Area 51 was created so that U.S. Cold Warriors with the highest security clearances could pursue cutting-edge aeronautical projects away from prying eyes. During the 1950s and '60s Area 51’s top-secret OXCART program developed the A-12 as the successor to the U-2 spy plane.
Nearly undetectable to radar, the A-12 could fly at 2,200 miles an hour (3,540 kilometers an hour)—fast enough to cross the continental U.S. in 70 minutes. From 90,000 feet (27,400 meters), the plane's cameras could capture foot-long (0.3-meter-long) objects on the ground below.
But pushing the limits came with risks—and a catastrophic 1963 crash of an A-12 based out of Area 51.
A rapid government cover-up removed nearly all public traces of the wrecked A-12—pictured publicly for the first time in this gallery, thanks to the CIA's recent declassification of the images.
Queso wrote:Thanks a lot for posting this! Fascinating pictures.
Queso wrote:Thanks a lot for posting this! Fascinating pictures.
halls120 wrote:When I was in law school in Sacramento, there was an aircraft crash in a remote part of the Sierra foothills. The Air Force locked it down tighter than a drum. Many years later, an Air Force friend told me it was a prototype F-117.
JeffSFO wrote:halls120 wrote:When I was in law school in Sacramento, there was an aircraft crash in a remote part of the Sierra foothills. The Air Force locked it down tighter than a drum. Many years later, an Air Force friend told me it was a prototype F-117.
Was that in 1986 by any chance? I remember that appearing on the news at the time and CBS concluded that it must have been a stealth "fighter" because of all the secrecy surrounding the recovery:
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1986-07-12/news/0230420214_1_crash-air-force-stealth
