the United States has developed some of the most advanced aircraft the world has ever seen this
has arguably been the status quo ever since the second world war in fact most modern American
Military Doctrine centers around establishing dominance of the air but given that the United
States is constantly developing new aircraft those Fallen obsolete have a tendency to pile
up sometimes literally you see once a particular type of plane is no longer needed they are sent
across the country to locations known as airplane graveyards to be scrapped sold maintained or just
kept dormant perhaps the most famous and the largest of these complexes is the airplane
graveyard at the Davis-Monthan base in Tucson Arizona which is commonly known as the Boneyard
at this location there are thousands of planes with many of them at their final resting place
the Tucson yard is also a massive tourist attraction and pop culture icon featured in
several popular movies such as Transformers Revenge of the Fallen and Can't Buy Me Love
both of which were filmed on location but how did the Tucson Boneyard become so crucial to
American Aviation disposal and what are the stories behind the planes here today
we discover Tucson's airplane Boneyard I'm your host Ryan sokash and you're watching it's history
the current official name of the Tucson airplane graveyard is the 309th Aerospace maintenance and
regeneration group however the location is often referred to as the Boneyard or a mark
it is also a large part of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base located on the outskirts of the city
it is the resting place for over 4 400 aircraft making it the largest Aviation salvage yard in
the entire world this aircraft junkyard is truly a sight to see as all the planes are perfectly
lined up and organized in exact formation with the stereotypical military Precision it is a
jarring sight when fully operational planes are set up on aircraft carriers or on an Airfield
they are usually given an ample amount of space or organized in such a way as to avoid collisions
or damage from other nearby planes and their wingspan therefore it may be somewhat strange
to see the type unorthodox formations for which the planes at the Boneyard are stored as these
planes now have vastly different procedures and maintenance given that they are no longer
in service in fact sometimes planes awaiting scrapping are simply stacked directly on top of
one another a site only seen in scrap yards like these the area itself also adds to the Allure with
the Boneyard sticking out among the sprawling desert but that's not a coincidence the desert
environment is actually part of the reason why the Boneyard was established here and why it's so
widely used for example the desert's temperature and dry air make it perfect for the planes so
they don't rust the whole complex was built in the early 1960s as the U.S military accumulated
an excessive amount of aircraft that they were no longer using yet the planes themselves were still
assets as many of them held critical parts that may be important in a time of need hence it would
not be wise to completely scrap the them on the other hand it would also be extremely expensive
to build massive hangers to house all these planes as a result the military compromised and settled
on an outdoor scrap yard curiously before this yard was built in its current form a much smaller
aircraft storage center was actually constructed in its place in 1946 known then as the 4105th
Army Air Force base unit and it was originally meant to store many B-29 super fortresses and
Douglas c-47 Sky trains very large planes that were mostly on needed as World War II had just
ended by midpoint of that year the base housed 600 b-29s and over 200 c-47s but they also temporarily
stored about 30 individual planes here which were specifically maintained and fit for Museum use
such as the Enola Gay and the boxcar as was said before this particular location was perfect for
housing aircraft as there was little to no rain or humidity meaning few opportunities for rust to
develop on top of that the tough alkaline soil was also beneficial as the heavy planes wouldn't sink
into the dirt and it was strong enough that the ground didn't have to be paved over time as the
Air Force became its own branch of the U.S armed forces and the number of excess planes increased
the entire complex was expanded and was now open to aircraft from all four branches of the military
in 1962 then in the next year the U.S Department of Defense closed the storage facility in Phoenix
Arizona and decided to move all the aircraft to Tucson interestingly enough the planes were not
flown over like usual but rather they were transported by truck which was Far cheaper
and apparently easier after the consolidation of multiple branches of the military's planes
the complex was renamed the military aircraft storage and disposition Center two decades later
the facility was renamed yet again in 1985 after it expanded to house obsolete intercontinental
ballistic missiles and since these missiles aren't planes it was now called the Aerospace maintenance
and regeneration group as it remains to this day well the place is known as the Boneyard not all
stockpiles here are completely decommissioned or deactivated in fact while some are sold to Allied
Nations many planes here have been mothballed for future activation meaning the military has no use
for them at the moment but they may need them later on this process may seem strange to most
but planes are complex expensive and require parts that are not as plentiful as you might
imagine after the Cold War ended the entire nature of U.S foreign relations changed from
a potential third world war and nuclear Warfare with the Soviet Union to various peacekeeping
