NASA HIGH RANGE -- AREA 51 - BATTLEFIELDS OF THE COLD WAR
NEVADA - THE BATTLE BORN STATE

CIA ARTICLE #122

The pride of America and the CIA during Project Oxcart and the Cold War

REMEMBERING WHAT WAS SPECIAL ABOUT  ARCHANGEL #122

A-12 #122  arrived at Area 51 on June 4, 1962. In  August 1962--After 2 months RCS testing,  #!22 made her first flight test at Groom Lake.

 Article #122 was the more fragile of all the A-12 planes. She was one of 4 to have composite rudders, the rest had metal. Plastic rudders were built on frames of titanium alloy, while subordinate members including ribs, spars, and exterior surface panels were made of bonded silicone asbestos and reinforced plastic materials. She was also one of 4 A-12s that had the spikes made of titanium alloy substructure. Her exterior surfaces and some of the internal components were made of silicone asbestos reinforced plastic. 

 She was the first blackbird to go into an upgrade program in which the CIA project pilots (Drivers) were very instrumental in designing modifications of the cockpit. New much larger generators were installed along with improved electronics. A rearranged instrument panel was designed by CIA project pilot Dennis Sullivan (B/G USAF ret) to make it easier for the pilot. Sullivan had flown vertical tapes for a few years in the F-106 prior to the A-12 program and thought the instrument panel on the A-12 was a throwback to the original F-80. He tried to get the tapes but was told by the engineers that they could not be installed because the existing panel was part of the structure and could not be replaced. They said that any change to the panel could only be made by putting big instruments in big holes and small instruments in small holes as the panel could not be modified. That left rearranging the existing panel as the only option.

Sullivan's rearranged panel was tested in Article 122 by Lockheed test pilot Bill Park and found to be much more functional and easy to use. Unfortunately, before it could be installed in the rest of the aircraft (Articles), the program was canceled. The kits were stored at Palmdale along with the aircraft to be installed if the A-12 was ever reactivated. A-12 #122 would have been the cockpit configuration for the next generation of A-12 had the program survived.

As of January 1965 A-12 #122 flew 83 flights  for a total of 76:52 hours. She was one of the first A-12s to be put into storage at Palmdale to protect her from harsh elements detrimental to her special build.

 

AMERICA'S DEMEANING TREATMENT OF THIS HISTORIC CIA SPY PLANE


Each of the surviving A-12 Articles except Article #122 were retired to museums where they could be protected and displayed as a 21st century plane developed in the 20th century. Article #122, the most delicate of all the A-12s survived its vital role during the Cold War only to be defaced by graffiti, salt water, bird poop, and degrading circus-like events aboard the USS Intrepid on the Hudson River in New York City. How this proud plane came to suffer such a fate is a story of greed and uncaring incompetence. 


The USAF Museum was actually the owner  of A-12 #122.  The aircraft had been destined for The New England Air Museum which provided the right kind of display and special care that an aircraft of her stature needed. $250,000 was already in an escrow account to support the move of A-12 Blackbird #122 into this museum, but this was not to be; something was afoot concerning #122.  

The USAF PC office ( program coordination) was in charge of all aircraft in its inventory.  Museums wishing one of the A-12 planes submitted bids and if they met the requirements of the USAF PC office, the aircraft was theirs.  

When #122 come up for bid, everyone wanted an SR-71 or an A-12, the A-12 being the more rare of the birds.  When the bid was put out, New England Air was the first in line.  This is when greed and politics came to play games in the fate of Article #122. 

A very rich individual had rescued the USS Intrepid from the scrappers and brought it home to New York. This individual was determined that his Intrepid museum would have a blackbird overhanging its flight deck. Through his monetary influence with the upper echelon of the USAF, he managed to take A-12 #122 away from The New England Air Museum, placing the most fragile of all the A-12 planes in the most harsh environment imaginable.  The A-12 had never served in the Navy, never flew off a carrier deck and most of all, being almost 90% titanium, had no business being out on an open flight deck in all kinds of extreme weather!  That is how the ill gotten #122 ended up on a barge being towed by an Intrepid tug boat to end up overhanging the flight deck of the USS Intrepid on the Hudson River in New York City with Robbie Kneviel on a motorcycle cutting wheelies around it. 

UPDATE
Photos taken February 2005

Is this vandalism or just plain old mishandling and neglect?
Or perhaps Godzilla is running loose again on this circus ship


 

Look at the rod the clowns running the Intrepid Museum have substituted for the pitot on Article 122.
Wonder whose private collection now possesses the original pitot!

