Boneyard in New Mexico F-8s, B-45/B-50?

chasd25 · **Posted:** Mon May 01, 2006 4:11 pm

In the bookstore the other day flipping through the warbird mags, and stumbled across an article about a boneyard somewhere in New Mexico. I can't recall the mag (should have bought it), but I believe it mentioned something about these airframes being from some Tech School.....started with an "S" I remember that.

Anyhow, lots of pics of beat up looking F-8s, and a few other planes, the article mentioned B-45s, and B-50s, but had no pics of these airframes, and went into very little detail about them.

Does this ring a bell to anyone? Anyone know any details about these birds?

Charlie

slinky · **Posted:** Mon May 01, 2006 9:09 pm

That sounds like Socorro NM.... Several restorations came from there including a Cutlass. There is still a lot of neat stuff, but looked pretty hammered from the shots I saw. I'll try to find the link to it....

chasd25 · **Posted:** Mon May 01, 2006 9:33 pm

slinky wrote:

That sounds like Socorro NM.... Several restorations came from there including a Cutlass. There is still a lot of neat stuff, but looked pretty hammered from the shots I saw. I'll try to find the link to it....

Yup, that was it Socorro, NM

Lots of F-8s in the pics I saw, and they did look pretty hammered!

I'm interested in knowing about the B-50 and B-45.

Always liked the B-50, its a shame there are only something like 4-5 airframes left.

Charlie

slinky · **Posted:** Mon May 01, 2006 9:47 pm

In the shots I saw there were several B-45 fuselages, F-8s, some Cutlass parts, and other hulks I can't remember.... I try to find them and forward them....

B29Gunner · **Posted:** Mon May 01, 2006 9:49 pm

What specifically did the article say about the B-50's? Are we talking bits & pieces, fuselage sections, or what?

Did the article mention who owned the yard? Someone get me some intel!

Tulio · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 1:05 am **Posts:** 3236

Guys, I made a trip to Socorro NM last October, in order to check on the rumor of airframes left there.

Nothing, nothing at all, left. The airport is empty of any warbirds, while at the NM School of Mines, I was told that they used the airframes for explosive testing.

I am again in NM, so if you have a specific trail to follow regarding these aircraft, let me know and I will take a trip to check them out.

Saludos,

Tulio

Tulio · **Joined:** Mon May 03, 2004 1:05 am **Posts:** 3236

This is a list of the airframes that were once there:

Socorro, New Mexico

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech)

Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC)

Boneyard:

B-36H 51-5720

Runway:

RF-84F 51-17048 / AZ-B
RF-84F 52-8724 / AZ-E
RF-84F 52-8747 / AZ-L

WB-57C 53-3850
RB-57F 63-13502

F-84F 51-1676
F-84F 51-1745
F-84F 51-9357
F-84F 51-9369
F-84F 51-9405
F-84F 52-6404
F-84F 52-6479
F-84F 52-7408

RF-84F 51-1852
RF-84F 51-1872
RF-84F 51-1916
RF-84F 51-1941
RF-84F 51-9387
RF-84F 52-7416
RF-84F 52-7418
RF-84F 52-7419
RF-84F 52-7429
RF-84F 53-7558

F-86H 53-3704

F-86L 51-6133
F-86L 51-6139
F-86L 51-6140
F-86L 52-4112
F-86L 52-10095
F-86L 53-0693

F-102A 55-3448
F-102A 55-3451
F-102A 55-3460
F-102A 56-0989
F-102A 56-0992
F-102A 56-1033
F-102A 56-1041
F-102A 56-1138
F-102A 56-1168
F-102A 56-1465

F-105D 60-0465
F-105D 51-6133

NOTE:

I made an express trip to Socorro, NM during October 2005, in order to verify the existence of these airframes. All of them had been assigned to the NM School of Mining Technology, and every single one of them, was destroyed with explosives, during the testing of detonation and explosion loads.