or regime changing operations against smaller Nations across the world as a result the type of
warfare and subsequent types of aircraft necessary were no longer the same however should a massive
conventional War break out many of the planes at the Tucson Boneyard can be immediately reactivated
and refitted for service as we said before some planes here are virtually ready for takeoff after
a few touch-ups While others have so many parts taken off and are scrapped and salvaged to the
point that they look entirely unrecognizable and this is a site that draws people in today the
Boneyard actually offers extensive tours of the mass collection but since it is still part of an
active military base there are several important rules and restrictions prior to entry perhaps even
enhancing the novelty of this very bizarre place nowadays there are numerous types of aircraft
stored at the Boneyard not just airplanes they're also helicopters icbms and even space shuttles in
order to manage the over 4 400 aircraft stockpiled here there are about 500 people employed when the
average plane first arrives at the Boneyard there is a specific process that each one goes through
before they are stored first workers go through the paperwork looking at all the previous upgrades
or maintenance which is important given that some of the aircraft can be as old as 70 years
or Beyond meaning that many original parts may have been replaced over the years afterwards the
aircraft is then relieved of its arms which are shipped and stored elsewhere other items are also
stripped from the planes such as ejection seats clocks or specific classified Hardware so with
all these loose materials gone the plane is then given to a special wash both inside and out where
which is meant to remove any salt this is especially critical for planes that served
in environments with lots of salt in the air such as on aircraft carriers next up the fuel storage
is completely drained the tanks are flushed out and then refilled with a lightweight oil before
being drained again this oil leaves behind a film which protects the inside of the fuel system then
the plane's interior is fully sealed off from the outside elements such as dust sand heat or
sunlight with an array of techniques and covers one example of this is a white vinyl plastic spray
that covers the cockpit blocking the sunlight from causing either sun or heat damage to the
inside after this whole process is completed the plane is then towed to its resting place
out on the dirt where it will remain ever more unless otherwise needed overall there are four
categories of planes being stored at the Boneyard category 1000 on are the planes that are to be
kept in decent condition as they aren't intended to be used again but they can be and will be if
a crisis-like situation Rises category 2000 are planes that are only maintained for spare parts
and nothing else well this may seem like a degrading category the boneyard's extensive
collection means it is sometimes the only spot in the world to get certain parts for specific
planes category 3000 are planes that are currently not needed but will most likely see service soon
therefore these aircraft are kept in ready to fly condition the final category category 4000 are the
planes that are meant for display only given that there are only so many museums or other locations
to display planes and these locations usually only need one or two models the majority of aircraft
in this category will be scrapped for their metal and be turned into razor blades soda cans or cars
so now that we've looked at the Boneyard in its history as a whole let's look at some of the
specific types of planes which have been stored here throughout the years or are still currently
on display the B-29 was a truly historic plane and perhaps one of the most famous iconic models from
World War II where it saw extensive service in the Pacific Theater the plane itself is a four
engine propeller driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing it was primarily intended for high altitude
bombing campaigns but as the war went on it was also used for low altitude bombing raids at night
in addition to Naval mine dropping the B-29 super Fortress was not only one of the largest planes in
the war but it was also one of the most advanced utilizing some of the best state-of-the-art
technology of the time such as a pressurized cabin dual wheeled tricycle landing gear a fire control
system that was controlled by an analog computer among other gadgets normally a B-29 super Fortress
would be fitted with 1050 caliber machine guns and 20 millimeter cannons with four of the gun turrets
being operated by remote control furthermore the plane also had a 10 ton bomb capacity the B-29
program was actually the most expensive project of the war costing about three billion dollars
in total the heavy price was definitely worth it however as the B-29 Fortress was one of the
most effective aircrafts of its time in fact two of these planes played a vital role in history
with the Enola Gay and the boxcar dropping the atomic bombs on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki eventually causing the Japanese empire to surrender production was discontinued in 1946
after the wars end and the military cut back on their massive Fleet of b-29s some were repurposed
into civilian tankers some were scrapped or sold but many were mothballed at the Tucson Boneyard
many would actually later be reactivated with the breakout of the Korean War until the plane was
finally retired in 1960 in fact both the Enola Gay and the boxcar were briefly stored at the
Boneyard although they were prepared for museum display and not re-entered into combat many other
