BIRMINGHAM AL- Frank Murray was one of only six pilots to fly the
A-12 for the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) legendary Oxcart program. From
May 1967 to June 1968, Frank Murray flew three operational CIA A-12 OXCART
missions from Kadena, Japan as part of Operation BLACK SHIELD where standard
missions were flown at 80,000 feet and in excess of Mach 3. His
success in locating the USS Pueblo in North Korea brought him the CIA's
Intelligence Star for Valor, their highest award.
This year the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB honored him as one of fifteen Eagles for their 2013 Gathering of Eagles Foundation. While in Alabama for this occasion he came to Birmingham to see an old ride. He knows the Southern Museum of Flight's A-12 called "131". It was Frank who last flew her to storage when Oxcart ended.
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- Murray's career picked up where it left off before Oxcart and he was assigned to the 475th Test Squadron at Tyndall AFB flying the F-101 Voodoo. He volunteered for duty in Southeast Asia with the 1st Special Operations Squadron at Nakhon Phanom AB, Thailand. He flew 67 combat rescue missions in the A-1 Skyraider over Laos and Vietnam, ultimately commanding the squadron before returning to Tyndall and retiring from active duty in 1977 with 29 years of service.
Shown at the 2013 Gathering of Eagles portrait signing. -AlabamaAviator image
A crowd filed into a meeting room to hear Frank talk about the Museum's signature exhibit, an asset that commands attention parked at the corner of the Birmingham Airport two blocks from the Southern Museum of Flight. He told about the CIA and their secret spy planes, designed by Lockheed Skunk Works for Oxcart that flew at 80,000 feet. The ones that could out run a SAM. This was a forerunner to the SR-71 that have also flown into history.
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-Original portriat of Frank Murray shown in graphic by Jay Ashurst for2013 Gathering of Eagles-
Speaking of "131" as an old friend, he recalled what it was like getting the program started in Area 51, flying it and how the giant onboard cameras captured intel before satellites.
The Museum's A-12 parked outside in the yard, "131" was credited with the first over flight, or spy mission and the first to fly over North Korea on the hunt to find the USS Pueblo. She was the last one rounded up to come home to retire and she didn't want to come. A fuel leak sat her down at Wake Island. Further issues put her down in Hawaii. Finally on the third attempt, the "recalcitrant one" and Frank made it back to Area 51. Then a few days later he flew her for the last time to Palmdale for storage where she sat, assaulted by pilferers. Frank recovered some of the parts and returned them to the Museum for"131". His prepared talk covered the Oxcart program, the A-12s, Area 51, Groom Lake and the band of CIA pilots and their secret mission. Afterwards, the gathering mobilized two blocks away for a guided tour of "131" by the last pilot to fly her 45 years ago.
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Standing beside one of 15 A-12s built, Frank recalled the fate and location of some of the 9 retired remaining, believed to be the world's fastest mission aircraft. "132" the sister ship is located in Mobile at the Alabama Battleship Museum he said. He pointed out many interesting features of "131", how it functioned and recalled how this was the only plane that the families ever got to see fly at the end of the program.
"This plane is special to me", he said, "For what it did and my last flight with it. I have a lot of memories with it."- B Meyer
FMI: http://www.southernmuseumofflight.org/ ,http://www.goefoundation.com/
This year the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB honored him as one of fifteen Eagles for their 2013 Gathering of Eagles Foundation. While in Alabama for this occasion he came to Birmingham to see an old ride. He knows the Southern Museum of Flight's A-12 called "131". It was Frank who last flew her to storage when Oxcart ended.
- Murray's career picked up where it left off before Oxcart and he was assigned to the 475th Test Squadron at Tyndall AFB flying the F-101 Voodoo. He volunteered for duty in Southeast Asia with the 1st Special Operations Squadron at Nakhon Phanom AB, Thailand. He flew 67 combat rescue missions in the A-1 Skyraider over Laos and Vietnam, ultimately commanding the squadron before returning to Tyndall and retiring from active duty in 1977 with 29 years of service.
Shown at the 2013 Gathering of Eagles portrait signing. -AlabamaAviator image
A crowd filed into a meeting room to hear Frank talk about the Museum's signature exhibit, an asset that commands attention parked at the corner of the Birmingham Airport two blocks from the Southern Museum of Flight. He told about the CIA and their secret spy planes, designed by Lockheed Skunk Works for Oxcart that flew at 80,000 feet. The ones that could out run a SAM. This was a forerunner to the SR-71 that have also flown into history.
-Original portriat of Frank Murray shown in graphic by Jay Ashurst for2013 Gathering of Eagles-
Speaking of "131" as an old friend, he recalled what it was like getting the program started in Area 51, flying it and how the giant onboard cameras captured intel before satellites.
The Museum's A-12 parked outside in the yard, "131" was credited with the first over flight, or spy mission and the first to fly over North Korea on the hunt to find the USS Pueblo. She was the last one rounded up to come home to retire and she didn't want to come. A fuel leak sat her down at Wake Island. Further issues put her down in Hawaii. Finally on the third attempt, the "recalcitrant one" and Frank made it back to Area 51. Then a few days later he flew her for the last time to Palmdale for storage where she sat, assaulted by pilferers. Frank recovered some of the parts and returned them to the Museum for"131". His prepared talk covered the Oxcart program, the A-12s, Area 51, Groom Lake and the band of CIA pilots and their secret mission. Afterwards, the gathering mobilized two blocks away for a guided tour of "131" by the last pilot to fly her 45 years ago.
Standing beside one of 15 A-12s built, Frank recalled the fate and location of some of the 9 retired remaining, believed to be the world's fastest mission aircraft. "132" the sister ship is located in Mobile at the Alabama Battleship Museum he said. He pointed out many interesting features of "131", how it functioned and recalled how this was the only plane that the families ever got to see fly at the end of the program.
"This plane is special to me", he said, "For what it did and my last flight with it. I have a lot of memories with it."- B Meyer
FMI: http://www.southernmuseumofflight.org/ ,http://www.goefoundation.com/