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Abandoned military bases tank museum8/25/2023 ![]() ![]() 41 at Kingman, and by October of 1945 planes were being flown in, parked, and processed. The RFC quickly established Sales Depot No. Kingman offered huge open spaces, good weather for aircraft storage, and three runways, one of which was 6,800 feet in length. Training activities were completed by April of 1945, and the field was placed on standby.Īfter the war, the airfield was one of several used by the military to store huge number of surplus aircraft. Army Air Forces acquired approximately 4,145 acres in Mohave County and established the Kingman Army Airfield. It was one of the Army Air Corps largest airfields, training 35,000 individuals.īetween 19, the U.S. The Kingman Army Airfield in Arizona was built at the start of World War II as an Aerial Gunnery Training Base. Most obsolete planes were transferred to one of 28 storage locations, including these seven large disposal facilities: Kingman Army Air Field Disposal and Sales Depots for Obsolete Military Aircraft after World War II Eventually, workable storage locations were identified. Locations in the north were subject to snow storms and other inclement weather. Air field near coastlines subjected aircraft to mold, corrosion and rust. In early 1945, the Air Technical Service Command (ATSC) began to research locations suitable for storage of excess military aircraft. Where to Store the Excess Military Aircraft Fleet Planes were then assigned an airport, at places like Kingman and Walnut Ridge for short-term storage and subsequent disposal, or Davis-Monthan or Pyote for longer-term storage. The jet revolution made many aircraft obsolete, including the P-38, B-17 and B-24, among others, while planes like the B-29, A-26 Invader, and C-47 were destined for the reserve. The remaining planes were classified as 1) " obsolete" or 2) " eligible for the strategic aircraft reserve". A few, such as the "Enola Gay" and "Bockscar" (see photo below), would be preserved for display in museums. Others planes were transferred to civilian control, or to the Air Forces of allied countries. Aluminum was the prime metal sought after, melted and poured into ingots for sale and shipping.Īirlines procured a number of transport planes, primarily DC-3 and C-54 aircraft, for building up their post-war inventories of commercial airliners. The remainder of the aircraft was cut into pieces, and pushed in a large furnace, or smelter. Main components such as engines, armament, instruments and radios were removed from each plane. So the method of "salvage and melt" was adopted. In November 1945, it was estimated a total of 117,210 aircraft would be transferred as surplus.Ī study was conducted to determine the most cost effective way to dispose of planes it was determined that too many man-hours were required to dismantle planes for parts, and the cost for storage areas for the parts was too high. By the summer of 1945, at least 30 sales-storage depots and 23 sales centers were in operation. The RFC established depots around the country to store and sell surplus aircraft. The War Assets Administration (WAA) and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) handled the disposal of these aircraft. Within a year of the signing of peace treaties, about 34,000 airplanes had been moved to 30 locations within the U.S. What to Do with Tens of Thousands of Surplus Aircraft Most, however, were returned home for storage, sale or scrapping. military aircraft overseas were not worth the time or money to bring back to the States, and were consequently buried, bulldozed or sunk at sea. Consideration was given to storing a substantial number of airplanes, but the realization that the expense to store them was too great. Following the war, estimates of the number of excess surplus airplanes ran as high as 150,000. Foreign Economic Administration began a program to scrap certain obsolete, damaged and surplus military aircraft overseas. Of that number, 21,583 (7.34%) were lost in the United States in test flights, ferrying, training accidents, etc., and 43,581 were lost en route to the war and in overseas operations.īy 1944 the U.S. The United States had manufactured about 294,000 aircraft for the war effort. However, once peace was assured, the military found itself with a huge surplus of aircraft. Walnut Ridge, Arkansas after World War II Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters stacked vertically at
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