



...Under cover of darkness, number 780 was loaded aboard a C-5 and flown to Groom Lake.



Upon arrival, 780 was taken to a hangar at the south end of the flight line and reassembly began. Even here, security remained paramount: a camouflage net was stretched across the open hangar door. Once assembly was complete, static engine test runs were made. The plane was kept inside the hangar, with the exhaust vented out the open door.(11 - "We Own the Night" from Lockheed Horizons)

Here are some pictures that I have found that were taken within the Groom Lake test complex. I am hoping to make this an authoritative thread for "within" Groom Lake photos - please add on whatever you can.This is a picture of "Senior Trend," taken within a hangar at Groom Lake. For some background, I will quote a little bit from the book,by Curtis Peebles:I have no proof that this is at Area 51, except that it appears that this is a picture of reassembly of the craft after it was broken down to be packed on the C-5 that carried it to Groom Lake:Once at Groom Lake, plane 780 was painted very crudely and quickly in three colors to hide its textures -This picture is in contrast to later, well-painted F117's such as this one, so the above picture was likely taken at Groom Lake. The following picture was probably taken at a regular Air Force base, likely Nellis.This is a U-2 being unloaded at Groom Lake:Here is a U-2 hanging out, allegedly at Groom:An A-12 outside of Groom Lake hangars:This is an A-12 possibly at Groom Lake, but I don't know for sure:Here is an SR-71 being serviced inside a huge hangar:Enjoy! Please feel free to add more pictures to this thread and if you have any evidence that any of the above pictures were taken outside of Area 51, please inform me and I will remove them.ZipMod Edit: to Rename thread by request of the author.[edit on 9-6-2005 by kinglizard]