He kept 11 of the aircraft for his own use, and the remaining 464 were cut up and shipped to St. Louis, Missouri, where they were melted. The base was revamped and new runways were built to accommodate the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress of the Strategic Air Command. About 1,300 aircraft were stored, sold or scrapped at this airport west of Wichita Falls, Texas. A study was conducted to determine the most cost effective way to dispose of planes; it was determined that too many man-hours were required to dismantle planes for parts, and the cost for storage areas for the parts was too high. In early 1945, the Air Technical Service Command (ATSC) began to research locations suitable for storage of excess military aircraft. Planes were stored at several locations across the country, including, ... about long-term storage facilities for military planes after WWII, Aluminum ingots - Others planes were transferred to civilian control, or to the Air Forces of allied countries. In November 1945, it was estimated a total of 117,210 aircraft would be transferred as surplus. Clinton Naval Air Station was located 15 miles southwest of Clinton, and 120 miles west of Oklahoma CIty. ... about Kingman Army Airfield and Kingman Airport, with photos. The Pima Air & Space Museum offers exclusive bus tours of the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center (AMARG), also known as the "Boneyard." ARIZONA BONEYARDS  |  CALIFORNIA BONEYARDS  |  BONEYARDS IN EUROPE The largest aircraft in the boneyard, the giant C-5, also requires seven … Air field near coastlines subjected aircraft to mold, corrosion and rust. It has become a major source of economic and recreational opportunity for the county of San Bernardino, which maintains the airfield. The boneyard seems to be a massive collection, hidden in plain view. Within a year of the signing of peace treaties, about 34,000 airplanes had been moved to 30 locations within the U.S. at the privately owned yards you can buy complete, or as complete as possible, from the yards… There is a high fence and a runway between the Boneyard and the Museum and the public are not allowed to cross them for safety reasons. Locations in the north were subject to snow storms and other inclement weather. In subsequent months, brand new aircraft directly from assembly lines were disposed of at Kingman. Military aircraft are only sold as scrap - you can by one, but they take a giant blade mounted on a crane and chop it into sections first. The Cal-Aero Academy was closed on October 16, 1944, after training 10,365 fighter and bomber pilots for the war effort. Oxnard later became part of Kirtland Air Force Base, the Air Force's main facility for integrating new weapons designs produced by Sandia Laboratory with operational USAF aircraft and equipment. The base was closed in 1969. While some were sold to individuals or companies, most were dismantled, melted in one of the two furnaces on site, and sold as scrap to the Sherman Machine and Iron Works of Oklahoma City. After the war, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) established a sales depot at the inactive Cal-Aero Field, although it was referred to by the RFC as "Ontario". Most, however, were returned home for storage, sale or scrapping. In 1953 the airport was reopened as Altus Air Force Base, which remains an active facility today. As many as 250 airplanes arrived each day. The aircraft were to be sold or demolished at the site, and most were in fact recycled by the Compressed Steel Corporation. The RFC quickly established Sales Depot No. Read Next: Watch: More From 'The Boneyard' an Aerial View Davis-Monthan AFB. Dismantling an aircraft can take around eight weeks for a narrow-bodied passenger jet like an Airbus A320, but for bigger planes like a Boeing 747 or 777 it can take 10 to 15 weeks. Between 1942 and 1945, the U.S. Army Air Forces acquired approximately 4,145 acres in Mohave County and established the Kingman Army Airfield. Certain helicopters have to be completely cocooned, which can eat up a full week. Active duty military personnel typically flew the aircraft into Kingman, and civilian employees would handle parking and classification. BONEYARD STORAGE, PARTS RECLAMATION & SCRAPPING OPERATIONS Pictured, Northwest planes at the aircraft boneyard in Tucson Arizona. The field received over 1,500 old aircraft onto its unpaved runways, such as obsolete B-24 Liberator and B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, as well as P-38 and P-51 fighters and other aircraft. The contractor was the Wunderlich Contracting Company of Jefferson City, Missouri, who received an 18-month contract from the federal