Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!apple!veritas!amdcad!amdcad!military
From: wb9omc@ee.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: D-21 drone
Message-ID: <1991May7.062818.13476@amd.com>
Date: 3 May 91 14:23:57 GMT
References: <1991May3.063259.5277@amd.com>
Sender: military@amd.com
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Lines: 102
Approved: military@amd.com


From: wb9omc@ee.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick)


[Same quote etc. etc. --CDR]

	I'll try to keep this as brief as possible.....  :-)

[Thanks! --CDR]

	The Lockheed GTD21 was an unmanned recon. drone powered by
a Marquardt ramjet.  It was about 1/2 the size of the SR71 or slightly
less (no reference books here in the office) and was originally
designed to be carried on the *back* of a modified CIA A12 Blackbird,
a forerunner of the SR71.

	(and if you ask me about the A12, we could be here all day....)

A12's 940 and 941 (supposedly the last two built) were modified into what
is often called the M12 drone configuration which included a second
crew position in the Q-bay, where "instruments" were normally carried.
This person was the drone launch control operator.

On the first test flight of the M12/GTD21 that had a full load of fuel, etc.,
the D21 separated just fine but failed to clear the M12's supersonic
shock wave.  The drone slammed into 941's back, causing an unforgiving
mach3+ pitchup.  The M12 began breaking up into little pieces.  Pilot
Bill Park and WSO Ray Torick ejected - but unfortunately Torick drowned
in the pacific ocean before he could be recovered.  Bill Park survived
(and in fact, lived to eject from yet another Skunk Works creation,
the Lockheed Have Blue XST, or more commonly known as the F117's prototype -
and survived this one as well, as far as I know....).

Kelly Johnson was horrifed at the accident and personally cancelled the
whole project.  The remaining D21's were modified to D21*B* configuration,
in which they were fitted with a rocket booster and air-launched from
a B52 mothership.  The rocket booster was required because the Marquardt
ramjet could only start at speeds in the Mach 2 range, which the B52
cannot attain.

It is thought that some D21B's were used operationally, specifically over
Afghanistan.  There were apparently always problems recovering the
instrument package which was supposed to eject from the D21, pop a 
parachute and be snagged in mid-air.  The drone itself was then supposed
to destruct, although I don't think anybody is certain if this was by
explosives (which could have been rather hazardous to the mothership),
plunging into the ocean at high-mach (at which point water looks about
like concrete....) or by aerodynamic breakup following package ejection
(if you go popping off panels at mach 4, the results can be *extremely
unpleasant* unless, of course, that's what you want!).

Supposedly the D21 could boogie along at Mach 4+ at 100,000+ feet;  originally
it was designed to overfly the Soviet Union after the politicians
in DC promised the USSR that we would NOT make any *manned* overflights.

To this day, I don't think anybody is willing to come forward and 
say if it ever DID overfly the USSR. ( I could tell you but then
I'd have to kill you.....  :-)  is about what you'd hear)

The story that is told about how the public got wind of the D21 is
flaky, but interesting.  It seems a group of aviation enthusiasts
were being led about the boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB photographing
old airplanes.  The AF person who was with them really didn't know all
that much but was simply assigned to go with them.  The D21's had
just been sent there for "storage", and were lined up in a row with
tarps over them.  One of the tarps had blown off, and there was the
D21.  The group stumbled across them and said, essentially, what the
hell is that?  The enlisted USAF fellow didn't know, and evidently
let them take LOTS of pictures which got widely circulated.

Here is where the story gets a little fuzzy.  Evidently, the USAF
was *extremely* embarrassed and decided to release some information
as a means of rumour control.  And I understand that they then reclassified
the whole thing until 2000-something!! (GRRRRRRR.......)

You may recall that I said that there were TWO M12's....the other one,
serial number 60-6940 should be, by now, at the Seattle Museum of Flight.
It is my understanding that they are hopping up and down on both
Lockheed and USAF to get not only a D21 to mount on it, but it seems
that the aircraft was delivered to them *without* the pylon that
the D21 mounted to. When they asked Lockheed for the pylon
they were told that it was needed for a "active program".....

Isn't THAT interesting, Blackbird fans?

Now, as per a request from a previous group moderator, if we wish to
get into more detail, we should remove ourselves from sci.military.
Fortunately, there IS a vehicle for such discussions - my co-conspirator
here at Purdue, Phil Moyer, is running a mailing list called
(appropriately enough) "skunk works", in which we discuss high-performance
aircraft and related topics.  The list has been down for a while
but Phil tells me is about to resurface after some serious mailer
troubles.  If you'd like him to add you to the list, email him
at:

prm@orchestra.ecn.purdue.edu

(he's gonna kill me now, for sure.....)  :-)

	[This is brief? :-) :-)  --CDR]

Duane