From owner-skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Sat Oct 18 13:05:17 2003 Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 11:44:50 -0500 From: skunk-works-digest Reply-To: skunk-works@netwrx1.com To: skunk-works-digest@netwrx1.com Subject: skunk-works-digest V12 #4 skunk-works-digest Saturday, October 18 2003 Volume 12 : Number 004 Index of this digest by subject: *************************************************** Re: Toward the Unknown Re: Test.. Blackbird Association Print sale..... Fw: New runway near completion at AREA 51 Activity at Macrihanish Re: Activity at Macrihanish Ping Carmine Vito, R.I.P. FWD (TLC-Mission) Re: SR-71 Tail Numbers B-36 mothership for X-15 Combat Constant Stare Re: Combat Constant Stare Re: Combat Constant Stare Re: Combat Constant Stare A COMPENDIUM OF DARPA PROGRAMS YF-12 photos Tolkachev CNN 3D Models C-130A Takes Last Flight Iraqi Commander Swears He Saw US Evacuate Saddam *************************************************** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2003 23:34:14 -0400 From: Stickmaker Subject: Re: Toward the Unknown - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 11 May 2003 21:20:20 -0500 From: George Kasica >I've got a friend of mine here (and myself) that are looking for a >copy of the movie "Toward The Unknown" done in like 1956 with William >Holden. >I can't locate anything on the net, but I'm hoping someone might have >a VHS off the TV/Cable/Satellite. There was an extensive article on this wonderful movie two or three years ago in (IIRC) _Airpower_ magazine. Find a copy; it always has lists of back issues in stock, with descriptions of what the issues contain. A later issue had a similar article on the Jimmy Stewart movie _Strategic Air Command_. Stickmaker "We pulled out all the wrinkles, smoothed the flush rivets, taped the seams and rubbed 'er down with a high-temperature wax," Evans bragged. "That plane's so slick, now, she could go supersonic just sitting on the tarmac, if we got a good, strong breeze." ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2003 11:27:17 -0500 (CDT) From: George Kasica Subject: Re: Test.. I'm seeingthem here George On Fri, 18 Jul 2003, John Stone wrote: > Hello all, > > Has the list been quiet or am I not getting message? > > > Best, > > John > -- > U-2 and SR-71 Web Page > > http://www.blackbirds.net > > Those who would sacrifice Liberty for Security deserve neither > -Benjamin Franklin ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 07:34:36 -0400 From: John Stone Subject: Blackbird Association Print sale..... Hello All, The Blackbird Association(association of former SR crews and associated folks) is selling limited edition signed prints of John Shaw's "Outrun The Thunder". It is signed by John Shaw and the 40 of the Pilots and RSOs that attended the 2003 Blackbird Assoc. Reunion. Proceeds benefit the Blackbird Association. For more info.... http://blackbirds.net/sr_71_print.html Thanks, John - -- U-2 and SR-71 Web Page http://www.blackbirds.net Those who would sacrifice Liberty for Security deserve neither - -Benjamin Franklin ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 2003 07:41:17 -0500 From: "Allen Thomson" Subject: Fw: New runway near completion at AREA 51 Forwarded by a correspondent: NEW RUNWAY NEAR COMPLETION AT AREA 51 RACHEL, NEVADA - July 19, 2003 Chuck Clark, well-known military watchdog and resident of Rachel, stated yesterday that a new runway is nearing completion at the Groom Lake/Area 51 base, just 22 miles south of the tiny community. "Aligned on a heading that should result in a designation as Runway 7/25, the runway's sound end is near the southern cluster of hangars, formerly the A-12 hangars #9 through #16. The new runway is about 4250 feet in length and runs from the edge of the tarmac near the southern hangars to the edge of Runway 32R/14L", stated Clark. He said that it would be a logical assumption that the new runway is intended to support a "new and apparently very aggressive" UAV design and testing program that will most likely be based in the former A-12 hangars. He also confirmed that in addition to the new runway, two very large new fuel tanks have recently appeared in the tank farm along with one or two new smaller tanks. - -reported by Norio Hayakawa AREA 51 NEWS UPDATES http://www.hometown.aol.com/area51watch/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 10:30:37 +0100 From: Adrian Mann Subject: Activity at Macrihanish Hi all, Just been sent this report, which I post for your perusal: "Sorry I have no photos but I feel my story has some