CO5653421 UNCLASSIFIED
Secr ORN
Chapter 6
278
to achieve the desired targ et altitude of 91,000 feet. Afterward, he
noted in the project log: "We have no performance margins left; so
this project. instead of being 10 times as hard as anythin g we have
done, is 12 times as hard. This matches the design number and is ob-
viously right.-
These changes satisfied Bissell, who notified Johnson on 26
January that the CIA was authorizing the construction of 12 of the •
new aircraft. The actual contract was signed on II February 1960.
Lockheed's original quotation for the project was $96.6 million for 12
aircraft, but technolo g ical difficulties eventually made this price im-
possible to meet. Recognizing that fabricating an aircraft from tita-
nium might involve unforeseen difficulties, the CIA included a clause
in the contract that allowed costs to be reevaluated. During the next
five years, this clause had to be invoked on a number of occasions as
the A-I2's costs soared to more than double the original estimate.'
NEW TECHNOLOGIES NECESSITATED
BY OXCART'S HIGH SPEED
According to the specifications. the OXCART aircraft was to achieve
a speed of Mach 3.2 (2.064 knots or 0.57 miles per second, which
would make it as fast as a rifle bullet), have a range of 4,120 nautical
miles, and reach altitudes of 84.500 to 97.600 feet. The new aircraft
would thus be more than five times as fast as the U-2 and would go
almost 3 miles higher.
One major disadvantage of the OXCART's great speed was high
temperatures. Flying through the earth's atmosphere at Mach 3.2
heated portions of the aircraft's skin to almost 900°F. An aircraft op-
erating at these high speeds and high temperatures required fuels. lu-
bricants, and hydraulic fluids that had not yet been invented. The
OXCART's fuel requirement called for a low-vapor-pressure fuel
with a low volume at operating temperatures: the fuel would also be
used as a heat sink to cool various parts of the aircraft. The 158 en-
g ines required lubricants that did not break down at the very high op-
erating temperatures of Mach 3.2 speeds. This requirement led to the
"Johnson, "Archangel 21 January 1960.
OSA History. chap. N. pp. 27-29. 33-34. 36 ITS Codewurd).
UNCLASSIFIED