70+ years of the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
Plenty of planes have gone through the Boneyard since it opened in the mid-1940s. Here are photos of some of them.
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D-M Air Force Base Boneyard history
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Boeing B-29 bombers of the 19th Bomb Wing arrive at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, during a ceremony marking their retirement from service in 1954 and subsequent storage at the Boneyard. Tucson Citizen file
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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"Bockscar," the Boeing B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, shown in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, in 1955. It was transferred to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in 1961.
The Boneyard at D-M AFB
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Propellers from doomed B-36 bombers in front of the giant planes at the Davis-Monthan storage yard in 1958. The planes were being scrapped. Each yielded 43,000 pounds of aluminum.
The Boneyard at D-M AFB
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The first two Navy aircraft to be transferred to the Boneyard at D-M from Litchfield Park near Phoenix for storage arrive Jan. 13, 1965. The planes, F9F Cougars, were the first of several hundred that were brought to Tucson as the Litchfield Navy storage facility was phased out. The 2704th Aircraft Storage and Disposition Group became the storage center for obsolete Navy, Marine and Coast Guard aircraft as well as Air Force planes. Photo by Art Grasberger / Tucson Citizen / Jan. 13, 1965
AMARG
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Crew stand in front of a Convair B-58 Hustler supersonic bomber slated to be removed from active service at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in 1969.
The Boneyard at D-M AFB
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A Royal Air Force Vulcan bomber waiting to be mothballed at Davis-Monthan AFB in 1970.
The Boneyard at D-M AFB
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The first Boeing 707, a prototype airplane designated the 367-80, was restored for flight by Boeing workers at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base after being "mothballed" in Tucson for 18 years. The plane as being flown to Moses Lake near Seattle before it found a home with the Smithsonian annex at Dulles International Airport. Photo by Bruce McClelland / Arizona Daily Star / 1990
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Neg~58820; Davis-Monthan Boneyard---Rows of B-52’s sit on the hard desert soil in Tucson, Arizona. The dry air and hard soil are the two main reasons the “Boneyard” is located here. The dryness preserves the airframes and the hard soil prevents the heavy planes from sinking into the ground. Arizona Daily Star file photo from 1991. Copyright 1996 The Arizona Daily Star Organization:Davis Monthan Air Force Base/Aircraft; Identity:Boneyard; PLS:Aircraft; AMARC
Davis-Monthan AFB history
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B-52 bombers in the "boneyard" or Aerospace Maintenance & Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan AFB in 1998. The B-52 at the right has been dismantled. David Sanders / Arizona Daily Star
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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A USAF EC-135 (Boeing 707), Looking Glass, sits on the runway at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base on Friday, Jan. 16, 1998, after it's last flight before being retired to the boneyard. (AP Photo/John Miller)
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Parked US Navy Hurricane planes sit idle in DMAFB's "boneyard" where hundreds of military planes are stored. Photo by David Sanders / The Arizona Daily Star / Nov. 23, 1998
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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A-7's sit at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center. The A-7 is an attack aircraft that was used in Vietnam. Xavier Gallegos / Tucson Citizen / 1999
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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This Navy LC-130F cargo plane was renamed Phoenix by the crew that last flew it after it was recovered then repaired at the AMARC section of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base on April 24, 2002. It crashed in 1971 and was buried in the snows of the Antarctic for 17 years. Photo by A.E. Araiza/Arizona Daily Star/2002
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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For the first time since1960, Don Angier of Tucson returns to the cockpit of this Navy LC-130F cargo plane on April 24, 2002, which he piloted along with others in his squadron from 1959-1960. The Davis-Monthan AMARC/boneyard repaired the plane after it crashed on December 4,1971,during a JATO take-off to return to McMurdo Sound. At an altitude of about 50 feet, two JATO bottles separated from the left-hand side of the fuselage and struck the inboard engine and propeller and was buried in the snows of the Antarctic for 17 years. Photo by A.E. Araiza.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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This Navy LC-130F cargo plane was recovered and repaired at the Davis-Monthan AMARC/boneyard after it crashed in 1971 and was buried in the snows of the Antarctic for 17 years on Wednesday, April 24, 2002. It was put back into service at the Point Mugu Naval Weapons Test Center. The plane was used in Operation Deep Freeze, a joint U.S. military operation that supported the National Science Foundation's activities in Antarctica. Photo by A.E. Araiza/Arizona Daily Star/2002
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Don Angier of Tucson looks one last time towards the flight deck of a Navy LC-130F cargo plane on April 24, 2002, which he piloted along with others in his squadron from 1959-1960. The Davis-Monthan AMARC/boneyard repaired the plane after it crashed in 1971 and was buried in the snows of the Antarctic for 17 years. Photo by A.E. Araiza/Arizona Daily Star
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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A shot of the bone-yard area at DM where the A-10 Warthogs were stored on June 6, 2003. Photo by Benjie Sanders/ Arizona Daily Star
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Terry Stafford, an aircraft mechanic who works for Lockheed and Martin, is working on a A-10 in the AMARC area of the airbase in a program called Hog Up, which does maintenance on these planes to try to keep them going. Photo by Benjie Sanders / Arizona Daily Star June 6, 2003