relevance anyway. I live on the North West coast of England not too far away from Macrihanish Airbase. Just prior to and during the latest Iraq conflict I had a number of strange occurances, five in total. They were all between 1 and 3am on a Sunday morning. On two occasions my wife and I were awakened by a huge repetetive boom, it was very loud like an ongoing clap of thunder but consisted of 3 or 4 seperate booms, all very close together. Our neighbours and other people in the area also heard it and were curious. I decided to wait up on following weekends to see if I could hear it again and on the third instance I heard a noise that sounded like the noise the pod racers make in 'The Phantom Menace' movie but faster and louder. A few weeks later I heard the booms again and a week later the noise like the pod racers ( I suppose this could be described as the sky being ripped apart which I have read elsewhere). I havent heard anything since that but in mid July 2003 at a friends barbecue about 20 miles inland from the coast I was shouted outside by my wife, children and friends to look at something in the sky. In the short time it took me to get outside the aircraft had gone but there was a bizzare contrail (donuts on a rope) that remained for about 5 minutes before dissipating. I am the same as many other potential witnesses and only put two and two together after a chance viewing of a TV programme which described what I had seen and heard. I am not an aircraft nut or a "stealth watcher" . I am merely very curious as to what I have seen and heard!" Macrihanish is in a remote part of Scotland, and is reputed to have the longest runway in Europe. It's also been reported to have been mothballed... Anyone have any thoughts/observations? Adrian Mann ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 16:48:41 +0100 From: "David" Subject: Re: Activity at Macrihanish The SW list rides again ! A few thoughts. First, I'm a little surprised that he misspelled the name of the airbase so close to him - but that could be me nit-picking. Secondly, it's not that unusual for vapour /contrails to degrade into a donuts-on-a-rope config. A friend took some snaps of that very event created after a (sadly) mundane pax jet had passed overhead some time before. Finally, three or four booms indicate either three or four small supersonic jets or one and a half to two large supersonic jets - don't know how the latter would work ! With the intensity of sonic booms being governed by a range of factors including a/c mass, size, speed, altitude, attitude and flight path - not to mention atmospheric conditions, it's easy for pilots to get it slightly wrong and cause an unintended boom on the ground. Not good so early in the morning. Can't see anything that odd in this report - but it does sound as if the witness is well aware of the Aurora flap in Macrihanish - which makes me wonder if he's joining dots that aren't there. D From: "Adrian Mann" > Hi all, > > Just been sent this report, which I post for your perusal: > > "Sorry I have no photos but I feel my story has some relevance anyway. I > live on the North West coast of England not too far away from Macrihanish > Airbase. Just prior to and during the latest Iraq conflict I had a number > of strange occurances, five in total. They were all between 1 and 3am on a > Sunday morning. On two occasions my wife and I were awakened by a huge > repetetive boom, it was very loud like an ongoing clap of thunder but > consisted of 3 or 4 seperate booms, all very close together. Our neighbours > and other people in the area also heard it and were curious. I decided to > wait up on following weekends to see if I could hear it again and on the > third instance I heard a noise that sounded like the noise the pod racers > make in 'The Phantom Menace' movie but faster and louder. A few weeks later > I heard the booms again and a week later the noise like the pod racers ( I > suppose this could be described as the sky being ripped apart which I have > read elsewhere). I havent heard anything since that but in mid July 2003 at > a friends barbecue about 20 miles inland from the coast I was shouted > outside by my wife, children and friends to look at something in the sky. > In the short time it took me to get outside the aircraft had gone but there > was a bizzare contrail (donuts on a rope) that remained for about 5 minutes > before dissipating. I am the same as many other potential witnesses and > only put two and two together after a chance viewing of a TV programme which > described what I had seen and heard. I am not an aircraft nut or a "stealth > watcher" . I am merely very curious as to what I have seen and heard!" > > Macrihanish is in a remote part of Scotland, and is reputed to have the > longest runway in Europe. It's also been reported to have been mothballed... > Anyone have any thoughts/observations? > > Adrian Mann ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2003 09:59:13 -0500 From: "Allen Thomson" Subject: Ping If James Stevenson is still on the list, could he please contact me by email? I have a question about some suspected Antideficiency Act corner-cutting at MDA. