File A121-R-60-6932A-12Article 129

60-6932

A-12 · Article 129
Lost4 Jun 1968

No display location
Dots mark every surviving airframe

A-12 60-6932 in flight above cloud in the 1960s, in a U.S. Air Force air-to-air photograph.
A-12 60-6932 in flight above cloud in the 1960s, in a U.S. Air Force air-to-air photograph.U.S. Air Force (Defense Visual Information Center) · 1960s · DoD VIRIN DF-SC-82-10542 · Public domain (US government work) · Source
A-12 60-6932 in flight in the 1960s. It was lost over the South China Sea in June 1968.
A-12 60-6932 in flight in the 1960s. It was lost over the South China Sea in June 1968.U.S.Air Force · 1960sdate QS:P,+1960-00-00T00:00:00Z/8 · DoD VIRIN DF-SC-82-10542 · Public domain (US government work) · Source

Record

60-6932
129
A-12
409.9
Not confirmed
Lost
Destroyed

Career

  • One of the three BLACK SHIELD aircraft at Kadena; flown there by Jack Weeks via Wake Island in May 1967
  • Flew 6 of the 29 BLACK SHIELD missions (tally from the CIA mission table)
  • On 30 Oct 1967 (mission BX6734, pilot Dennis Sullivan) at least six SA-2s were fired at it over Hanoi; a fragment lodged in the lower right wing, the closest an OXCART aircraft came to being shot down
  • 268 flights

How it was lost

Lost on 4 June 1968 (5 June local time on Okinawa) about 520 miles east of Manila on a functional check flight from Kadena after an engine change; telemetry showed engine trouble and no wreckage was found. CIA pilot Jack Weeks was killed, the second and last OXCART pilot fatality.

In the chronology

22 May 1967BLACK SHIELD: A-12s deploy to Kadena OXCART
After President Johnson approved deployment at his 16 May 1967 Tuesday lunch, Article 131 (60-6937) flew nonstop from Nevada to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, in 6 hours 6 minutes on 22 May, followed by Article 127 (60-6930) on 24 May and Article 129 (60-6932), which diverted to Wake Island and arrived on 27 May. The 1129th Special Activities Squadron, Detachment 1, under Col. Hugh Slater, was ready for operations on 29 May.
30 Oct 1967Six SAMs fired at an A-12; fragment found OXCART
Two days after North Vietnam fired its first SA-2 at an A-12 (28 October, Dennis Sullivan in Article 131), at least six missiles were launched at Sullivan in Article 129 (60-6932), flying at Mach 3.1 and 84,000 feet near Hanoi, and he saw three detonations behind him. A small piece of metal, probably missile debris, was found lodged in the lower right wing after landing, the closest an A-12 came to being shot down.
4 Jun 1968Jack Weeks lost over the Pacific OXCART
On a check flight from Kadena after an engine change, Article 129 (60-6932) disappeared about 520 miles east of Manila, and no trace of the aircraft or of CIA pilot Jack Weeks was found. Telemetry suggested engine trouble, and the official release again called the aircraft an SR-71.

Where the record disagrees

Loss date: CIA Archangel gives 4 June 1968 (US date); Roadrunners and the Wikipedia narrative give 5 June 1968 (Kadena local date, takeoff about 1400). Use '4 June 1968 (5 June local time on Okinawa)'. First flight date not found.

Sources

  1. Central Intelligence Agency, Center for the Study of Intelligence. Archangel: CIA's Supersonic A-12 Reconnaissance Aircraft (David Robarge, 2nd ed.; includes 'Inventory of A-12s' table, p. 50). Open · Archived · In the register
  2. Central Intelligence Agency. A-12 OXCART (CIA Museum exhibit page, Article 128). Open · Archived · In the register
  3. Wikipedia. Lockheed A-12 (aircraft table and accidents list). Open · Archived · In the register
  4. Roadrunners Internationale. CIA Pilot Jack Weeks remembered. Open · Archived · In the register