Row of U.S. Navy and U.S Marine H-34 Choctaw.
MASDC Re-designation
On February 1, 1965 the center was once again re-designated, this time to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center, or MASDC. This re-designation was the result of the decision by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Installations and Logistics to close NAF Litchfield Park, located just to the west of Phoenix, AZ., some 150 miles away from Davis-Monthan AFB. Until this time the US Navy used NAF Litchfield Park as it's primary location to store it's reserve and retention aircraft, it was viewed that by combining with MASDC a more efficient and cost effective solution would be created. The name, without a specific reference to the Air Force or it's structure, was chosen to better reflect the new multi-service mission of the combined facility.
NAF Litchfield Park Closure
Following the announcement of Litchfield Park's closure, the first of over 1,100 aircraft began leaving Litchfield Park. During January 1965 the first aircraft, 52 flyable/reserve Grumman TF-9J Cougars, arrived at MASDC. Owing to the costs associated with regenerating the aircraft and flying them the short distance down to MASDC (and re-preservation once there) it was decided to transfer the vast majority of the aircraft down by road, this would save around $4,000 per unit.
During 1965 a steady stream of other aircraft left the naval facility, while many more were scrapped or transferred to other locations and units. It took nearly two over years to complete the removal, with the last 3 aircraft, an F-6A Skyray, LP-2J Neptune and HU-16C Albatross, leaving the facility during May 1967. For many of the aircraft their stay at MASDC would be a short one as within one year nearly one half of them would depart leave to U.S Navy yards around the U.S.
Below are links to listing of the numbers of US Navy aircraft at NAF Litchfield Park and MASDC during the period of the transfer between facilities. The numbers are split between different aircraft storage statuses, a decode of the status classifications used can be found using the link available below and also on both inventory pages.
NAS Litchfield Park 1965 - 1966">NAF Litchfield Park Inventory MASDC USN Inventory US Navy Status Codes Classifications
1964 - 1969
Foreign Military Sales
During the MASDC years hundreds of aircraft were supplied to friendly nations under the Military Assistance Program. Below are some of the more notable transfers of aircraft which were drawn from storage and regenerated for re-introduction back into service. Many other MAP supplied aircraft were drawn direct from operational and from aircraft manufacturers. Our database details the receiving country of regenerated aircraft where known, dispositions will be updated when more details come to light.
For more information on the Military Assistance Program (MAP) you can visit our Military Assistance Program page.
- McDonnell Douglas F-101B Voodoos to the Royal Canadian Air Force.
- Republic of China (Taiwan) Air Force was a large receiver of MAP aircraft, including Lockheed F-104 Starfighters supplied in 196???, F-100 Super Sabres in 1970, T-33A in 1975
- Numerous Lockheed T-33A Shooting Stars were supplied to Brazil, Greece
- In 1964 and 1965 North American T-28As were regenerated and converted to T-28Ds by North American in Columbus, OH. These were supplied to Laos and Thailand. Later on in the early 1970s more were supplied to the Khmer Air Force.
Major Retirements
Between 1965 and 1985 a large number of major aircraft types were retired completely from US military service, while some other major types were dramatically reduced leaving only small numbers surviving into the 1980s. The complete retirements were usually followed by the rapid disposal by scarpping of vast numbers of the types, however, some aircraft that could be useful to foreign military forces or civilian customers faired better. Below is a summary of the no
- Boeing B-47 Stratojet
- Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter
- Convair B-58 Hustler. Fleet retired between November 1969 and January 1970 with 80 aircraft retired to MASDC. Most aircraft were scrapped between May and August 1970, with only 2 being saved by museums.
- Douglas C-133 Cargomaster. Fleet retired between January and August 1971 due to the introduction of the Lockheed C-5A Galaxy, with 33 aircraft arriving at MASDC. All aircraft were declared as excess almost immediately and the majority scrapped by the end of 1974. Serveral were purchased by civilian customers and one went to Pima Air and Space Museum.
- Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar
- Lockheed C-121 Constellation
- Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star. Over 1,100 had arrived at MASDC by the end of the 1970s. A large number were purchased or supplied to foreign air forces around the world including Brazil, Colombia, Greece, Guatemala, Republic of China (Taiwan), Philippines. A large number of them were re-generated and returned to service with units who operated them until the late 1980s.
- Douglas C-124 Globemaster. This type was retired gradually from January 1969 to September 1974 due to the introduction of the Lockheed C-5A Galaxy, with over 350 aircraft arriving at MASDC. Like the C-133s the C-124s were declared excess after only a short time in storage and the vast majority scrapped on site. One escaped scrapping at Pima Air and Space Museum, another left for USAF Museum, Wright Patterson AFB, OH. and a couple were returned to service in 1972.
1970 - 1985
Vietnam War
During the 1960s and into the early 1970s The Vietnam War provided a lot of work for the men and women at MASDC.
- The regeneration of surplus US Navy A-1 Skyraiders back into Air Force service by the Naval Air Rework Facility, NAS Quonset Point, RI. and McClellan AFB, CA.
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Picture: Rows of B-29 Superfortress in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB.
Photo from the Colonel Schrimer Collection.
June 1st, 1956 to August 1st, 1959
On August 28th, 1948 the 4105th was redesignated the 3040th Aircraft Storage Depot, and the responsibilities of reclamation and salvage were added to the depot's mission. Over the coming years the unit will see a number of name changes but its basic mission would remain generally the same.
Towards the end of the 1940s many of the stored aircraft were re-generated when increased tensions with the Soviet Union prompted the US to increase their state of readiness. Following this the build up for the imminent war in Korea resulted in the number of aircraft stored at Davis-Monthan to reduce further with many of the B-29s being returned to service or turned over for reclamation to fulfill the spares requirement to achieve the required level of readiness.
In 87 B-29s were supplied to the Royal Air Force as a strategic bomber stop gap until they could receive their more modern, jet powered fleet. As well as being re-generated, a number of B-29s and C-47s were turned over to reclamation to supply spare parts to the operational fleet.
By the end of 1951 the number of stored and excess aircraft at Davis-Monthan stood at only 267, including 202 cocooned B-29. By mid 1952 this number had dropped to 202, including 81 cocooned and 28 un-cocooned B-29. A summary of stored Air Force aircraft numbers during 1951 and 1952 can be found using the links below.
With the introduction to service of the mighty Convair B-36 Peacemaker and the new generation Boeing B-47 Stratojet, and the cessation of the Korean War the now obsolete B-29s were once again retired to Davis-Monthan AFB.
1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6,993 | 4,204 | 2,234 | 2,024 | 2,414 | 2,094 | 1,491 |
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
- Between February and April the Douglas C-74 Globemaster fleet, which had been held in airworthy storage at Brookley AFB, AL since November 1955, were retired to DMAFB. On July 11, 1956 all were turned over for reclamation. Of the eleven arrivals four were re-generated for sale on the civilian market, the rest were scrapped during 1965.
- During the first half of the year a number of North American F-86F Sabres which had retired to DMAFB after serving with overseas based units were re-generated back to service with combat training wings at Williams AFB, AZ.
- A large number of North American T-6G Texans were supplied to foreign nations under the Military Assistance Program (MAP). The aircraft were transported the short distance to Marana by road where they were overhauled before delivery to their new operators.
- Over thirty Boeing B-50/B-50D Superfortress were re-generated and flown the Modification Center at Birmingham, AL. where they were converted to the KB-50 aerial tanker variant before being returned to service to Tactical Air Command (TAC) Air refueling units.
- An additional group of Boeing B-50D Superfortress were re-generated and flown to Lockheed Air Service in Burbank, CA. for conversion to the WB-50D weather reconnaissance variant.
- Eighteen Grumman HU-16A (SA-16) Albatross amphibious aircraft were re-generated and supplied to Brazil under MAP.
