Worlds Third Largest Airforce

D

Dennis Sorensen

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The Bone Yard near Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona

Each one of these babies had a multimillion dollar price tag!

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For those of you that have never seen this, it is something to see.

The precision in the way they are parked is impressive.

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They are all capable of being returned to service if the need ever arises.

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If you are ever in the Tucson area, the weekly tours of the bone yard

are still given through the Tucson Air Museum, located just south of

Davis Monthan AFB.

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Both the museum and the bone yard are very popular attractions in

the Arizona desert. It is difficult to comprehend the number of military

aircraft in dead storage until you see these photographs!

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The 3rd largest Air Force in the world is sitting on the ground here.

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Gotta like the Tall Tail heavy's(B52D's)
I've 10yrs on the B-52G's.

When it Rains it Pours!!!!!!!!!!Carpet Bombing!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn't have too many tasks on the Tundra Darts(fighters) except going out to pick up pieces from pilot errors.
 
I went to see a Buddy of mine who lives in Tucson, he is a pilot and he took my in his little Cessna 150 over the boneyard, and you can't comprehend this until you see it.

Charlie
 
People like to think they could be brought back to service but that is just a fairy tail. Sad but so true..
 
Sure they can

Twenty years ago I and my boss picked up 15 Hughes 269 training helicopters from there. We made 6 flyable choppers out of them and flew them for years for the police department. Only police Department in Iowa with Helicopters.
Before the 269's we flew Hillers surplus from the Korean war, after the 269's we flew bell 206's surplus from the Vietnam War.
Russ
 
Saw a History Channel show about B-52's.
They have an active repair group there. Sole purpose. "Safely remove parts" for reuse on the Active Fleet.

One Friday night before Desert Shield, started. I was channel surfing. In San Diego, CA. The news cut in. At the local air museum. The Air Force was reclaiming their SR-71. Drove it up to March Air Force base. It fueled up and took off.
Years later on a History Channel Show of the Blackbird. There was the news channel footage.
 
B-52's

I worked on the tall tail B-52E's, and a couple of G's. Glad they haven't chopped all of them up. They have one of the Tall Tails parked at the Air Force Academy.
 
Probably better to do this than just junk 'em. I remember seeing pictures of rows and rows of B-24's that had had their backs broken by tractors on some island in the Pacific and left to rot. What a waste.
 
Boy I'll tell you what memories those pic's bring. I grew up just a few miles from where one hell of a lot of those 52's were based and there's no sound like the sound of them either pulling out or banking over for the final approach. Cold war stuff baby, cold war.
 
When I was in Phoenix for the 1997 WBC, a bunch of us drove down to Tombstone for a look. I seem to remember that there was a whole lot of what appears to be 747's painted white and parked out in the middle of nowhere just to other side of Tucson. I guess in that very dry desert heat, that not much is going to corrode or rust.
 
Hey, Dennis, that..........

precision parking was done by powerful tow-tractors, and wing walker-spotters:D. Yeah, they'll park all that junk out there, don't want to sell any, 'cause it'll send scrap prices down, can't have THAT;). As for the stuff left to rot or destroyed in "target practice" after WWII, well, we can't sell some to responsible adults who'd take care of it & maybe get some fun out of it...wait!! fun??...HELL, if they got time n' money fer FUN, then th' BAIL-OUT crisis ain't crisis'd enough!! CALL OUT THE FED'RAL RESERVE we gotta squeeze MORE money out of 'em!! Dammit, I want ALL them college funz & lil' nest eggs busted up n' scrambled n' served w' my Wheaties t'morra!! (see ol' greenjeans on his white charger w/six inches of nose blowin' over his shoulder:D:rolleyes::D.
 
I flew D's, G's and H's for 12 years in the Air Force. Wonder how many of those sitting there have my butt marks in the seat.
 
A money maker...

This is one of FEW departments in the government that turns a profit. Many small countries as well as some South American countries rely on this bone yard for parts and pay a good price for them.
 
A money maker...

This is one of FEW departments in the government that turns a profit. Many small countries as well as some South American countries rely on this bone yard for parts and pay a good price for them.

Now...a word of caution; when Iran develops its first nuclear weapon, don't sell them any used B52s.

virg
 
virg said:
This is one of FEW departments in the government that turns a profit. Many small countries as well as some South American countries rely on this bone yard for parts and pay a good price for them.

Now...a word of caution; when Iran develops its first nuclear weapon, don't sell them any used B52s.

virg
Click to expand...

Obama will :D!
 
wolds third largest airforce

From where I sit, the first full row of fighters are F 4"s, the second, (after studying the wing tips) appear to be F 15's ( probably the original "C" s.
Third would be the Tomcat-F 14's. one of only two aircraft capable of carrying the Aim 54 "Phoenix".
 
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