As a young pilot building time I had a job flying bank checks every night from Reno to Las Vegas in a Piper Aztec. We knew there was something at Area 51 because at altitude we could simply look into the desert and see the lights of a "small town' glowing. Of course this "base" wasn't on our sectional charts and if you brought up the subject you were met with a frown and silence. So every night coming and going I'd peer into the area and watch for anything unusual. I never saw a thing. One of our other pilots, a young guy as well, presented me with what he said was the freq.of the PCL (Pilot Controlled Lighting system) there. As I was flying back north along the eastern side of the Sierras and abreast of the lights of the mystery base I dialed in the freq. and activated the code with my mike. To my surprise the entire two miles or so of a runway lit up. I immediately regretted my action. When I arrived at Reno, I landed and went to ground control. The controller asked me to contact our GADO (General Aviation District Office) the following day. Well all I can say is that the powers that be were not happy that I had control of the lighting to their super secret base and they were investigating me and my fellow pilot as to how we got the information. It seemed a big deal at the time because their investigation went deep into our personal histories. Nothing further came of the incident. That's how I personally found out that their was, indeed, a secret base at Groom Lake.

If the U2 is still flying after 65 years, i guess that means that it still hasnt found what its looking for.

My late uncle worked in Area 51, helped work on the A12/SR71 landing gear. Amazing the stuff he told me about the place back in 1998, such as the toxic burn pits, now coming to public light. Haven't heard anyone yet speak about being under armed escort 100% of the time to make sure you weren't looking at something you weren't supposed to look at or trying to go somewhere you weren't supposed to go.

Hi Ward! Love your videos. I worked 27 yrs at a company, Gast Mfg corp. I learned of a little miniature vacuum/pressure pump, known as model #0333, built w/a lot of variants but we did build one such variant fir the government. Look up how the U2 kept it's camera film from fluttering and thus bluring the picture at extreme altitudes from vibration. Yep we made em! I even machined the tiny rotor and even worked in assembly and personally built some of those little jewels. Just a bit of history probably forgotten.🕵🤔✌🖖😍🦅🦅

Heh.. when I was an Air Traffic Controller at LA Center, working a mid-shift one night, and I got a radar hit and transponder reply from an aircraft in the middle of R4808. I called up Nellis Approach and mentioned I had this contact lit up. He says, "Stand by one", and about 30 seconds later the transponder shuts off. He comes back and says, "I don't see anything", to which I replied, "Copy that..." and hung up.. LOL

I was born and raised in Burbank, CA and remember all different kinds of things going on at Lockheed. One thing I'll always remember is in the early 80's a C-5 would land at Burbank every Thursday at 5:00pm and take off at midnight, (there was no mistaking the sound of the early C-5). They would back-up to the Skunk Works hanger and semi tractors would line up on both sides so you couldn't see what was being loaded. My friend actually got debriefed by the FBI because he climbed up on the roof of his work to take a look. We found out much later the C-5's were picking up F-117's and transporting them to Groom Lake.

Thanks! This was the best explanation of Area 51 I have ever heard. I am retired AF and held a Top Secret clearance and Area 51was not talked about due to it's special handling and need to know restrictions. Again, thanks for this posting.

Yes, I first heard of Groom Lake in the 90’s when as a computer network guy at Boeing I had a pleasant conversation with my counterpart at Groom Lake. They had an extremely tight firewall that wouldn’t let anything in or out without some special permissions granted by the Air Force. The initial contact I had before finally reaching the network guy was with an Air Force upper crust type who could use more words to say nothing at all than anyone I have ever met. Anyway the network guy was the only “human” I talked with.

I had the opportunity to listen to a former U-2 pilot during an aircraft maintenance class many years ago. What impressed me was his saying at altitude, the plane flies on the verge of stalling and disintegrating by exceeding Mach1. A knot or two either direction would spell disaster. I was also at Red Flag with a group of A-10s out of AK when one pilot entered the square. He had a several-hours-long "debriefing" upon his return, which he would not discuss with anyone.

