Ralph Savelsberg wrote:

Kenneth Williams wrote:

A friend recently assured me that the mystery stealth aircraft that
crashed at Boscome Down was a TR-3B ASTRA (Advanced Stealth Technology
Recon Aircraft) which was positively identified as aircraft AV-6,
serial number 94-2414, call sign "Blackbuc 11".

He also said that Lockheed isn't the most advanced stealth designer
anymore as the TR-3B is made by Northrop's ATDC as well as being the
leading designer of the future B-3 bomber.

Is any of this true, and if so, how did he get the info?

He also said the ASTRA each cost $5 trillion!!! I can only guess that
we possess around 3 of them, so what would one be doing in the UK?

The way the crash was described to me made it sound like a stealth
fighter was involved, not a huge triangular recon aircraft. The
aircraft described was more likened to the losing YF-23, I thought.

Anyone else heard the same?

Back then `Air Forces Monthly' and probably also `Aircraft Illustrated'
had articles about the mystery crash, including (very uncharacteristic
for the former magazine) a whole load of speculation including that it
could be the aircraft sometimes referred to as the TR-3A (if there is
such a thing) or the A-somenumber `ASTRA' which is rumoured to owe a lot
to the YF-23. As far as I'm concerned, it still is nothing but
speculation, since nor a TR-3A, nor the ASTRA have ever been confirmed
to exist.
Still, I wouldn't be surprised if something `black' crashed there. The
US spends billions of Dollars on `black' projects. Once in a while some
of the products of are actually made public. The `Have Blue' (and the
F-117) is such a case, as are the more recent Northrop `Tacit Blue' test
platform and the Lockheed Martin `Bird of Prey' fighter concept. Who
knows whether other aircraft are lurking in the shadows?
You can rest assured, though, that whatever it was that supposedly
crashed, it's bound not to have cost $5 Trillion Dollars!

Regards,
Ralph Savelsberg


Kenneth Williams


I remember the AFM 'Special' on the Boscombe crash - a whole load of
conspiracy bunkum.

Then there was the 'official' explanation for - every point raised in the
article, there was a repudiation.

IIRC, it went something like -

Conspiracy :- The road at High Post (on the approach to Boscombe Down) was
closed because a 'black' jet was landing

Explanation :- The reason the the road was closed was because a trials
Tornado had a problem with a towed countermeasures device - and was trailing
the aerial, so they had to close the road for safety reasons.

Conspiracy :- The black jet was hidden in a hangar - and, in the dead of
night, it was covered up and loaded aboard a C-5 that had filed no flight
plan.

Explanation :- The 'shape' under a tarpaulin was a test landing platform for
the Sea Harrier. It could be tilted to represent a pitching deck, it was
loaded aboard the C-5.

Conspiracy :- There was a mysterious, unrecorded, landing by a Gulfstream GV
(?) that had no markings and was supposed to belong to the CIA.

Explanation :- John Travolta (?) (or some other VIP) was playing golf at a
nearby course and the Gulfstream was his.

Some of the explanations were so ridiculous as to be plausible (although why
the VIP would be allowed to land at Boscombe is questionable) - as were some
of conspiracy theories.

I am undecided as to which story I believe - but I lean towards the school
of thought that it never happened.

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Ken Duffey - Flanker Freak & Russian Aviation Enthusiast
Flankers Website - http://www.flankers.co.uk/
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