The first A-12, known as Article 121, was built and ground tested in Burbank during January and February 1962. Because the aircraft was too secret to fly to the test site and too large to carry on a cargo plane, it had to be trucked. 

The only A-12 trainer (927) was a two seater version intended for pilot training. The A-12B trainer was known as The Titanium Goose.

The newly-installed SAS (Stability Augmentation System) had the yaw and pitch gyros wired backwards, causing the airplane to lose complete control just seconds after takeoff from Groom Dry Lake; 

The crash occurred on 9 July 1964 while Article 133 was approaching the runway after a Mach 3 check flight.