Hi all,
This day was going to be the only day with no planned operational stops, only museums were on the itinerary. However, the first one is locates next to an operational airbase luckily. But before we went there, we had to take a look at nearby Victorville airfield as mentioned already yesterday.
Victorville
(T-235) KDC-10 std (N235UL), “334 sq 75 years” mks
63-7519/GA F-4C pr, badges of 20 FS, 21 TFS, 35 TTS, 561 TFS, 562 TFTS
N264DE KDC-10 ex KLu T-264
2902/02 KC-30 2/2 GT mks, on order?
A difficult airport, especially when there is not much time, but obviously the Brazilian A.330 was the highlight of the visit. And it was parked near the fence, so it could be graphed as well, nice. Then it was quickly on to the first museum of the day, where I started with the operational stuff.
March AFB
C-17A, 452 AMW, 729 AS: 94-0068, 97-0043, 04-4138, 05-5139, 05-5141, 05-5142, 05-5144, 05-5145,
KC-135, 452 AMW, 336 ARS: 57-1438, 57-1459, 57-1468, 57-2598, 57-2603 (no mks),
58-0052, 61-0280, 61-0299, 61-0324, 62-3507, 62-3558, 63-8024
F-16CM, 114 FW, 175 FS: 88-0512, 88-0537, 89-2086 +1
11-5745 C-130J 19 AW, 61 AS
57-1506 KC-135R no mks (22 ARW?)
58-0103 KC-135T 6 ARW
60-0315 KC-135R 128 ARW, 126 ARS
60-0358 KC-135R 126 ARW, 108 ARS
61-0307 KC-135R 459 ARW, 756 ARS
163553 UC-12F no mks (H&HS Yuma)
166771/TO-512 UH-1Y HMLAT-303
93-26478 UH-60L 1 CAB mks
(10-20260) ? UH-60 1 CAB mks, 260 in white
(11-20412) ? UH-60 1 CAB mks, 412 in white
(11-20418) ? UH-60 1 CAB mks, 418 in white
(19-21092) ? UH-60 1 CAB mks, 092 in white
plus 3x UH-60 1 CAB
(16-03099) AH-64E +1
A nice score, with about a dozen bonus Army choppers temporarily based here for some exercise apparently. Help confirming their id’s would be very welcome of course (Andy?), and if some of the missing ones (either the choppers or the F-16) were read off by others please let me know! Also seen (but not interesting for me) were US Customs Be.350C N917A en RQ-9 16-326/HO.
With these in the pocket it was time to enter the museum.
March Field Air Museum
69-6188/DM A-7D pr, 355 TFW, 357 TFS mks
71-1368 YA-9A pr, no mks
44-35224/BC-224 A-26C pr (N6240D), “My Darling Ramona”
44-6393 VB-17G pr (CP-891), “Starduster”, no mks
(44-31032) TB-25N u. rest, bare metal (N3174G) => code BD-032 visible
(44-61669)/K-(15) B-29A pr (N3299F), 330 BG, 457 BS code
53-2275 B-47E pr, 22 BW c/s
55-0679 GB-52D pr, no mks
52-1519/PQ EB-57B pr, 158 DSE, 134 DSES mks
43-15579 VC-47A pr, 144 FIG c/s
53-0363 KC-97L pr, 136 ARW, 181 ARS mks
(54-0612) C-123K pr, “Comish”, no mks
54-2808 VC-131D pr (N8425H), no mks
55-3130 KC-135A pr, “Ole Grandad”, 7 BW, 7 ARS mks
65-0257 C-141B pr, “Spirit of the Inland Empire”, 452 AMW mks
63-7693/FP F-4C pr, 8 TFW, 497 TFS mks