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2003 10:13:26 -0500 From: "Allen Thomson" Subject: Carmine Vito, R.I.P. http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/auto/epaper/editions/today/metro_state_f305b49fc2adc08d008c.html Carmine Vito 1926-2003 Austinite flew U-2 spy plane over Moscow for CIA during Cold War By Kate Alexander AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Saturday, August 30, 2003 [EXCERPTS] For decades, the world knew nothing of Carmine Vito and his covert U-2 missions over the Soviet Union. That changed in 1998 when the Central Intelligence Agency declassified the details of the spy flights and their contribution to the Cold War. "I want to say a special thanks to the pilots, from Carmine Vito to the U-2 pilots of today," CIA Director George Tenet said at a 1998 symposium on the U-2, the high-flying surveillance plane that debuted in 1956. Vito, an Austin resident since retiring from the Air Force in 1977, died Wednesday of a stroke after heart surgery, his wife, Barbara Vito, said. He was 77. A funeral Mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church. Vito, who flew 65 spying missions for the CIA, was the only American pilot to fly a U-2 reconnaissance mission directly over Moscow. That flight, on July 5, 1956, collected critical information about the Soviet military capacity. Vito's U-2 hangs from the ceiling of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, along with the Tutti-Frutti gum that he left beneath the canopy. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 02 Sep 2003 21:52:29 -0500 From: George Kasica Subject: FWD (TLC-Mission) Re: SR-71 Tail Numbers On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 11:34:39 -0700, "Terry W. Colvin" wrote: George, A short discussion of SR-71 tail numbers you may find appropriate for the list. Terry ***** Let's play "Stump the Brotherhood". Over the years, I've been amazed at the memories, records and resources available when someone asks about a particular aircraft tail number. But I'll bet this one will stump even you guys. The following request came from an Academy classmate. The date of graduation was 9 June 71, but I seem to remember a fly-by a day or two before that during the graduation parade. To make the assignment even more difficult, given the immense cost of launching an SR-71 mission, this fly-by had to have been added to another mission -- probably training. Here's another hint: an air refueling mission would also likely have been required soon after/before the fly-by. First prize to the first brother to positively identify the tail number will be all the Singha you can personally consume in one sitting. I will contribute an equal amount to Assistance. If some of the "war stories" I've heard on the Mission net are true, this could get real expensive for me, but I'm betting on the odds that nobody can come up with the answer. Bob Blough HH-53 Pilot, 40 ARRS, NKP Thailand 74-75, Korat Thailand 75 Life Member Mayaguez Memorial VFW Post 11575, Phnom Penh Cambodia Charter Member Jolly Green Association Life Member Air Commando Association Proud Member, Thailand/Laos/Cambodia (TLC) Brotherhood Proud Member, Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association Attached message: Some randomness crept through my thick skull this weekend. I had the opportunity to tour the new, as yet unopened, museum at Dulles IAP on Saturday. The B-29, Enola Gay, was in place and they were preparing for the arrival of their SR-71. Does anyone know or can find out which tail numbers flew over at our graduation? If one matches the Dulles plane, I can try to arrange a class tour so we can stake our 'claim'. As a little background, to the best of my recollection, the flyover would have occured around June 9, 1971, plus or minus. Looking forward to your responses. Best regards, Rusty Schaefer - -------------------------- It has been my experience that SR tail numbers are like ghosts. After my close aquaintance with a real Habu crewchief and Habu A/R folks, tail numbers and the discussion of them were classified. The only retort I got from those guys about them were "Uh-yeah." The seem to talk about "bird 1 or bird 2" when referring to them, so Habu tail numbers are anybodys' guess inspite of what is painted on the tail. D@vid The Regular Crewchief Hurlburt 71, Udorn 72, Ubon 73-74, Udorn 75 - -- ^SOnly a zit on the wart on the heinie of progress.