A few notes about our database and how to access the information in it.
Multiple Pages
- The list may be divided into several pages if there are a large number of records retrieved from your search. If this is the case you will find a list of available page numbers at the bottom of the page, below the listing. Simply click the page numbers to navigate to them.
Submitting Comments
- We welcome anyone leaving their comments and/or experiences on our database pages. Comments can be posted for a type of aircraft or can be posted for a particular aircraft.
- If you would like to leave some comments or experiences against a certain aircraft click the serial number and you will find form at the bottom of the page on which can submit them.
Reading Comments
- If there is an icon displayed next to the serial number there have been comments or experiences submitted for that particular aircraft. Click the icon and that information will be displayed for you to read.
Please note:
This database is very much a work in progress. Where a destination is specified as 'Unknown' we are investigating these records and the correct dispositions will be applied when known. If you can provide any corrections to the data or have any additional information that can fill any holes in the data then we would love to hear from you.
Picture: Rows of B-29 Superfortress in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB.
Photo from the Colonel Schrimer Collection.
August 28th, 1948 to June 1st, 1956
On August 28th, 1948 the 4105th was redesignated the 3040th Aircraft Storage Depot, and the responsibilities of reclamation and salvage were added to the depot's mission. Over the coming years the unit will see a number of name changes but its basic mission would remain generally the same.
Towards the end of the 1940s many of the stored aircraft were re-generated when increased tensions with the Soviet Union prompted the US to increase their state of readiness. Following this the build up for the imminent war in Korea resulted in the number of aircraft stored at Davis-Monthan to reduce further with many of the B-29s being returned to service or turned over for reclamation to fulfill the spares requirement to achieve the required level of readiness.
By the end of 1951 the number of stored and excess aircraft at Davis-Monthan stood at only 267, including 202 cocooned B-29. By mid 1952 this number had dropped to 202, including 81 cocooned and 28 un-cocooned B-29. A summary of stored Air Force aircraft numbers during 1951 and 1952 can be found using the links available on the right-hand side of this page.
With the introduction to service of the mighty Convair B-36 Peacemaker and the new generation Boeing B-47 Stratojet, and the cessation of the Korean War, the now obsolete B-29s were once again retired to Davis-Monthan AFB.
1950 SEP |
DEC |
1951 MAR |
JUN | SEP | DEC |
1952 MAR |
JUN | SEP | DEC |
1953 MAR |
JUN | SEP | DEC |
1954 MAR |
JUN |
486 | 472 | 418 | 310 | 267 | 239 | 227 | 202 | 195 | 195 | 195 | 273 | 448 | 981 | 1,200 | 1,124 |
The figures in the table above represent the number of U.S. Air Force aircraft stored at Davis-Monthan AFB still listed on their active inventory. What is not included are the numbers of aircraft assigned to reclamation, or awaiting disposal.
As well as being re-generated, starting in 1953 a large number of B-29s were turned over to reclamation to supply spare parts to the operational fleet. During 1954 alone, the number of those assigned to reclamation was more than 300.
The numbers of stored aicraft remained fairly stable between 1954 and 1955, with relatively few arrivals and departures taking place. However, during 1955 and 1956 many hundreds of North American T-6 Texans were regenerated and provided to France and other friendly nations under the Military Assistance Program (MAP). Many more were authorised for reclamation use, probably to provide spares in support of the MAP regeneration programs.
Below are some of the more notable events which took place between 1953 and 1956.
1953
- Freshly converted Boeing QF-17G Flying Fortress drones arrived for short/medium term storage from the Mobile Air Material Area, Brookley AFB, AL. where the conversions had been undertaken. By mid 1956 these drones had been regenerated and had departed back to Brookley AFB for preparation to return to service and ultimate destruction.
- North American T-6D and T-6F Texans continued retirement with a large number arriving from various operational, non-training units. During 1956 these trainers were turned over for reclaimation.
