The happy accident that means planes at largest aircraft boneyard will never die despite being in desert
- Davis-Monthan Air Force Boneyard lies in the Tucson desert
- In fact, it’s evolved into the largest aircraft boneyard in the world
- But rather than rusting away to nothing, a happy coincidence means its planes last forever
Published on May 22, 2024 at 4:09 PM (UTC+4)
by Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
Last updated on Nov 22, 2024 at 3:43 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
Davis-Monthan Air Force Boneyard (AFB) in Tucson lies in the desert – but rather than allowing planes to rust away in peace, the aircraft boneyard actually allowed the planes that lie there to last longer than ever expected.
Over the years it has become the largest aircraft boneyard in the world.
Davis-Monthan today is the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), as well as a major storage facility.
That makes it the only aircraft boneyard and parts reclamation facility for aircraft belonging to the US military and government.
Originally its role was to house military aircraft after World War II, including more than 600 B-29 Superfortresses and 200 C-47 Skytrains.
While some were returned to action in the Korean War, others were preserved.
And this return to action is still a possibility for some planes, with this aging supersonic plane retrieved from a giant aircraft boneyard and set to return to duty.
The Convair B-36 Peacemaker fleet and the B-47 Stratojet fleet were also taken there after being retired.
In fact, those aircraft are amazingly still there today – but how?
The humidity of the area is low, sitting in the 10%-20% range.
Add to that meager rainfall of 11″ per year, hard alkaline soil, and an altitude of 2,550 feet.
These climactic conditions conspire to allow the aircraft to be naturally preserved for cannibalization or reuse.
Some historic aircraft, including the Enola Gay and Bockscar were eventually sent to museums.
The geology of the landscape also enables aircraft to be moved with ease without having to pave storage areas.
Due to changes in U.S. Air Force security, the offsite bus tours of the 309th AMARG are no longer available.
However, the Pima Air & Space Museum gives visitors the chance to learn about the history of the on-site aircraft.
Visitors can view rare aircraft outdoors in a desert climate and immerse themselves in the rich aviation history of the Davis-Monthan AFB itself.
In other news on retired aircraft, this airport employee was recently spotted giving an old plane bound for the scrapyard one last flight.
And, while there was nobody in the cockpit ,this 747 sitting in boneyard with no engines appeared to try to take off one last time.
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All Supercar Blondie contributors undergo editorial review and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and authority in automotive journalism. After gaining her BA Hons in French and English at the University of Nottingham, Amelia embarked on a vocational diploma from the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ). This led to numerous opportunities, from interning at Vogue to being on the small team that launched Women’s Health magazine in the UK, which was named the PPA Consumer magazine of the year for three years running. As Health, Beauty and Fitness editor, Amelia personally received a Johnson & Johnson Award and was shortlisted for both PPA and BSME titles. Since then, Amelia has created content for numerous titles and brands, including the Telegraph, 111 Skin, Waitrose, Red magazine, Stylist, and Elle, as well as being Head of Content at Vitality and Editor in Chief at INLondon magazine. “My superpower is translating technical jargon about the mechanical workings of a supercar into a relatable story you’ll want to share with your friends after you’ve read it.” After joining the SB Media family as a senior journalist in September of 2023, Amelia’s role has evolved to see her heading up the SEO output of the editorial team. From researching the most ‘Google-able’ key terms to producing evergreen content - it’s been a time of hard work, growth, and success for the editorial team and the Supercar Blondie website. “I like to think of myself as a ‘method journalist’. In other words: I live and breathe whatever I am writing about. When writing about fitness, I trained as a personal trainer, and as a beauty editor, I completed an ‘expert’ in scent diploma with the Fragrance Foundation. “During my tenure at Supercar Blondie, however, I did something I never thought possible: I passed my driving test at the age of 36. One day I’d love to train as a mechanic to better understand what happens under the hood, too. “My sweet spot is providing readers with a ‘takeaway’ (read: something new they didn’t know before) after reading every one of my stories. While I don’t claim to be an expert in the automotive world, I know the experts and bodies in the field to rely on to provide our readers with an informative and thought-provoking story every time they visit the site.”
