Lockheed A-12 / M-21 / SR-71A Blackbird "The Sled" with 'Mach 3' D-21B DRONE - 'Limited Edition' Model in 1/72 Scale
Shipping within Australia is included, and Worldwide for a small nominal fee as my gift to you.
This is Two [2] Models in One!
This is a larger high quality plastic model to be constructed and detailed of the outstanding Lockheed A-12 / M-21 / SR-71A Blackbird "The Sled" with 'Mach 3' D-21B DRONE - 'Limited Edition' Model in 1/72 Scale.
No aircraft ever captured the curiosity & fascination of the public like the SR-71 Blackbird. Nicknamed "The Sled". The aircraft was shrouded in secrecy from its inception. Entering the U.S. Air Force inventory in 1966, the SR-71 was the fastest, highest flying jet aircraft in the world. Now a legend of aviation history.
The Blackbird family of aircraft cruise at speeds of more than Mach 3 and fly over 85,000 feet (25,500 m) in altitude. Conceived nearly 50 years ago, 'Blackbirds' remain the fastest and highest flying air-breathing production aircraft ever built.
There were many iconic Space and Aviation achievements in the 20th Century. These featured many aircraft, but only one was the World's Fastest Operational Jet that was able to maintain a 'super cruise' of Mach 2.5+ for its Missions - the beautiful SR-71 Blackbird - "The Sled". The Pilots truly were "The Untouchables!"
This stunning superior combination model is an outstanding larger size model of the Lockheed A-12/M-21; SR-71A Blackbird "The Sled" with 'Mach 3' D-21B DRONE - 'Limited Edition' 1/72 Scale Model.
If you have ever wanted to build a model of an aircraft from Area 51 for a diorama - in a stunning and incredible two tone paint scheme unlike any other, this is your opportunity!
You have the choice to build and configure one of the following two Jets with different histories.
The decal markings are provided for either of the following choices:
1] The A-12/M-21; 60-6940, which can be finished in a absolutely stunning 2 Tone Black and Silver Scheme for the A-12 / M-21 Jet and D-21B Drone 507.
The US Air Force Lockheed A-12; M-21; Test Aircraft 06940 with D-21 Drone 507 was based at Area 51 both painted in an overall silver and black scheme. A silver fuselage with the nose and wing leading edges in black. Please see the photos 2; 4; 5 and 6!
60-6940 was one of 2 airframes built from the ground up as M-21's, to be launch vehicles for the D-21 drone. The designations M-21 and D-21 come from reversing the numbers in A-12, and using M for "mothership" and D for "daughtership."
Built for a CIA program code-named "Tagboard" the M-21 carried unpiloted vehicles for intelligence gathering. Design features of the M-21 include the second seat for the Launch Control Officer and the launch pylon on which the drone is mounted.
When ferrying the D-21, the combination was called an M/D-21. The D-21 was powered by a Marquardt ramjet engine that had been developed and tested on the unmanned X-7 vehicle. Ramjets are essentially hollow tubes that use the compression of extremely fast air rushing into the inlet instead of a normal compressor/fan combination like a turbojet. As a result, the ramjet engine is useless below Mach 1.25.
The M-21 was a special A-12 designed to launch a D-21 drone, which would take over the reconnaissance mission without a pilot. Unlike most of today's recon drones, which are slow-flying glider-like machines, the D-21 was a ramjet-powered vehicle having performance similar to the SR-71.
The M/D-21 would take off and fly to speeds above Mach 3 and 80,000 feet. At this speed and altitude, the D-21B Drone's engine could be ignited and the drone launched from the back of the mothership, to fly along a preprogrammed course, then jettison its camera pack over neutral or friendly territory before self-destructing.
The surviving M-21, including D-21 drone, is displayed in Seattle's Museum of Flight.
2nd Model Choice: Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird
61-7950 was lost on 10 January 1967 at Edwards AFB during an anti-skid braking system evaluation. The main landing gear tires blew out and the resulting fire in the magnesium wheels spread to the rest of the aircraft as it ran off the end of the runway. Lockheed test pilot Art Peterson survived, the RSO cockpit was unoccupied.
Unlike the A-12, the SR-71 went supersonic on its first flight, mostly because the J58 engines that were still being developed at the time of the A-12 s/n 924's maiden voyage had become available for the SR-71A.
About the SR-71"Blackbird"
The SR-71"Blackbird" is a long range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft that was operated by the United States Air Force. It was developed as a black project from the Lockheed A-12 reconnaissance aircraft in the 1960s by Lockheed and its Skunk Works division.
American aerospace engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson was responsible for many of the design's innovative concepts. During aerial reconnaissance missions, the SR-71 operated at high speeds and altitudes to allow it to outrace threats. If a surface-to-air missile launch were detected, the standard evasive action was simply to accelerate and outfly the missile. The shape of the SR-71 was based on the A-12 which was one of the first aircraft to be designed with a reduced radar cross-section.
The SR-71 served with the U.S. Air Force from 1964 to 1998. A total of 32 aircraft were built; 12 were lost in accidents with none lost to enemy action. The SR-71 has been given several nicknames, including "Blackbird" and "Habu".
