The entrance to the museum is situated in a small building that also houses a modest gift shop and a snack area. Behind this building a second structure can be found. Inside that is a collection of aviation related parafernalia such as flight jackets, patches and lose equipment (but no aircraft). The SAC base itself has been turned into a regional airport and during our visit to the museum a few interesting aircraft could be seen in the circuit. One was Caribou N149HF from the Cavanaugh Flight Museum and Navy P-3 163290 (such a pity I left my long lens in the car). One of the hangars is in use by the museum as working space for its restoration projects.
Now on to the pictures. I've selected some random images.
This B-17G 43-38635 served as a fire bomber after it was retired from military service.
Douglas B-23 39-00045 never went into combat as the type was outperformed by the Mitchell and Marauder. Some of them were converted into cargo planes and got UC-67 as type designation.
B-24M Liberator 44-41916 could also be 44-41906 as none of the original identity plates inside the aircraft are preserved. It could do with some TLC.
This B-29A Superfortress 44-61535 actualy consists of three different airframes. The forward fuselage is from 44-70064 (as can be seen on the dataplate stencil on the side). The tail section is from 44-61535 and the outer wings were donated by 44-84084.
The B-29 evolved into the B-50 (also called Superfortress). This WB-50D 49-0351 was converted to weather services and after 8 years of storage at Davis-Monthan it was overhauled for a ferry flight to the Castle museum in 1980.
This behemoth is RB-36H Peacemaker 51-13730. It has the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built. The standing phrase among the flight crew was: 'we have 6 turning and 4 burning'. Due to rapidly advancing aircraft designs the type only saw 8 years of military service. There are only four airframes left of which this is the only Recce version. The transportation to Castle meant it had to be taken apart into 167 pieces that would fit on 11 flatbed railway carts. It took volunteers two and a half years to put it back together again. There are plans to restore it.
The B-45A Tornado was the first operational jet bomber in USAF service. This 47-00008 is one of only three examples still in existence.
This B-47E Stratojet 52-0166 was dumped at NAS China Lake. After years of sitting there it was restored to be fit for a ferry flight. Restoration to get her prepped for this flight took over 40.000 hours.
B-52D Stratofortress 56-0612 as so many of its type saw extensive action over Vietnam. D-models were painted black to improve their camouflage.
Martin EB-57E 55-4253. The American cousin of the English Electric Canberra. This one was at some point stationed at Ramstein, Germany.
The B-58 Hustler. This 55-0666 was one of 11 YB-58A built and was retained by Convair as a test and evaluation platform for a number of years before it was transfered to the airforce. After only five years of service it was retired. It is under restoration at Castle for a number of years now.
C-119C Flying Boxcar 49-0199 served with Aero Union and Hemet Valley as a fire bomber after its military career was over in 1969.
The US Coast Guard used this HC-131A Samaritan 5785 from its base in Miami.
Another example of an aircraft that was used near water is this HU-16B Albatross 51-7163.
One of the over 800 built KC-97's. This is the L-model 53-0354.
KC-135A 55-3139. A very early airframe as it was number 22 off the production line.
The Douglas C-54 90407 or as the Navy would call it; the R5D-4. In 1962 the various armed services decided to use a common denominator for aircraft types from then on.
The RA-3B Skywarrior 144843. It has also carried civil markings when it was loaned to Raytheon to help in the development of the Patriot missile.
This beautiful restored A-4L Skyhawk 149532 is in the Castle collection since 2006.
RA-5C Vigilante 156615 was the last of its kind to make a catapult launch from an aircraft carrier. This happened on the USS Ranger in 1979.
Another Recce aircraft. This time the RF-8G Crusader 145607.
F-14D Tomcat 164601.
Back to the early days of the jet age. This is Lockheed P-80 (later F-80) 45-08490. The Shooting Star was developed during WW2 but never saw any action. The T-33 and P-94 Starfire were further developments of this type. Both of these models are also present at Castle.
The F-84C Thunderjet 47-1530. The model was unreliable due to technical malfunctions and its limited engine thrust.
The ultimate evolution of the F-84 was the F-84F Thunderstreak. This 51-9433 is part of the museum collection since 1991.
The Northrop F-89 Scorpion is an odd looking aircraft. This is F-89J 52-1927. The Scorpion was the first jet powered interceptor and among the first jet fighters to carry guided missiles.
Also beautifully restored is this NASA F-100C 53-1709. It was the first C-model off the production line. After it had set a world record for supersonic speed in 1955 it was transferred to NASA.
QF-106A Delta Dart 58-0793. One of the only handfull of aircraft in the Castle collection that carries a fake serial.
Only a few non-US aircraft can be seen in the Castle collection. This CF-100 Canuck 100504 is one of them.
F-16A ADF 80-0543 once could be seen in Europe when it was stationed at Hahn in Germany.
My personal favorite in the collection is this EC-121T 62-3417 Warning Star. This one was destined for the Evergreen Museum but after the demise of parent company Evergreen Aviation it was bought by the Castle museum.
The elegant lines of T-38A 64-13271.
Another former European resident. This CT-39A Sabreliner 61-0664 was once stationed at Wiesbaden.
This SR-71A Blackbird 61-7960 is located outside the gates of the actual museum (together with a VC-9). For some reason it is without serial presentation. Only the exhaust covers reveal its identity. Museum staff told me that this one flew the very first mission over Vietnam.
Another non-US aircraft is this Vulcan B2 XM605. It was flown to the museum in 1981.
In the backlot of the museum I noticed these UH-1 and A-7. Sofar I have not been able to find out their identities.
I hope you liked this selection.
