Area 51 has been referred to by a lot of names over the years. Some of those names included; GroomLake, Dreamland, Paradise Ranch, Watertown Strip, the Box, the Pig Farm and several others. Many people do not know how or when Area 51 came into existence in the Nevada desert some 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas Nevada. Most people believe it was a military base, when in fact it was originally opened by the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency).

President Truman through the National Security Act of 1947 set up both the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency. Back then, the Director of the CIA answered directly to the President. In 1949 the CIA Act was passed which stipulated that not only would the CIA’s activities be classified but that it’s budget would also be classified. The U. S. Government could also deny any responsibility for the CIA’s activities should they be exposed.

After World War II the United States was very concerned about whether the Soviet Union had developed an atomic bomb. One way to find out would be to over fly the Soviet Union in a high altitude aircraft equipped with cameras. Lockheed’s Kelly Johnson designed such an aircraft and went directly to the CIA with it. Normally such aircraft would have been test flown at Edwards Air Force Base, but with the security required for such a top-secret project as this, it was decided to look for a new secure site somewhere in the Southwest. A dozen sites were looked at before deciding on Groom Lake, Nevada, adjacent to the Nevada Test site. The area which was previously controlled by the Atomic Energy Commission for testing atomic weapons was expanded to include Groom Lake and by July 1955 the CIA had its secret base. A fake construction firm “CLJ” was formed to oversee the construction on the base mostly done by sub-contractors to build hangars, a mile long runway, ramps, control tower, mess hall and other required structures.

The airplane designed by Kelly was known as the “Aquatone” by the CIA, and as “Angel” by Lockheed. The first prototype was called “Article 341”, and flown to Groom Lake in a transport plane on July 24, 1955. Eventually that aircraft became known as the U-2.