Area 51 - Black Jets: A History of the Aircraft Developed at Groom Lake, America's Secret Aviation Base PDF
Preview Area 51 - Black Jets: A History of the Aircraft Developed at Groom Lake, America's Secret Aviation Base
And, as his strength Failed him at length, He met a pilgrim shadow— “Shadow,” said he, “Where can it be— This Area 51?” “Over the mountains Of the Moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow, Ride, boldly ride,” The shade replied— “If you seek for Area 51!” (With apologies to Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “Eldorado,” also about a place which officially did not exist.) Pointing the way in the Nevada desert. Turn right on Groom Lake Road at the next intersection. Bill Yenne As strange and mysterious as it appears in this image, the Bird of Prey was a real airplane that really flew—and flew in complete secrecy—in the skies above the place that had come to be known as Area 51. Illustration by Erik Simonsen AREA 51 BLACK JETS BILL YENNE CONTENTS PROLOGUE WHAT IS AREA 51? CHAPTER 1 HOW NOWHERE BECAME SOMEWHERE CHAPTER 2 THE SKUNK WORKS GOES TO PARADISE CHAPTER 3 ANGELS IN THE BLUE BOOK CHAPTER 4 ANGELS IN RED SKIES CHAPTER 5 ANGELS AT THE TURNING POINT CHAPTER 6 IMAGINING THE ARCHANGELS CHAPTER 7 ARCHANGELS OVER AREA 51 CHAPTER 8 THE TAGBOARD FROM THE SORCERER’S DUNGEON CHAPTER 9 THE BLACKBIRD CHAPTER 10 MiGS OVER TONOPAH CHAPTER 11 FROM HOPELESS DIAMOND TO BLACK JET CHAPTER 12 AURORA, BLACK MANTA, AND THINGS THAT WENT PULSE IN THE NIGHT CHAPTER 13 WHALES, BIRDS OF PREY, AND THE TRUE DEEP BLACK CHAPTER 14 SEND IN THE DRONES, WATCH FOR THE BEASTS EPILOGUE STILL OUT THERE ACRONYMS ABOUT THE AUTHOR BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Looking futuristic in 1964, the Lockheed YF-12A still looks futuristic today. A product of the golden age of the renowned Skunk Works, it was one of the great signature airplanes of the place called Area 51. PROLOGUE WHAT IS AREA 51? IN THE CARTOGRAPHY of our lives, our dreams, and our popular culture, certain landmarks are embodied with great meaning that transcends their identity as mere places. We travel to certain ones to see things of great cultural or historical importance. Whether we are fond of Michelangelo or Picasso, or of Winslow Homer or Warhol, we go to great museums to view and marvel at celebrated works of art. We go to the Smithsonian to see the tangible artifacts of American history, from the Star Spangled Banner to the Spirit of St. Louis. Meanwhile we visit other iconic places, such as Waikiki or Las Vegas or any numbers of Disney Worlds or Lands or their analogues with other themes, for specific genres of “fun.” And finally there are places we visit not for specific artifacts or specific amusements but for the intangible reason that we just want to be there or, arguably more importantly, to say that we have been there. We go to such places to breathe a certain rarified air. We go to such places—Times Square or the corner of Haight and Ashbury— not so much to see and touch specific things, but to stand there and sense an ethereal yet palpable energy or to soak up the vibe. This genre of venues possesses an importance that is greater than the sum of its parts. Merely the mention of one word, such as “Sturgis” or “Graceland,” speaks volumes to those who venerate these places for what they represent. Of course none of these places is for everyone, and that is what makes each of them so important and so special to those for whom they do resonate. For such people, even those who have never been to these places that are the nexus of their fascination, the mere mention of the name is like a mantra that is a key to unlock an emotion. Area 51 is such a place. Even though Area 51 devotees cannot actually go there and stand in the gravel and fine desert dust of its epicenter, they come by the thousands every year to look at the mountains beyond which lies their field of dreams. The fact that armed guards prevent them from completing their pilgrimage only adds to the rush of excitement and the belief that this place is truly special. This FAA aeronautical chart shows the proximity of Las Vegas to the place known as Area 51. The box at top left labeled as “R-4808N” with Groom Lake in the center is the restricted air space known to Air Force pilots as Dreamland. The large airfield complex at Groom Lake, originally known as Watertown and built by Lockheed and the federal government in the late 1950s, officially does not exist and therefore appears on no US government maps. By some unofficial calculations, Area 51 comprises this whole box, by others, it is a smaller box centering on Groom Lake. FAA In the 1980s, when the term “Area 51” entered the lexicon of popular culture, it was one of those legendary but not quite mythic places like Atlantis or Shangri-La or El Dorado. There are those who vociferously believe that these places truly exist while readily admitting that their precise locations are a bit
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