Pima Air Museum page 1


The Pima Air & Space Museum has its own website. Dave and I recently went to Tucson, Arizona for a license plate convention (Dave collects these). While there, we took some time to do some sightseeing, and a first stop was the Pima Air and Space Museum, located next-door to Davis-Monthan AFB just south of the city. In spite of the sweltering temperatures (it was about 105 F the day we visited), we took time to see most of the aircraft and also tour the famous "boneyard" at the air base. Click on any photo to see a larger image.
Walking in the front entrance leads you underneath a massive Sikorsky CH-54 "Skycrane" helicopter. Looking like a large insect, these helicopters were seen fairly regularly in the skies of San Diego County when I was a kid.
		Once you walk out the door into the blistering desert heat, you are greeted by this Grumman OV-1C "Mohawk". This was an aircraft used for observation purposes by the Army.
There are some famous aircraft at the museum, such as this Lockheed C-121A, a version of the famous Constellation airliner. This particular example is named "Columbine" and was General Eisenhower's personal plane.
		Also at Pima is this Douglas VC-118A "Liftmaster", a military version of the DC-6. This aircraft was Air Force One for Kennedy, and you can tour its interior.
The Bell UH-1 "Iroquois" is better known as the "Huey", and has starred in countless movies and shows about Vietnam.
		The Sikorsky H-5G "Dragonfly" is a remarkably small craft that appeared shortly after WWII and was used for transport and rescue operations.
The Sikorsky H-37B "Mojave" is a large lifting helicopter. It has clamshell doors at the front. I notice a rather interesting resemblance to the Japanese "Bullet" trains.
		The Piasecki HUP-3 "Retriever" was also used for rescue and transport. It sports dual rotors.
The Piasecki H-21C "Shawnee" was better known as the "Flying Banana" for obvious reasons!
		Once quite commonly seen, the Sikorsky H-19B "Chickasaw" has disappeared. It saw duty in the Korean War, and in civilian use.
The Douglas AD-5N "Skyraider" was an aircraft designed to operate from a carrier. It was used as a fighter-bomber, but could also be configured to hold up to 12 passengers!
		This is the Douglas A4-D-2 Skyhawk, a lightweight fighter. For awhile, the Navy's Blue Angels flew these. I saw them perform at Miramar NAS when I was growing up.
The Grumman E-1B "Tracer" was a modified version of the S-2 that sported a huge radome. I saw the later versions, the E-2 "Hawkeyes" regularly tooling around the skies of San Diego County when I was a kid.
		The Lockheed AP-2H "Neptune" was used for marine reconnaisance, and was quite successful at it.
The Fairchild A-10A Thunderbolt II is a ground attack aircraft, known as a "tank buster". It is specially armored and is known for its survivability. I saw these actively flying from Davis-Monthan while we were at the museum.
		The Republic F-105G Thunderchief saw extensive service in Vietnam and later. I saw these lined up next to F-4s when I visited Victorville AFB on a school outing when I was a kid.
The air museum has several aircraft that were modified for fire duty. This is a Douglas C-54 that has been converted to a borate bomber.
		Here's another conversion--this Fairchild C-119J has been converted to fire duty with the adidtion of a jet engine mounted on top of the fuselage.
The Grumman AF-2S "Guardian" was originally designed for anti-submarine warfare, but it also served as a borate bomber, too!
		Here's an unusual plane, with three engines reminiscent of the Ford Tri-Motor. It's the Northrop YC-125 "Raider", and it wasn't built until after WWII. It was meant to land troops, but never was used for that.

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