The portion of the video about SR-71s not flying over Russia MIGHT be inaccurate. My father (Maj Robert Culbertson) was in the first graduating class of the AF academy and his first duty station was Cheyenne Wyoming. He applied for fight school but failed the flight physicals (Eyes) and became a navigator on KC-135s. His last duty station was McCoy AFB (Now Orlando Int) which is why Orlando carries the designator (MCO) At his funeral in 2010, a KC-135 pilot spoke of a story my Dad never told us. According to him, his tanker group met up with several SR-71s out of Alaska. This would be late 60s early 70s. He didn't say where they were going and it wasn't the point of his story. They were to refuel the SRs, and wait for their return to refuel again. During that process, after refueling the returning SRs they got lost on their transpolar route and wound up basically flying in circles. Running low on fuel they were getting concerned about ditching. My Dad (being the astronomer he was) went to the back of the aircraft using a window designed for celestial navigation and used a sextant to shoot (what the pilot called) a reverse azimuth to communicate to the pilot left or right (X) amount of degrees and got them back to Anchorage. According to the pilot, he asked my Dad be awarded for his achievement claiming he saved the tanker group but no metal was conferred as the response was, thats his job. I was never able to speak with that pilot in detail that day as you can imagine and I have no idea how or why they got lost, but its a cool story I thought I would share. Maybe that pilot watches Wards channel. That would be cool as well. Would love to know what options those SR-71s had to recon leaving out of the North Pole that night.

"As punishment for having a good idea he was recalled to active duty" Genius

While through the 1990s there were rumors of a hypersonic Blackbird replacement, typically referred to as Aurora, what I find more compelling are the reported sightings and rumors of an XB-70 like aircraft dubbed the Super Valkyrie and later the Aviation Week story published in 2006 alleging that it was a part of a two stage to orbit system dubbed Blackstar, with the orbital vehicle being a small lifting body shuttle powered by some exotic propulsion system using boron doped zip fuel. Some things didn't make a whole lot of sense, like suggesting both the use of a rocket with linear aerospike nozzle design and some sort of combined cycle propulsion system, but who knows. Since nothing seems to get declassified anymore, I guess we'll likely never know!

My grandfather was an engineer for Convair while developing the B-58. He was then recruited to go to work for Lockheed, which he did for 2 years before he went back to Convair. My dad said he never talked about those two years much due to his work but spent a lot of time at both Wright Patt and "out west"...which he assumed meant Groom Lake/Edwards. After he came back to Convair then later GD he was the lead engineer on the F-111 terrain following radar. He died when I was only 15 back in 1983 so never really got to talk to him about it all. I do still have a lot of cool "Hustler" stuff though. He had tie tacks, cuff links and such all in the unmistakable shape of the B-58! Even have a J-79 tie tack as well! Cool old things along with his ID and a flight manual!

I was an AF Security Policeman (back when dinosaurs walked the earth). We were told, when asked a question to reply "I can neither confirm nor deny the possible existence or nonexistence of what you are asking about."

4:42 Nigel F'n Tufnel!! Never get enough of that guy. And that's Mr. Jamie Lee Curtis, to you!

"For his crime of having a good idea" nice one 😁 At work I constantly tell people "the only reward you get for good work is more work". Same thing.

1:08 True story. We went to one Red Flag from across the pond. One of our pilots was recovering back to Nellis AFB and for some reason he decided to “cut the corner” by flying through the box. When we landed, he was on the next flight home out of McCarran Airport. To be “returned to unit” when on an overseas exercise or operation is very serious for us.

I was expecting 30 seconds of intro, ending with "... but I'm not allowed to say anything about it" and then just '80s rock on the guitar :D

Another fact regarding the U2 was several of the pilots developed cancer from flying so high. My friends son and another pilot both got cancer and died. During the 70s and 80s I had a ranch in the foothills above Beal AFB in Marysville and saw many U2 and SR71 fly over and met several of the SR 71 crews. Great plane and really great guys. Thank you for such a good history of Area 51.

There are those that have signed NDA's that get big smiles when they see their old stomping grounds highlighted. :)

My former brother in law, USAF Sergeant of some rank, worked there on the F-117 program. Didn't realize it until my sister informed us how he would and get on a commercial type plane in Vegas and fly out to "some base" and be there for a couple of weeks, then fly back. When Desert Storm hit, he was deployed to Khamis Mushayt. Later on I tied the two together and realized where he had been and what he had been doing..

Kelly Johnson the Mach Master. Slide rules & protractors for the win.

I spent most of the summer of 1989 at Ames Research and heard a U-2 taking off a couple dozen times but only saw it vanishing into the morning fog once - they climb very quickly!

