B-29 Boneyard Photography at China Lake

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2017-07-10に共有

Photographs taken on a sunny winter day in January 1978 capture a boneyard of B-29s at the U.S. Navy's China Lake weapons test facility in California's Mojave Desert. Dozens of B-29s made one-way flights to China Lake in the 1950s, where they became ground targets to test new aerial weapons. The survivors in this boneyard and on the ranges yielded the flyable B-29 "Fifi", of the Commemorative Air Force (then Confederate Air Force) as well as the B-29 "Doc", now flying out of Wichita, Kansas after many years of restoration. At least two other B-29s flew out of China Lake; one became the museum piece at the March Field Air Museum in Riverside, Calif. and another flew across the Atlantic to Duxford, England, for display. The March Field B-29 was already gone when these photos were taken; the future Duxford Superfortress can be seen as the black-bellied B-29 with remnants of the Square-Y tail logo. Other aircraft in the boneyard collection at China Lake in these 1978 photos include a Republic RF-84F (53-7524) that later went to the Oakland Aviation Museum in California's bay area. The B-47E Stratojet in the pictures (53-2275) was later restored and displayed at the March Field Museum. Wild burros roam the vast China Lake ranges, as seen in one photo. An older red F6F Hellcat flying drone that was shot down over China Lake yielded the jagged tail seen here. In the decades since these photos were taken, these aircraft and components have been removed for a variety of purposes. But with these photos, we can take an evocative walk through an aircraft boneyard of years gone by.

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コメント (21)

@airailimages 3年前

Scrounging a World War II boneyard in North Africa to modify B-26 Marauders with additional armor plate: https://youtu.be/b9ouI8MOPac
@johnlloyd7096 3年前

This was my last duty station, 1971-72. I've crawled around, under, and through most of these old '29's. The Confederate (now Commemorative) Air Force acquired their B-29 (Fifi) while I was there. I stood on top of the hangar and watched her the morning they flew her out. What a sight !
@cherriholden6248 6年前

I was there in February 1976 . The pics are the same. Cold day I remember .Spent most of the day looking and admire such perfect built aircraft, highlight of my youth that I will all ways be with me for ever. I spent so long there that I stayed the night .Got my sleeping bag and slept the night in the one mostly complete b-29. The noses scared the heck of me that night . Love them b-29s forever!!
@K1W1fly 6年前

When "Doc" was being recovered, some ex Air Force guy reckoned that the main reason that the ex-target aircraft survived was because it was a Navy Range...
@rustylupton4562 6年前

Sooo sad to see these once majestic aircraft rusting away in the desert.I wish I could rescue every one of them. :-(
@markleblanc3447 4年前

I am now 59 years old and since I was a very young boy I have been fascinated by this Aircraft, I don’t know why. To me it just Exudes Power. I think it’s the most beautiful Bomber we ever Built.
@keithlane4343 2年前

I'm so glad someone had the presents of mind to capture these images on film, if not save these aviation heros that saved our country during times of mad men. Our deserts are so remote, and vast, that all the planes from WW II that could fly to these desert "bone yards" should have been moth balled and parked for future generations to learn from, and as a tribute to all our young service men (and women that died transporting planes to where they were needed), and all the skilled craftsmen and women that built these flying works of art that protected our country I read an article years ago that said it cost more to drain lube oil, hydraulic oil, gear oil, etc., and disassemble dissimilar metals and materials and chop up and crush the aluminum into manageable configurations for melting into usable billets, than the raw aluminum material was worth monetarily. In typical political non-sense, we lost all these historic aircraft for nothing. If they were smart, they would have used these war torn airframes to teach future generations how to build and repair airplanes. While the mechanical and propulsion systems have no resemblance to modern aircraft, the knowledge of how to build an air worthy structure and shaping, stretching, and bending of aluminum is still very much in demand today. Take care all
@williamc.1198 6年前

When I was a kid growing up on Randolph A.F.B. Texas there was a derelict B-50 I used to sneak into and explore! There was a ladder and hatch in the nose wheel well that opened into the flight deck. The B-29s and B-50s were cool acft!
@franksteinert3979 2ヶ月前

Thanks for the historical images… they evoke wonder for the things that were experienced by all who were involved with these aircraft; from engineering to final disposition.
@geologyjohn1 5年前

I spent almost every day of 1977 out on the northern half of China Lake doing geophysical research for the US Geological Survey. I only encountered one (1) B-29, and that was "Doc". I crawled through it. I regularly encountered all types of old military vehicles parked out there. Mostly tracked vehicles and occasionally jet aircraft. Lots of pieces of old warbirds and plenty of shrapnel that let you know what happened to them. I was a kid in a candy store.
@JackFlemingFan1 6年前

Damn shame all those B-29's couldn't have been saved instead of just a few of them...................
@RCsportflyer22 6年前

The B-47 at Castle AFB Museum was pulled from there and flown home in 1986 from this same place. It was the last flight of a B-47
@PontiacBanker 3年前

I am the proud Grandson of a B-29 Bombardier/Navigator from the 873rd BS, 498th BW, 73rd BG, 20th AF. Glad I got to join my Grandfather onboard Fifi back in the early ‘90s (on the ground). It was his first time onboard a B-29 since summer 1945. I have a great picture of him sitting in his old seat behind that Norden Bombsight. I also joined him for an Air Corps Reunion in 2002, and am so glad i got to meet so many of the great men who flew these planes before they passed away.
@Rozpadlina 6年前

I heve strange feeling watching thoose photos..... its so sad....i was born in 1978.... Werry Good PHOTOS!!!!
@3rdgr2t11 6年前

This video almost made me cry knowing there all gone
@stepvanjoe3469 4年前

Every time I watch a video about these sites I feel like these planes have a spirit and it's a shame and kinda sad they are/were there to die a slow painful death.
@ccthepope 6年前

Oh, how I would love to talk with those old birds. Beautiful photos BTW.
@richschindler8731 6年前

How beautiful and how sad.
@bengus8148 6年前

When WWII ended the military quickly cancelled all remaining B-29 production basically overnight. Here in Wichita they pulled all usable equipment out and then crushed the aircraft--those were brand new!
@bfmcarparts 6年前

I remember reading a article that besides these B-29s in the early 1970s there was a Royal Air Force B-29 'Washington' bomber resting at China Lake.