government for $2.78 million to reduce 5,400 aircraft to aluminum ingots. It was one of the Army Air Corps largest airfields, training 35,000 individuals. While extremely cost prohibitive, buying your one warplane is legal as the planes are demilitarized. After World War II was over, the facility was closed in June of 1946. While most of the aircraft stored long-term are painted white to reflect the hot desert sun, this one saw new life as an artist’s canvas. There are some places where you can actually see a part of the boneyard, rows upon rows, of plastic encapsulated planes. End of Life Military Planes to Be Auctioned As Scrap Metal by Government Liquidation. It is recommended that you purchase your tickets when the museum opens at 9:00 AM. By May of 1948, the inventory of aircraft was decimated, and the facility was turned over to the City of Altus for use as a municipal airport. After the students perfected their skills with these planes, they transferred to units that prepared them to fly the type of aircraft they would use in combat over Europe and in the Pacific theater during World War II. Walnut Army Air Field, located in northeast Arkansas, was activated on August 15, 1942, with the arrival of the initial contingent of key military personnel. In March 1945, Kirtland Field was converted into a B-29 Superfortress base. The inventory included B-24 Liberators, B-17 Flying Fortresses, P-40 Warhawks, Navy PB4Y-1 and other aircraft types. In February of 1946 the inventory of 475 surplus aircraft at Searcy was purchased by Paul Mantz, a recognized aviation expert, at a cost of about $117 each. It served as a boneyard for over 8,000 US Navy aircraft. It has evolved into \"the largest aircraft boneyard in the world\".With the area's low humidity in the 10%-20% range, meager rainfall of 11\" annually, hard alkaline soil, and high altitude of 2,550 feet allowing the aircraft to be naturally preserved for cannibalization or possible reuse, Davis-Monthan is the logical choice for a major storage facility. Within a year of the signing of peace treaties, about 34,000 airplanes had been moved to 30 locations within the U.S. Nearly 1,900 aircraft would be transferred to Cal-Aero, of which about 500 were sold and the rest dismantled. For the second time in its 10-year history auctioning surplus and scrap property for the Department of Defense, Government Liquidation will be selling a record-amount of scrap metal made up of decommissioned military aircraft including F-111 Aardvarks, C-5 Galaxies, F-15 Eagles, C-130 Hercules, S-3 Vikings and A-4 Skyhawks. POST-WWII BONEYARDS  |  MAP  |  LIST  |  TOURS  |  NEWS SITE MAP  |  TERMS OF USE  |  PRIVACY POLICY  |  CONTACT Every part of every aircraft they can save and pull back out later is one less part that needs to be bought or built somewhere else. Old US Military Aircraft at ‘Boneyard’ to Be Sold. Training activities were completed by April of 1945, and the field was placed on standby. It will be the first large-scale aircraft boneyard outside the United States. Cal-Aero Academy was a civilian aviation school, established before World War II, and later contracted by the AAF to train pilots. you can buy aircraft from the DM boneyard at military auctions when they come up. Among the Kingman inventory were B-17, B-24, B-25, B-26, Consolidated B-32, P-38, P-63 and A-20 aircraft. End of Life Military Planes to Be Auctioned As Scrap Metal by Government Liquidation. It also has seen use in many nonsked airlines and cargo operations. You’re probably not going to buy this aircraft for yourself. However, once peace was assured, the military found itself with a huge surplus of aircraft. Beginning in the early 1970s, the airport became the center of the warbird restoration movement in Southern California. Yes you can. If you have some time to spare, check out this video from Arizona Public Media that gives a nice, detailed overview of the Boneyard. After the war, the airfield was one of several used by the military to store huge number of surplus aircraft. Probably not, and if you do, probably only as scrap. The B-17F "Memphis Belle" was honored in 1943 as the first B-17 heavy bomber to complete the then-mandatory 25 missions. The world’s Air Forces in 2019 began to try and get a firm grasp on space, while contracts were handed to make missiles faster and of course the F-35 continued to make headlines. Also, large quantities of Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters were stored there awaiting the smelter; many of these were stored vertically to save space. Another wave of aircraft arrived at the boneyards in the late 1960s and early 1970s as the classic prop airliners were sent out to