Editing Area 51 (section)

===OXCART program===

{{For|testing of a similar aircraft in December 1964|SR-71 Blackbird}}
[[File:Area 51 - diagram.jpg|thumb|A 1966 [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) diagram of Area 51, found in an untitled, declassified paper, showing the runway overrun for OXCART ([[Lockheed A-12]]) and the turnaround areas ''(CIA / CREST RDP90b00184r000100040001-4)''|alt=]]

Project OXCART was established in August 1959 for "antiradar studies, aerodynamic structural tests, and engineering designs" and all later work on the [[Lockheed A-12]].<ref>{{Cite report |title=The U-2's Intended Successor: Project Oxcart, 1956–1968 |date=October 1994}}</ref> This included testing at Groom Lake, which had inadequate facilities consisting of buildings for only 150 people, a {{convert|5000|ft|abbr=on}} asphalt runway, and limited fuel, hangar, and shop space.<ref name="Peebles" />{{rp|58}} Groom Lake had received the name "Area 51"<ref name="Peebles" />{{rp|59}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/area-51s-existence-acknowledged-by-cia-in-declassified-documents/ |title=Area 51's existence acknowledged by CIA in declassified documents |work=CBS News |date=16 August 2013 |access-date=27 November 2020}}</ref> when A-12 test facility construction began in September 1960, including a new {{convert|8500|ft|abbr=on}} runway to replace the existing runway.<ref>"OSA History, chap. 20, pp. 39–40, 43, 51 ... "OXCART Story" pp. 7–9 (S) (cited by "The U-2's Intended Successor")</ref>

Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company (REECo) began construction of "Project 51" on 1{{nbsp}}October 1960 with double-shift construction schedules. The contractor upgraded base facilities and built a new {{convert|10000|ft|abbr=on}} runway (14/32) diagonally across the southwest corner of the lakebed. They marked an [[Archimedean spiral]] on the dry lake approximately two miles across so that an A-12 pilot approaching the end of the overrun could abort instead of plunging into the sagebrush. Area 51 pilots called it "The Hook". For crosswind landings, they marked two unpaved airstrips (runways 9/27 and 03/21) on the dry lakebed.<ref name="TheOxcartStory">{{cite web |last=McIninch |first=Thomas P. |title=The Oxcart Story |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol15no1/html/v15i1a01p_0001.htm |website=CIA.gov |date=2 July 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004234639/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/vol15no1/html/v15i1a01p_0001.htm |archive-date=4 October 2013 |access-date=15 July 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

By August 1961, construction of the essential facilities was complete; three surplus Navy hangars were erected on the base's north side while hangar{{nbsp}}7 was new construction. The original U-2 hangars were converted to maintenance and machine shops. Facilities in the main [[cantonment]] area included workshops and buildings for storage and administration, a commissary, a control tower, a fire station, and housing. The Navy also contributed more than 130 surplus Babbitt duplex housing units for long-term occupancy facilities. Older buildings were repaired, and additional facilities were constructed as necessary. A reservoir pond surrounded by trees served as a recreational area one mile north of the base. Other recreational facilities included a gymnasium, a movie theater, and a baseball diamond.<ref name="TheOxcartStory"/> A permanent aircraft fuel tank farm was constructed by early 1962 for the special [[JP-7]] fuel required by the A-12. Seven tanks were constructed, with a total capacity of 1,320,000 gallons.<ref name="Peebles" />{{rp|58}}
[[File:A-12 Schalk Flight, 1962.jpg|thumb|upright|An A-12 (60-6924) takes off from Groom Lake during one of the first test flights, piloted by Louis Schalk, 26 April 1962.|alt=|left]]

Security was enhanced for the arrival of OXCART and the small mine was closed in the Groom basin. In January 1962, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expanded the restricted airspace in the vicinity of Groom Lake, and the lakebed became the center of a 600-square mile addition to restricted area R-4808N.<ref name="TheOxcartStory"/> The CIA facility received eight USAF [[F-101 Voodoo]]s for training, two [[T-33 Shooting Star]] trainers for proficiency flying, a [[C-130 Hercules]] for cargo transport, a [[Cessna 310|U-3A]] for administrative purposes, a helicopter for search and rescue, and a [[Cessna 180]] for liaison use, and Lockheed provided an [[F-104 Starfighter]] for use as a chase plane.<ref name="TheOxcartStory"/>

The first A-12 test aircraft was covertly trucked from Burbank on 26 February 1962 and arrived at Groom Lake on 28 February.<ref name="Peebles" />{{rp|60}} It made its first flight 26 April 1962 when the base had over 1,000 personnel.<ref name="Peebles"/>{{rp|60–62}} The closed airspace above Groom Lake was within the [[Nellis Air Force Range]] airspace, and pilots saw the A-12 20 to 30 times.<ref name="Peebles"/>{{rp|63–64}} Groom was also the site of the first [[Lockheed D-21]] drone test flight on 22 December 1964.<ref name="Peebles" />{{rp|123}} By the end of 1963, nine A-12s were at Area 51, assigned to the CIA-operated "1129th Special Activities Squadron".<ref name="1129CIA">{{cite web |url=http://www.ais.org/~schnars/aero/ol-det.htm |title=U-2 and SR-71 Units, Bases and Detachments |publisher=Ais.org |year=1995 |access-date=10 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507021406/http://www.ais.org/~schnars/aero/ol-det.htm |archive-date=7 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>