Warbird Information Exchange

I think there are 3 or 4 Vigilantes at China Lake, in the storage area.

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Indeed it looks like three: https://maps.app.goo.gl/hpG3qpKrCgXxNXve6

Also a few F-111s, F-4s, A-6s and even some V-22 hulks. Plus a larger collection of F-14s than at AMARG. The Aardvark directly to the east of the approach to runway 32 contains (I believe) one of the Navy F-111Bs.

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Had God intended for man to fly behind inline engines, Pratt & Whitney would have made them.

CB

http://www.angelfire.com/dc/jinxx1/Desrt_Wings.html

There does appear to be one bombed out B29 hulk out on the range. More like a pair of wings and a partial tail section, but there is something there.

Will

This should be 44-69957, up to the north. The extreme nose section was saved several years ago. Otherwise, claims of "B-29s" etc at China Lake are several years out of date.

Yep, that appears to be the one

Will

Map data is of 2023.

F-86s or FJ's and F-84s, nose sections, wings, fuselages, bits and pieces all approx. 1 mile east of the airfield. F9F drone wrecks dot all the northeast area. southeast of the field showing 4 drive-ways with lots of fuselages and wings and including a f-86 fuselage. I also see 1 F-89 tail cone.

There are also several b-29 hulks just west of the runway. There is fences around each wreck! I see wings, tails, fuselages, and even a red F9f cougar with one wing still on it next to a b-29 hulk.

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B-29s are in the museum compound, one left on the ranges. There is one F-86F remaining and that's in the museum. There are no FJs at China Lake.

That area east of the airfield does look like there are F-86 parts as well as F-84F tails. Not sure about the various fenced areas being B-29 parts. Could be, but I see wing sections of "something" just not sure what.

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Had God intended for man to fly behind inline engines, Pratt & Whitney would have made them.

CB

http://www.angelfire.com/dc/jinxx1/Desrt_Wings.html

Is the map data dated 2023 or copyright 2023?

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

For many years the Google aerial view of Duxford could be dated to around a five week period in 2003. The image included the crater and tracks of thd emergency vehicles in thd field where the unfortunate Firefly crash occurred in early July and the Blenheim can be seen whole and hearty on the airfield - it was involved in a landing accident about a month later.

There is actually an additional wreck at Dugway BUT it is a fuselage only and in rough shape to boot. A genius contractor decided to try and "hide" it by burying it. Its location on the test range requires Dugway military support to access it and then heavy equipment to recover it. Then there is the challenge of it having been buried in fairly alkali soil for 20+ years and the conservation effort to save it. Sadly at this point I am not sure how "worth it" chasing this one would be.

Tom P.

The partial B-29 at the airfield boneyard is 44-70102 "Here's Hopin" (444th BG Tinian?). It was recovered from Airport lake and parked next to Doc when it was still at Inyokern. When Doc left for Witchita, HH was hauled back to the base where it sits now. I'm pretty sure (but can't prove it) the missing parts are at Aero Traders "Secret" yard. The SB-29 at Airport lake was slated for preservation until some AH bombed it. It's riddled with holes, IIRC The Doc crew scavenged the tail and The nose ended up at Palm Springs. No idea whats left, but less than what the overhead shows. The Echo range B-29 is a wadded up mess. It looks terrible in person. I don't think there's a straight panel on it. When I last saw it, the tail had broken off and was several hundred feet away. It had been used for explosive proximity testing. Even if you could get permission to recover it, getting acsess is nigh impossible since anyone going out there needs a clearance and that ain't happening without serious political juice that the warbird community isn't likely to have, no matter how important some of them think they are (you're not).

Above said, I haven't been out there in almost 20 years, so my post is my take on things and what what I remember from actually being there and seeing all three aircraft in person. I was also who ID'd Here's Hopin when it was sitting in Inyokern. I found the nose art outlines and ID'd it from photos available at the time.

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Rob

The OP was pure whimsy; people see old photos and think that's how it is.

But on a strangely related topic, I have photos (taken circa 1987) of lines of Ontos SPRs (Ontoses?) at China Lake. Having rather a soft spot for those oddities, I hope that some survived?

Probably used as a stand-in for ZSU-23s....they kind of look alike (if you squint).
They were given a fair bit of respect back in the day.
I remember opposing and finding them doing Intel analysis during war games at Squadron Officers School.

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I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

Same here. I know two went to the Marine Corps museum at Pendelton and now operate. A few more might have escaped over the years. As far as I know, the rest are still sitting out there rotting away :/ Back when I still had acsess to the ranges, I did and inventory on all of them at Kennedy Stands. Many were combat vets, a few were at Hue during Tet. I even tracked down a few former crew members, many who have now passed on or I lost contact with. There was another B-29 there as well, it got blown up during the firepower display when Pres Kennedy visited. Parts of it are still (or were) scattered all over the place. (what the clean up crews missed).

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Rob