^T Copyright 1992, Frank Rice Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@mindspring.com > Alternate: < fortean1@msn.com > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: * Fortean Times * Mystic's Haven * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program - ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Vietnam veterans, Allies, CIA/NSA, and "steenkeen" contractors are welcome.] ===[George R. Kasica]=== +1 262 677 0766 Skunk-Works ListOwner +1 206 374 6482 FAX http://www.netwrx1.com/georgek Jackson, WI USA georgek@netwrx1.com ICQ #12862186 Digest Issues at: http://www.netwrx1.com/skunk-works/ S L O W E R T R A F F I C K E E P R I G H T tm / \ / \ _/ ___ \_ ________/ \_______/V!V\_______/ \_______ \__/ \___/ \__/ www.habu.org The OnLine Blackbird Museum ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2003 11:11:44 -0500 From: "Allen Thomson" Subject: B-36 mothership for X-15 Notice the picture of the bottom of the page. http://www.air-and-space.com/b-36%20diagrams.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 12:28:39 -0500 From: "Allen Thomson" Subject: Combat Constant Stare Might be something to look out for. http://www.spacecoretech.org/coretech2002/Papers/SpaceBattlelabs/pdfs/V-Airship-Core%20Tech.pdf ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 15:22:39 EDT From: MELUMAN@aol.com Subject: Re: Combat Constant Stare Something to "look out for"? Right. Your link froze my computer. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 21:44:56 +0200 From: paja@actinet.cz Subject: Re: Combat Constant Stare It's presentation regarding Space Battlelab Proposed Initiative, I've used xpdf (http://www.foolabs.com/xpdf/) with no problems. here You have the google link presenting the file in html format: http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:F83ir0wUDOYJ:www.spacecoretech.org/coret ech2002/Papers/SpaceBattlelabs/pdfs/V-Airship-Core%2520Tech.pdf+V-Airship-Cor e+Tech&hl=cs&ie=UTF-8 cheers, p6 On Mon, Sep 29, 2003 at 03:22:39PM -0400, MELUMAN@aol.com wrote: > Something to "look out for"? > > Right. Your link froze my computer. - -- p6@actinet.cz "NaE!e cC-rkev je nekoercivnC-. VD^[E^YC-me z vlastnC- svobodnC) ... eee ... letC!k ... vysvD^[tluje naE!e ideje laikovi srozumitelnC=m zpE/sobem." -- Neal Stephenson, VelkC) U ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 14:44:34 -0500 From: "Allen Thomson" Subject: Re: Combat Constant Stare > Something to "look out for"? > > Right. Your link froze my computer. Eek, sorry. I've noticed that .PDFs sometimes do that on my system and I have to kill the Acrobat reader to unfreeze it. One thing that sometimes works, if you're willing to try it, is to download the file directly without opening it in the browser, then open it from the file on disk. Or, in these days of ever-multiplying viri, perhaps skip it. Anyway, the presentation described a V-shaped high-altitude, long-endurance lighter-than-air UAV. I thought it was interesting because it really was V-shaped -- just two arms with nothing in the space between them. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 09:11:09 -0700 From: "Joy Richards" Subject: A COMPENDIUM OF DARPA PROGRAMS >From Aftergood's 9/30/03 Secrecy News: A COMPENDIUM OF DARPA PROGRAMS The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has been battered and bruised by controversies surrounding several of its more questionable programs, including the defunct Terrorism Information Awareness. But the Agency has not received the credit to which it is arguably entitled for conducting those programs in an unclassified form, in which they can be freely debated, criticized and attacked. Now DARPA has published a complete descriptive summary of all of its (unclassified) programs, where they can be reviewed in some context. It is an intriguing collection, with numerous items of interest. Describing its "Deception Detection" initiative to develop new "lie detector" methods, for example, DARPA renders an unusually harsh official judgment concerning the polygraph: "Current screening techniques are flawed, enabling many deceivers to avoid detection and falsely accusing large numbers of innocent people. An effective