“During early flight testing at Area 51 with the A-12s, Jim Eastham told me that A-12 #128 flew as fast as any A-12 during testing. On the particular day that the A-12 red lined everything,” Jim Goodall.
As the U-2 spy plane’s replacement, the CIA created the highly classified A-12 Oxcart in order to satisfy the need for a very quick, extremely high-flying reconnaissance aircraft that could get by Soviet air defenses. It started operating on November 12, 1965.
In addition to the A-12 demonstrating its value throughout its brief operational lifespan, the Oxcart project as a whole gave birth to the SR-71, the second-longest-lasting aerial reconnaissance aircraft in US intelligence history.
The SR-71 Blackbird has historically operated in more hostile airspace and with greater impunity than any other reconnaissance aircraft. It is the swiftest air-breathing engine-powered aircraft. The Blackbird was at the forefront of aviation technology advancements during the Cold War due to its performance and operational accomplishments.
In order to acquire intelligence from locations deep inside Soviet territory, manned aircraft had already been replaced by orbiting reconnaissance satellites by the time the SR-71 went into operation. The Blackbird remained an essential instrument for gathering global intelligence since satellites could not continuously monitor all geopolitical hotspots. The SR-71’s pilots and RSOs frequently provided information that was crucial to the development of successful US foreign policy.
The Blackbird was built to cruise at “Mach 3+,” or more than 2,200 mph or slightly over three times the speed of sound, and at heights up to 85,000 feet.
Well, as we’ve already mentioned, the most commonly asked Blackbird question is probably how high and how quickly it actually flies.
“I’ve answered this question before, but here goes,” says Jim Goodall, former Master Sergeant at U.S. Air Force and author of the book Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird: The Illustrated History of America’s Legendary Mach 3 Spy Plane. “The fastest an SR-71A has ever gone is Mach 3.43 in 974 [Blackbird #61-17974, better known as “Ichi-Ban”], at the time, a Site II bird. It blew out both inlets as it had a dual unstart.”
Goodall keeps going. “ The inlets were designed to fly at its “Sweet Spot” of Mach 3.24, according to Ben Rich. From the A-12 through the final SR-71 constructed, all manned Blackbirds were built with the same top speed in mind.
“But during early flight testing at Area 51 with the A-12s, Jim Eastham told me that A-12 #128 flew as fast as any A-12 during testing. On the particular day that the A-12 red-lined everything.
“During a routine top-speed envelope expansion flight, A-12 #128 was having a hard time getting past Mach 2.7 as the outside air was too warm. The reason for the flight test card that day was to validate a new inlet bypass door schedule.
“Jim said he dropped the nose down a bit to see if he could at least reach Mach 3.0. Out of nowhere, Jim hit good air, and in the dive with good air, he red-lined everything. He went into his descent profile and headed back to the test site.”
Goodall concludes:
“When all was said and done; and for a very brief 15 seconds, Jim hit Mach 3.56, or just under 2,400 mph. Mind you, this was a one-time event and was never duplicated.”
Photo by U.S. Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency
