Area 51: The truth is out there The U.S. Air Force’s Area 51 facility has been shrouded in mystery since the 1950s, when people first reported seeing Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) around the Nevada military complex Area 51: Also known as Paradise Ranch, Watertown, Dreamland, Homey Airport and Groom Lake FACILITY HISTORY 1864: Lead and silver discovered in Nevada 1870s: British Groome Lead Mines Ltd finance mining operations – lending district its name 1876-1950s: Various owners mine land 1942: Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field opens two 1.5km runways 1955: CIA establishes Groom Lake test facility for Project AQUATONE – to develop secret spy plane CIA acquires land, designated Area 51 on map, from Atomic Energy Commission Kelly Johnson, head of Skunk Works team working on AQUATONE, renames site Paradise Ranch, to entice workers to move to remote facility Nine months after being commissioned, Johnson unveils Lockheed U-2 reconnaissance aircraft 1959: Work begins on Project OXCART, to build new A-12 spy plane – precursor to slightly longer variant SR-71 Blackbird 1960s: Runway extended to 2.6km and facilities expanded. Site begins to be referred to as Area 51 Following shooting down of U-2 plane over Soviet Union, Project Tagboard attempts to create pilotless drones – later scrapped as new spy satellites can reach anywhere in world Evaluations begin of captured foreign aircraft, particularly Soviet MiGs 1970s: Work begins on stealth aircraft programme 1983: F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft takes to skies Later operations: Work continues on secret projects and facility expands, gobbling up land, including mountains that overlook base NEVADA Area 51 Las Vegas CALIFORNIA Area 51 administered by Edwards Air Force Base Los Angeles 100km 60 miles Nevada National Security Site (formerly Nevada Test Site) Established in 1951 for testing nuclear weapons Area 51 (see detail below) S-4 (Papoose Lake) Nellis Air Force Range Rachel Extraterrestrial Highway (State Route 375) Alien Research Center Alamo Nellis Air Force Base McCarran Airport Las Vegas “Janet Airlines”: Unmarked fleet transports workers to and from Area 51 every day NEVADA CALIFORNIA 19 miles 30km CAPTURED UFO CLAIMS 1989: In Las Vegas local news interviews, Bob Lazar (right) claims he helped reverse engineer alien spacecraft at S-4 – offshoot of Area 51. He says S-4 has concealed hangar doors housing nine flying saucers propelled by Element 115 that generates gravity wave Lazar’s claim that he was employed at Nellis Air Force Base is later disproven 1990: Lazar arrested for aiding and abetting prostitution ring. Pleads guilty to lesser charge 2019: Documentary Bob Lazar: Area 51 & Flying Saucers streams on Netflix Groom Lake Control tower Janet Airlines terminal Huge hangar Hangars Dormitories Baseball diamond Power substation 400m 1,300ft Sources: Popular Mechanics, Forbes, Metro, Time, CNN, dreamlandresort.com Pictures: Google Earth Pro, Creative Commons, Netflix © GRAPHIC NEWS