reconnaissance platform and chose to deploy it from B-52H bombers instead, under a highly classified test effort still called Tagboard. The project itself was then given a new code name: Senior Bowl.
The Museum’s M-21 took its first flight in 1964 and is the only remaining aircraft of its kind. As noted on the Museum of Flight website, the Blackbird was obtained in 1991 and, together with its mounted D-21 drone, serves as the signature exhibit in the Great Gallery. The aircraft is on loan from the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
Photo by unknown
