From: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V4 #90 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Tuesday, 14 December 1993 Volume 04 : Number 090 In this issue: Re: Who thinks up code names Call Names Code Names Sled Driver Groom Lake Sat pictures Re: Skunk Works Digest V4 #89 Aurora Book See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: jason@minster.york.ac.uk Date: Mon, 13 Dec 93 09:46:34 Subject: Re: Who thinks up code names I believe that in the U.K., code names for *really* secret projects are generated randomly by computer, and then checked to ensure the name does not convey a hint of what the project is about, eg they wouldn't use FLYCATCHER to describe a ground-air missile, a radar system, etc. Len Deighton (sp?) describes the process in his "Game, Set, Match" and "Hook, Line, Sinker" novels. Yes - I know its fiction, but he is renowned for his sources and accurate description of S.I.S. procedures. (Honest!) Peter Wright also describes how it worked in the 1950s in "Spycatcher" - this was much the same, but involved a middle aged woman and a copy of the Oxford Enlish Dictionary rather than a compuer! jason ------------------------------ From: soundy@sybase.com (Richard Soundy) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 93 10:31:47 Subject: Call Names From (I am the NRA ) ** Dunno how they do it, but the schem in Andromeda Strain seemed ** pausible. ** For researchers, there is a book called (approximately) ** Dictionary of Code Names ** Covering _released_ or obsolete ones, semi world wide. The one i ** saw had FIDO (US, WWII, Air dropped homing torp) and One of the ** WWII German missiles (Wasserfall, i think) correct. It did not ** have (say) Grand Union (at all). ** (Grand Union wa sused in the mid '50s for some obscure aerial recon, ** since publicized...). ** Didn't buy it, for a variety of reasons. Might be worth a look in ** Books in Print, to see if its been reissued. ** regards ** dwp I thought FIDO (in WWII) was the Fog (something) Dispersal Ooperation (?). This was the fuel pipelines around a runway to "burn off" fog and mist to allow for the recovery of planes during, shall we say, inclement conditions. 'Course I could be wrong. Richard Soundy Sybase (UK) Ltd. ------------------------------ From: I am the NRA Date: Mon, 13 Dec 93 05:25:15 PST Subject: Code Names Richard Soundy quotes me. >** For researchers, there is a book called (approximately) >** Dictionary of Code Names >** Covering _released_ or obsolete ones, semi world wide. The one i >** saw had FIDO (US, WWII, Air dropped homing torp) and One of the >** WWII German missiles (Wasserfall, i think) correct. It did not >** have (say) Grand Union (at all). >** (Grand Union wa sused in the mid '50s for some obscure aerial recon, >** since publicized...). >I thought FIDO (in WWII) was the Fog (something) Dispersal Ooperation >(?). This was the fuel pipelines around a runway to "burn off" fog and >mist to allow for the recovery of planes during, shall we say, inclement >conditions. >'Course I could be wrong. Nope. You are exactly right. It was ALSO the homing torp. One was a US code name for a US project, the other was a UK code name for a UK project. The "curse" of sharing a common language. (The nitpicker would point out the FIDO is a FLA (four_letter_acronym) and acronyms make lousy code names. A really secure code name, as some one else pointed out should NOT carry any info about the underlying project (Desert Shield/Storm wer "public/PR" code names. Whether, ferinstance (ahemmmm) OXCART was really just an "accident" or an attempt at disinformation, I do not know. I rather suspect that DS/S had "real" code names. regards dwp ------------------------------ From: rschnapp@metaflow.com (Russ Schnapp) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 93 09:36:51 PST Subject: Sled Driver On Friday evening (12/10/93), the San Diego Aerospace Museum hosted Brian Shul in his traveling slide show presentation. I have to say that I was impressed. This gentleman sure does have the show down pat. He seems to genuinely enjoy delivering the stories and commenting on his photos. Many of the stories he tells come straight out of Sled Driver, but with some extra embellishment. After the presentation, he opened up the floor to questions. I noticed that he would often answer the question with a vaguely related, but interesting story. I think that he's getting to the end of a long, tiring lecture circuit, and is running on autopilot somewhat. Nevertheless, if you get a chance, he's worth a listen. So, of course, I picked up copies of Sled Driver and The Untouchables. I finished the former this morning. It's a great (but short) read. The photos are fabulous. I'm especially impressed with the in-flight cockpit photographs. He figured out that he could get a great panoramic view by setting up the camera in the very forward part of the windscreen, pointed at his helmet visor. You can see the sky and earth through the windscreen on either side of his helmet, and a forward view (including the camera, instruments, his hand on the stick, instruments, etc.) reflected in the visor. I have noticed something interesting, though. He talks and writes about SR-71 flights as having come to an end. He seems to ignore the NASA program entirely. Shul was also pushing his latest book, Summer Thunder. The lucky SOB got a month to live and fly with the Thunderbirds during pre-season training. I didn't get much of a chance to look at it. Besides, buying his first two books set me back $70 already. Of course, I had them autographed... ...Russ Schnapp Email: netcom!metaflow!rschnapp or rschnapp@Metaflow.com or rschnapp@ACM.org Metaflow Technologies Voice: 619/452-6608x230; FAX: 619/452-0401 La Jolla, California Unless otw specified, I`m speaking only for myself! ------------------------------ From: Tom Ambrose Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1993 09:30:47 PST Subject: Groom Lake Sat pictures I found a book at the bookstore on Saturday by Time Life Books. It was called "Electronic Spies" (or something close to that anyways). I didn't buy it, but I did sit down and look through it. There were Chapters on Satelites, the SR-71, the U-2, NSA listening posts, etc. There was a computer enhanced and colored picture of Groom Lake that the Soviets had taken. It was dated in 1988. Has anyone else seen this? - -tom ------------------------------ From: "Gayle E. Koehler" Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1993 18:11:16 -0500 (EST) Subject: Re: Skunk Works Digest V4 #89 signoff skunk-works-digest Gayle E. Koehler@tardis.svsu.edu ------------------------------ From: EMORANELLI@delphi.com Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1993 00:00:46 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Aurora Book I just picked up a new book on the Aurora that some of you might be interested in. It's called 'AURORA-The Pentagon's Secret Hypersonic Spyplane' by Bill Sweetman. It's part of the Motorbooks International-Mil-Tech Series. After flipping thorugh it, it seems pretty good. There's quite a bit of stuff on the SR-71, NASP, FDL-5, and many other X planes leading up to Aurora. I find the information to be factual and consistant with what we EXPECT to be associated with Aurora. My only disappointment was the lack of a concept sketch of what Aurora might be like. The book tells you everything that it's not. Oh well, see for yourself. I found it at a B. Dalton, but I'm sure that any chain would carry this book. Happy reading.. C-YA -------->EMORANELLI@DELPHI.COM ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V4 #90 ******************************** To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "listserv@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe skunk-works-digest local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe skunk-works-digest in the body. Administrative requests, problems, and other non-list mail can be sent to either "skunk-works-digest-owner@harbor.ecn.purdue.edu" or, if you don't like to type a lot, "prm@ecn.purdue.edu". 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