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Petronilo Alvarado, an AMARC aircraft mechanic, is working on a A-10 in the AMARC area of the airbase in a program called Hog Up, which does maintenance on these planes to try to keep them going. Photo by Benjie Sanders / Arizona Daily Star/ June 6, 2003
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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A Tennessee Air Guard C-141B is a good buy according to those that flew her last flight to AMARC. The preservation team checks on each of the aircraft every 120 days in the level 1000 storage area, the highest maintained area, where planes can be ready in a matter of days if need be. Photo by David Sanders/Arizona Daily Star / Nov. 2, 2004
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Sal West uses black plastic tape to seal the cockpit windows of a Navy P-3 at (AMARC), before they get sprayed with spraylat. Sal says of AMARC's ability to ready these planes for flight, "Although some of these look like they are sitting here dead, in a couple of days they are ready to roll." Photo by David Sanders / Arizona Daily Star / 2004
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Navy P-3 (A and C models) sit in storage at AMARC, also known as the "boneyard." Tucson's low rainfall, low humidity, and alkaline soil make it an ideal storage area for over 4,400 aircraft from the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Photo by David Sanders/Arizona Daily Star / Nov. 2, 2004
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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05/20/2004. S7; EAST SIDE TODAY; F-16 Fighting Falcons (above and top) are among the more than 4,300 aircraft at AMARC. A row of F-16 Fighting Falcons sit Thursday afternoon at the Airspace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC). The 2,600-acre facility, adjacent to the David-Monthan Air Force Base, currently is home to more than 4,300 aircraft. The acquisiton cost of those aircraft is about $31 billion, which is the cost of the aircraft when they were built. 05/20/2004. S7; EAST SIDE TODAY; A group of F-16 Fighting Falcons sit Thursday afternoon at the Airspace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC). The 2,600-acre facility, adjacent to the David-Monthan Air Force Base, currently is home to more than 4,300 aircraft. The acquisiton cost of those aircraft is about $31 billion, which is the cost of the aircraft when they were built. 05/20/2004. S9; EAST SIDE TODAY; Aircraft mechanic Mark Gonterman works on the wings from an A-10 Thunderbolt II at AMARC's reclamation shelter. Aircraft mechanic Mark Gonterman (CQed) works on the wings from an A-10 Thunderbolt II (also known as the Warthog) Thursday afternoon while at the reclamation shelter at the Airspace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC). The 2,600-acre facility, adjacent to the David-Monthan Air Force Base, currently is home to more than 4,300 aircraft. The acquisiton cost of those aircraft is about $31 billion, which is the cost of the aircraft when they were built.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Retired airplanes at AMARC. This image was taken April 25, 2005, from Google's satellite image feature at maps.google.com. Image courtesy of Google Maps.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Titan missiles at AMARC await the shredder. Titan Missile Museum archives. Photo by Chuck Penson, courtesy of Arizona Aerospace Foundation 2006.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Photographer Pam Reed photographs retired pilot and former POW Bob Barnett (BOB BARNETT) at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC, aka the Boneyard), next to a T-33 trainer jet, one of the many kinds of planes Barnett flew during his service. Photo by Chris Richards, Arizona Daily Star/March 14/ 2007
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Contractors continue work on the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Group's newest aircraft maintenance hangar on Monday, Oct. 28, 2013, on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. The hangar, expected to be completed by February of next year, will be wide enough to house two C-130 aircraft, and tall enough to accommodate the airframe of a KC-135. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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A KC-135 aircraft sits outside the Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Group's aircraft maintenance hangar on Oct. 28, 2013, as the hanger is being built at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The hangar is wide enough to house two C-130 aircraft, and tall enough to accommodate the airframe of a KC-135. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Steve Dennett, left, and Fred Vega with the 577th CRMS or Commodities and Reclamation Squadron have a crane lift the tail section of the last B-52G Stratofortress under the New START Treaty is disassembled at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. A surgical cut to the fuselage of aircraft 58-0224 separated the tail section from the rest of the plane which satisfies the requirements of the treaty for the elimination of heavy bombers. The demolition is the last of 39 B-52G's destroyed in order to be in compliance with the New START Treaty. Confirmation of its destruction will be checked by satellite. During the aircraft's lifetime it flew numerous missions over North Vietnam in December 1972 in support of Operation Linebacker II. Specifically, the bomber flew missions that targeted the Hanoi and later the Yen Vien (YEN VIEN) railroad yards. After many years of service the ship was retired to the 309th AMARG, otherwise known as the boneyard at DM in February 1990. The photo was taken on Thursday, December 19, 2013 in Tucson, Ariz. Photo by A.E. Araiza/ Arizona Daily Star
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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This is the last B-52G Stratofortress, number 58-0224, under the New START Treaty that was disassembled at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. A surgical cut to the fuselage of aircraft 58-0224 separated the tail section from the rest of the plane which satisfies the requirements of the treaty for the elimination of heavy bombers. The demolition is the last of 39 B-52G's destroyed in order to be in compliance with the New START Treaty. During the aircraft's lifetime it flew numerous missions over North Vietnam in December 1972 in support of Operation Linebacker II. Specifically, the bomber flew missions that targeted the Hanoi and later the Yen Vien railroad yards. After many years of service the ship was retired to the 309th AMARG, otherwise known as the boneyard at DM in February 1990. Photo by A.E. Araiza/ Arizona Daily Star / Dec. 19, 2013
