Stories from Area 51

[steven johnson]

Despite the UFO and 'black ops' stories about Area 51, there have been few confirmed attributed stories out of the projects there. Here are a few.

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The problem is the myths of Area 51 are hard to dispute if no one can speak on the record about what actually happened there. Well, now, for the first time, someone is ready to talk—in fact, five men are, and their stories rival the most outrageous of rumors. Colonel Hugh "Slip" Slater, 87, was commander of the Area 51 base in the 1960s. Edward Lovick, 90, featured in "What Plane?" in LA's March issue, spent three decades radar testing some of the world's most famous aircraft (including the U-2, the A-12 OXCART and the F-117). Kenneth Collins, 80, a CIA experimental test pilot, was given the silver star. Thornton "T.D." Barnes, 72, was an Area 51 special-projects engineer. And Harry Martin, 77, was one of the men in charge of the base's half-million-gallon monthly supply of spy-plane fuels. Here are a few of their best stories—for the record:

The Road to Area 51

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I suspect that if the stories hadn't been so vigorously suppressed

There would not have been so much hoopla over what was "seen."

In the ordinary light of day, they look like pretty normal military stories.

Funny how making stuff secret can cause people to suddenly think something really strange, even otherworldly, is happening...

Even when it isn't.

[pinto]

2. Turns out the quintessential conspiracy theory of 51 is easy to debunk -

"And the quintessential Area 51 conspiracy—that the Pentagon keeps captured alien spacecraft there, which they fly around in restricted airspace? Turns out that one's pretty easy to debunk.

The shape of OXCART was unprecedented, with its wide, disk-like fuselage designed to carry vast quantities of fuel. Commercial pilots cruising over Nevada at dusk would look up and see the bottom of OXCART whiz by at 2,000-plus mph. The aircraft's titanium body, moving as fast as a bullet, would reflect the sun's rays in a way that could make anyone think, UFO."

It was a cold war military testing ground/research facility.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.