- During July and August 36 Boeing B-29 Superfortresses of the 40th Bombardment (Medium) Wing, Smoky Hill AFB, KS. arrived for retirement as the unit transitioned to the Boeing B-47 Stratofortress. During July 1954 the majority of these aircraft where turned over for reclamation.
- During January and February 41 Boeing B-50A Superfortresses of the 43rd Bombardment (Medium) Wing, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ. were retired to the neighbouring storage facility as the unit transitioned to the Boeing B-47 Stratofortress. On October 18th 1954 40 of these aircraft where turned over for reclamation. The final one, 47-0113, left storage in March and was returned to service with the 2750th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.
- 27 Boeing B-29A Superfortresses, which were part of a batch of 87 B-29A loaned to the Royal Air Force under the Military Assistance Program, returned for storage from the UK. The Royal Air Force had used the B-29 as a 4 year, stop-gap measure to provide the UK with a strategic bomber capability before their chosen platform, the English Electric Canberra, could enter service. While in RAF service these aircraft were designated the Washington B.1. During July 1954 the majority of these aircraft where turned over for reclamation.
1954
- Arrivals included North American T-6D and T-6F Texans and Boeing B-29 Superfortresses.
- Over 100 Boeing B-29 Superfortresses were assigned to reclamation purposes.
1955
- The 3600th Combat Crew Training Wing based at Luke AFB, AZ. retired their Republic F-84E Thunderjets, resulting in 150 of the type arriving at Davis-Monthan.
- The retirement of the North American T-6 Texan continued with over 200 retiring during the year.
- Over 170 North American T-6D, T-6F and T-6G Texans were assigned to reclamation purposes.
- During June & August eight Chase YC-122C Avitrucs which had been undergoing trials and development work with the U.S. Air Force arrived for retirement, all were turned over for reclamation on December 21, 1955. The YC-122C was replaced in service by the Fairchild C-123B Provider.
- A number of North American B-26B, B-26C and TB-26B Invaders were retired. A sizeable number of B-26s arriving over the next few years would ultimately be supplied to various friendly nations, mainly South American countries, under the Military Assistance Program (MAP).
- Lockheed F-80 Shooting Stars also started to arrive for storage. As with the B-26 Invader, a large number of the F-80Cs would be supplied to various friendly nations, mainly South American countries, under the Military Assistance Program (MAP).
1956
- The first 90 Convair B-36 Peacemakers were retired and many were quickly assigned to reclamation use. It would take four years for the type to be retired completely.
- Between February and April the Douglas C-74 Globemaster fleet, which had been held in airworthy storage at Brookley AFB, AL since November 1955, were retired to Davis-Monthan AFB. On July 11, 1956 all of these aicraft were turned over for reclamation. Of the eleven arrivals, four were re-generated and sold to the civilian market, the rest were scrapped during 1965.
- During the first half of the year a number of North American F-86F Sabres which had retired to DMAFB after serving with overseas based units were re-generated back to service with combat training wings at Williams AFB, AZ.
- A large number of North American T-6G Texans were supplied to foreign nations under the Military Assistance Program (MAP). The aircraft were transported the short distance to Marana by road where they were overhauled before delivery to their new operators.
- Over thirty Boeing B-50/B-50D Superfortress were re-generated and flown the Modification Center at Birmingham, AL. where they were converted to the KB-50 aerial tanker variant before being returned to service to Tactical Air Command (TAC) Air refueling units.
- An additional group of Boeing B-50D Superfortress were re-generated and flown to Lockheed Air Service in Burbank, CA. for conversion to the WB-50D weather reconnaissance variant.
- Eighteen Grumman HU-16A (SA-16) Albatross amphibious aircraft were re-generated and supplied to Brazil under MAP.
More Davis-Monthan AFB Storage articles will be available soon.
Title Picture: B-29 Superfortresses undergoing the U.S. Air Force's initially developed cocooning process at Davis-Monthan AFB.
Photo from the Colonel Schrimer Collection.
November 15th, 1945 to August 28th, 1948
On November 15, 1945 the 4105th Army Air Force Base Unit was established at Davis-Monthan Air Force base, Tucson, Arizona, one of the thirty depot units set up by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. The unit received its first aircraft for storage on January 10, 1946 and it wasn't long before the base was holding seven hundred B-29s and over three hundred C-47s. A small museum collection had also been formed at the site which held some of the more notable aircraft deemed historically important enough to be saved from the mass disposals underway. Included in the collection were also a number of captured German aircraft, some of which would eventually end up at the United States Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.
On October 24, 1946 the center was renamed to the 4105th Army Air Force Base Unit (Aircraft Storage), a title which better reflected the units mission of receiving and preparation of aircraft for storage.
During these early years a very basic storage process was established. Following the arrival of an aircraft a limited inspection was carried out which assessed the condition of the airframe and which produced a list of equipment being carried by it. It would then be moved onto one of the designated storage areas and placed on wooden blocks to hold it off the ground to help preserve the condition of the tires. Only a periodic check was made to monitor how the aircraft was fairing in its pretty much unprotected state.
By the end of 1946 the resident museum collection had been expanded considerably. The two atom bomb dropping B-29s, the 'Enola Gay' and 'Bockscar', had arrived as had the famous B-24D Liberator 'Strawberry Bitch' and the Presidential Douglas C-54A Skymaster, 'Sacred Cow'. However, during 1947 and 1948 some of the aircraft were dropped from the collection and were scrapped, including examples of Waco XCG-15A and Douglas XCG-17 assault gliders, the Douglas XC-53A Skytrooper and TB-29 Superfortress. During 1949 the unique Douglas XB-19A 38-471 (see picture to left), the largest US aircraft built before the XB-36 in 1946, was unfortunately also scrapped.
It was recognised that the large number of stored B-29s could still provide an effective bombing and reconnaissance capability, as a result a more effective method of protecting these valuable assets for future operational use were investigated.
A cocooning process, similar to the process which is still in use by AMARG today was developed. After receipt at the base and the cataloguing of carried equipment the aircraft were sealed by the application of an air tight plastic skin called Insulmastic No.4500. The Fort Pitt Packaging Company, which had been incorporated on 10 November 1947, was awarded a contract to preserve a total of 486 B-29s and work towards this was commenced in July 1947. After being thoroughly washed down each aircraft had bags of moitsure absorbing dessicant material loaded into the airframe, and then masking tape was used to seal gaps and cover the propellers and engine cowls.Spray equipment was then used to apply three thick coats of Insulmastic, the first colored yellow, second colored red and the last colored black. The changing colors made it easy to ensure that the coats were applied evenly and to the correct thickness. The plastic was colored by a layer of aluminum paint to help reflect the heat of the Arizona sun.
However, in May 1948, with only 41 B-29s left to process, the project was cut short. Several problems with the cocooning method had been discovered which made the solution impractical to proceed with. Firstly blistering had occurred on a number of aircraft where air trapped underneath the plastic coatings had expanded in the scorchoingly high temperatures experienced in the area. Secondly the Insulmastic layers were becoming very brittle when their temperature exceeded a certain level. This made their removal a very time consuming exercise, requiring some 600 man hours to remove from each aircraft. This problem could, to a certain extent, by reduced by stripping the plastic under shelter where the air temperature could be significantly reduced but this was far from ideal.
The cancellation of the cocooning project did not bode well for the Fort Pitt Packaging Company, by 19 November 1948 the company had ceased trading.
>> 3040th Aircraft Storage Depot
Title Picture: Rows of B-29 Superfortresses in storage at Davis-Monthan AFB.
Photo from the Colonel Schrimer Collection.
The End of World War II
On May 7th 1945 the German Armed Forces High Command formally signed a document which agreed to the unconditional surrender of the German forces in Europe and North Africa to the Allies. This was followed a few months later by the formal surrender of Japanese forces in the Pacific on September 2nd 1945. These events brought World War II to a close after 6 long years of conflict.
