Document created: 1 December 03
Air & Space Power Journal - Winter 2003

Mach 3+: NASA/USAF YF-12 Flight Research, 1969–1979, Monographs in Aerospace History no. 25, by Peter W. Merlin. NASA History Division, Office of External Affairs (http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/history.html), NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. 20546, 2002, 154 pages. (To obtain a copy of this monograph, send a self-addressed, flat-rate, priority-mail envelope [8" x 11"] to the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center History Office, Mail Stop 1613, P.O. Box 273, Edwards, California 93523.)

Although literature on the Mach 3+ “Blackbird” is plentiful in the popular-aviation press, this recent volume by Peter Merlin and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) offers something entirely new. A well-illustrated and detailed book on NASA’s flight-testing of the YF-12, Mach 3+ will appeal to anyone interested in an overview of the technical aspects of high-speed flight research, as well as to the “buff” who craves more coverage on the design and operation of this fascinating aircraft.

Still able to outperform other jets in speed and altitude, the Blackbird began life in the 1950s under Kelly Johnson’s now-famous Lockheed “Skunk Works” design team. The aircraft, designated the A-12, first flew as a reconnaissance platform for the Central Intelligence Agency; its design produced interesting variants along the way to the one best known to us—the SR-71. Mach 3+ deals most specifically with the three YF-12A examples during their years of work for NASA’s Flight Research Center. The YF-12A was the fighter-interceptor version of the A-12 that the public learned about in 1964 and that set official speed and altitude records in 1965 of 2,070 miles per hour and 80,257 feet, respectively. Although it never became operational as an interceptor, the Blackbird established its fame as the veil of secrecy lifted on the SR-71 strategic-reconnaissance version of the aircraft.

Peter Merlin’s monograph is the first comprehensive history of a decade of joint testing by the Air Force and NASA, who used the YF-12A to explore materials, structures, loads, heating, aerodynamics, and performance at high altitude and speeds greater than Mach 3. The author cites recently declassified documents and makes good use of personal interviews with key figures in the program’s history. Many readers will appreciate Merlin’s scholarship as a historical researcher—the book is well footnoted and includes useful appendices and a substantial bibliography. Enthusiasts looking for color photos, diagrams for model construction, and such will need to look elsewhere, but Mach 3+ definitely covers its technical subject most thoroughly.

Col John Chilstrom, USAF
New Orleans, Louisiana

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.