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Two runners hustle across a field for the start of the first Desert Boneyard 5K Fun Run/Walk on April 27, 2013, at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group's aircraft storage facility on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The 309th AMARG provides depot-level maintenance, aircraft regeneration, storage and preservation, aircraft parts reclamation and disposal in support of the U.S. Department of Defense, allied war-fighters and other government agencies. Photo by Mike Christy / Arizona Daily Star
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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A converted F-16 is being evaluated by John Lathrop after it flew the day before at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The QF-16 program, taking place at the Air Force's 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, is tasked with taking part in converting the F-16 into a full-scale aerial target or drone. AMARG maintains and refits military aircraft and is also a storage facility. Photo by A.E. Araiza/ Arizona Daily Star/ April 3, 2014
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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A-10 Warthogs are lined up at the Air Force's 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, or AMARG, which maintains and refits military aircraft and is also a storage facility. The region's low humidity, hard soil and low rainfall, which reduces rust and corrosion, makes the location ideal. Photo by A.E. Araiza/ Arizona Daily Star / April 3, 2014
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Rodney Vakoc, left, and Rick Lee, with the 577th CRMS or Commodities and Reclamation Squadron pull on the tail section separating it from the last B-52G Stratofortress under the New START Treaty as it was disassembled at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by A.E. Araiza / Arizona Daily Star / Dec. 19, 2013
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Retired B-52 pilot, Gen. Earl O'Loughlin, left, trades stories with AMARG commander Col. Robert S. Lepper after the last B-52G Stratofortress under the New START Treaty is disassembled at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. O'Loughlin, among many assignments during his career with the air force, served as a B-52 aircraft commander and instructor pilot with the 379th Bombardment Wing at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Mich. A surgical cut to the fuselage of aircraft 58-0224 separated the tail section from the rest of the plane which satisfies the requirements of the treaty for the elimination of heavy bombers. The demolition is the last of 39 B-52G's destroyed in order to be in compliance with the New START Treaty. Photo by A.E. Araiza/ Arizona Daily Star/ Dec. 19, 2013
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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16 boneyard dsp11--There are many aspects in addition to the preservation team at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARC), like Joe Kelly (cq-Joe Kelly) who has worked for 22 years at the sheet metal shop and is currently preparing an F-4 backseat canopy for use, using a micro mesh sandpaper to rough out a nick. The 2,600 acre plot on the DMAFB is home to over 4,400 military aircraft. Photo by David Sanders/Arizona Daily Star. Mandatory credit: no mags, no sales. #119057.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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An AMARG aircraft electrician works in the cockpit of an F-16 being retrofitted as a target drone at the The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) hanger at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Electricians Demetrius Moore, lower right, and William McNew install a new oxygen unit in an A-10 at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Tony Hernandez, an employee of Affordable Engineering Service tapes off unneeded connectors on an F-16 at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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An A-10 sits in a stall at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base . It is part of the SLEP (Service Life Extension Program) extending service life of the planes to 2028. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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B-52 bombers at AMARC. At right and left are intact bombers. In the center are bombers that have been dismantled. This image is taken from Google's new satellite image feature at maps.google.com. Image courtesy of Google Maps.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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An Alenia C-27J Spartan aircraft in the cover of shade at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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A Radar array sits inside the nosecone of an F-16 being retrofitted as a target drone at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star.
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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An A-10 flies over the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) storage facility above a retired A-10 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star/ April 25, 2015
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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AMARG's Aircraft work leader Steve Herman, left, and Matt Vandervort of Affordable Engineering Service work together to change a nose shock strut on the landing gear of an F-16 being renovated at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star / April 25, 2015
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Electricians Demetrius Moore, lower left, and William McNew exchange parts during installation of a new oxygen unit in an A-10 at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) at Davis-Monthan. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star / 2015
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Workers beneath an F-16, retrofitting it as a target drone at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star/ April 25, 2015
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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F-16s are being retrofitted as target drones at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) hanger at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star / April 25, 2015
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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An A-10 sits in storage with The Catalina Mountains in the background at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) storage facility at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star / March 20, 2015
Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base
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Noses of retired A-10s at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Photo by Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star / 2015.
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