About the Lockheed D-21B Drone
Gary Power's failed sortie over Soviet Russia in 1960 prompted military brass to search for unmanned alternatives for performing reconnaissance over hostile territory. The D-21 drone was Lockheed's solution/launched from a modified A-12, it spied on Red China at over 2,000 MPH.
Lockheed began its work in late 1962 on a high-altitude, high-speed reconnaissance drone. Originally dubbed the Q-21, the drone was built to travel at Mach 3.3 - 3.5 on the back of a Marquardt RJ-43 ramjet engine and to fly more than 3,000 nautical miles at an altitude of at least 87,000 feet. The drone was 43 feet long, six feet tall, and weighed 11,200 pounds with a 19-foot-wide double delta wing design over a titanium frame. It was also designed to travel just one way. The D-21 would carry a single high-resolution camera over a programmed flight path, then jettison the camera (which would parachute down for mid-air retrieval), and the drone itself would self-destruct. That's how it was supposed to work!
In all, the D-21 saw very limited action on the battlefield, making just four sorties over the People's Republic of China as part of Operation Senior Bowl while spying on the Lop Nor nuclear test site.
Citing the program's tepid results and a thawing of relations with China, Nixon cancelled the program in 1971 in favor of new-found spy satellite technology. The 38 drones produced during the program's run are now in various aviation museums around the world, and a couple are in Chinese museums near where they crashed.
Here's a few words about a Runaway D-21 Drone
Engineer Ben Rich worked on the D-21 program starting in 1962. Later, when he succeeded Clarence "Kelly" Johnson as the head of Lockheed's secret Skunk Works, he told of a day in the mid-1980s when a CIA man arrived carrying a panel.
"Do you recognize this?" Rich did, but he couldn't figure out how the CIA man had gotten it.
"It was a Christmas gift from a Soviet KGB agent" the CIA man explained.
"He told me it was found by a shepherd in Siberia".
The panel was part of a D-21 drone that had disappeared during testing over China in 1969. Hopelessly off course, the D-21 ran out of fuel and crashed in the vast Siberian wilderness.
Please order now so you don't miss out - as these stunning Jets are always in short supply.
Notes:
This is serious and enjoyable premium quality Art Space and Aviation Collecting. If an offer is to be made, please understand the offer needs to be very seriously 'close'!
Size
The beautiful Lockheed A-12 / M-21 / SR-71A Blackbird "The Sled" with 'Mach 3' D21B DRONE - 'Limited Edition' 1/72 Scale Model is sized at:
Model Length approx 472 mm, 18.1/2 inches.Model Wing Span approx 236 mm, 9.1/4 inches. No. of Parts 51 Pieces
Collectors' Hint 1 - What are my choices with Plastic Model purchasing and collecting?
It is the nature of the Space and Aviation market that Space and Aircraft Model Kits of important space or aviation vehicles tend to be limited in production or alternatively sell very quickly. Two different examples are the premier Apollo 11 kits or the P-51 Mustang.
Many model kits are 're-launched' on significant anniversaries.
Typically, the two key choices when purchasing plastic model kits are:
i) Make the Plastic Model or
ii) Preserve the Plastic Model 'pristine' in its box and with all original plans and parts for the future.
The former choice i) provides the enjoyment and satisfaction of model making, more so when they are rare or unusual models.
The latter choice ii) can sometimes result in a purchase worth thousands of dollars in later years or decades. There are hundreds of examples.
Of course a 3rd choice is to benefit from both and purchase two models!
Limited Editions like this are exceptional examples!
Photograph Credits:
Photo 1 The stunning Lockheed A-12 / M-21 / SR-71A Blackbird "The Sled" with 'Mach 3' D-21B DRONE - 'Limited Edition' Model box cover
Photo 3 The associated parts of the Lockheed A-12 / M-21 / SR-71A Blackbird "The Sled" with 'Mach 3' D-21B DRONE - 'Limited Edition' Model in 1/72 Scale
Photos 2/4/5/6 Examples of how the beautiful completed Lockheed: A-12 / M-21 / SR-71A Blackbird "The Sled" with 'Mach 3' D-21B DRONE - 'Limited Edition' Model combination can be finished, in it's absolutely stunning 2 Tone Black and Silver SR-71 Jet and D21B Drone scheme [courtesy Pinterest and William Carroll image not included]
Photos 6-7 The real US Air Force Test Aircraft Lockheed A-12 / M-21 / with 'Mach 3' D-21B DRONE #507 in flight, was based at Area 51 where it was finished in this stunning and beautiful silver and black two tone scheme of overall silver and the nose and wing leading edges in black. [Courtesy Lockheed not included]
Photo 8 The real US Air Force Test Aircraft Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird 60-6940 in flight [Courtesy Lockheed not included]
Photo 9 The real US Air Force Lockheed 'Mach 3' D21B DRONE #507 on the taxiway [Courtesy Lockheed not included]
Photo 10 The most incredible combined Lockheed A-12 / M-21 / SR-71A Blackbird "The Sled" with 'Mach 3' D-21B DRONE #507 on display at the Seattle Museum of Flight. [courtesy Pinterest Seattle Museum of Flight, not included]
Photo 11 The associated decal and painting instruction sheet of the Lockheed A-12 / M-21 / SR-71A Blackbird "The Sled" with 'Mach 3' D-21B DRONE.
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