Immediately following the cessation of hostilities tens of thousands of US military aircraft, which had been essential to the allied victories, suddenly became a substantial problem. Out of the vast numbers of aircraft that had been built for the war effort, estimated at being around 295,000, some 150,000 were still in service. This was far more than required and could be financially sustained during peacetime, the question was what was to be done with them. Starting earlier in 1944, the U.S. Foreign Economic Administration had begun disposing of damaged and obsolete aircraft located overseas, but, a solution for the remaining numbers was urgently investigated.
An initial decision was to collect the surplus aircraft at 30 depots which were established around the USA by the Government's Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). These depots were split between those that would act as longer term storage sites and those depots that would store aircraft for the short term. These depots would also dispose of all the surplus and obsolete aircraft by sale or scrapping.
Short Term Storage & Disposal | Long Term Storage Depots | |
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Dealing with the problem
The advancement of aircraft designs which had been accelerating during the final years of the war and into the second half of the 1940s had meant that the aircraft types in service were becoming obsolete at an increasingly frequent rate. Even many of the most advanced piston powered fighter aircraft had become obsolete due to the introduction of types that were powered by jet engines. The heavy bombers that were so effective during the war, including the B-17 and B-24, had been replaced by the much larger and more capable B-29. The long term storage of many of these types for future by the United States military was not an option, the answer was to sell off what could be sold and to scrap the rest. The War Assets Administration (WAA) was established in 1946 to dispose of much of the now surplus war equipment and supplies, including the unwanted stock of aircraft. The United States had learnt, following the end of World War 1, that if this enormous quantity of resources was released in an uncontrolled manner it would severly impact the recovery of peacetime commercial activities, especially the important aviation industry.
It was important that the stock of surplus aircraft should be disposed of quickly in a method that not only returned a realistic proportion of the original cost back to the Government but also stimulated new markets and businesses. Once this rapid disposal had completed it was hoped that new aircraft designs would once again start to roll off of the aviation industry's production lines.
Disposal
In 1944 a sale of over 5,000 Government owned training aircraft, used by contract companies to train civil pilots, proved that there was a strong demand for surplus aircraft by the general public if the price was right. This sale had been a huge success, with over 40,000 bids entered into the sealed bid system even though there was not a publicity campaign run to advertise it. There was however, a big difference between the types of aircraft involved in this sale and the military aircraft types available after the war. This time purchasers would be confronted with work and additional costs to bring them up to a standard suitable for operation by civilian operators. To prevent a potential flood of dangerous aircraft types entering into public ownership the Civil Aeronautics Administration, in co-operation with the WAA, carried out testing on the types included in the surplus stock to establish those eligible for civil certification. Some types which did not reach the required standard would be sold, but, with a condition that certain modifications be made before certifcation was issued for them.
Much of the wartime restriction of flight within the US had been lifted and the appetite for aviation was as strong as ever. By September 1946, the WAA had sold off close to 64,000 aircraft to new civilian owners. The quantity of aircraft being disposed of was so large, that the sale price achieved for some of the smaller types was less than the cost of an average family car. An example of sales prices achieved include...
- Beech AT-11 - Between $7,500 and $15,000
- Boeing PT-17 - Between $250 and $1,830
- Fairchild PT-26 - Between $750 and $2,150
- North American T-6 Texan - $850
- Vultee BT-13 - $200
- Vultee BT-15 - $450
New and emerging flying schools, which had spawned from the educational provisions in the G.I. Bill of Rights, purchased in total 17,000 primary and advanced training aircraft. On January 1st 1946 a total of 405 flying schools were in existence. In September of the same year that number had leaped to 1,281. Light Liaison aircraft, like Grasshoppers, Cubs and Flying Jeeps, accounted for one seventh of all sales. Many went to flying school and into private ownership. 3,000 large and medium transport aircraft, including 550 C-47 Skytrains, 20 C-54 Skymasters and 12 twin engined Lockheed freighters were sold to companies in a developing air cargo transportation industry. More than 100 transport aircraft were also purchased by existing airlines, boosting their fleets to cope with the increasing quantity of air travel now being undertaken.