 
Gosh!! Look what they poked up the nose of 122 even earlier


Note the damage in the center of the photo
Looks like some museum official took a buzz saw to this historical A-12 spyplane

The following photos of CIA Article #122 aboard the USS Intrepid speak for themselves. 

31 July 2004
Sponsored by cable network TNT, with fireworks lighting up the night sky and after performing wheelies on the deck of the Intrepid,  'Captain' Robbie Kneviel son of daredevil Evel Knievel jumped over two helicopters and five other planes on the deck of the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier turned museum. 

This graffiti has been on display for several years

More examples of the willful and intolerable neglect Article #122 has suffered aboard the USS Intrepid Museum in New York City since 1993

Click on images for larger view
Poor condition of right elevon Note loose rivets on panels Reverted tank sealant. Took 20 hours of scraping to remove Sides doors left off of plane Rust inside wheel well for main landing gear
Rust inside wheel well for main landing gear Note buckling on panel on left side of fuselage Remnant of spit ball vandalism Exposure to the elements of the flight deck causes plane's coating to literally crumble in your hand This leading edge damage shows how fragile the plane is due to the weather conditions on flight deck
An example of how the Intrepid Museum allowed the plane's surface to deteriate One can only imagine the brute force it took to damage the planes like this. This is much worse than any damages caused while the plane was flying through SAM debris while being flown by the CIA An example of how the Intrepid Museum allowed the plane's surface to deteriate Long term effects of being outside on the deck of the Intrepid. Note: These panels have asbestos in them!!!! Long term effects of being outside on the deck of the Intrepid. Note: These panels have asbestos in them!!!!
Can you believe the Intrepid Museum is actually sanding the composite vertical? Wonder if they've had any of their unsuspecting workers sanding on the asbestos contained in the plane Note how the verticals were permanently damaged by the sanding and other activities by the Intrepid Museum Note how this jury-rig engineering allowed water to pool in the plastic. Note how the nacelle is drooping under the weight of the water pooling inside the plastic cover. An example of the extreme inclement weather #122 endures day and night, year after year

Note how a northeasterly winter storm is affecting the plane's structure The maintenance handler remained in place for months, allowing crowds of visitors to prowl on top of the planes without supervision. Note the refueling hatch being open to the elements to allow rain and snow to enter the fuel tanks Note how the plane is unprotected from the public Note the damage to the nacelle and how the spike is fully extended
Remnants of duct tape used to cover damage to Chine Attempts to seal aircraft against elements Original vents removed to protect from water Close up view of vents and patches Note condition of paint. Sears house paint didn't work very well.
It took almost 2 years for Intrepid Museum to replace the crappy sign identifying the A-12 Can covers from NASA belonging to YF-12 #936 that was lost in accident. The covers came with the plane,. The art work has since been painted over. Note the need for a paint job. Damage from panels being left open to the elements One of the original nose gear tires that #122 had been standing on since coming to the Intrepid
Thanks, NASA for the new tires Note separation of panels and both the fuel dump and refueling hatch again being open "Pillow" effect under left fuselage Note how the titanium skin shows through the cheap latex house paint used under the cockpit window on the left side Note original black paint underneath the white "House Paint" peeling away . Also note puckering around the rivets.

Internal window crazing due to moisture trapped inside Under forward fuselage just forward of the nose wheel well Panel separation just forward of the main landing gear Paint failure and rivet damage upper forward fuselage left side Separation and loose rivets on top of fuselage
Under mid fuselage - right side Long view of aft fuselage panel separation Close up view of panel separation Closeup of the area under the USAF logo on forward fuselage Note overall weathered look of the chines
Note the pumped up position of the struts of the main landing gear. Chains are too taut, causing stress on the airframe . Mid forward fuselage. Note "pillows" in upper right corner and poor condition of the pre-shaped panels Maintenance handler is still next to aircraft. Article #122 stood on flat tires the entire time since being brought on deck of the Intrepid Struts are pumped up beyond safety so the plane can be seen from the street. The chains put a lot of strain on the airframe , especially during bad weather
Tail feathers constantly subject to damage from wind on flight deck

Contact Information

Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum
Pier 86 12th Ave and 46th St
New York, NY 10036    Phone:212 245-0072
Attn:  Col Tom Tyrell USMC (Ret) Chairman and CEO
Email: pr@intrepidmuseum.org		 General Charles Metcalf (Ret)--Director
USAF Museum
1100 Spaatz Street
Wright Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7102
Phone: 1-937-255-3284

Link to more about the plight of Article #122