method to assess intent will decrease both the missed detections and the false alarms." (Page 49). See "Fact File: A Compendium of DARPA Programs," August 2003 (thanks to GP): http://www.darpa.mil/body/pdf/FINAL2003FactFilerev1.pdf _______________________________________________ Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists. To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, send email to secrecy_news-request@lists.fas.org with "subscribe" in the body of the message. To UNSUBSCRIBE, send a blank email message to secrecy_news-remove@lists.fas.org OR email your request to saftergood@fas.org Secrecy News is archived at: http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/secrecy/index.html _______________________ Steven Aftergood Project on Government Secrecy Federation of American Scientists web: www.fas.org/sgp/index.html email: saftergood@fas.org voice: (202) 454-4691 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 02 Oct 2003 15:09:48 -0700 (PDT) From: gregd@habu2.net Subject: YF-12 photos Since the list is (very) slow I thought I'd post a link to some slides I took a very long time ago. I finally acquired a slide scanner so I thought I'd try it out on these old slides. YF-12 #06935 at WPAFB, late 80s? http://www.habu2.net/aeropix/yf-12/ XB-70 #1, freshly painted before moving it into the second hangar at the museum, again late 80s (although I understand it has now been moved to another building) http://www.habu2.net/aeropix/xb-70/ I haven't culled out the redundant/similar shots, so this is everything. Enjoy, Greg ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 19:21:39 -0500 From: "Allen Thomson" Subject: Tolkachev I'm not sure this is strictly skunky, but it's very worth reading -- as far as I can tell, it seems to be the dinkum stuff. A good spy tale, in any case. http://www.odci.gov/csi/studies/vol47no3/article02.html Tolkachev, of course, worked at NPO Fazotron and provided gobs of information about then-to-be next-generation fighter radars, IRST, and related matters. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 08:24:58 -0700 From: "Joy Richards" Subject: CNN 3D Models CNN has a feature which has 3D models of the birds used in Iraq. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/weapons/3d.models/index.html It was nifty until the U2 model - that looks oddly misshapen. The others aren't blueprint accurate either, I suspect. Still it was interesting. Would have been better with good 3D controls, however. Joy ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 19:41:34 +0000 From: "wayne binkley" Subject: C-130A Takes Last Flight wayne d.binkley >From: ELYPS@aol.com >To: Wabaade@aol.com, wbinkley@hotmail.com, mocepheus@cox.net, >carterj969@cox.net, wchap@attbi.com, CRFordLM@cs.com, >DESandersLM@aol.com, feldmanna@shaw.ca, Gdwoodie@cs.com, >gillm36@adelphia.net, BGKBAMA@aol.com, loadone@msn.com, >lamphere@webworkz.com, MRL83143@aol.com, Mackmcge@aol.com, >SamBlu82@aol.com, roymun@charter.net, Shado1LM@aol.com, >SOwens@southernair.com, Topgun1413@aol.com, AF1427@aol.com, >Trawetsa@aol.com, Fltengjoe@aol.com, Tito7725@aol.com, >Walkerfwb@cs.com >Subject: Fwd: Fw: C-130A Takes Last Flight >Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 14:01:54 EDT > > _________________________________________________________________ Fretting that your Hotmail account may expire because you forgot to sign in enough? Get Hotmail Extra Storage today! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es Return-Path: Received: from rly-xl01.mx.aol.com (rly-xl01.mail.aol.com [172.20.83.70]) by air-xl01.mail.aol.com (v96.10) with ESMTP id MAILINXL13-5b03f8d7c0f10; Wed, 15 Oct 2003 12:58:05 -0400 Received: from imf21aec.mail.bellsouth.net (imf21aec.mail.bellsouth.net [205.152.59.69]) by rly-xl01.mx.aol.com (v96.8) with ESMTP id MAILRELAYINXL16-5b03f8d7c0f10; Wed, 15 Oct 2003 12:55:43 -0400 Received: from oemcomputer ([66.157.200.225]) by imf21aec.mail.bellsouth.net (InterMail vM.5.01.05.27 201-253-122-126-127-20021220) with SMTP id <20031015165542.OPIS1826.imf21aec.mail.bellsouth.net@oemcomputer>; Wed, 15 Oct 2003 12:55:42 -0400 Message-ID: <007501c3933d$293f2c80$e1c89d42@oemcomputer> From: "Casey Bell" To: "Alan C. Zack" Subject: Fw: C-130A Takes Last Flight Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2003 12:50:19 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2800.1165 X-AOL-IP: 205.152.59.69 X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: from multipart/alternative by demime 1.01b X-Converted-To-Plain-Text: Alternative section used was text/plain Even Herk's get 'too old', I