A great review of earlier aircraft development at Groom Lake! What interests me just as much, no, more, is information that can verify activity and an installation at Papoose Lake. Lazar isn’t the only individual to claim he worked at S4. There is also a shady microbiologist, a Navy Seal and the Colonel who allegedly was senior at S4. The Seals were used to provide security at S4, referring to it as ‘The Museum’ … a group had convinced themselves, based on what they had seen at work, that some of the knowledge and artifacts sequestered at S4 should not be a secreted from the US public. Fascinating stuff…

My crew(C-130) inadvertently flew into the box during a Green Flag. I was the flight engineer and was sitting in the "Bubble" and had a map in my hand. For some reason the pilots turned the wrong direction and basically did a 360 where part of that turn took us inside the Box. I told the crew we flew in the box. The Nav denied it. I literally showed him on the map the route we flew. When we landed we were asked about whether we knew we had flew inside the box? Caught them off guard and said guess you were right. But we weren't sent home early.

While I was in the military, I was in charge of a parachute jump into Area 51. Before I set up the drop zone. I went to the main base to get something to eat. The big secret there is that they have the best dining facility that I ever ate at

I was loading up for a short deployment at Kadena AFB and was standing on the tarmac while an SR71 was taking off once in the late 1980s. That was a badass airplane.

I grew up in and around Orange county, and then out in Riverside county in the 90s & we used to get a kick out of the UFO craze in the 90s because everybody around here has some family member or another who worked in the industry on some secret thing or another that either ended up in New Mexico or Dreamland for testing. My dad worked at Raytheon and Lockheed, my grandfather worked at Rockwell, and both of my in-laws worked at Boeing back in those days. One of my most prized possessions is a polaroid from my late dad's work briefcase of me in diapers on his lap at his desk playing with Optimus Prime & one of his work models. Always thought it was weird that it was gray instead of black but he always had unfinished models laying around. Wasn't until many years later that I connected all the dots & finally realized why this polaroid lived in his work briefcase instead of in a frame or on the fridge. Apparently I have a polaroid form like 1984 or 85 of my dumb ass just casually playing with a model of Have Blue like it's just another one of my transformers toys. LOL.

If you haven't watched Ward's "Secret within a Secret" video, be sure to include that alongside this one. Great stuff all-around. The variety of perspectives offered on this channel are fantastic. I'm sure many have been wanting this one, however. Keep on, Mooch!

Thanks Mooch! Good one, and lots of juicy tidbits that I did not know. I happen to call my home office "Area 51". There aren't any space creatures that I know of, but stuff mysteriously disappears all the time. Like, late notices and bills.

Ward, fascinating as usual. Have a friend of mine who was security there back in the 60s. He still won’t talk about his time there, but has told me about the rings of protection there. When you reach a certain point, there is no returning. Thanks.

12:00 If I remember correctly, there was no actual requirement that pilots commit suicide. It was just an option. Maybe a "suggestion". But they never had orders to, or signed a thing that said they had to. Powers was also unable to self destruct the aircraft. Another interesting thing to note, they shot 12 missiles at Powers. One of them hit a soviet pilot in a mig and killed him. Another mig attempted to ram the U-2. Just goes to show their desperation to stop these flights.

You KNOW Ward...being a USAF retiree I MIGHT take offense to the: "That's a very Air Force thing to do..." If you weren't on the money...yeah...it's the truth...

I love how the outro casually ends with a few notes from the "Top Gun Anthem" lol.

At 10:50 I was under the impression that the cover story was an F104 crash (not F105) as the F104 was a Lockheed product which donated a lot of its fuselage design to the U2 allowing for the rapid development program and the similarity of the wreckage

Never got caught up in the whole ufo thing, just fascinated in the bleeding edge technology that is tested there.

Got to say that when I came across the title and thumbnail for this video, I snorted and kept on going...but then, tracking back, I saw the name "Ward Carroll", got me some cereal, and settled in! As usual, great content, and THANK YOU!

Regarding the FOIA request explanation. Post fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, there was a contractor suing the US government for damages related to burning of toxic chemicals in burn pits. The US governments position was "the place he speaks of doesn't exist". The former Soviet Union provided reconnaissance photos the it indeed existed. Added: you mention it. Awesome.

Spoke with an ex Navy guy at a museum I volunteered at. He told me he had worked for MCI communications back in the late 80-early 90's. He told me they flew into A51 via Janet to wire certain areas of the base. He told me they took them off the plane, took them right to a building to do the work, and back out they went. He tells me it was nothing more than a basic military base just doing classified projects of course. He also said he did not see anything cool of course.

Mr Carrol, When I was in engineering school My digital electronics prof, as reinforced by his online school profile worked for Lockeed at both their Ontario plant as well as the Nevada facility. I as in a open lab one day studying along with a few other students that were discussing "UFO's. When the prof happened to walk in he started laughing to our amazement. He said, " the government loves all the UFO stories,. It covders up what theyre really doing out there.

Had an F-15 pilot from Eglin AFB overfly area 51 during the August 1993 Red Flag exercise. The base CO met him on engine shutdown and walked him directly to an awaiting plane that took off immediately with him. Our guess was to go back to Area 51 for a debrief. We never saw him again during the exercise. This is the same exercise that lost a Red Air F-16 Bandit from Nellis AFB. He was chasanotger F-16 and about had a midair with our A-6 Intruder. The first guy pulled up out of the dive with enough time. The Bandit pilot did not and impacted the canyon wall and died on impact. They did an interview with the surviving F-16 pilot and asked if he saw an A-6, he said no he didn't see one. The orange range data pads registered being within 12 feet of each other, (This does not account for the surrounding airframe). Literally within a few feet of each other. The crew sucked all 20 liters of LOX down and were out of oxygen for the return to Nellis.

My ex-wife was created in Area 51. When I tried to give her back they said no refunds :(

Oooh storm Area 51... What a old memory! That will always be in the back of my head.

He is so right about the security. Actually went near the entrance and saw the truck parked on the hill. It moved to watch us better. And when we left we could see the dust trail of a vehicle following us out. Very disconcerting

Dying over that clip from “This Is Spinal Tap.” Great video!

These are the kinds of history insights that justify the utility of social media. Really terrific information, thank you for doing this one.

My neighbour growing up was a USAF tech working on radars and I remember him telling me it was General Curtis LeMay who pushed for a last-minute change to rename the Blackbird from RS-71 to SR-71. They changed the name in the President's speech but hadn't changed it in the press papers given to the media, so people assumed he'd misspoken.

.i worked at China Lake NAWS for a while . . . ‘“what you do in Vegas stays in Vegas” . . .’nuff said. Great video.

The "don't fly over the box" warning had teeth. Rampagers were at a Red Flag in 1989 and one of my good friends fat-fingered his initial position on the pre-GPS INS. He flew right over the box. He was met by blue hats with M-16s upon return, got debriefed, HUD tape destroyed and sent home. Didn't see him again until we returned to Cecil about 2 weeks later. Of course, the call sign had to change. :) BTW, while there were SA-2s in Cuba, what really spurred the crisis was the construction and initial deployment of SS-4 and SS-5 ballistic missiles. The SA-2s were only there to protect the ballistic missile installations. Small tidbit . . . .

If, and I mean if, the us does have alien tech, the hype over area 51 suits them perfectly. Let everyone focus on that site while the real story is sitting somewhere else entirely. I doubt they'll ever do anything to kill the attention area 51 gets, it's a very convenient way to know where so many people are focusing their attention.

As someone that has worked at Areas 51 and 52 as well as Indiana Springs AFB. What you see and think you know is only about 25% of what is truly there is and what is to be expected there.

A family member worked for EG&G, another for the NSA. With today’s govt, I ain’t saying a thing! Great video, Ward!

Jonathon Turley was my torts professor. He was my second favorite law school Prof. Great guy.

Ward! When are you gonna play that beautiful Ric for us?!? Many of us musician types have been drooling over all your amazing gear, and we'd love for you to share that part of your world with us too. I'm an ex-AT2, and I worked on the PTID in the F-14D down in AIMD back in the late 90's. Served on the Roosevelt, Lincoln, and Enterprise. Now I'm singer/bassplayer for the SoCal Yacht Rock group "Yachty By Nature", and I love music gear! 🥰 Thanks for everything you do, and keep the fire...

One of the best books on aviation I have read was Skunk Works. Insider Ben Rich's account on the building of the U2, SR71 and the stealth fighter. Great read. Especially the building of the SR71. Still probably the most advanced airplane built to date. Kelly Johnson wanted to build a fighter version of the SR71 but lost the bid.

