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

[jet1]

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

and me too!

[jbloomer2]

I took an explosives class at Socorro 3 to 4 years ago. The airframes are located in a secure storage yard North of the town against the mountains. And when you are in the mountains there are some smaller yards with a few fuselages in them. This area is not open to the public. We drove by the yard's each day. I saw plenty of F-4 and F-102 fuselages (probably 50 to 70). I do not remember any B-50 items. Also, there were no wings, just fuselages. According to the instructors these fuselages are still owned by the Air Force and are trucked there from Davis Monthan for explosive testing. And assuming from what we did, not much is left afterwords. I asked about going to the yard to look around and was told absolutely not!

[viking73]

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

WOW! Great pics. In a sad sort of way... I have always wondered about the Socorro planes and these pictures are super. Did you take these or did you get them from someone?

[Warbirdnerd]

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

WOW! Great pics. In a sad sort of way... I have always wondered about the Socorro planes and these pictures are super. Did you take these or did you get them from someone?

I did not take them "Slinky" sent them to me and I hosted them in my Photobucket account...

[BHawthorne]

Sort of a bummer to see all that histroy go out with a huge bang. Worse case, I've got all the aircraft microfilm for the F-84F on order from NASM, so I can reproduce anything I have missing. It's a huge case of trading time for money or vice versa. The only places I've found F-84F parts at they want a mint for. Probably just makes more sense for me to machine the parts myself.

[Taigh Ramey]

I was working as a volunteer for the Pima Air Museum and I went along on many trips to Socorro. Around 1978 or 1980 I helped remove a B-45 nose section along with a B-47 nose. Fred Lindig and I drove them back to Pima.

I remember talking Fred into letting me ride in the B-47 cockpit after we left a fuel stop. I had snagged a B-29 pilots seat which I hauled up into the B-47 cockpit. Man that cockpit was a long ways up there! I was a happy kid to be able to "fly" a B-47 down the road at 60 MPH that is until all of the Socorro dirt, dust and debris started flying around in a tornado inside the cockpit. I was spitting crud while trying to get Fred's attention to get him to pull over. He was probably laughing at me as he kept going for a while before pulling over. What a ride!

I saw lots of B-29's there including Washington (British B-29's) fuselage sections with the roundels. I never saw any B-50's or components while I was there.

I remember seeing a very early P2 Neptune nose section which Bob Johnson (Director of Restoration at Pima) said was the prototype Neptune.

Pima talked about getting the Cutlass but never did. I often wondered where it went as it was sure impressive.

Later I went back to retrieve many B-29 parts for other museums including the Imperial War Museum's B-29 It's Hawg Wild. Over the years the aircraft were scrapped and the yard in the photo link above was cleared out.

[BHawthorne]

I was working as a volunteer for the Pima Air Museum and I went along on many trips to Socorro. Around 1978 or 1980 I helped remove a B-45 nose section along with a B-47 nose. Fred Lindig and I drove them back to Pima.

I remember talking Fred into letting me ride in the B-47 cockpit after we left a fuel stop. I had snagged a B-29 pilots seat which I hauled up into the B-47 cockpit. Man that cockpit was a long ways up there! I was a happy kid to be able to "fly" a B-47 down the road at 60 MPH that is until all of the Socorro dirt, dust and debris started flying around in a tornado inside the cockpit. I was spitting crud while trying to get Fred's attention to get him to pull over. He was probably laughing at me as he kept going for a while before pulling over. What a ride!

It's a small world. I was talking with Pima last january to get that B-47A nose moved to KAM, but nothing became of it. Somehow the National Naval Aviation Museum owns it and not an Air Force contact. It's the only major piece of a B-47A still around. I'd love to see it back in Wichita, but moving it is easier said than done, besides KAM is having problems getting the B-47E they already have back together. Not enough volunteer help to get it done. Both Pima and the Navy want to scrap that nose, but lost the paperwork on it. Pima has no intention to restore it. That's why I want it moved to KAM. With it being the only B-47A cockpit left in existance, it shouldn't be scrapped. Anyone have suggestion on how to move that booger to Wichita? If it can get to KAM at least it'll be safe from scrap.

It's hard to tell form the pic, but how much of the cockpit is left there when you guys moved it?

[Taigh Ramey]

I wonder how the Navy could possibly own the B-47 nose. It is my understanding that everything that came out of Socorro was directly transferred to Pima. I was not aware of the Navy's involvement.

I also heard at the time that the B-47 nose was the same one used in movie Strategic Air Command with Jimmy Stewart. I often wondered how the same nose used in the movie could have ended up at Socorro.

[BHawthorne]

Yep, it's a bit strange. I can't make sense to a lot of the history behind it. I've got the primary contact info for the Navy and Pima if anyone is willing to help though.

Maybe the reason why they can't find paperwork on it is that Pima actually does own it without Navy or Air Force fingers in the pie. Donno why Pima directed me to Navy contacts for the transfer to KAM though.

[BHawthorne]

Hi,

It belongs to the Navy, we've been trying to get rid of it for years, it
came off a bombing range. It would have gone to DRMO for scrap years ago
but nobody knows the FS number for it so it can't get turned in. It has
a Navy museum accession number. A few groups have been interested in the
past but are unwilling to pay for all the costs associated with moving a
16 foot diameter piece.

Contact Helen Watson in Pensacola if you are serious about acquiring it

We will never do anything with it as we have a complete EB-47 already.

Good luck and thanks for the interest.

Scott Marchand
Director of Collections & Aircraft Restoration
Pima Air & Space Museum
6000 E. Valencia Rd.
Tucson, Az 85706
www.pimaair.org

I still want to know how the heck the Navy owns it. Maybe this is another nose that came off of a naval bombing range? That would be the only way it would make sense.

[BHawthorne]

That's wierd. Is that the proper Section-41 for that aircraft? Looks like a B-47B or newer Section-41 in that photo.

Last edited by BHawthorne on Tue Feb 03, 2009 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[BHawthorne]

That's wierd. Is that the proper Section-41 for that aircraft?

Testing evolution.

Just find it historicly odd that the XB-47 got upgraded but the 10 B-47A never did and got relegated to being trainers.

[airnutz]

I wonder how the Navy could possibly own the B-47 nose. It is my understanding that everything that came out of Socorro was directly transferred to Pima. I was not aware of the Navy's involvement.

Maybe it spent some time at one of the Navy weapons ranges as a target or possibly was within the
Navy museum system? As the Navy themselves have said(or used to say given the "new attitude"), "Once it is Navy, it stays Navy"!

There are or were a couple of later B-47's at China Lake, not to mention the USAF B-29's, F-84's etc.

[BHawthorne]

Digging around for information, looks like my fuselage was also a Socorro, NM fuselage along with 51-9357. Both were sent to Texas Air Museum in Slaton. Makes me wonder how many pieces the aft fuselage is in by now. Now I know where all that annoying red dirt is from in the fuselage.

[viking73]

According to Joe Baugher's site, the front part of 51-9357 is still in Slaton at the museum. I guess both aft fuselages are long gone now?