Saludos,

Tulio

airnutz · **Posted:** Tue May 02, 2006 1:12 pm

I looked for some photos on the web of the Socorro birds to no avail, but
did run across a Crusader-nut who compiled a list of F8 survivors..many
of which were listed at Socorro EMRTC...
http://gator.crouze.com/chapter7page.php

I think there was a photo taken of a Vought F6U Pirate at the Socorro
Range posted on the Aero-Web website, but I haven't been able to access
that site for the past couple of weeks now...Pirate for the unfamiliar..
http://ails.arc.nasa.gov/Images/Aeronau ... 818_a.jpeg

Jerry O'Neill · **Posted:** Tue May 02, 2006 1:36 pm

I believe that may have been an older photo (Pre-1979) of the F6U Pirate. That is the one recovered buy the New England Air Museum in Oct. of '79, and now under restoration at the Vought Heritage Group in Dallas. The fuesalge was loaded and brought to CT and wings were left in NM when the Tornado hit the Museum that October. The plan was to come back and getthjem later. By the time all the dust settled in CT, the wings had been scraped. The last flight of that Pirate is detailed in Boone Guyton's book, "Whistling Death".
Blue skies,
Jerry

slinky · **Posted:** Tue May 02, 2006 1:52 pm

I found the shots that I was thinking about. I have never posted pics but could send them to someone if they want them....

AirJimL2 · **Posted:** Tue May 02, 2006 2:10 pm

slinky wrote:

That sounds like Socorro NM.... Several restorations came from there including a Cutlass.

Which Cutlass came out of Socorro?

Jim

airnutz · **Posted:** Tue May 02, 2006 9:31 pm

Airdales wrote:

I believe that may have been an older photo (Pre-1979) of the F6U Pirate. That is the one recovered buy the New England Air Museum in Oct. of '79, and now under restoration at the Vought Heritage Group in Dallas. The fuesalge was loaded and brought to CT and wings were left in NM when the Tornado hit the Museum that October. The plan was to come back and getthjem later. By the time all the dust settled in CT, the wings had been scraped. The last flight of that Pirate is detailed in Boone Guyton's book, "Whistling Death".
Blue skies,
Jerry

Ahhh..thanks Airdales. BDK recently posted photos of the Pirate. Did I
miss it, or do we still not know the BuNo of that bird??

BHawthorne · **Posted:** Mon Feb 02, 2009 4:28 pm

Tulio wrote:

NOTE:

I made an express trip to Socorro, NM during October 2005, in order to verify the existence of these airframes. All of them had been assigned to the NM School of Mining Technology, and every single one of them, was destroyed with explosives, during the testing of detonation and explosion loads.

Saludos,

Tulio

How blown away is blown away? Can they still be of use for picking over of parts? Makes me wonder if this isn't where my fuselage came from. The story I was told was that the land owner cleared off the fuselage and Texas Aviation Museum at Slaton got it. They sold it in 2005 and that person sold it in 2008 to me. Wonder if the wings and the tail of my aircraft isn't in Socorro someplace half blown up.

At the very least I'd love to pick over F-84F 51-9357 and F-84F 51-9369. Those are the same series as my aircraft.

Warbirdnerd · **Joined:** Fri Apr 30, 2004 7:34 pm **Posts:** 2923

More pics of Socorro can be found here:
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... ht=socorro :wink:

jamesintucson · **Joined:** Sat Jan 29, 2005 1:42 am **Posts:** 546

BHawthorne wrote:

Tulio wrote:

NOTE:

I made an express trip to Socorro, NM during October 2005, in order to verify the existence of these airframes. All of them had been assigned to the NM School of Mining Technology, and every single one of them, was destroyed with explosives, during the testing of detonation and explosion loads.

Saludos,

Tulio

How blown away is blown away? Can they still be of use for picking over of parts? Makes me wonder if this isn't where my fuselage came from. The story I was told was that the land owner cleared off the fuselage and Texas Aviation Museum at Slaton got it. They sold it in 2005 and that person sold it in 2008 to me. Wonder if the wings and the tail of my aircraft isn't in Socorro someplace half blown up.

At the very least I'd love to pick over F-84F 51-9357 and F-84F 51-9369. Those are the same series as my aircraft.

If you scroll down toward the bottom of this link there is a short article on the testing they do at Socorro.

http://www.semp.us/publications/securit ... ritasID=12

When they say blown away they mean very, very small pieces.

James

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