B-52 brought back from the Boneyard

And every year the levels are reviewed as mission criticality/funding levels change, those that drop on the list are, sold, or broken up for parts and some for flying target drones..

 

There's a road that runs right through the middle of the bone yard in Tucson (I went to UofA). You can see the different levels of mothballed pretty clearly. It's really neat.


Mark

 

Found it: https://goo.gl/maps/XlMLz

Streetview shows which roads publicly accessible too.. although the only road that runs through the middle of it has embankments either side so you couldn't see when close from that road.. but you can get glimpses around the other edges.. best view is from space though!

 

Those B-52Hs are pretty easy to bring back. IAW START rules, all the B-52Gs and B-52Ds were guillotined and converted to beer cans.

 

I have a friend who used to fly planes from the Boneyard to Tinker AFB (mostly KC-135s). The plane is made operational enough to fly, and pretty much declares an in-flight emergency for the entire flight. Said he had some scarey flights, lots of warning lights, and a huge pucker factor until they landed.

 

Are H's iron bomb only?


50yrs old. Sheesh. I guess we got our money's worth. I wonder how many AF pilots with current status have an older birth cert?

Is the Navy even operating any ships that old?

 

I also went to U of A. I was a volunteer tour-guide for AMARC in the mid 1980's. At the time, they were just getting the F-4C and the last of the Six's. The Deuces were all gone. The A-7B's and F-4N's were retired by the Navy. I gave the once a month all day long tour for the 'hardcore' enthusiasts.

This was the only tour where people could walk amongst the airplanes. The British were always the last people to return to the bus . Some from the U.K., while talking into a tape recorder, will document as many tail numbers as possible. In the summer it was hot. Nobody asked to return to the front gate.

 

According to this URL
USS Denver, second-oldest active Navy ship, to be decommissioned this year | FOX31 Denver

"The Austin-class USS Denver, the third ship to bear that name, had its keel laid in Seattle in 1964, according to Stars and Stripes. Only the wood-hulled USS Constitution, launched in 1797, is older among active ships."

So, yes, if you count Old Ironsides; no, if you don't…T

 

In my old guard unit the newest tanker was built in 63! With the oldest in 57. During the KC-135 production run the Air Force bought over 80 tankers per year.

 

Brian- No, the Hs are dual capable and still covered under START. Remember the one that carried nuclear ALCMs to Barksdale and nobody knew it? Now being converted for all the latest PGMs using the 1760 bus, but still ALCM capable. The B-1Bs are all conventional now. B-2 is dual capable and only penetrating nuke bomber. Replacement for all three due in the mid-20s, but we shall see.

 

A true Stratofortress indeed !

It is a good thing they waited the oil price down from $147 per bbl to $53 before they start those 8 engines

 

I believe although not entirely sure but the company I work for just did a set of rim or wheels for b52. I wonder if it was for this plane?

 

It's one of the coolest places in the world. We recently did some work at the Pima Air and Space museum nearby and the amount and types of aircraft flying over us was amazing! We did get to see one B-52 fly over us.

 

In looking at the aerial pictures of the boneyard, there are quite a few B-52's.

It's hard to look at the next rows of B-52's with the wings and tails chopped off, though.

 

They are still at work....
"AFP reports the US Air Force has started using B-52 bombers against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, but the aircraft are “only conducting precision strikes,” Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said Wednesday. He said the aircraft was used Monday to destroy an ISIL weapons storage facility in the Iraqi town of Qayyarah. The Washington Times meanwhile, cites a new Pentagon report that says the fight against ISIL is costing the US “nearly $12 million a day.”

 

now bring back the ''F14 TOMCATS''

 

We chopped up the F-14s so the Iranians could not get ahold of the parts. Same for the F-111s because they both used versions of the TF-30.

 

That's sad. The Tomcat is one of my all-time favourites. A beautiful plane which seemed to have extraordinary ability. Per the B-52, I was in Miami a few years back on vacation and a B-52 flew over the beach heading west, couldn't have been higher than 1000 feet. There was a air display at Fort Lauderdale. It was a jaw-dropping moment I'll never forget. Primeval.

 

Cool stuff!