My dad, a pilot flew from Travis AFB in a C-124 to Stavanger Norway to pick up Gary Powers personal effects. The whole crew were ex SAC guys with top secret clearance.

Thanks Ward on the historical background on Groom Lake and our recce programs. Gotta watch that Skunk Works! Your presentation of Eisenhower's considerations as to placement of the program within the hierarchy of the Government and the use of very creative program administrative creation and development and sustainability methodologies was fascinating to learn about.

Area 51 or Groom Lake has been the testing/proving ground for new, highly advanced, top secret planes (many built at Skunkworks) since WWII. No big deal at all.

Quite the Presentation Guy!!.. Especially DIG Your Background Scenario.. Nothing Like some Marshall Ampz along with Gibson & Rickenbacker Ax.... ROCK ON Man!!

Very informative video. One minor correction. The CIA missions over Cuba did reveal SA-2s, however these are defensive and were no threat to the US mainland. Their presence however, did alert the intelligence community that something important was happening. It was this revelation that prompted later Air Force U-2 missions which found the newly installed offensive MRBMs that could nuke the U.S. An Air Force U-2 pilot was shot down and killed by an SA-2 on one of these missions in the later stages of the Crisis.

Most excellent content as usual Ward! There is an A-12 that was put on display in the parking lot of the CIA Langley around 2012. It’s visible on Google Earth.

HAHAHA, love the letter from the government that answers a question by being very vague and evasive, and then says, we hope this was helpful in answering your question. Very typical! LOL!!!!!

My dad was in the Air Force during the Korean "conflict" and stationed "near there." His main job was over seeing converting mainly B-29's by removing all the gun and bomb support. The planes were then moved to other locations to be reconfigured for many tasks, mainly observation platforms for many types of tests, new aircraft, atomic bombs observations, etc. Because of the cold war, security was tight. Lots of compartmentalization.

Ben Rich's book Skunk Works talks a lot about the U-2 - SR-71 - F-117 programs, and their testing at Groom Lake. Things like how the testing facility was once inundated by radioactive fallout from the nearby nuclear testing and had to be shut down. How a U-2 pilot almost crashed due to his relief tube freezing over resulting him not to be able to relieve himself for several hours, until barely landing where he jumped out of the aircraft and removed the upper parts of his pressure suit by himself and taking a world record "relief". How misspeaking RS to SR-71 cost millions when every single government blueprint, form, and publication had to be changed to the new name. A good read. Great video!

On a cross county motorcycle trip in 1979 I was on a Very remote highway, supposedly shut down for construction. The prototype stealth plane came so close to me that I literally made eye contact with the pilot. Not everything in the books is exactly true as far as dates of operation, or escort craft. Felt I was being followed for several days on the way home. Well I WAS followed... Amazing to see something that looked like it was made out of plywood, and flying.

This was one of your best episodes! Fascinating! Many thanks Ward!

Great info on very need to place. Thanks Ward for all your time. Love the VF-143 hat! PUKIN DOGS! One of my favs.

I saw an SR-71 do a low-pass at an airshow in northern CA back around 1982. The same show where I saw the USAF Thunderbirds perform in their sleek little T-38 Talons. Then just last month a U-2 came in for a low-pass at the Reno Air Races. BUT......I'm still thinkin' Area 51 is where Elvis has been hiding out.

Back in 2001 I was repairing underground electric cables for sce in the front yard of a Delta Airlines pilot he leaned over the hole I was in he asked me what I was working on and when his power would be fixed . I’m a private pilot so I asked him how he became an atp. He told that he had flown Tomcats in the navy I’m pretty sure it was Villa Park a nice neighborhood in Orange County Ca he flew 757’s out of John Wayne SNA. Just was wondering if you knew him he looked like he was in his mid forties super chill just a really nice man who shared his love of aviation with me for fifteen minutes. Thanks

The fuel the Tr-1’’s (U-2) was called JPTS, and the squadron that put the U-2 pilots on oxygen 2 hours before flight is called PSD or physiological support division. They had I believe 3 doctors in their squadron as well as an altitude chamber and a hyperbaric chamber in case a pilot landed with nitrogen bubbles in his blood i.e. the bends if that’s how it’s spelled. I knew divers could get it from ascending too rapidly but not from descending too quickly. I thought that was pretty interesting information. I was in the USAF RAF Alconbury 17th TRW 86-89 aircraft structural repair and also did rather large paint touch up maintenance on the Tr-1’s

Operation Overflight, written by Francis Gary Powers, has an excellent, detailed history of the U-2's development and Groom Lake operations. Powers denies emphatically (and quite believably) that pilots were under orders to use the curare pin (NOT cyanide). The curare pin was provided purely as an option. Most pilots weren't even required to carry the curare (or earlier cyanide), which was on a thin needle, hidden inside a larger needle, hidden cleverly inside a silver dollar.

