The year is 1972 and two F-105 Thunderchiefs are on a routine patrol mission over Nevada. Suddenly the Senior Officer’s wing man develops hydraulic failure rendering his jet into a potential fatal crash scenario! The two aviators are too far from Edwards Airbase or any other conventional airfield, but they are near Groom Lake, Water Town, or Area-51, among other names the secret facility has been given. The two US Air Force pilots make an emergency landing there! They are not met with a friendly reception however. Immediately, they are met by armed guards and a furious commanding officer demanding what the hell they are doing landing at a classified facility.

The F-105 Thunderchief, a fighter bomber, accomplished the majority of the bombing missions inn the early years of the Vietnam War, but was eventually taken out of front line service and replced by the venerable F-4 Phantom II which also replaced the work horse F-100 Super Sabre. capable of over Mach II, the F-105 was a prized weapon at that time in the US air combat arsenal.

They are ordered to remain in their cockpits while verification procedures are taken, all the while being warned not to look to left side where a hangar is located with a very secretive aircraft parked inside. Ordered not to look or there will be charges filed and forced dishonorable discharge will result, both pilots are appalled at their treatment! Even though the repercussions are severe, one of the pilots manages to look see at the highly top secret “Bird” sitting in the for bidden hangar that has been a prized military secret that the Soviets at the very height of the “Cold War” have been unaware of, and that is the A-12 Ox Cart, the predecessor of the SR-71 Blackbird, the most significant reconnaissance aircraft in US history, a tool in the US intelligence apparatus that the Russians are powerless to stop!

US Naval version of the A-12-The A-12 Avenger

The two pilots label their unauthorized sighting as being the “Desert Ghost”, one of many mysterious aerial anomalies hidden at the top secret, Area 51, dry lake bed, testing, facility. The crucial intelligence value of this high altitude, high speed, aircraft is invaluable to American forces maintaining an eye on Soviet nuclear arsenals and troop movements. The US Navy attempts to implement the A-12 variant into its arsenal, but fails due to cost overruns and inability to adapt the design. The A-12 will soon be modified into what we now know as the SR-71, originally intended to be an air superiority fighter, but was far too advanced, and costly for a fleet of front line fighter squadrons, though they would have been formidable!