New Mexico Warbird Survivors 2002: A Handbook on Where to Find Them
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About this ebook
The list of military aircraft types that made up the tapestry of New Mexico aviation is as extensive as the list of legendary figures who have contributed to its amazing history. While most of the military aircraft types no longer grace the airspace over New Mexico, many can be viewed in their former splendor as they stand as gate guards or museum exhibits. This booklet provides a comprehensive guide to where these restored aircraft can be found. Complementing the details concerning aircraft specifications and roles, the author has included many facts. Finally, the descriptions of the recovery, restoration and preservation efforts stand as a tribute to the many volunteers who have devoted time, energy and financial support to ensure this rich heritage is preserved.
This handbook is designed to provide aviation enthusiasts with a simple checklist on where to find retired military aircraft that are preserved in New Mexico.
Harold A. Skaarup
Major Hal Skaarup has served with the Canadian Forces for more than 40 years, starting with the 56th Field Squadron, RCE and completing his service as the G2 (Intelligence Officer) at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick in August 2011. He was a member of the Canadian Airborne Regiment, served three tours with the Skyhawks Parachute Demonstration Team, and worked in the Airborne Trials and Evaluation section. He served as an Intelligence Officer overseas in Germany and Colorado, and has been on operational deployments to Cyprus, Bosnia, and Afghanistan. He has been an instructor at the Tactics School at the Combat Training Centre in Gagetown and at the Intelligence Training Schools in Borden and Kingston. He earned a Master's degree in War Studies through the Royal Military College, and has authored a number of books on military history.
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New Mexico Warbird Survivors 2002 - Harold A. Skaarup
Warbird Survivors
New Mexico Warbird
Survivors 2002
3338.jpgA Handbook on where to find them
Harold A. Skaarup
Writers Club Press
San Jose New York Lincoln Shanghai
New Mexico Warbird Survivors 2002
A Handbook on where to find them
All Rights Reserved © 2002 by Harold A. Skaarup
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the permission in writing from the publisher.
Writers Club Press
an imprint of iUniverse, Inc.
For information address:
iUniverse, Inc.
5220 S. 16th St., Suite 200
Lincoln, NE 68512
www.iuniverse.com
The aircraft described in New Mexico Warbird Survivors and the locations listed for them may change from time to time. Although every effort has been made to ensure accuracy up to the time of publication, there are always amendments to be made. Updates to any of the information found in this handbook would be greatly appreciated, and every effort will be made to include them in future editions.
ISBN: 0-595-22426-1
ISBN: 978-1-4620-4790-1 (ebook)
Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
Aircraft Museums and Gate Guardians in New Mexico
Alphabetical List of New Mexico Warbird Survivors
History of Cannon Air Force Base
History of Holloman Air Force Base
History of Kirtland Air Force Base
National Atomic Museum
War Eagles Air Museum
Commemorative Air Force
Statement of the Secretary of Defense on the War on Terrorism
Crash and Retrieval
Epilogue
Afterword
About the Author
APPENDIX
Bibliography
ENDNOTES
This book is dedicated to the highly professional men and women of the United States Armed Services and the Canadian Forces of North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). Many of them have flown or serviced the military aircraft described in this handbook. Because of their service, you and I can sleep soundly at night. May it continue to be so.
To control the air, aircraft bring certain characteristics which are not shared by land or sea forces—the ability to carry weapons over long ranges at great speed, the ability to concentrate rapidly large forces over a distant point, the ability to switch targets and to surprise and deceive—in a word, flexibility.¹
Foreword
North America is replete in aviation history, both military and civilian. The sheer size of Canada and the United States dictated an early interest in air defense and profoundly influenced our dependence on air travel. It is no wonder that both nations developed as air-faring
nations. A large part of the leadership that contributed to that development can be traced to our Air Forces. Indeed, our proud military heritage is embodied in the individuals who have served and continue to do so—and in the aircraft they have flown.
The preservation and public display of these aircraft is a labor of love for many, including the editor of this book. If you are an enthusiast of military aviation history, or one with a passing interest who simply wishes to learn more, you will find a wealth of information in these well-researched pages.
James Hunter
Brigadier-General
Vice Commander
Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center
North American Aerospace Defense Command
Preface
There are a number of us who have a continuing interest in retired military aircraft that are preserved in the state of New Mexico. Many of these old Warbirds can be found on the airfields at Cannon, Holloman and Kirtland Air Force Bases, as well as in the War Eagles Air Museum at Santa Teresa. Many other military aircraft of historic significance to New Mexico are not on display, although their remains can be found in different crash sites scattered throughout the state’s hills and forests.
Many examples of aircraft that saw service with the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), the United States Army Air Force (USAAF), the United States Navy (USN), and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) have been or are currently being salvaged and preserved in this state, particularly where they are of significant historical interest. As an army officer serving with NORAD, and being an aviation enthusiast, historian, artist, and photographer, I am attempting to keep track of where a good number of these Warbird survivors
are presently located, and specifically for this book, where those aircraft can be found on display in New Mexico.
