[ARC5] More on the "No HF" Myth

Fri, 25 Jan 2002 16:11:57 -0700

Actually they were at Kingman up on Rt 66.  If you happen to go there stop in at
the old operations building where the cafe is located.  Its right next to the
existing original control tower.  Pictures and info about the base including the
rows and rows of B-17/B-24 left there right after the war.  Even late production
aircraft were flown there directly from the factory  because they were no longer
needed.  Thats also documented in different books.  I to have been there and
walked thru the fields where they were stored.  Maybe with a metal locater you
could find a few tidbits but nothing more except a field of memories.  Watch out
for the cattle though cause they may have a problem sharing their acerage with
you and they can be mean to try and wrestle with.  Aircraft were also flown to
Walnut Ridge in Arkansas for destruction and Pyote (Eagle Pass in Texas) for
limited time storage.  Kingman AAF now houses a lot of commercial airliners that
are parked for various reasons.  Same as Goodyear west of Phoenix and Marana
down by Tucson.  Lots of 747s, DC-10 's etc there.

The lady who runs the Kingman AAF cafe which is also part of the commercial
terminal is quite knowledgeable about what went on after the war..  I have an
original Base operations manual for Kingman which will one day be turned over to
some historic organization or the cafe owner for preservation.

To bad we missed out on all the stuff that was destroyed over the years.  I
remember coming thru Goodyear/Phoenix back in the mid 50's.  Goodyear airport
(which had been a NAF) had rows and rows of airplanes stacked on their noses
waiting to be chopped and smelted down.  24 hours a day that place worked
getting rid of aluminum.  I recall P-40s in particular.  I have always wondered
what happened to all the radio gear.  Doesn't seem to be any of it around in
that part of the valley so something was done with it.  While going thru the
different yards around Davis-Monthan, the older aircraft (some of them anyway)
still had the radios in them.  I rescued numerous ART-13/BC-348 setups before
the airplane got the big blade.  I have not taken any VHF gear out of
C-46/C-47/C-131/C-118 or other types of aircraft.  One C-46 that set there for
years had a complete command set and the BC-191/BC-348 setup still in place.
Owner refused to part with it.  Now the airplane is gone completely.  I have
removed ARC-3 stuff from C-119's though.  Thats not to say that it (VHF gear)
wasn't there before, it just wasn't there when i was and i saw nothing to
indicate anything had been installed.  None of the aircraft where i removed
command set stuff had anything other than HF and BC-453 receivers in them.  Even
today there are some aircraft to be found with the BC-453 still in the racks in
the cabin, disabled but neverthe less still there.  No VHF gear though.  In the
past 10-12 years i've been stalking radio stuff, the only types of aircraft
remaining to be stripped are multi engine types.  WWII fighter types
dissappeared years before.  I even missed out on the big C-124's.

Larry
W0OGH

Roy Morgan wrote:

> At 02:05 PM 1/25/02 -0500, Todd Bigelow - PS wrote:
> >I'm not sure where it is, but I have or have seen a picture of what I think
> >is the Arizona desert loaded with B-17s and B-24s waiting to be smelted.
>
> Todd,
>
> The place may be Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, near Phoenix AZ.  The
> purpose of aircraft being sent there, generally, is to store them for
> possible re-activation in the future.  The place is nearly ideal for
> storing things you do not want to degrade, rot, rust, or get damp.
>
> There are some SH-3A aircraft there that I flew while in the Navy in about
> 1967.  They are still there, I would guess.
>
> Of course there are likely other places that old aircraft sit in the dry
> hot sun.
>
> Roy
> - Roy Morgan, K1LKY since 1959 - Keep 'em Glowing!
> 7130 Panorama Drive, Derwood MD 20855
> Home: 301-330-8828 Work: Voice: 301-975-3254,  Fax: 301-948-6213
> [email protected] --
>
> _______________________________________________
> ARC5 mailing list
> [email protected]
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/arc5