Arizona Desert “Boneyard” – World’s Largest Storage Site for Old Military Planes
The sun sets over C-130 cargo planes at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 14, 2015. The 309th is the United States Air Force’s aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility and provides long and short-term aircraft storage, parts reclamation and disposal. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
U.S. Marines work atop an F/A-18 at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 21, 2015. The Marines are repairing F/A-18’s to return to service at the 309th facility. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
An Army Sikorsky VH-34s Choctaw helicopter once used to transport President Dwight D. Eisenhower sits in a field at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard Thursday, May 14, 2015 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. President Eisenhower became the first chief executive to be transported by helicopter. Presidents Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy were transported in VH-34 helicopters and VH-34’s served as “Army One” from 1958 through 1963. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
C-130 Hercules cargo planes are lined up in a field at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 14, 2015. Over 2,300 variants of the C-130 have been produced since 1954. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
Phil Kovaric and Dennis Varney remove the missile rails from an F-4 Phantom slated for destruction at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 21, 2015. The 309th is the United States Air Force’s aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility and provides long and short-term aircraft storage, parts reclamation and disposal. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
A field of Lockheed C-5 Galaxy cargo jets are seen through a window from another C-5 at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 21, 2015. The C-5A Galaxy is the largest aircraft in the U.S. armed services. The C-5 has a wingspan of over 222 feet and stands over 65 feet high has been used by the Air Force continually since 1969. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
A Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight, tail no. 153993, is stored at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 21, 2015. According to the U.S. Marine Corps, this helicopter was the last aircraft out of Vietnam. Known by its mission name, Swift 2-2, this CH-46 lifted the remaining 11 members of the Marine Guard off the roof of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon just before 8:00 a.m. on April 30, 1975. It was the last aircraft to touch and leave the U.S. embassy as North Vietnamese tanks breached defenses on the outskirts of Saigon as the Vietnam War came to an end. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
A demilitarization crew member removes components from the cockpit of an F-4 Phantom slated for destruction at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 21, 2015. The 309th is the United States Air Force’s aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility and provides long and short-term aircraft storage, parts reclamation and disposal. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
F-16 Fighting Falcons covered in sealing paint sit in a field along Miami St. at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 21, 2015. Over 4,500 variants of the F-16’s have been produced since 1973. This field of fighters will become drone target planes in the future. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
Crew from from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard prepare a pair Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters for storage after their arrival at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Friday, May 15, 2015. The 309th is the United States Air Force’s aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility. AMARG provides long and short-term aircraft storage, parts reclamation and disposal. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
The 39th and final B-52G Stratofortress, tail number 58-0224, right, accountable under the New START Treaty (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) with Russia, lies in the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 21, 2015. The United States cut the tails off the 39 aircraft in order to remove the B-52G models from treaty accountability, as they still count as nuclear-capable delivery platforms with their tails attached. The tails are angled at 30 degrees so Russian satellites can view compliance. Tail number 58-0224, nicknamed “Sweet Tracy”, flew combat missions over North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, which began Dec. 18, 1972 and lasted 11 nights. The aircraft targeted the Yen Vien Railroad Yards and the Hanoi Railroad Repair Yards. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
Lockheed C-5 Galaxy cargo jets line the fields at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 14, 2015. The C-5A Galaxy is the largest aircraft in the U.S. armed services and the C-5 series has been used by the Air Force continually since 1969. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
Fields of various military aircraft are seen at dawn behind the wings of a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy Cargo Jet at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Friday, May 15, 2015. The C-5 Galaxy is the largest aircraft in the U.S. armed services with a wingspan of over 222 feet and sits over 65 feet high. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
A Grumman F-14 Tomcat, bureau no. 159437, left, one of two F-14’s that shot down two Libyan MiG-23’s near the Gulf of Sidra, on January 4, 1989 while conducting exercises off the USS John F. Kennedy is stored at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard, Thursday, May 14, 2015 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
An Army Sikorsky VH-34s Choctaw helicopter, which was used to transport President Dwight D. Eisenhower, sits in a field at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 14, 2015. Eisenhower became the first chief executive to be transported by helicopter and the VH-34’s served as “Army One” from 1958 through 1963 for Eisenhower and President John F. Kennedy. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
U.S. Air Force Cessna T-37 Tweet aircraft, foreground, are grouped together at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 14, 2015. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
Crew from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard prepare to remove engine fluid from a Bell OH-58 Kiowa helicopter after its arrival at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Friday, May 15, 2015. The OH-58 has been in continuous use by the U.S. Army since 1969 and seen combat in every conflict since Vietnam. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
The remains of a Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker, serial no. 55-3129, is stored at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 14, 2015. The aircraft is the original “Weightless Wonder” of NASA according to the planes’ records. NASA used the aircraft to train the Mercury 7 astronauts on zero-gravity flights, and it was nicknamed the “Vomit Comet” for its effect on pilots and passengers alike. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
U.S. Marines play spades during a break at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard in Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, May 21, 2015. The Marines are repairing F-A-18’s to return to service at the 309th facility. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
Heat ripples rise off the desert floor as seen through a barb-wired fence as a pickup drives past stored military aircraft at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard, Thursday, May 21, 2015, in Tucson, Ariz. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)
F-16 Fighting Falcons sit in a field along Miami St. at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group boneyard, Thursday, May 21, 2015 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. Over 4,500 variants of the F-16’s have been produced since 1973. This field of fighters will become drone target planes in the future. (Photo by Matt York/AP Photo)