Skunk Works facts for kids
Skunk Works is a special name for a secret part of Lockheed Martin, a big aerospace company. This part is officially called Advanced Development Programs (ADP). Their job is to design amazing aircraft, work on top-secret research, and create unique planes. They have locations in places like Palmdale, California, Fort Worth, Texas, and Marietta, Georgia.
Skunk Works started its work with planes like the P-38 Lightning in 1939 and the P-80 Shooting Star in 1943. Later, their engineers developed famous planes such as the U-2 spy plane, the super-fast SR-71 Blackbird, and the stealthy F-117 Nighthawk. They also helped create modern fighter jets like the F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II, which are used by air forces around the world.
The name "Skunk Works" came from a comic strip called Li'l Abner. In the comic, there was a factory called "Skonk Oil" that made strange things. Because of how Lockheed used the name, "skunk works" is now a common term. It describes a team within a company that works on advanced or secret projects. This team often has a lot of freedom and isn't held back by too many rules.
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History of Skunk Works
The exact start of Skunk Works is a bit unclear. Some say it began in June 1943 in Burbank, California. Others suggest it started earlier, in 1939.
Here is the official story from Lockheed: The United States Army Air Corps needed a new jet fighter. Germany was developing jet planes, and the U.S. wanted to keep up. Lockheed was chosen to build a jet plane around a powerful British engine called the Goblin.
Just one month after meeting with the Air Force, a young engineer named Kelly Johnson and his team quickly presented their idea for the XP-80. Two days later, Lockheed got the approval to start building it. This is when Skunk Works officially began, with Kelly Johnson leading the team.
The official contract for the XP-80 didn't arrive until four months after work had already started. This became a common way of working at Skunk Works. Often, a customer would ask for something, and work would begin with just a handshake, even before official papers were signed. Kelly Johnson and his team designed and built the XP-80 in only 143 days. This was even faster than the Air Force had asked for!
Before the XP-80, a similar secret way of working happened with the P-38 Lightning. In 1938, Lockheed was asked to build a fast, high-flying fighter plane. While most of Lockheed was busy with other projects, a small group of engineers worked secretly on the P-38. Kelly Johnson kept them separate from the rest of the factory. They added new features, like a smooth aluminum skin, which made the plane faster and stronger.
The XP-38 was the first fighter plane in the world to fly over 400 miles per hour. This team later moved to an old bourbon distillery. The smell from a nearby plastic factory was so bad that one engineer, Irv Culver, started answering the phone by saying, "Skonk Works, inside man Culver speaking!"
The name "Skonk Works" came from a comic strip by Al Capp called Li'l Abner. In the comic, "Big Barnsmell's Skonk Works" was a smelly factory. When the name "Skonk Works" became known at Lockheed, the company changed it to "Skunk Works" to avoid legal problems with the comic strip's creators. The name quickly spread and became a common nickname for secret research and development teams. Today, "Skunk Works" is a registered trademark of Lockheed Martin.
In 1941, Kelly Johnson and his P-38 team also worked on a way to add extra fuel tanks to the P-38. This would allow the fighter to fly much farther. They did this research without a contract. When the Air Force officially asked for a solution, Skunk Works already had it ready.
Mary G. Ross, one of the first Native American female engineers, joined Lockheed in 1942. She worked on the math for high-speed flight, a problem first seen with the P-38. In 1952, she was invited to join the Skunk Works team.
From the 1950s to the 1990s
In 1955, Skunk Works got a contract from the CIA to build a spy plane called the U-2. The goal was to fly over the Soviet Union and take pictures of important sites. The U-2 was tested at a secret base called Area 51 in the Nevada desert. The first spy flight happened on July 4, 1956. The U-2 flights over the Soviet Union stopped when Francis Gary Powers was shot down in his U-2 in 1960.
Skunk Works knew the U-2 would not be able to fly over the Soviet Union forever. So, in 1959, they got a contract to build five A-12 aircraft. Building a plane that could fly over three times the speed of sound (Mach 3.0+) out of titanium was very hard. The first A-12 flight was in 1962. (Most titanium came from the Soviet Union, so the CIA had to use secret companies to buy it.) A few years later, the U.S. Air Force became interested. They ordered the SR-71 Blackbird, which was a two-seater version of the A-12. This plane first flew in 1966 and was used until 1998.
The D-21 drone was also built by Skunk Works. It looked like the Blackbird and was designed to fly over a nuclear test site in China. This drone was launched from the back of a special A-12 plane called the M-21. After a crash, the drones were changed to D-21Bs and launched from B-52 bombers with a rocket. Four missions were flown over China, but the cameras were never successfully recovered. Kelly Johnson led Skunk Works until 1975, when Ben Rich took over.
In 1976, Skunk Works started building two planes to test stealth technology. These planes were called Have Blue. They were smaller versions, built in just 18 months. They were a huge step forward because they were very hard for radar to detect. After successful test flights, the Air Force asked Skunk Works to build the F-117 stealth fighter in 1978.
During the Cold War, Skunk Works was located in Burbank, California. After 1989, Lockheed moved Skunk Works to U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, where it still operates today. Many of the old Skunk Works buildings in Burbank were torn down for parking lots. One main building still stands and is used for film production. In 2009, Skunk Works was honored and added to the International Air & Space Hall of Fame.
Amazing Aircraft Projects
Skunk Works has worked on many important aircraft and projects. Here are some of the most well-known:
- Lockheed P-38 Lightning (unofficial start)
- Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star
- Lockheed XF-90
- Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
- Lockheed U-2
- Lockheed X-26 Frigate
- Lockheed YO-3
- Lockheed A-12
- Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
- Lockheed D-21
- Lockheed XST (Have Blue) and Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk
- Lockheed YF-22 and Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor
- Lockheed Martin X-33
- Lockheed Martin X-35 and Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
- Lockheed X-27
- Lockheed Martin Polecat
- Quiet Supersonic Transport
- Lockheed Martin Cormorant
- Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk
- Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel
- Lockheed Martin X-55
- Lockheed Martin SR-72
- Lockheed Martin X-59 QueSST
Other Projects
- High beta fusion reactor (a type of energy research)
- Sea Shadow (a stealth ship)
How the Name "Skunk Works" Started
The name "Skunk Works" comes from a funny comic strip called Li’l Abner. This comic was very popular from the 1930s to the 1950s. In the comic, the "Skonk Works" was an old, rundown factory far away in the woods. It was said that the factory made a terrible-smelling "skonk oil" from skunks and old shoes.
In 1939, when Lockheed was growing fast, the P-38 project team moved to an old distillery. Even though Lockheed took over the building, the sour smell of bourbon remained. The first YP-38 plane was built there.
Later, when Kelly Johnson's team was working on the P-80 Shooting Star, their office was next to a plastics factory that smelled awful. One day, an engineer named Irv Culver joked about the smell and the project's secrecy. He started calling the place "Skonk Works."
Since the project was very secret, employees had to be careful even when answering the phone. One day, a call for the P-80 project was accidentally sent to Irv Culver's desk. He answered, "Skonk Works, inside man Culver." The person on the other end was confused, but the name stuck! Irv Culver later said that Kelly Johnson would often "fire" him for things like this, but it was usually just a joke.
Because of the comic strip's copyright, Lockheed changed the name from "Skonk Works" to "Skunk Works" in the 1960s. The name "Skunk Works" and the skunk logo are now official trademarks of the Lockheed Martin Corporation.
See also
- Advanced Propulsion Physics Laboratory
- Area 51
- Boeing Phantom Works
- Swamp Works
