A-12 Oxcart

“Carry a Piece of Cold War Legend”

Introducing our latest TransportTag, crafted from the titanium wheel cantor of the Lockheed A-12 Oxcart, serial number 60‑6938 (Article 132). The A‑12 was a high‑altitude, Mach‑3+ reconnaissance aircraft designed by Lockheed’s Skunk Works for the CIA’s covert Project Oxcart. Only 13 A‑12s were ever built, and this tag, upcycled from a rediscovered wheel cantor in a Palmdale, California scrapyard, embodies the pinnacle of Cold War aerospace innovation. Each tag is a rare artifact, meticulously transformed to honor the secrecy and engineering brilliance of an era that shaped modern aviation.

(Please note that TransportTags, LLC is NOT an authorized or licensed distributor of Lockheed Martin/Skunk Works or the CIA and uses their name, markings, etc. for identification purposes ONLY in accordance with the Lanham Act).

(If you order a Super Structure or Data Plate Stencil, you can email us your choice of vector, whether for the back or front of the tag to be engraved, or opt to have no engraving.)

The A‑12 was a crucial stepping stone to the SR‑71 Blackbird; without the A‑12 there would have been no SR‑71. As the first in the Blackbird family’s development series, A‑12 material is among the rarest available. We are also launching with this release first to preserve the order of development in keeping with the aircraft production program, as we also have YF-12 and SR-71 material.

For this release we are offering the Recon Imagery Set — a limited edition pairing of a 13" x 19" acid‑free matte art print (white border, unframed, numbered and signed) alongside an authentic, rough‑cut unengraved piece of A‑12 titanium mounted to a PVC TransportTag card. Each aircraft piece will be unique; prints and tags are not available separately. Production is strictly limited. As a side note, none of the A-12 tags or recon imagery sets will go on sale during Black Friday. 

Article 132, delivered to the CIA in 1963, flew 197 missions totaling 369.9 hours, advancing U.S. reconnaissance capabilities and directly contributing to the development of the SR‑71 Blackbird. It is now preserved at Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama. The wheel cantor itself was an insulated titanium tub that the landing gear retracted into: at sustained Mach‑3+ speeds the wheels and tires experienced intense heating, and the cantor served as a thermal barrier to protect tires when stowed and as a protective enclosure for internal components if a tire failed after retraction. Titanium was chosen for its heat resistance and structural integrity — qualities that make each salvaged piece a meaningful, durable keepsake.

We are excited to offer flown A‑12 titanium that once protected critical wheel components at extreme speed for clandestine CIA operations. With only a limited number of tags available due to the scarcity of the material, owning one is a chance to hold a tangible piece of Cold War history.