Contrary to what you posted, there were very secretive operations at Groom Lake Complex, which, at the time I was employed there, was designated Air Force Flight Test Center, Detachment 3. From late 1979 until approximately late 1988, a contractor, same contractor that was employed by the Nevada Test Site (controlled by the Department of Energy and later named the Nevada National Security Site) built 80 miles of underground roads and facilities under Groom Lake and Papoose Lake. Highly classified operations occurred within these underground facilities. The underground facilities was operated by the Air Force Scientific Research Agency, which was part of the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency. Projects like TANDEM SLED, AMBER SUN, TANGO MOON, ANDERS LAKE and CV GASLINK occurred in the underground facilities.

Thanks Ward for cutting to the facts about Area 51. I and many others appreciate your exposition of truth. One slight addition to your explanation: I had to check which fuel was developed by Shell for the U-2. According to Wikipedia "The U-2 has used Jet Propellant Thermally Stable (JPTS) since the aircraft's development in the 1950s. JPTS is a high thermal stability, high altitude fuel, created specifically for the U-2. JPTS has a lower freeze point, higher viscosity, and higher thermal stability than standard USAF fuels. In 1999, USAF spent approximately $11.3 million (equivalent to $17.6 million today) on fuel for the U-2 aircraft and was looking for a lower-cost alternative. JPTS is a specialty fuel and as such has limited worldwide availability and costs over three times the unit volume price of USAF's primary jet fuel, JP-8. Research was carried out to find a cheaper and easier alternative involving additives to generally used jet fuels. A JP-8 based alternative, JP-8+100LT, was being considered in 2001. JP-8+100 has increased thermal stability by 100 °F (56 °C) over stock JP-8, and is only 0.5 cents per gallon more expensive; low-temperature additives can be blended to this stock to achieve desired cold performance."

One lesson learned from the aftermath of WWII: We should have let the axis obliterate the soviet union.

This was a great breakdown of the history out at Groom Lake. I really enjoyed your completeness and straightforward delivery. This lets people research and come to their own conclusions. Excellent delivery

Thanks for this video. Always love listening to your info and the research you put into it.

Ward, now that you’ve breached the “Oxcart” perimeter, how about expounding on the program in an episode? Author Frank Murray has “Oxcart Convoy, How they got to Area 51” and “Once Upon A Time At Area 51” that are great reads for anyone so inclined. Just an episode (or 2 +) suggestion, but every taxpaying aviation enthusiast would welcome in-depth info for the A-12, SR-71 and D-21. Dollars well spent in my opinion. Take care Ward!

Ward ... just for sport, 3 quick stories re: "the desert" and secret Air Force Equipment. #1: It's very difficult to get information on it, other than there was a newspaper article (with a PIC) of an Air Force plane that lost control and crashed into an office building in Indianapolis. I remember the article and PIC being represented as an F4. Authorities immediately draped an enormous tarp over the large section of fuselage and empenage that was hanging out of the building, stated as out of respect for the pilot, who was killed. The story made sense because the tarp reflected the downward slope of the stabilators that existed on the F4. Years later, it surfaced that it was an YF117 the had crashed inverted into the building. Being inverted, the stabs on the YF117 mimicked the shape of the F4. #2: While flying aerial pipeline inspection for El Paso Natural Gas in the 70's on a return trip from Deming, NM to El Paso, the Unicom (122..8 used by most pilots away from controlled airspace) lit up with a terse announcement stating any aircraft currently flying in the area of "so and so" (broad location was identified) must immediately reverse course and land at the nearest airport or risk being fired upon by military aircraft. Never before nor after have I heard such a broadcast, but since this location was just South of Alamogordo, NM (Holloman AFB) everybody complied with the announcement. Later, the stink was a YF117 had crashed in the desert (Operation Have Blue). #3: I was making a VFR business trip in a Cessna 150 from El Paso International Airport to Alamogordo, NM (+/- 96 miles) at around 7500 feet (3,500 ft AGL). Just about Orogrande, NM (1/2 way) I began hearing a low droning sound which I had never heard before. Looking around in panic I couldn't see or smell nothing of concern, but the sound was growing louder. Very soon and one on each side of my plane appeared a pair of F4's at my altitude and quite near. I quickly looked down for the railroad next to the highway to validate my location inside the VFR Corridor, then it dawned on me ... THEY WERE SCREWING WITH ME. Their gear was down, their flaps down, anything to stay with "my fastest speed, which was still slower than their slowest speed". As they edged past me, they hit the burners and pulled the gear and departed in opposite directions. In those days, F4's smoked like a bus and my cockpit quickly stunk with choking fumes. Rather than being pissed, I felt honored at being selected for the gag and reported nothing to authorities but had a great war story to tell my friends.

