If anyone ever gets to AZ I would HIGHLY recommend visiting the PIMA Air and Space Museum outside of Tucson. They have every conceivable military plane ever flown, to include an SR-71, F14, F15, F16, B52, B38, B57, C141, etc.

There is a pristine B17 in one of the hangars, and if you go on a Saturday you might be lucky enough to meet Walter Ram. I saw him there a few months ago explaining to some kids what it was like to fly in a B17. When it was my turn I asked him if he had flown in them in WW2; he had. I asked if he flew them in Europe with the 8th AF; he had. I asked what year he flew his first mission: April 1943.

I then looked at him in astonishment and asked if he had flown in the Schweinfurt raids.

He smiled and said, "No, I was shot down in June of 1943 and spent the rest of the war in Stalag 17."

I asked him if an FW 190 or ME 109 shot him down; it was an ME 109. He described a tremendous explosion in his bomber and shortly after was unconscious; a crew member pulled him out of the bomb bay doors and apparently opened his chute.

Not many like Walter left. Incredible day; as memorable as any hunting day.

Thanks for the tip, AZwriter. The Pima museum sounds as good as the one at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton. Wright-Pat even has an XB-70.
One of my late uncles who trained to fly the bombers here at Alamogordo piloted his full complement of B-24 missions in the South Pacific. I could get him to talk about the mechanics of flying that plane, with its lack of hydraulic controls, but he would not discuss the missions, as he was haunted by the destruction he was a part of.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Thanks for the tip, AZwriter. The Pima museum sounds as good as the one at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton. Wright-Pat even has an XB-70.
One of my late uncles who trained to fly the bombers here at Alamogordo piloted his full complement of B-24 missions in the South Pacific. I could get him to talk about the mechanics of flying that plane, with its lack of hydraulic controls, but he would not discuss the missions, as he was haunted by the destruction he was a part of.

Well, you got me on the B70. Only two were made IIRC, and one crashed. I remember as a kid in fourth grade being mesmerized by a school library book titled "B-70 Valkyrie: Monarch of the Skies."

Pima Air Museum also offers the Boneyard Tour. A bus (old school bus) through the storage areas of Davis–Monthan AFB.
Some planes are stored to be brought back into service if needed, some for parts and some scrapped. There is a bunch of B-52's with wings and noses chopped off the meet a treaty with the ruskies .

Be advised although the bus tour of the Boneyard is managed by Pima Museum the Air Force CO of Davis Monthan requires a background check so you can observe old aircraft from a bus window. The security clearance takes 10 days to complete. You are not allowed to leave the bus during the tour.

Pima is a Great Museum. The B-36 is awesome. My grandad was initial SAC cadre on the Peacemaker. Had some great stories from WW2 to Vietnam. Another great AF museum in Warner Robbins in GA. general Scott had an office there and you could meet and chat under the Flying Tiger P-40. They have a whole area dedicated to Scott and he was an avid Big Game hunter himself. Really great stuff

Anyone ever go to the 8th AF museum in SC off I-95? I always kick myself for not remembering to go as I pass the sign on the way to the Savannah airport.

quote:

Originally posted by gunslinger55:
Pima is a Great Museum. The B-36 is awesome. My grandad was initial SAC cadre on the Peacemaker. Had some great stories from WW2 to Vietnam. Another great AF museum in Warner Robbins in GA. general Scott had an office there and you could meet and chat under the Flying Tiger P-40. They have a whole area dedicated to Scott and he was an avid Big Game hunter himself. Really great stuff

I can't believe an airplane nut like me said B-38 instead of B-36.

I Dad worked had flew on the B-36 when he first enlisted in the Air Force. He was stationed at Fairchild AFB. He use to talk about that plane all the time. Dad spent 24 years in the Air Force. After the B-36's he went to the B-47. I was born when he was stationed at the Lincoln AFB, NE. When the 308th Bomb Wing went away he started working on the F-105. Three trips to SE Asia. He didn't talk much about that. In 1968 he was assigned to Great Falls, MT and was working on the F-106. I still remember him say what a maintenance pig it was. There is a really nice museum at the old Chanute AFB in Ill. If you are driving north on I-57 you ought to stop and look it over.