types of bombers from the Cold War era were also stored at the Boneyard at one point one of these
was the B-36 Peacemaker a strategic bomber from the 1950s The Peacemaker was actually
the first bomber that could carry nuclear weapons without specific modifications though thankfully
no B-36 ever had to deliver this ordinance in combat furthermore The Peacemaker was also the
largest plane with a piston engine and while The Peacemaker never actually saw combat it was still
extremely effective as a deterrent to War as the Soviet Union were hesitant to act knowing that
the American b-36s carrying nuclear bombs could quickly be flying over Soviet cities if war broke
out by the mid-1950s the B-36 was made obsolete by the jet-engined Boeing B-52 straddle Fortress
and it was officially retired in 1959 384 B-36 planes were then sent to the Boneyard over the
years the entire fleet would be dismantled and scrapped with the exception of four which were
maintained for air museums speaking of the B-52 there are actually many iterations of this model
which have gone through the Boneyard the B-52 itself is one of the most famous aircraft in
U.S military history and surprisingly it's still in service today due to its combat
Effectiveness and reliability overall it is a massive plane with a bomb capacity of seventy
thousand pounds and it saw action in the Vietnam War the Persian Gulf operation Iraqi freedom and
the war on terror in Afghanistan the plane is so useful that the military doesn't expect it
to be retired until 2050. however there have been times after several conflicts where the military
has in excess of B-52s and the Surplus is sent to the Boneyard to be dismantled or scrapped on most
occasions not all of them are scrapped though as 12 currently sit in long-term storage and can be
reactivated if needed another iconic plane which has been stored at the Boneyard was the McDonald
Douglas F4 Phantom a twin engine jet Interceptor and fighter bomber with over 5195 of this model
built the F4 Phantom has been the most widely produced American supersonic aircraft the F4
Phantom was the record-breaking Fighter for many reasons such as its top speed which exceeds Mach
2. the Phantom can also be armed with 18 000 pounds of Ordnance ranging from both air-to-air
or air-to-ground missiles not to mention the m61 rotary Cannon because of its immense power the F4
Phantom was in service for nearly 35 years being used by the Air Force Navy and Marine Corps it
also saw a large amount of action in the Vietnam War as well as the Persian Gulf War over time
the F4 Phantom was phased out by several other Fighters by each branch of the military such as
the F-14 Tomcat the F-15 Eagle the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-18 Hornet however the F4 Phantom
still does see combat today as it is used by several militaries across the world such as
South Korea Greece and Turkey among others since the plane was retired in 1996 many were stored
at the Tucson Boneyard where they were scrapped mothballed or sold to Allied Nations the last F-14
Phantom in Tucson with the calling sign last one left in 2013 when it was flown for its final time
to California after being repaired at the Boneyard another famous fighter planes stored in Tucson
is the F-14 Tomcat which was also the same plane that the U.S Navy replaced the F4 Phantom with the
Tomcat is a carrier-capable supersonic twin-engine fighter plane that was first introduced into
service in 1974 on the aircraft carrier the USS Enterprise the F-14 Tomcat is one of the most
iconic fighters in military history appearing in many films and television shows but perhaps it's
most known from the 1986 film Top Gun where it was the fighter plane all the main characters flew the
movie was so popular and influential from a cultural point of view that Navy recruitment
skyrocketed with many viewers feeling so inspired that they wanted to become Navy fighter pilots
and fly the f-14s themselves the F-14 Tomcat even made a key cameo in the groundbreaking sequel top
gun Maverick which came out in May of this year there are also numerous F-14 Tomcats stored at
the Tucson Boneyard and various states of repair though there is a somewhat controversial history
surrounding this exhibit in the early 1970s when the United States and Iran were on good terms
the Iranian military was looking to expand their Air Force the U.S offered either the f
14 or the F-15 but the leader of Iran decided to buy the F-14 as he was personally Amazed by
its test performance and thought it was immensely Superior however after the 1979 Islamic revolution
Iran quickly became an enemy to the U.S with all those f-14s now falling into the new government's
hands under the Iranian Air Force the F-14 then saw extensive use in the iran-iraq war where
it was utterly devastating to Iraqi forces now because the models which the Iranian government
has are from the early 1970s and they no longer have the us as an ally to resupply
them with parts many suspect that the Iranian government would be desperate to acquire any
parts possible to repair and enhance their Fleet of f-14s as a result the security surrounding the
F-14 exhibit and storage at the Tucson Boneyard is particularly tight so as not to allow any spies in
for over 80 years this aircraft storage facility has borne witness to some of the most prominent
and iconic planes in American military history offering a unique look at aircraft in a state of
Stillness or gradual Decay and even as famous planes have come and gone their legacies will
live on thank you all so much for watching please consider supporting the channel by
clicking join or subscribe to catch new videos every Thursday and Saturday and don't miss our
video about the weirdest ships in history until next time this is Ryan silkash signing off