[AFreeBird]

Hmmm... seems to me that extending the chines all the way up to the nose made for a sleeker bird.

But what are we really talking about here, model year derivations of the same design? Fraternal Twins? Both a product of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson's mind and Lockheed's Skunk Works.

Nuff said. :-)

[tanknetter]

Hmmm... seems to me that extending the chines all the way up to the nose made for a sleeker bird.

Fraternal twins is probably the best way to look at it. Having seen examples of both (SR-71s at several museums, the A-12 that's was (and will be) on Intrepid up in NYC), the straighter chines, flatter nose, flat canopy/spine and lack of a tail protrusion of the A-12 create significant beauty over that of the SR.

Then there's the YF-12, which just looks plain evil.