marine air wrote:
As a taxpayer. I would like to see it retained, as a parts bird , if nothing else. Haven't there been aircraft. like the SKyraider that were withdrawn from combat because they ran out of spare parts?
Reminds me also of the A-10. One day they will be withdrawing the A-10, B-52H etc. not because of obsolescence but because they ran out of airframes, etc.
The D model doesn't have many...if any...parts that could be used to keep the Hs flying.
On old "war story": When I was a young lieutenant I had to attend the Wing Commander's daily "Stand up" briefing. We had Gs at the unit and one needed the "sailboats", small fairings on the engine pylons (they tend to crack with the vibrations caused by the engines...especially with water injections). The CC asked the maintenace officer if they could get any out of D-M, and the answer was no, the pylons were different.