In addition to over 4,600 commercial flying businesses, many supporting enterprises including parts supply companies, repair shops and handling agents were also being formed at an impressive rate. In time some of the thriving commercial flying companies would place orders for new replacement aircraft and this would spread the growth into America's aircraft manufacturing companies.
Most of the aircraft which were not suitable for civilian use, including tactical fighters, bombers, and the special use types, were sold for scrapping, salvage or non-flight use. 21,000 tactical aircraft were offered for sale by sealed bid at five major storage deports. To ensure that the resulting nationally required metal would reach the markets without delay, there was a stipulation that the aircraft had to be processed within 18 months of successful purchase. In total 104 sealed bids were received and the aircraft awarded to the 5 with the highest offers. The sale resulted in over 200 million pounds of aluminum alloy and other metals, which were sorely needed in the flourishing housing and consumer industries.
While most value from the tactical aircraft types came from their metal content, a large number were also supplied to some 2,800 technical schools that purchased over 1,000 tactical aircraft, 3,000 aircraft engines and 300 navigation and instrument trainers. The revenue recovered by the sale of such a small percentage of the surplus stock was small, the value to the country in terms of re-training capability was immeasurable.
A smaller number of tactical aircraft were supplied to local governments for use as war memorials. Included in these sales was Seattle, WA. that purchased a B-17 Flying Fortress called 'Five Grand', the 5,000th B-17 off of Boeing's production line in the city. The famous B-17 'Memphis Bell' was purchased by the City of Memphis, TN. and Athens, GA. purchased a total of eleven aircraft to form their own museum.
The disposal of surplus aircraft was nearly complete by the end of 1947. It had been managed in a way that had injected a massive boost to the US economy and stimulated a large growth in commerce. This was urgently needed to recover the country after the expensive and economically damaging years of war.
Summary of Post War Dispositions
The table below shows the total number of excess Air Force aircraft disposed of for the years immediatly following WWII. The 'Transfers' were the aircraft transferred to the WAA and other Government agencies for disposal by commercial means, the 'Scrap and Other' figures are for the aircraft which were scrapped or turned over to instructional use by the Air Force themselves.
Type of Disposition | Total | Prior to 1945 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | |||||
1st Qtr | 2nd Qtr | 3rd Qtr | 4th Qtr | Total | Jan - Aug | Sep - Dec | ||||
Transfers | 51,027 | 14,667 | 5,919 | 4,068 | 8,845 | 11,257 | 29,789 | 5,308 | 934 | 329 |
Scrap and Other | 8,504 | 326 | 282 | 1,010 | 298 | 2,739 | 4,329 | 3,545 | 287 | 17 |
Air Force - Total | 59,531 | 14,993 | 6,201 | 5,078 | 8,843 | 13,996 | 34,118 | 8,853 | 1,221 | 346 |
For a more detailed look at which aircraft categories were stored and disposed of between 1945 and 1947 please use the links on the right of this page under the heading 'Surplus U.S. Air Force Aircraft By Aircraft Type'.
Following the Mass Dispositions
During the following decade, the quantity of aircraft being stored at the other major facilities would see a major reduction. The disposal of obsolete aircraft types had mainly been completed. The work carried out at the longer-term storage bases concentrated on the storage of viable types and reclamation of parts, to keep the active fleet airworthy.
Initially, Davis-Monthan AFB was one of the smaller storage bases, mainly used for Boeing B-29 Superfortresses and C-47 Skytrains. However, during the mid 1950s the larger bases, including Kelly AAF, TX., Pyote AAF, TX. and Tinker AAF, OK. closed or relinquished their major storage mission and the primary responsibility was handed over to Davis-Monthan AFB.