Secret A-12 Avenger II Stealth Aircraft Canopy Appears on eBayDecember 24th, 2011, In Military, by Tom


Anyone interested in top secret aircraft will know of the A-12 Avenger II, which was cancelled in 1991 and remains at the centre of ongoing litigation to this day.  The stealth attack aircraft, developed by General Dynamics and McDonnell Douglas, was terminated before the first airframe had been assembled.  But the latest twist in this still-shadowy tale comes in the form of an A-12 canopy appearing on eBay – and it looks like the real thing.

Seth Kettleman, who owns the canopy, purchased it through GovDeals.com for $2,300.  GovDeals told The DEW Line that the part had been listed by the aviation department of Purdue University in Indiana, where it had reportedly resided for more than 15 years.  Strangely, nobody knows exactly how it got there.

While a wooden mock-up of the A-12 Avenger II lies rotting in a corner of Carswell Air Force Base, Fort Worth (viewable on Google Earth), Kettleman said his canopy was authentic and had been verified by several independent and highly respected sources.  It also retains the original manufacturing data and serial numbers from McAir, its manufacturer.

Purdue University reportedly considered selling the canopy for $700 scrap value prior to placing it on GovDeals.  It is currently listed on eBay for $620,238.  Several A-12s were on the production line when the programme was cancelled, but the fate of their parts has remained a mystery.  The eBay canopy is a tantalising reminder that these parts may still exist, and demonstrates that at least one component of the still classified A-12 is in private hands.