U-2, SR-71, F-117 — the secret hangars of Lockheed Plant B-1
Kelly Johnson had fourteen rules. Number one: the Skunk Works program manager has full responsibility, reports to a corporate VP, and nobody else gets in his way. In 1943 his team designed the P-80 Shooting Star — America's first operational jet — in 143 days. In 1955 they delivered the U-2, capable of overflying Soviet missile sites at 70,000 feet. In 1964 the SR-71 Blackbird flew Mach 3.2 — still uncatchable 60 years later. In 1981 the F-117 Nighthawk became the first true stealth combat aircraft. All of it happened in unmarked buildings at the northwest corner of Burbank Airport. Locals knew Lockheed was there. Nobody knew what was being built. The Skunk Works moved to Palmdale in 1989 and the Burbank plant was bulldozed for a shopping mall. The airplanes are still classified, still flying, still winning quiet wars.