63-7746 RF-4C pr, 163 TFG, 196 TFS mks
‘69-0382’ F-4E pr, ex 68-0382 , 163 TFG, 196 TFS mks
76-0008/ST GF-15A pr, no mks, fake tailcode
47-1595/FS-595 F-84C pr (N2884D) 33 FW, 59 FS
(51-9432)/FS-432 F-84F pr, 181 TFG, 113 TFS mks
‘49-1273’ F-86E u. rest, ex unknown, 144 FIW, 191 FIS mks
50-0560/FU-560 F-86D pr, 3555 CTTW mks
53-1304/FU-304 F-86H pr, 413 FDW, 1 FDS mks
52-1949/949/06 F-89J pr, 132 FIG, 124 FIS mks
54-1786/SK F-100C pr, 31 TFW, 188 TFS mks
59-0418 F-101B pr, 107 FIG, 136 FIS mks
56-1114 F-102A pr, 193 FIG, 196 FIS mks
56-0755/FG-755 F-104A pr, no mks
57-5803/HI F-105B pr, 419 TFW, 466 TFS mks
62-4383/RM F-105D pr, 355 TFW, 354 TFS mks
68-0245 FB-111A pr, “Ready Teddy”, no mks
‘63-13143‘ UH-1F pr (ex 64-15480), no mks
53-4326/326 CH-21B pr (N6792), no mks
48943 HH-34J pr (N944HH), no mks
67-21434 O-2A pr (N4070Q), no mks
67-21465 O-2B pr, camo c/s, no mks
68-11067 O-2A pr (N475DF) => repainted from civil c/s
(42-20000) P-39Q pr, composite, no mks
44-22614/88 P-59A pr, no mks
61-7975 SR-71A pr, 9 SRW, 1 SRS mks
30-385 YPT-6A pr* (NC13933), no mks
(41-21487) BT-13A pr, no mks
(42-16388) PT-17 pr*, N49379, as PT-13D
(42-83011)/29 PT-19B pr* (N54270), 46 ED mks
58-0513 T-33A pr, 26 AD, 84 FIS mks
52-7648 T-34A u. rest (N7388C), no mks, c/n G-29
53-3347/TD-347 T-34A pr (N6306D), no mks
57-2316 T-37B pr, no mks
60-0593 GT-38A pr, 82 FTW mks
62-4465 CT-39A pr, no mks
132789/RR-704 EA-1E pr, VAW-11 mks
154342/ES-04 TA-4J pr, VC-8 mks
161882/CY-00 EA-6B pr, VMAQ-2 mks
44588 UC-45J pr (N9657), no mks
56514 C-54Q pr (N67062), NATS c/s
157990/11 YF-14A pr, no mks, VF-3 c/s
12473/473 (Lodestar) R5O-5 pr (N505R), no mks
(51360)/060 SNJ-4 pr, real id? see below
143986 T-34B std, c/n BG-293, no mks
(144099)/248 T-34B std, c/n BG-406, no mks
69-16416 AH-1F pr, ‘Sweet 16’, no mks
62-12537 UH-1B pr (N81523), 1/4 Cav mks
66-00925 UH-1H pr (N140SP), “Willowdean”, 187 AHC mks
(?)/45 UH-1 pr, nose, “Hover Lover I”
68-17252 OH-6A pr, “5th Dimension”, C Troop, 1/9 Cav mks
69-16168 OH-58A pr (N996SD), no mks
(42-15046) L-5 pr, N63085, no mks
52-6218 YU-9A pr, AVRADCOM mks
1293 HU-16E pr, USCG Cape Cod mks
‘1979’ CJ-6 pr, fuselage (c/n 2332036), ex PLAAF serial unknown ?
N94469 Ce.152 pr, USAF c/s, civil only ?
N54301 TG-2 pr, ex USAF unknown (c/n 15)
1101 MiG-21F-13 pr, ex CZS AF, no mks
273 (MiG-15UTI) SBLim-2 pr (ex Pol AF773), no mks
1605 (MiG-17) Lim-5 pr (N170MG, ex Pol AF 1605)
(42 rd) Yak-52 u. rest (N6277Y), c/n 821905 , no mks
22122/22 C-119G pr, ex RCAF, no mks
E1076 Gnat pr, Indian AF, 2 sq mks
5744 MiG-23BN pr, Iraq AF c/s (ex Czech AF 5744)
‘AI-235’ D3A1 Val pr (N54865, ex BT-13 41-1306), CarDiv 1 mks
907 T-28A std, tail 49-1646, ex Mex AF, no mks
(?) T-28A std, plate on tail AF17206, code IR? (US 50-0203??)