The purpose of this handbook is to provide a simple checklist of where the surviving military aircraft in New Mexico are now, and to provide at least one photograph of each type of aircraft mentioned. Former military aircraft are continuing to be being recovered from their crash sites, or traded or brought back from owners who have been flying them in other countries. In spite of this, there are still an incredible number of Warbirds from America’s aviation heritage for which no single example exists anywhere in the world, and many for which none exist in the USA. This handbook lists the Warbird survivors that can be found in New Mexico alphabetically by manufacturer, number and aircraft type. This list is also appended with a brief summary of theaircraft presently on display within the state by location, and a bit of the Warbird’s history in the US military. Due to space limitations, a selection of only those Warbirds that can be found in New Mexico is provided. If you are interested in other aviation books like this one, they can be found at the www.iUniverse.com online bookstore in the Warbird Survivor series.
No list can ever be completely up to date, so if you as a reader have additional information to add, please forward an update to me at 2110 Cloverdale Drive, Colorado Springs, CO, 80920, or e-mail me at h.skaarup@worldnet.att.net.
It is my sincere hope that the list of New Mexico Warbird Survivors will continue to grow as more of them are recovered and restored. Grant that you find the handbook useful. Cheers, Harold A. Skaarup
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge each and every member of the museum staffs, particularly the volunteers including Dan Taylor with the War Eagles Air Museum; Air Historian MSgt Paul Witt at Cannon AFB, and Captain Paul Kanning, Hollowman AFB, who contributed a number of photographs and articles; and the Historians at Holloman and Kirtland Air Force Bases; Harold Brown with the Commemorative Air Force in Hobbs, and Becky Kenny, Director of Public Relations and Marketing for the National Atomic Museum.
I would also like to thank the archival staffs in the Library at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO; the historians and staff of the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio; and the National Museum of Naval Aviation historians and staffs in Pensacola, FL. Their patience and assistance has been invaluable in helping me to ensure that the data that has gone into the compilation of this handbook is as complete and accurate as it can be at the time of printing. Their support and assistance in tracking down the information pertaining to each of the individual aircraft listed here is greatly appreciated. Many thanks to each and every one of you.
List of Abbreviations
AFB Air Force Base
ANG Air National Guard
CF Canadian Forces
CAFB Cannon Air Force Base
HAFB Holloman Air Force Base
KAFB Kirtland Air Force Base
NAM National Atomic Museum
NAS Naval Air Station
NMNA National Museum of Naval Aviation
NM New Mexico
NM ANG New Mexico Air National Guard
NORAD North American Aerospace Command
USAAC United States Army Air Corps
USAAF United States Army Air Force
USAF United States Air Force
USAFA United States Air Force Academy
USAFM United States Air Force Museum
USCG United States Coast Guard
USMC United States Marine Corps
USN United States Navy
USPACOM United States Pacific Command
USSPACECOM United States Space Command
Introduction
For those of you who are familiar with the airspace over New Mexico and its environs, the weather and colors of the landscape can be incredibly beautiful, particularly early in the morning. During my tour of duty with the Canadian Forces detachment based in Colorado Springs, I had the privilege of working with Air Force personnel who had been stationed at Cannon, Holloman and Kirtland Air Force Bases. It has been my privilege to serve alongside a good number of the highly professional airmen and women are currently working for NORAD in the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center.
Being a resident of Colorado has also provided me with the opportunity to examine a number of New Mexico’s Warbird survivors close up, and to visit many of the sites where aviation history has been made in the state. These opportunities continue to be a privilege and an honour that is part of my military service, and I would therefore like to share some of the information I gathered with you. It is my hope that this book will show you where to find and view some of New Mexico’s veteran military aircraft, and to perhaps take an interest in some of the military aviation history that can be found in this warm and friendly state on America’s southern border. This book is specifically intended to provide a where are they
guide for residents and visitors to New Mexico who are interested in its rich resources of historical military aircraft.
I have had a serious interested in military aircraft for most of my life. My father served 20 years in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and later the Canadian Forces (CF), and retired as a Warrant Officer in 1973. During his tour of duty, he also worked for NORAD while stationed at Canadian Forces Base North Bay, Ontario.
As a Canadian Forces Army officer, the military has provided me with the opportunity to tour a number of aviation museums in North America and Europe. I was also lucky to have participated in a great number of airshows as both a civilian skydiver and military parachutist. These airshows gave me the opportunity to hear the sound of a P-51 Mustang and the chance to sit in the cockpit of a number similar to the one now on display at Kirtland AFB. Based on my flight experiences and observations to date, however, I concluded that you should never land in an airplane if you do not want to die in one. (I am equipped with two perfectly serviceable parachutes
which I pack myself, and you have only one airplane. Also, there is no such thing as a perfectly serviceable airplane
as any mechanic will tell you).
I continue to serve as Army Intelligence officer with the Canadian Forces, and it is my great good fortune to have been posted the Canadian Forces Support Unit (CFSU) at HQ NORAD and USSPACE-COM, and to be working at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station (CMAFS) in Colorado Springs. Although I am in the army, I’ve never lost my fascination for old Warbirds. Because of this, I continue to identify and research the locations of as many of them as possible. I then attempt to verify their serial numbers through the United States Air Force Museum (USAFM), and the National Museum of Naval Aviation (NMNA), and to photograph the aircraft wherever they may be on display.
The main reason that I am producing this book is to provide other interested aviation enthusiasts with the kind of guide-book that I would liked to have had before arriving in New Mexico to have a look at them. This guidebook should tell the aircraft hunter where he or she may still find these Warbirds and gate guardians, and, where possible, a