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The Real Story Behind the Myth of Area 51 11
The Real Story Behind the three decades. by commercial airline pilots who had never seen
"And there sure is still a lot going on an aircraft fly at such high altitudes as the U-2.
Myth of Area 51 there." Whereas today's airliners can soar as high as
The Origins of a Mystery 45,000 feet, in the mid-1950s airlines flew at
altitudes between 10,000 and 20,000 feet.
There are no aliens at America's Known military aircraft could get to 40,000 feet,
The beginning of Area 51 is directly related to and some believed manned flight couldn't go
most famous top-secret military the development of the U-2 reconnaissance any higher than that. The U-2, flying at altitudes
base, but what is there is just as aircraft. After World War II, the Soviet Union in excess of 60,000 feet, would've looked
interesting. lowered the Iron Curtain around themselves and completely alien.
the rest of the Eastern bloc, creating a near Naturally, Air Force officials knew the
intelligence blackout to the rest of the world. majority of these unexplained sightings were U-
By Matt Blitz
When the Soviets backed North Korea's 2 tests, but they were not allowed to reveal these
invasion of South Korea in June 1950, it details to the public. So, "natural phenomena" or
In the middle of the barren Nevada desert,
became increasingly clear that the Kremlin "high-altitude weather research" became go-to
there's a dusty unmarked road that leads to the
would aggressively expand its influence. explanations for UFO sightings, including in
front gate of Area 51. It's protected by little
America worried about the USSR's technology, 1960 when Gary Powers' U-2 was shot down
more than a chain link fence, a boom gate, and
intentions, and ability to launch a surprise over Russia.
intimidating trespassing signs. One would think
attack—only a decade removed from the What's also interesting about the most
that America's much mythicized top secret
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. recent 2013 report is that it confirms Area 51's
military base would be under closer guard, but
`In the early 1950s, U.S. Navy and Air existence. While the 1998 version does have
make no mistake. They are watching.
Force sent low-flying aircraft on reconnaissance significant redactions when referencing the
Beyond the gate, cameras see every
missions over the USSR, but they were at name and location of the U-2 test site, the nearly
angle. On the distant hilltop, there's a white
constant risk of being shot down. In November un-redacted version from 2013 reveals much
pickup truck with a tinted windshield peering
1954, President Eisenhower approved the secret more, including multiple references to Area 51,
down on everything below. Locals says the base
development of a high-altitude reconnaissance Groom Lake, and even a map of the area.
knows every desert tortoise and jackrabbit that
aircraft called the U-2 program. One of the first
hops the fence. Others claim there are
orders of business was to track down a remote, “This Is Earth Technology”
embedded sensors in the approaching road.
covert location for training and testing. They
What exactly goes on inside of Area 51
found it in the southern Nevada desert near a U-2 operations halted in the late 1950s, but other
has led to decades of wild speculation. There
salt flat known as Groom Lake, which had once
are, of course, the alien conspiracies that top secret military aircrafts continued tests at
been a World War II aerial gunnery range for
galactic visitors are tucked away somewhere Area 51. Over the years, the A-12 and numerous
Army Air Corps pilots.
inside. One of the more colorful rumors insists stealth aircrafts like Bird of Prey, F-117A, and
Known by its map designation as Area
the infamous 1947 Roswell crash was actually a TACIT BLUE have all been developed and
51, this middle-of-nowhere site became a new
Soviet aircraft piloted by mutated midgets and tested in the Nevada desert. More declassified
top-secret military base. To convince workers to
the wreckage remains on the grounds of Area documents reveal Area 51's role in "Project
come, Kelly Johnson, one of the leading
51. Some even believe that the U.S. government Have Doughnut," a 1970s attempt to study
engineers of the U-2 project, gave it a more covertly obtained Soviet MiGs.
filmed the 1969 moon landing in one of the
enticing name: Paradise Ranch.
base's hangars.
For all the myths and legends, what's
Making A Myth
true is that Area 51 is real and still very active. (Continued on Page 12)
There may not be aliens or a moon landing
movie set inside those fences, but something is U-2 testing began in July 1955, and
going on and only a select few are privy to immediately reports came flooding in about
what's happening further down that closely- unidentified flying object sightings. If you read
the details in a 1992 CIA report that was
monitored wind-swept Nevada road. "The
declassified with redactions in 1998 (and
forbidden aspect of Area 51 is what makes
subsequently released nearly in full in 2013), it's
people want to know what's there," says
easy to see why.
aerospace historian and author Peter Merlin
Many of these sightings were observed
who's been researching Area 51 for more than