Pima is the only place I've ever seen a B-57. Super cool plane. Anyone know of any other examples?

From wiki.

Aircraft on display
Edit


EB-57E at Wings Over the Rockies Museum, Colorado, 2007
RB-57A
52-1426 - Yankee Air Museum in Belleville, Michigan.[51]
52-1446 - Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, Martin State Airport, Middle River, Maryland.[52]
52-1459 - Wings of Eagles Discovery Center in Horseheads, New York.[53]
52-1467 - Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, Martin State Airport, Middle River, Maryland.[54]
52-1475 - Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB, Georgia.[55]
52-1480 - Kansas Air National Guard / 190th Air Refueling Wing complex, Forbes Field Air National Guard Base (former Forbes AFB), Topeka, Kansas.[56]
52-1482 - USAF History and Traditions Museum, Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas.[57]
52-1485 - Selfridge Military Air Museum and Air Park, Selfridge ANGB, Michigan.[58]
52-1488 - New England Air Museum, Windsor Locks, Connecticut.[59]
52-1492 - Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill AFB, Utah. In April 1968, this aircraft was delivered to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio, and was displayed there until 1982 when it was transferred to the Hill Aerospace Museum.[60]
B-57B
52-1499 - National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. This aircraft was assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio as a test aircraft in the early 1960s. In 1965, it was returned to combat configuration to replace combat losses in Southeast Asia. It was assigned to the 8th Bomb Squadron at Phan Rang AB, South Vietnam in 1967, where it flew combat missions for 2½ years. Upon return to the United States, it was converted to an electronic countermeasures EB-57B and was flown to the museum in August 1981. It is on display in the Museum's Modern Flight gallery where it replaced an RB-57A (AF Ser. No. 52-1492) that had been on display at the Museum since April 1968. In 2012 Museum staff reconverted it to stock B-57B configuration and placed it back on display.[61]
52-1576 - Air Force Flight Test Center Museum, Edwards AFB, California.[62]
52-1584 - Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, Kalamazoo, Michigan.[63]
EB-57B
52-1500 - Vermont Air National Guard / 158th Fighter Wing complex at Burlington Air National Guard Base at Burlington International Airport in Burlington, Vermont.[64]
52-1504 - Dyess Linear Air Park, Dyess AFB, Texas.[65]
52-1505 - Malmstrom AFB Museum and Air Park, Malmstrom AFB, Montana.[66]
52-1506 - Celebrity Row, Davis-Monthan AFB (North Side), Tucson, Arizona.[67]
52-1509 - Laughlin AFB, Texas.[68]
52-1516 - Air Force Armament Museum at Eglin AFB, Florida.[69]
52-1519 - March Field Air Museum, March ARB (former March AFB), Riverside, California.[70]
52-1526 - Kansas National Guard Museum, Topeka Regional Airport (former Forbes AFB), Topeka, Kansas.[71]
52-1548 - South Dakota Air and Space Museum, Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, South Dakota.[72]
52-1551 - in storage at Smithsonian, National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.[73]
B-57C
53-3841 - 314th Airlift Wing complex, Little Rock AFB in Little Rock, Arkansas.[74]
B-57E
55-4244 - Strategic Air and Space Museum near Offutt AFB in Ashland, Nebraska.[75]
55-4274 - Pima Air and Space Museum, adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, Arizona.[76]
EB-57E
55-4253 - Castle Air Museum (former Castle AFB) in Atwater, California.[77]
55-4279 - Peterson Air and Space Museum at Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[78]
55-4293 - Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum at the former Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado.[79]
RB-57D
53-3982 - National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. This RB-57D is one of the 13 photoreconnaissance RB-57Ds. Painted as it appeared in the late 1950s while it served in the 4080th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, 4025th Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron (L), it went on display in 2004.[80]