How Lockheed Turned A Wrecked YF-12 And A Test Fuselage Into The Only SR-71C

Lockheed created the only SR-71C by combining parts from two different aircraft after an SR-71B trainer crash. In January 1968, an SR-71B (61-7957) was destroyed after an emergency landing, while both pilots ejected safely. Only two SR-71Bs had been built, leaving the U.S. Air Force with just one trainer, as SR-71 production was set to end that year. Lockheed was ordered to destroy the tooling after the crash, so the USAF looked to its inventory and selected a damaged YF-12A prototype (60-6934) from an accident at Edwards Air Force Base in 1966. The SR-71C’s rear fuselage was mated to an SR-71 static test mockup to form aircraft 61-7981, which first flew in 1969 and served as a trainer until 1976.