0409 MiG-19S pr, ex CZS AF 0409
71-0790 A-37B pr, ex VietAF, unknown mks
I was the only one of our group that wanted to read all the operational stuff AND wanted to log and photograph all of the museum, so I had to work really hard. And with the climate here, you can imagine how wet my T-shirt got underneath the camera backpack… But it was worth it. No less than 15 new additions since my visit in 2018, not bad at all. Also a few repaints, the volunteers do their best here, that’s for sure. The PT-6, PT-17 and PT-19 were parked inside the restoration hangar, but seemed to be stored here. A few remarks and questions:
-the museum list their SNJ-4 as BuNo 51360, but there is also a flying one in the USA (N694US) claiming that id. A case of dataplate restoration? I guess there is no proof for either version?
-I saw preserved UH-1 62-12537 back in 2018 while it was still under restoration, and then I noticed it has/had the call plate of 65-09831. Probably some parts of that were used for the restoration.
-Somebody for the last operational units of the T-34s (52-7648, 53-3347 and 143986)?
-The A-37 has been repainted since my previous visit, what SNVAF unit does it represent? Photo here: https://www.airhistory.net/photo/536995 ... 0/AF71-790
-The F-86 came from Salt Lake City I was told by a volunteer. A search on the web only showed it as real id unknown unfortunately. Hopefully during the restoration more info comes to light.
-And the obvious ones: any additional info on the Mexican T-28s and the Huey nose would be very welcome….
-Finally, gone was T-34 140736 that was still present end of 2021, anybody knows where this went?
When time was up here we continued to the next museum, which was a new one for me. But before entering it we did a quick drive around the perimeter of the airfield, and with result!
Palm Springs
169230/QB-230 KC-130J VMGR-352
170273/QB-273 KC-130J VMGR-352
44-76423/3X-S C-47B (N60154) 438 TCG, 87 TCS mks (also ex IDF AF 044), “What’s up Doc?”
One of the KC-130s was parked on the platform and being refuelled when we arrived, while the other one arrived when we were inside the museum. The Dakota is owned by the museum, but after returning from the Edwards show it stayed on the other side of the airfield for some reason.
Palm Springs Air Museum
‘41-24485’/DF-A B-17F N3703G, (ex 44-83546), “Memphis Belle”, 91 BG, 324 BS mks
44-85778 B-17G N3509G, “Miss Angela”, 34 BG, 7 BS mks
(44-86747) B-25N N8163H, “Mitch the Witch II”, unknown c/s
(53-8154)/161/927 C-119G pr (N90267), nose, “Butterfly”, no mks
‘42-28473’/2Z-P TF-47D NX47RP, “Squirt VIII”, ex 45-49205 (on datablock!) (and ex FAP 122), 405 FG, 510 FS mks
‘52-6675/FS-675’ F-84F pr, ex 51-9531, “Thunderstruck”, 81 TFW, 78 TFS mks
52-4629/FU-629 F-86F pr, “Ken’s Kitten”, 51 FIW, 16 FIS, mks
55-2888 F-100D std/u. rest, 506 TFW, 458 TFS mks
‘56-1188’ F-102A pr (ex 56-1432), 149 TFG, 182 TFS mks
‘57-0913/FG-913’ F-104G pr (ex KLu D-8244), 8 TFW, 435 TFS c/s
61-0108/RU F-105D pr, 355 TFW, 357 TFS mks
57-2509 F-106B pr, “California Girl”, B-1B APAFTP c/s
(85-0833/HO) F-117A u. rest, “BLack DeviL”, no mks
(42-53018) TG-2 pr, N47903, no mks
(44-7084) TP-40N u. rest, NX999CD, “Miss Josephine”, 23 FG mks
‘44-14292’/QP-A P-51D NL44727 (ex 44-72739, on datablock), “Man O’War”, 4 FG, 334 FS mks
(44-74908)/62 P-51D NL151BP, “Bunny” (also ex RCAF Mustang IV 9273 ), 332 FG, 100 FS mks
42-68864 P-63A NX163BP “Pretty Polly”, no mks
42-86068/GQ-? AT-6D N4086T, “Heave Ho” (also ex Sp AF C.6-27), 354 FG mks
‘42-49319’/44 PT-23 N641BP (ex 42-49250), no mks
51-3663 T-28S pr, N128RC (also ex FAF Fennec 68), unknown mks
154649/(E)S-01 TA-4J pr, VC-8 mks
154162/AJ-500 A-6E pr, VA-65 mks
163030/AJ-504 EA-6B pr, VAQ-134 mks
