Newly declassified CIA documents have revealed some of the history
behind Nevada's Area 51. The area was never home to aliens or UFOs, but
it was a super secret site for testing spy planes such as the U-2.
The document, "The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance: the U-2 and Oxcart Programs," was released recently in response to a Freedom of Information Act Request made by George Washington University in 2005.
Area 51,
a desert tract near Groom Lake, about 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas,
was first chosen by officials who were searching for a place to test
planes and train U-2 pilots in 1955. The airstrip, located by a salt
flat, was used for the U-2 plane, as well as its successors: the
Lockheed A-12 Oxcart, the D-21 Tagboard and the F-117 Stealth Fighter.
The document doesn't reveal what's been done at the base since 1974.
Area 51 buffs are unlikely to be surprised by the new disclosure:
Many of these facts had been suspected for years, and government
officials have, on occasion, offhandedly mentioned the area. This is the
first time, however, that Area 51 is explicitly mentioned in a publicly available government document.
Website: livescience
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