pasture in favor of the early jet passenger planes. Stillwater Municipal Airport was built in 1939, and improved in 1943 with the additional of three 5,000 foot concrete runways. The flight was carried out by a Tu-214ON observation plane packed with airborne surveillance tools, panoramic and topographic cameras, airborne radar, and other equipment. Designed for 5,114 military personnel, and 976 civilians, the Air Field had three 5,000-foot runways, a huge apron covering over 63 acres, four large hangars, base engineering building, and fully equipped 203 bed hospital. It is estimated that about 5,500 airplanes were flown to Kingman in 1945 and 1946 for sale and disposal. Yes, you could probably by the older jets especially since some probably already have their weapon systems removed. With an average of over 300 days of weather conducive to flying each year, a generally flat landscape and few obstructions, the base was well situated for young airmen to hone their flying skills. The War Assets Administration (WAA) and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)handled the disposal of these aircraft. Starting Wednesday, March 21, 2012, Government Liquidation will be accepting bids on these end-of-life planes through its online marketplace. It was established in 1942 as a training station for naval aviators. Photo: Alamy Demand for the 747, which has been tweaked and upgraded many times since its first flight in 1969, has dried up. Copyright © 2020 AirplaneBoneyards.com  All Rights Reserved. By the summer of 1945, at least 30 sales-storage depots and 23 sales centers were in operation. An online resource about facilities engaged in the storage, reclamation & disassembly of aircraft ... we do not own or operate a boneyard, The newer military aircraft you see in aviation museums are still owned by the military, they are considered to be on loan to the museum. "By bringing the sale of retired military aircraft to our online auction marketplace, scrap buyers around the world have a unique opportunity to find and bid on top grade aerospace metals." In 1935 it was suggested that the city build a new public airport, and ground was broken in 1937. Other post-WWII Naval storage and reclamation facilities were located at NAS Litchfield Park near Phoenix, and NAS Norfolk in Virginia. Most of the B-17s sent to Altus for storage were new "G" models right off the assembly line, which created a strong market to private sector buyers. At the world’s largest-known boneyard, 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) outside Tuscon, Arizona, you would be able to see “just about every kind of airplane that the military has flown since WWII,” says John Weeks, an avid field researcher into aircraft boneyards. Over 19 million items in 500 different product categories are sold per year via its online auction. The RFC established depots around the country to store and sell surplus aircraft. Chino Airport (CNO) is classified as a general aviation reliever airport, due to its close proximity to Ontario International Airport. The base provided advanced flying training and transition training in combat-ready aircraft, primarily the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-24 Liberator. Currently over 4,200 planes are housed there and available for use, as functional aircraft, parts or equipment by U.S. military units throughout the world. The aircraft was subsequently saved and restored. • Canadian Air Force accepts first new SAR plane despite issue with manuals, • Air Force Technology’s 2019 year in review, • Robinson R66 Turbine Surpasses 1 Million Flight Hours, • Sikorsky Receives Contract To Build Presidential Helicopters, • Sikorsky Receives Contract To Build 12 CH-53K for USMC, • US Spy Plane Spotted Snooping Near Russian Maritime Border in Black Sea, • Russian Spy Plane Flies Over Nuclear Bases in US Southwest, Radar Data Shows. The Canadian military has accepted the first of 16 new search-and-rescue (SAR) planes despite outstanding issues with the aircraft’s manuals. By 1944 the U.S. Foreign Economic Administration began a program to scrap certain obsolete, damaged and surplus military aircraft overseas. Three furnaces were operated at Kingman for melting the airplane components. About 2,500 aircraft were stored, sold or scrapped there after WWII, including B-17, B-24, B-25, P-38, P-40, P-51 and P-47 aircraft. Many C-46 Commandos were sent to Cal-Aero Field (see photo to the right) for storage, sale and disposal. Seats are available on a "first come first serve" basis. A … Litchfield Park remained on active status until 1965 when its operations were transferred to Davis-Monthan AFB. In later years the C-46 went back to war, serving in both the Korea and Vietnam conflicts for various U.S. Air Force operations, including resupply missions, paratroop drops, and clandestine agent transportation. By 1947 the WAA had disposed of about 65,000 aircraft. You could probably by just about any civilian aircraft that is sitting in a boneyard but for military aircraft? Wednesday's flight was the third time a US recon aircraft was spotted near Russia's southern borders in less than 24 hours. Davis-Monthan AFB's role in the storage of military aircraft began after World War II, and continues today. 