Message posted by Peter Merlin on April 20, 2005 at 8:45:34 PST:
Aurora Galleries has listed a number of Area 51 artifacts on eBay this week. Check out these items: 6526609227 - Fragment of aluminum from Lockheed U-2 prototype (Article 341). This was the first airplane ever tested at Groom Lake (Watertown Airstrip). It crashed during Top Secret anti-radar tests in 1957. 6526609234 - Fragment of titanium from Lockheed A-12 (Article 123/Ser. No. 60-6926). This was the third A-12 built, the second to fly, and the first to crash. The A-12 OXCART program changed Watertown from a temporary camp into a permanent facility called Area 51. A photo of the airplane is included with the piece. 6526609232 - Flight Recorder from an A-12. Following the loss of Article 123, the airplanes were fitted with these devices at the recommendation of the accident investigation board. This one was removed from an A-12 after the airplanes were retired in 1968. 6526609233 - Fragment of titanium from Lockheed A-12 (Article 125/Ser. No. 60-6928). A photo of the airplane is included with the piece. 6526609259 - HAVE BLUE Team commemorative coffee mug. Program security officials refused to allow the words "Flight Test" to be included in the design. Ben Rich claimed that the mugs had to be locked in a safe at the Test Site when they were not filled with steaming coffee. HAVE BLUE was the technology demonstrator that led to the F-117A. 6526609255 - F-117A fuel cap removed from "The Black Assassin" (tail no. 830). This airplane underwent acceptance testing at Area 51 and was later assigned to the 416th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Ghostriders." It flew 31 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm. A 416th TFS patch is included. Other non -Area 51 items of interest: 6526609228 - U-2 Oil Cooler Intake plug from an early model U-2 flown at Edwards AFB in the 1960s and 1970s. 6526609237 - Three spare titanium structural components for an SR-71 rudder. 6526609239 - Spare titanium skin panel for SR-71. It was made to cover one of the defensive avionics antennas. 6526609240 - Windshield deicer duct assembly from SR-71A (61-7954). The airplane was damaged beyond repair in a ground mishap at Edwards. 6526609245 - Water separator tube and bracket assembly from SR-71A (61-7954). 6526609243 - Titamium wave guide support assembly from SR-71. 6526609247 - Heat shield fitting from SR-71. Scrapped at Edwards in the 1960s or 1970s. 6526609248 - Piece of titanium from SR-71 wing skin panel. Scrapped at Edwards in the 1960s or 1970s. Item comes with a patch flown on the last SR-71 flight in 1999. 6526609249 - Upper access panel from SR-71 ASARS nose assembly.
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