The Curious Case of a Gamer and the Phantom Fighter Jet: A Tale of Misunderstanding and Mystery

Would you prefer a tale to be intriguing or factual? Assume the narrative you are hearing is no longer silent and that its accuracy does not matter for any reason other than satiating your curiosity. It is, for all intents and purposes, a benign fabrication. It is hardly an exaggeration, I believe, to say we enjoy witnessing the expressions on people’s faces when we surprise them with a compelling story, or when we make them laugh, or when we astonish them, just as we take pleasure in being equally amazed and entertained by someone else’s tale in turn. So, does it matter if a story is completely, 100% accurate?

Consider this. It was a statement made on Eurogamer regarding MicroProse’s aerial combat simulator, F-19 Stealth Fighter. “They took a slew of rumors about – and sightings of – a supposed U.S. stealth fighter (the F-117 had not been announced or confirmed at that time) and speculated backwards to figure out how it would function. They were so accurate that their offices were raided by U.S. intelligence agencies, who believed they must have had insider information.” Offices raided by U.S. intelligence services? That triggered my internal storytelling radar.

I was just six years old when the F-19 Stealth Fighter game was released in 1988, so it’s no wonder I hadn’t heard this tale before, but at this moment, I found myself fascinated both by the drama of it and by how it had lingered in memory for so long. I followed up with the commenter who shared it, the ever-knowledgeable Rogueywon, but they had no further details to contribute. All we possessed was a half-remembered narrative. The question was: could it possibly be true? I needed to find out.

However, right away, I encountered a dilemma. F-19 Stealth Fighter, an aerial combat simulator about stealthily bombing targets before trying to escape unscathed, is 37 years old this year, which means the individuals who worked on it—adults at the time—did so many years ago and are either no longer involved in gaming, hard to locate, or, in some cases, no longer around at all. MicroProse briefly faded from existence in the late 90s, and while it ultimately returned a few years later, it’s no longer the company we remember—the firm that birthed legendary gaming series like Civilization and X-Com.

The company was established in 1982 by two individuals: Bill Stealey and – a name you might recognize – Sid Meier, with Andy Hollis also playing a significant early role. Sid Meier’s strategy games defined MicroProse, but it also had a substantial reputation for military simulations—particularly aircraft-related ones. F-19 followed a lineage at the studio, so MicroProse certainly knew what it was doing. But did it know a little too well?

Let’s begin with the very basis – what is this all about? Key point: the F-19 was not a real aircraft but a fictional one. It emerged after years of speculation about what the next aircraft in the F-series – F representing fighter – would be. This is a series of planes that stretches back to World War II and that has adhered quite rigidly to an F-numbering naming system ever since. It continues to this day; we are currently on F-35. That an F-19 would come after an F-18 was akin to saying night would follow day. Everyone anticipated it. People also expected the F-19 to be a stealth fighter rather than a conventional one, so the speculation began.

Now, I will return to MicroProse shortly, but at the core of the speculation surrounding the F-19 was, of all people, an American model aircraft designer named John Andrews. He worked for the American scale model manufacturer Testors and was one of the lead designers there in the 1980s. He also happened to be – as I suppose comes with the territory – a passionate and lifelong enthusiast of military aviation technology, possessing valuable connections in the industry.

According to Italian author Francesco Cotti, who wrote a book about Andrews titled The Stealth Fighter (and an accompanying article about Andrews on the website The Aviationist), it was Andrews who conceptualized the iconic design of the F-19—the very design we find in the MicroProse game. Using a blend of informed guesses, mathematics, and aviation design knowledge, Andrews crafted a curvy, somewhat triangular, and futuristic-looking aircraft – a design that suggested stealth while also being plausible. And the public embraced it. Within a year, it had become Testors’ best-selling kit ever.

Such success did not come without its complications. “The inevitable ‘issues’ arose from claiming that he had deciphered the Cold War’s most clandestine military program based solely on intuition,” wrote Cotti in his article for The Aviationist. “John was approached by the FBI, Air Force security agencies, and likely other governmental entities. They all wanted to know how he acquired that information, which, if exposed, could have resulted in a life sentence.”

Keep in mind, we’re discussing a time here at the tail end of the Cold War. The concept of a stealth fighter is, by its very nature, a secretive project, especially in the climate of the Cold War, where military one-upmanship was like a battleground itself. That a model aircraft company would come so close to the truth, through design, would understandably raise alarm for the intelligence agencies. Paranoia ran high.

“John consistently answered their inquiries,” Cotti noted, “explaining that he had meticulously studied the SR-71’s shape (which was believed to be stealth at the time) and had acquired a solid grasp of radar physics through mathematics and reading books on radar theory.” The SR-71 Blackbird is iconic. Launched in the 60s, it was another sleek black, curvy aerial enigma akin to Andrews’ F-19 design, except it was too large to be categorized as a stealth craft, designed instead for long-range high-altitude reconnaissance. “His F-19 was the product of logical and mathematical reasoning,” Cotti stated. Perhaps one of the main reasons Andrews managed to evade consequences was that the eventual real stealth fighter,the F-117 Nighthawk had a noticeably unique design – more wedge-shaped and sharp-angled. Nevertheless, the legend of Andrews’ captivating F-19 model continued to enchant enthusiasts.

