Davis Monthan

[howiehowie93]

Greetings,

I read on one UK Newspaper’s www about the $22Bn aircraft grave yard at Davis Monthan AB in Arizona.

I had a good look via Google Maps and saw an impressive though sad sight of all these retired and semi-retired war birds lots of B52, B1, Tomcats Galaxies and the like plus three WB57Fs


I was wondering if any other unusual or exotic aircraft stand out in the pictures?
Regards
H


A starting point to see is:

Google Maps (http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=davis+monthan+&hl=en&cd=1&ei=6L6ES5KLHJu7jAeRx4CGBw&ie=UTF8&view=map&cid=16920953070424346662&iwloc=A&ved=0CBYQpQY&sa=X)

[Vitesse]

Google street view has recorded this site.

It also has some user photos of the aircraft. One of them shows the letters "SS Randol" which could refer to the Essex class CV15 USS Randolph - decommissioned in 1969 and scrapped in the mid seventies.

Would these aircraft really have been sat there since that time? I can't find another Randolph...

[India Four Two]

According to BBC News, Google have just released new, higher resolution images of the Boneyard. I am unable to check Google Earth at work. :(

However, the BBC has some clever "mouse-over to zoom-in" pictures: BBC News - The Boneyard: world's 'biggest' plane cemetery up close (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8530165.stm)

[philbky]

The storage facility at Davis Monthan was set up to decommission aircraft no longer required for service.

Its role developed and it began to store new aircraft not immediately required operationally or older, still serviceable, airframes, currently not required but which would form a reserve of readily made serviceable aircraft (thus over the years the mix of new and old airframes)

Its initial role to store unwanted airframes has continued throughout the years. Airframes which could be sold for use elsewhere or broken for spares at a later date are joined by aircraft for immediate scrappage. At some point many of the still identifiable airframes are moved to the civilian scrapyards that have sprung up on the edge of the facility.

The desert air offers first class long term corrosion free storage. When suitably protected against sun, insects and reptiles, aircraft can and do survive at Davis Monthan for many years, sometimes decades.

There are plenty of references on the Net and a good number of publications which detail the history and operation of the base.

[Groundbeard]

What a fascinating set of photos - how sad to see all those great airframes mothballed. And all the dismembered B52s a legacy of the SALT agreements.

Anyway, is that a Canberra in one of the shots? Just south of Coolidge Street to the west of Safford street. What the heck is that doing there?

[Vitesse]

Sure looks like a Canberra, and parked next to it's grown up cousin?

If you track left west along Coolidge to the T junction, there is a strange delta shape between a 707(?) and a Phantom. I assume it's been chopped a bit, but what is it?

[treadigraph]

Vitesse from this oblique view (http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=pbvmm45rvq17&scene=9189366&lvl=2&sty=b&eo=1&where1=Tucson%2C%20AZ) from Bing, I'd say it's almost certainly one of the "Tagboard" Lockheed D-21 drones.

The Canberra is also a B-57.

Always wanted to go to Monthan during the heydays of the 70s - all those 50s types. If you look at the scrapyards around the perimeter there are still some interesting aircraft to be seen. And then there's the museum...

Cheers

Treadders

[Vitesse]

Thanks Treadigraph.

The Bing view is much better, isn't it? Having that angle makes all the difference.

D21 it is, and almost 50 years old, too. (according to wiki, that is.)

I think I could get lost in that scrapyard.

[howiehowie93]

Hello,

Thats a good spot Those Deones, I thought they would be hidden away.

Is that the "old" Air Force One its next to?

regards
H

[treadigraph]

There's a D-21 outside Lockheed's works at Palmdale along with an A-12 and SR-71 - saw them there in 1999, never heard of the D-21 before! Ben Rich's book "Skunk Works" is worth getting if you haven't already read it.

[India Four Two]

Treadigraph,

Thanks for the Bing link. Great photos and nice to learn of the D21, which I hadn't heard of before.

While browsing I came across this interesting P3 with what looks like a radar antenna (SAR?) in front of the fin.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/india42/P3radar1.png

Does anyone know anything about its history?

[Vitesse]

That's confusing, that P3 - If you rotate the image N, S, E and W, the tail changes shape! Just click on the compass letters.



I think it's a different aircraft in two of the views!

No idea about the tail though.