The first time I saw a U-2 was at U-Tapao Air Force base during the Mayaguez Operation. Funny that I saw a Habu for the first time leaving Okinawa for that operation as well. It landed and taxied right into the hangar. Very secret back in that day (1975). Lost a few good men during that operation.

My dad 's (Capt. P.J. Smith USNA 1956) last civilian job was at China Lake NAWS and he just howls with laughter talking about the crazy stories he hears out in the desert.

Amazing video Ward. Thanks for educating the public.

Another great dose of information, Ward. Thank you so much!

I was on a DET to Nellis AFB from NAS Lemoore in the early 90s with F/A-18s. I was a plane captain. While strapping in the maintenance officer, he pulled out a small map and showed me a brown area on the map. He told me if he accidentally flew into this area, he would be shot down. I don't know how accurate his story was.

Outstanding content. Thank you & Best wishes from the North of England.

Fascinating Ward!🔥🔥🔥

So I have to look elsewhere for my alien jerky? Bummer. Love the Spinal Tap clip!

Was a great video @WardCarrol. Love hearing the points of veiw from aviators

A wealth of information Ward. Thanks for all the hard work on making these episodes! 👏👏👏

If anyone is interested, there is a video here on KZfaq of Joe Rogan talking with Bob Lazar about the stuff he saw/worked on, as well as the things that happened to him after going public.

with all the perceived excitement and experience expressed regrading this brief; I'm amazed that nobody mentioned how Area 51 got it's name. Flying out of Burbank into Las Vegas to then to the test site is questionable and flying is not the only transportation for employees.

Thank you for the informed clarity and objectivity in reporting!

A friend of mine is a first cousin of Admiral John Aquilino (Lung) who is currently Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command. While he was Commander of the Pacific Fleet, I gave him a challenge coin from the New York Mets (My nephew was playing for them at the time. He is now with the Blue Jays). In return, he gave me one of his coins and said he was lucky he had one. I know you mentioned challenge coins in one of your episodes. I was wondering what is the significance of these coins. Why was he lucky he had one? How did this all get started? Is this strictly a Navy custom? My father worked at the Grumman Calverton Flight Test Facility for thirty five years and was very instrumental in the first flight of the F-14. Growing up, surrounded by Navy personnel, I never heard of challenge coins.

Another fantastic episode! Thanks Ward.

One of the best videos and by far the best explanation of the history of Groom Lake and Area 51 that I have ever seen. I was serving in the USAF in the early 1970's at what was then called the USAF Foreign Technology Division, which was the place that the supposed space aliens were brought to eventually. Over the three years I was there and not a sign of the critters. If they were there in September/October they surely would have come to the Oktoberfest held in a hanger on base. Training flights brought back beer direct from Munich for that event.

Wow, the best explanation about Groom lake so far. Thank you

So weird, I was about to comment on Bob Lazar the moment you began talking about him. I did watch his video a long time ago, and as a young man I found it intriguing. My family went through the town of Rachel on our way to Las Vegas. It was fun.

The Jimmie Doolittle bit was fascinating as a random coincidence

Thanks, Mooch! That "information [was] helpful." 🤣

I personally witnessed many quarters "vanish" into the Area 51 arcade game at Ventura Harbor in the early 90s

That was a good video! Held my attention from beginning to end. Thanks