In Andrews’ narrative, we find what may be the intertwined truth of the F-19 Stealth Fighter story, but the specific details I find challenging to confirm are the claims about MicroProse being difficult to verify today. Sid Meier is protected by layers of Take-Two PR, Andy Hollis has faded from the gaming scene, and Bill Stealey is somewhere doing something related to games, though what that might be remains uncertain. Time has elapsed. Additionally, if I were to locate them, they may not recall what I’m referencing anyway. Years have passed.

Nonetheless, I am nothing if not persistent, and I finally connect with Andy Hollis through a messaging app. Eager to uncover a narrative, I recount the legend. “Not accurate,” he responds, unexpectedly. “No controversy.” The MicroProse offices had not been invaded by U.S. intelligence agencies, and nothing unusual had occurred. I think the discussion is concluded, but Hollis surprises me with a bit of a postscript. “Bill Stealey liked to embellish when recounting tales, so it’s quite possible this can be traced back to that characteristic,” he notes. “But I have no proof of that. Sounds like an urban legend. All of our dealings with the military were very positive and arose from our own initiatives.”

Bill Stealey loved to embellish – could this have been the source of it all? The door to a narrative remained slightly ajar.

Then another stroke of luck: a note from Take-Two indicating that Sid Meier had promptly replied to my request for a comment. “I think Bill Stealey will have the best memory regarding this,” Meier wrote. “I don’t recall any raid on the MicroProse offices. There was a lot of secrecy and speculation about the stealth fighter around the time we launched F-19.” And then this remark which I adore: “The actual stealth fighter was less fascinating than ours because we had machine guns, and it did not.”

Once again, Bill Stealey’s name was in the mix – was there something to this after all?

John Wilbur “Wild Bill” Stealey, to use his full name – and nickname – carries quite a reputation. Now in his mid-70s, he was once training to be a pilot in the United States Air Force, a title he held with pride for the rest of his life, despite shifting into the business of creating games. He was a passionate pilot for numerous years, and many of the games he developed were flight simulations. When a colleague provided me with his contact details, they emphasized that I would be lucky to get a chance to speak with him. They were right.

I reach Stealey at his home in Florida via video call, and from the instant he answers, he begins sharing stories, all seemingly with the intent of making me laugh. He has a commanding presence. Did I know that English actor David Niven was also a pilot, and that he trained at Cromwell, which is England’s equivalent of America’s prestigious West Point, where he, coincidentally, also trained? “Anyway, that’s another story,” he says before I can even respond. “As you can see, I enjoy telling stories. At my advanced age, it’s the only thing I can remember.”

Finally, we settle down. “So let me share the true story of F-19,” he states. “Ready?”

The tale begins with another question. “The Hunt for Red October – do you know what that is?”

I remember it being a film about a submarine, and likely starring Sean Connery. It was based on a book.

“And who authored it?” he inquires. “Look it up quickly. Come on.”

“Oh,” I respond as the realization hits. “Tom Clancy.”

It’s a name we’re very familiar with in gaming as it’s featured on every Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell box we have ever seen. Tom Clancy, if you’re unaware, was the immensely successful writer of military espionage novels, which were later adapted into films and, of course, games. The Hunt for Red October, which introduced the character Jack Ryan to the world in 1984, was his debut novel.

The Hunt for Red October is where the F-19 story begins, according to Stealey. He caught wind of it and its growing popularity – interestingly, U.S. President Ronald Reagan endorsed it at the time, significantly boosting sales – and decided to pitch Clancy about a collaboration. As one does. “I knew Tom lived only about 20 miles from us in the Baltimore area, so I called him up and said, ‘Tom, you let the others create the game [he refers to a 1987 Commodore 64 game by the same name, made by Oxford Digital and Argus Press] – I can do a better one.'”

However, when Stealey was intimidated by Clancy’s fame, he did not let it show – he makes a humorous anecdote about it, even. “Well, he’s really a failed insurance guy, let’s be clear,” he chuckles.

Stealey then called Clancy and pitched him the idea of creating a game based on his second book, Red Storm Rising, which was published in 1986. Clancy reportedly invited Stealey and business partner Sid Meier to his home to discuss it. “We went down and met him and his wife and he wanted to take us shooting,” Stealey recounts. “He had a shooting range in his basement. Tom couldn’t see; he was uncoordinated, but he thought he was cool. So we got to know him while attempting to license Red Storm Rising.”

In other words: they began to forge a business relationship, which is crucial for what occurs next when Stealey receives a confidential phone call from Clancy regarding a groundbreaking secret fighter plane.