[philbky]

It is one of the NP-3 variants used as flying labs by the Navy

[JSlugman]

Sadly there are no more F-14 Tomcats at AMARG (save one being held for a museum) as the last ones were scrapped fall 2009. The empty field with the upside down "hi mom" message currently holds a large number of C-130s. Aircraft at the Pima Air & Space Museum are about 50% correct in placement, many were moved in order to facilitate a new hanger expansion project due to be completed late summer/fall 2010.

Would be happy to answer as many questions re: AMARG and Pima as I can. I live in the area and lead tours at the museum weekly.


Cheers,

James

[JPSantiago]

NP-3D Orion. Assigned to the Pacific Missile Test Range at NAS Point Mugu. From Globalsecurity.org:

Three of the five NP-3D aircraft have been retrofitted with the unique billboard phased array telemetry antenna systems. Each of these systems can track up to five independent, geographically separated, S-Band telemetry sources, (including Harpoon, SLAM, Standard and Tomahawk missiles), provide recorded data collection in the S-band, and can retransmit six L-band frequencies to ground stations for real-time analysis. Two of these airframes have advanced capabilities of tracking five independent targets (extended S-band) with dual polarity and a gain in excess of 30 dB.

[GeeRam]

Always wanted to go to Monthan during the heydays of the 70s - all those 50s types.

Have a look at this interesting site.......photo's taken from a guys visit there back in 1968.

Monthan Memories (http://www.dhc-2.com/Monthan_Memories.html)

[stepwilk]

I remember visiting Davis Monthan in the early '80s, doing an article for Pilot Magazine, and the tour bus I ended up aboard was entirely coincidentally filled with a couple dozen Brit reggie-spotters who'd apparently come over on some sort of enthusiast tour. You can't imagine the bedlam as all of them peered through their binocs and called out numbers in hysterical succession, to their wives desperately trying to keep up and copy them down.

An oddly English hobby. I don't think there's anything like it over here in the U.S.

[SpringHeeledJack]

I remember visiting Davis Monthan in the early '80s, doing an article for Pilot Magazine, and the tour bus I ended up aboard was entirely coincidentally filled with a couple dozen Brit reggie-spotters who'd apparently come over on some sort of enthusiast tour. You can't imagine the bedlam as all of them peered through their binocs and called out numbers in hysterical succession, to their wives desperately trying to keep up and copy them down.


That would make a brilliant scene for a film :} The sense of helplessness when faced with such a mass of aircraft must be overwhelming. Woe betide the wifey who got the serial numbers confused. I was there in the 80's and the sight of seemingly good airframes being guillotined in the name of a treaty brought a tear to my eye. Pima up the road is also pretty good, although much smaller.



SHJ

[Ridge Runner]

One of those NP-3s has just gone back in to service.

There will be boys ut there who remeber the 60's at MASDC (now AMARC) but I recall the 70's - fab! Voodoos, Super Sabres, Thuds, Darts and DAggers, plus all the old piston stuff! The scrap yards were even better!!!!

[treadigraph]

An oddly English hobby. I don't think there's anything like it over here in the U.S.

I think there are a few Americans who indulge, but whether to the same degree... The Dutch are quite keen as well. I can recall that article in Pilot, probably still have the mag in the loft somewhere.

Some very evocative shots on that site GeeRam, my 1/48th H-34 might go in that red scheme rather than the Marines scheme supplied by Revell!

Anyone remember the film "The Pursuit of D B Cooper", part of which was shot around DM? Followed by Art Scholl crazy flying in a Stearman Duster.

[paulc]

Had a tour round DM in 1992 - so many aircraft so little time. Luckily the tour bus had opening windows so some pics could be taken - these days it is an air conditioned coach with tinted windows. Enthusists would pay good money to be able to wander round but it will never happen.

[Ridge Runner]

And that's progress, eh? I remember the guides letting us wander around and warning about the rattlers! We had the Geoff Rhodes (104 god!) and the infamous Ben Knowles... one of the few yanks who saw the light!

An oddly English hobby. I don't think there's anything like it over here in the U.S.

The Americans are in the minority on this......... again ........

RR

[stepwilk]

Thank god!

[Ridge Runner]

But we Brits are way behind the curve... You should see the crazy Dutch and Belgians......

RR