41 at Kingman, and by October of 1945 planes were being flown in, parked, and processed. If you are a famous jet, you might even get placed on “Celebrity Row” for touring groups to view. End of Life Military Planes to Be Auctioned As Scrap Metal by Government Liquidation. Government Liquidation operates an innovative and powerful online sales channel that enables surplus and scrap buyers to purchase available government assets in a convenient and open environment in over 500 commodity categories. MOJAVE   |  KINGMAN  |  PHOENIX GOODYEAR   |  SCLA VICTORVILLE  |  ROSWELL  |  PINAL Aluminum was the prime metal sought after, melted and poured into ingots for sale and shipping. If you think you might like to own a Soviet Era jet fighter, you can purchase your own military aircraft for sale in the shape of a MiG 29 for around $5 million. An aircraft boneyard or aircraft graveyard is a storage area for aircraft that are retired from service. 12 CH-53K Heavy Lift Helicopters to be built at Connecticut plant with deliveries beginning in 2022. As you drive through this part of Tucson, you can occasionally glimpse the tails of aircraft poking up above the earthen berm that lines the road. From Kirtland Field, Manhattan Project scientists were flown back and forth to Wendover Army Air Base and Los Alamos. Following the war, estimates of the number of excess surplus airplanes ran as high as 150,000.  Consideration was given to storing a substantial number of airplanes, but the realization that the expense to store them was too great ... many needed to be sold or scrapped. People like to call it a graveyard or a boneyard but it's not – these aircraft are in active maintenance," he said. After the war, Searcy Field was transferred to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and used to store nearly 500 aircraft. The name of the facility was changed to Kirtland Army Air Field in February of 1942. Several of the types of planes in the Boneyard are in the Museum, so you can see them up close. Aircraft Boneyard Keeps Planes for Parts or Possible Reuse What amounts to a huge dirt parking lot with hundreds of workers is where thousands of U.S. military aircraft go to die. The War Assets Administration (WAA) and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) handled the disposal of these aircraft. However, the purchase price doesn't include the … Robinson Helicopter Company announced the R66 Turbine fleet surpassed 1,000,000 flight hours. With the end of World War II, Oxnard Field began receiving surplus military bombers and fighters. Eventually, workable storage locations were identified. Altus Army Air Field in Oklahoma was activated in early 1943, and served as an Advanced Flying School until April of 1945. Airliner Boneyards and Storage Facilities Commercial airliners have limited lifespans. Some planes, past their usefulness for the Air Force, are sold to US allies, further offsetting the cost of the facility. Albuquerque in the 1930s was served by two private airports, West Mesa Airport and Oxnard Field. An AMARG is a boneyard facility for all excess military and government aircraft. In 1949 the base was transferred to the City of Clinton, only to be reclaimed by the Defense Department in 1954 for the establishment of Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base. The primary training aircraft were the Boeing-Stearman Kaydet T-17 and the North American T-9. When a plane arrives, the jet engines are one of the first pieces to be removed and can sell for more than $2 million. It is also the home of two excellent aircraft museums, the Planes of Fame Air Museum and the Yanks Air Museum. The agricultural area around the airfield was an excellent storage location for surplus military aircraft. Sales of surplus equipment are frequently carried out but purchases can only be made if you are a company or individual who possess a licence to do so. The facility is located adjacent to the Museum at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. In November 194… VH-92A helicopters to be built at Connecticut and New York plants; Deliveries begin in 2021.