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In the Fall of 2011, it occurred to me that a piece of the development history of one of my favorite airplanes, the Lockheed A-12, had not been recorded for posterity. In the first step to write this piece, I asked TD Barnes to ask the Roadrunners members to contact me if they had any information on the transportation of the A-12s from the Skunk Works to Area 51. Several people did respond, Jim Noce, ex CIA Security Officer at Area 51, Bob Murphy, Skunk Works production manager, Sam Pizzo, USAF Navigation Section Chief were the principal respondents. Jim's message to me reads as follows:
To whom it may concern:
My name is Jim Noce, and I recall being on those moves from the "Skunk Works" to the ranch. We left the Area early in the morning taking turns driving until we reached Burbank. When we arrived, the Article was concealed in a huge crate and covered with a tarp on the semi ready to travel.We headed East on the Freeway, and the California State Patrol giving escort.
The CSP had long poles along the route to clear hanging power lines or unpin road signs hinged for clearance purposes. When we reached the CA/NV border we pulled to side of the road and ate sack lunches made-up from the mess hall at the Area. We also had igloo coolers of lemonade and thermos's of hot coffee or chocolate. We also had soda pop. Not bad for the 60's.
After we had lunch, we headed up Highway 95 until we reached Mercury that had security clearance for our entering the Atomic Proving Grounds. I may be wrong but I think that once we reached the Ranch, the Article was uncrated and put on a cart by something like a cherry picker. I do believe the box was broken down and loaded back on the trailer and sent back to Burbank. I never knew of anyone taking pictures from our group. I do recall the incident where a Greyhound bus barely scraped the side of the box, and the bus driver was given cash to fix the few scratches avoiding insurance claims.
Sincerely, Jim Noce
Former CIA agent Area 51.
Bob Murphy took on the work of looking for people with first hand knowledge of the movement of the A-12's to the Area. He told me that many of the people that did that work were deceased now. He was able to identify the names of those involved from living associates. He did relate how the transport boxes were built and by whom.
Sam Pizzo related how he saw the Articles arrive and how the operation went at the Area.
This is a brief history of some of the happenings almost fifty years ago, along the way to develop the Lockheed Family of Blackbirds, the A-12 and YF-12 airplanes, built in the Skunk Works in Burbank, California, then transported many miles to Nevada for final assembly and flight testing. Little has been recorded about these efforts; suffice it to say the transportation endeavor presented many perplexing tasks for Lockheed Corporation. After all, Lockheed is an airplane builder, not a moving company.
From the onset of the OXCART Project, the need to test the new airplane in a secure place ruled out the Burbank Airport. Lockheed investigated places around the western states for secure basing, away from inquiring eyes. Lockheed Chief Test Pilot, Tony Levier was responsible for the search for a usable secure test site to test and develop the U-2 airplane. His recommendation was to use the Groom Lake area, within the secure area of the then Atomic Energy Agency (AEC) known as Area 51.
This Area had been built up, a runway and some shelter hangars built to provide a test/training base for the U-2 airplane. Area 51 facilities worked well in the mid 50's so further enhancements to support the A-12 development were started in 1960. Two shiftwork crews built a new runway, developed the hangar structures and shop spaces to support the final building of the A-12/YF-12's. Old family quarters (duplexes) were moved from the Naval Ordnance Base at Hawthorne, Nevada. Moving 85 old wooden structures was no mean feat. These buildings originally housed two families each. The buildings were modified by removing the separation wall inside the doorways, removing the kitchen facilities and configuring the living space for one rather spacious living room, two bathrooms, and four or more bedrooms. This author spent most of five years living in one of these houses.
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| Photo #1 |
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| Photo #2 |
Two boxes were built, one much larger to carry the mostly complete airframe and a smaller box to carry the movable parts such as the outer wing/nacelles and the rudders and other smaller parts. Engines were transported separately. The boxes were towed by Lockheed company tractors and drivers. Tom Richey and Stan Grants drove the trucks pulling the boxes.
The A-12 was prepared for loading into the transportation box as follows. The rudders and outer wing panels and outer nacelles were
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| Photo #3 |
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| Photo #4 |
The landing gear provided the necessary shock support for the ride on the highways. After the airplane was secured in the box, the aluminum tube frame was hoisted into position and secured to the trailer frame. Then the side and top covers were installed and the tractor could then be attached to move the box out of the Skunk Works and onto the road. Depicted in the photo #3 is an A-12 loaded on the box for a fit check. Note the small box behind the loaded big box.
The team required to move this convoy consisted of the following:
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| Photo #5 |
Note: CHP escort ended at the Nevada state line North of Baker, CA. Nevada Highway Patrol did not escort the convoy.
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| Photo #5a |
The travel route was preplanned with coordination of the California Highway Patrol. Lockheed transportation leader Dorsey Kammerer and Bud Rice started investigating the travel route in June 1961 to ascertain the obstacles to movement, mainly of the larger box which measured 105 feet long and 35 feet wide. Kammerer and Rice configured a pick-up truck with a set of adjustable spreader and height poles to ascertain the needed clear path.
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| Photo #6 |
A team of Lockheed mechanics accompanied the convoy to move obstacles to clear the path. The route to be used to transport the airplanes is shown on the attached map, Fig 1. The distance to be traveled oneway is approximately 260 miles.
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| Photo #7 |
Consider that numerous trips were planned in order to deliver the fifteen A-12's and the three YF-12's. In all,eighteen trips were needed to carry these valuable cargos to the Area.
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| Photo #7a |
Traffic following this convoy must have been exasperated by the slow pace; little did they know that the fastest airplane in the world was in the slow moving convoy. Picture 8 shows the wide load of the bigger box moving across a narrow roadway overpass.
Once the convoy moved out to more wide open spaces it must have been better for the drivers of these loads. Several months passed before the convoy reconvened to move the next A-12.
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| Photo #8 |
Article 122 was moved to the Area on 26 June 1962, followed by Article 123 in August 1962. The two-seat trainer, Article 124 got to the Area in November 1962, then Article 125 before Christmas1962. The other A-12's and the three YF-12's all arrived by mid 1964. After each delivery, the boxes were reconfigured into smaller packages for easier return to the plant in Burbank without Highway Patrol escort.
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| Photo #9 |
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| Photo #10 |
The last time the Transportation System was used was in 1964 when it was used to move the first three SR-71's to Palmdale for final assembly and Flight test. The mission of this system was now completed and so ends my rendition of the enormous efforts put forward to move these airplanes in secrecy without a hitch.
The people that did this work are some of the unsung heroes of the OXCART Program.
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| Figure 1 |
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