152675/NL-303 A-7A pr, VA-82 mks
‘435721’/BP A-26C N9425Z (ex 44-35721), “Invader”, unknown mks
146048/16 C-1A pr, N7171M, USS Lexington/Ghost Riders mks
153851/NF-101 QF-4S pr, VF-161 mks
‘58644’/36 F6F-5 NX4964W (ex BuNo 94473), no mks
‘45-80411’/BP-7 F7F-3 NX207F (ex BuNo 80412), “King of the Cats”, no mks
‘(-)/BP’ (F8F-1) G-58 NL700A, ex civil, “Bob’s Bear”, no mks
125316/MU-7 DF-9E pr, VMJ-3 mks
‘160390’/AJ-107 F-14A std/u. rest (ex 160898), VF-41 mks
163277/40 F-16N pr, NFWS mks (very faded)
162403/NG-201 F/A-18A pr, marked as F/A-18C, VMFA-323 mks
(92629)/S-301 FG-1D NX62290 (also ex El Salvador AF 215), VF-53 mks
(55627)/F-3 FM-2 N47201, VF-3 mks
154895/YL-75 UH-34D pr, HMM-362 mks
48426/55 PBY-5A pr, N31235, “Harriet’s Chariot”, no mks
(37211) PV-2 pr, N7273C, “The Battling Burbank Twins”, VPB-135 mks
36176/B-25 SBD-5 (N4522), CQTU code
138203 T-28B N372C , NAF El Centro mks
(53785)/X-2 TBM-3E (N7075C), “Barbara III”, VT-51 code
67-15574 AH-1G pr, no mks
63-8610 UH-1B pr, “Mugsy”, 335 AHC mks
(67-17174) UH-1H pr, art project
58-1510 OH-23 pr, 4077 MASH mks
(59-2621) OV-1B pr, nose, no mks
NC226E PT-14 pr, ex 40-23
N1193N N2S-3 u. rest/maintenance (ex BuNo 3441)
1112 MiG-21F-13 pr, “Notorious Natasha”, no mks, ex CZ AF
(NH904)/W2-P Spitfire FR.XIVe NX114BP (also ex BAF SG108), 80 sq mks
(-) N.24 pr, N4817E, nose, mil c/s but ex civil
(21278)/278 T-33AN std, fuselage, no mks, or is this a CT-133?
‘16’ MiG-15bis pr, N.Kor AF c/s (ex PLAAF 1301?)
‘3020’ (MiG-17) Lim-5 pr, N.Viet AF c/s (ex Pol AF 1617)
Again very hard work to get everything in time, but again very much worth it. Some very interesting gems here, like the B-17s (my all time favourite aircraft) and the F-9. Here as well some questions, mainly regaring markings:
-I searched the web for a long time, but can’t find the badge of the B-25.Which unit is this? See : https://www.airhistory.net/photo/186919/N8163H
-Same for the T-28 N128RC/51-3663, see here: https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/code-number/51-3663
-The A-26 Invader is in the colours of a USN target tug, but I can’t find a unit that used tailcode BP. Is that code fake?
-The C-1 Trader has USS Lexington/Ghost Riders titles, what unit is this?
-Are the last operational units of AH-1 67-15574 and OV-1 59-2621 known?
-What is the correct designation of the Canadian T-bird? I find both versions (T-33AN and CT-133) on the web.
-And finally, is there a definitive id for the “North Korean” MiG-15? PLAAF 1301 is mentioned, but that is also given to a MiG-15 at the Grand Canyon museum, formerly at Chino (displayed in USSR mks).
When finished here it was time to head towards our hotel, at El Centro. It turned out that this was located right under the approach for Imperial Valley airport, and while we were waiting for the check in multiple SH-60s flew overhead. None of those showed on ADSB though, rather frustrating. Then an MV-22 came over very low, and that was shown on ADSB as (169447), an MV-22B that should have code SB-50 and belong to VRM-50. When we finally had gotten our room keys (which never took as long as it did here…) another two Ospreys came overhead. Most of the group were all done by then, but a few of us decided we wanted to try our luck and hurried to the airport.
El Centro Imperial County Airport
168694/YL-8 MV-22B VMM-362
168696/YL-09 MV-22B VMM-362
When we arrived, these two were just finishing their hot refuelling, almost fully in the dark. We made lots of photographs, and although most were horrible, the serials could be read luckily. A nice ending of the day!
As always, additions, comments and corrections are welcome.
That’s all folks!
Patrick Dirksen
Tristar Aviaton
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