Photo of the Week: World’s Fastest Fighter Jet

On May 1, 1965, a Lockheed YF-12 set a world speed record of 2,070 mph at an altitude of over 80,200 feet.

That record has not been matched by any operational fighter aircraft nearly 60 years later.

The Lockheed YF-12 was an experimental, clandestine fighter-interceptor designed to modernize the Air Force’s fighter fleet during the height of the Cold War.

Developed under secrecy by Lockheed’s famed “Skunk Works” division, the YF-12 was publicly revealed in 1964. Equipped with an advanced radar and missiles, the YF-12, crewed by a pilot and flight engineer, was designed to use its speed and high-altitude capabilities to intercept and destroy enemy bombers at long ranges. The YF-12 was capable of flying more than three times the speed of sound at altitudes above 80,000 feet.

Lockheed built three YF-12 prototypes for Air Force test and evaluation flights out of Edwards Air Force Base, California. NASA joined the program in 1969 to expand the agency’s research and development capabilities for aircraft design and supersonic flight.

Although the Air Force had plans to acquire more than 90 full-scale production models of the YF-12, the program was canceled in the early 1970s in favor of other defense priorities. Despite this, the Air Force and NASA continued to fly the YF-12s through 1979 for flight research.

The sole remaining Lockheed YF-12 in the world is located at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. (Courtesy of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force)

While never entering full operational service, the YF-12 was essentially the prototype for successor, Lockheed’s SR-71 Blackbird, which went on become the premier reconnaissance aircraft of all time. Additionally, data gathered from test flights of the YF-12 program helped aerospace engineers better understand the challenges of operating at extreme altitudes and speeds, which has influenced the designs of aircraft today.

Lawrence Lederer was a crew chief for the YF-12 program and among an exclusive group of aviation mechanics involved in the program. Maintaining the YF-12 involved a complex combination of routine inspections, specialized tools, heat management and high-level expertise to ensure its systems, structure and components remained capable of handling the extreme conditions it was built to endure.

In the above photo, Lederer (second row from left) is photographed with a group of other YF-12 crew chiefs; at the time of the photo, Lederer was the youngest Tech Sergeant on the project and is the only surviving member in the photo today.

Thanks for sharing this amazing photo of aviation history, Lawrence!

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