guess. AFMC News Service Release 1025 Released October 10, 2003 By 1st Lt. Jessica Phelps Air Armament Center Public Affairs EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFMCNS) - The oldest flying C-130 cargo aircraft and last existing C-130A in the U.S. Air Force flew its final flight Oct. 3, ending nearly half a century of test service. The final flight ended at Field 2 here. The aircraft will now be stripped of its essential equipment and used to test installation security systems on the Eglin range. The C-130A, affectionately nicknamed "The Lone Wolf," has been stationed at Duke Field for the past 48 years, serving the test community as part of the 46th Test Wing. The wing provides a national capability for testing conventional munitions, command and control infrastructure, egress as well as navigation and guidance systems. Maintainers no longer being able to sustain its current systems, including spare parts and engine support drove the aircraft's retirement, according to Senior Master Sgt. Michael Holderness, 46th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron C-130 section chief. "The NC-130A Airborne Seeker Evaluation and Test System is an airborne platform for developmental test and evaluation of air-to-ground and air-to-air seekers and sensors," Holderness said. "It was capable of tracking and filming weapon intercept and separation from various fighter and bomber aircraft." Nicknamed "The Lone Wolf" because it was the last C-130A flying, the aircraft flew its first test flight in 1955 and has been a part of many forward moving programs such as the Patriot missile sensor testing during the 1980's and 90's. "Retiring this aircraft marks the end of an era for the C-130 test program," said Tech. Sgt. Kevin Williams, 46th AMXS hydraulics technician. "But it's also the beginning of a new chapter, as some of the modified structures will be transferred to the newer NC-130H aircraft." A very small group of maintainers, 13 to be exact, maintain this particular aircraft, and "The Lone Wolf" characterization emanates from the aircraft to them, Holderness said. "After 48 years, this aircraft took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to maintain," he said. "It inevitably becomes a part of you, as much as you become a part of it." With the C-130A being decommissioned, a new, more fleet representative NC-130H aircraft will be brought to Duke to continue the unit's test mission, Holderness said. "Once the current programmed depot maintenance is complete, that aircraft is scheduled to undergo modifications to install the turret and modified floor structure, along with other modifications to enable not only a wider array of weapon seeker testing, but also C-130 test programs currently in development," he said. A couple of days before the final flight, the crew posed for a picture in front of the aircraft, capturing the historic moment. As part of commemorating the time the aircraft and crew spent serving together, the names of the maintenance crew were printed on the outside of the aircraft. The members of the operation crew also signed their names on the inside of the aircraft. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Oct 2003 16:42:46 +0000 From: "wayne binkley" Subject: Iraqi Commander Swears He Saw US Evacuate Saddam >Iraqi Commander Swears He Saw US Evacuate Saddam > > >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >Rense.com >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > >Iraqi Commander Swears >He Saw US Evacuate Saddam >Bill Dash >8-17-03 > > > Author's Note: This article first appeared on FarShores on >8/12/03. In the interest of accuracy, I have pulled that draft and replaced >it with this updated version. > > Film will soon be made public of an Iraqi Army officer describing >how he saw a US Air Force transport fly Saddam Hussein out of Baghdad. The >explosive eyewitness testimony was shot by independent filmmaker Patrick >Dillon, who recently returned from a risky one-man odyssey in Iraq. In the >film, the officer, who told Dillon that he commanded a special combat unit >during the battle for Baghdad airport and whose identity is temporarily >being withheld, explains in detail how he watched as the Iraqi dictator and >members of his inner circle were evacuated from Iraq's capital by what he >emphatically insists were United States Air Force cargo planes. > > Presently, the only copies of the film (which I have not yet seen) >are in New York City. People who have viewed it describe it to me as >compelling. > > Dillon told me by phone that, prior to the final assault on the >capital by American ground forces, the officer had been entrusted with the >near impossible job of ensuring that one of Baghdad airport's runways would >remain operational no matter what. In civilian life the officer is >reportedly a highly trained civil engineer specializing in airport >operations. He states he was selected to command this hazardous mission in >part because of his expertise in concrete surface construction. He goes on >to report that there was a ferocious battle at the airport, with losses on >both sides far worse than the mainstream news services acknowledge. He >deviates even further from officially sanctioned accounts, by unequivocally >stating that the battle for control of the airport actually lasted several >days longer than commonly believed, dragging on through April 8th and >culminating around dawn on the morning of the 9th. Most news sources cite >April 4th as the day when the airport fell. But many conventional accounts >also acknowledge, if only in passing, uncertainty as to exactly when the >airport was fully subdued,frequently offering the 5th and the 6th as other >possibilities. Virtually everyone agrees on April 9th as the day that the >battle for the entire city officially ended. > > In any event, the officer adamantly maintains that his >combat/construction brigade, despite heavy casualties, managed to hold off >US troops and preserve a useable length of runway right through the night >of April the 8th. > > Then early on the morning of April 9th, as the remnants of his >unit were close to being overrun, a general cease-fire was unexpectedly >declared for 6 AM. Shortly after it went into effect, and in broad >daylight, the officer claims a motorcade of 10 Mercedes stretch limos >suddenly barreled onto the airfield, carrying Saddam and his entourage. >Almost simultaneously, a flight of what the officer asserts were four USAF >Hercules transports swooped down and landed on the lone stretch of intact >runway. All four C-130s dropped their rear loading ramps and the limos >drove up into the cargo bays of the waiting planes, which then took off. >The officer insists he has no idea where Saddam or any of the other members >of his party may have gone. > > Dillon says his film lends major support to what many have >believed for years: that Saddam was little more than an american tool, a >stage-managed "evildoer", just one in a long line of useful villains bought >and paid for by the United States in order to better manipulate >international politics and commerce. The gutsy New York based filmmaker, >who risked his life amid the chaos of postwar Iraq, says that much of the >Iraqi populace believes Saddam is not dead and they worry he could still >exact revenge from afar. While many Iraqi civilians initially welcomed >American forces, Dillon told me most Iraqis, having now had a bitter taste >of American occupation, feel enraged with the US and its soldiers. Dillon >said living conditions in Iraq are horrible and that little of significance >is being done to relieve the situation. > > Based on what he saw during his travels, Dillon told me he's >convinced the war and its sweeping devastation of the Iraqi nation is in >reality a mind boggling charade. Rather than liberating Iraq, its actual >purpose is to corral Iraq's huge oil reserves and to serve as a pretext for >channeling tens of billions in largesse to favored American corporations >like Haliburton and Bechtel. As an example, Dillon pointed to how US air >strikes systematically obliterated every last Iraqi telecommunications >facility from one end of the country to the other, a measure he maintains >vastly exceeded all practical military necessity. Then, without even the >pretense of a competitive bid, Washington gifted WorldCom, the near >bankrupt US telecom giant responsible for the greatest fraud in financial >history, with a huge multi-billion dollar contract to build Iraq a new >nationwide state-of-the-art telephone system. > > Copyright )2003 - Bill Dash > > Alternate URL: www.farshores.filetap.com/ > > > > > > Disclaimer > > > > > > > MainPage > http://www.rense.com > > > This Site Served by TheHostPros _________________________________________________________________ Enjoy MSN 8 patented spam control and more with MSN 8 Dial-up Internet Service. Try it FREE for one month! http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup ------------------------------ End of skunk-works-digest V12 #4 ******************************** To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@netwrx1.com". 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