Lockheed EC-121H "Super Constellation"

At 1:25AM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 11, 1966, EC-121H Serial Number 55-5262, Homey 64, crashed and was destroyed 125 miles east of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. All 19 crew members aboard the aircraft perished. The aircraft and its crew were assigned to the 961st Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) Squadron, 551st AEW&C Wing and were participating in an active air defense mission over the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft commander for the flight (Major Robert A. Baird/961st AEW&C Squadron) briefed the crew and completed a normal pre-flight clearance form for the mission. At 1:25AM EST, the 35th Air Division Radar Input Counter Measure Officer lost all contact with Homey 64. The New Bedford fishing boat "Stephen R." reported seeing the aircraft flying low in fog and rain squalls. The aircraft banked steeply to the right, and plunged into the water, nose up, with a fiery explosion. They reported the engines backfiring and emitting smoke. None of the crew members were ever recovered. The deceased crew members include: Major Robert A. Baird/Aircraft Commander, 1Lt Larry D. Rucker/Pilot, 1Lt Richard K. Hoppe/Navigator, 1Lt Edward W. Taylor/Navigator, MSgt Armand H. DiBonavnetura/Flight Engineer, MSgt John J. Nerolich/Flight Engineer, MSgt Clarence D. Hendrickson/Radar Operator, MSgt Robert A. Thibodeau/Radar Operator, TSgt Arthur J. Lambert/Radar Supervisor, SSgt Lawrence E. McNeill/Radar Operator, SSgt James R. Pater/Radar Operator, SSgt Robert J. Simmons/Radar Operator, SSgt Robert Sparks/Radar Technician, A1C Joseph F. Adamick, Jr/Automatic Data Processor Technician, A1C James D. Rogers/Radar Technician, A2C David N. Bailey/Navigation Maintenance Technician, A2C Roger P. Kay/Radar Operator, A2C Larry L. Stoner/Radar Operator, and A2C James D. Wilbur/Automatic Data Processor Technician. Limited Edition. Signed and Numbered by the Artist. See more...

Lockheed C-130A Hercules 60528

On the September 2, 1958, Soviet MiG-17 pilots shot down a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance-configured C-130 aircraft over Soviet Armenia; 17 crewmen were aboard. The MiGs attacked the unarmed aircraft after it inadvertently penetrated denied airspace. It crashed near the villageof Sasnashen, 34 miles northwest of Yerevan, the Armenian capital. The C-130 reconnaissance aircraft was readily recognizable as non-lethal. One MiG pilot identified it as a "four-engined transport." The C-130 (Tail #60528) crew members were based at Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany, but were on temporary duty at Incirlik AB, Adana, Turkey. The aircraft carried six flight crew members from the 7406th Support Squadron and two USAF "back-enders" from Det 1 of the 6911th Radio Group Mobile. On this day, the C-130 departed Incirlik on a reconnaissance mission along the Turkish-Armenian border. It was to fly from Adana to Trabzon, Turkey on the Mediterranean coast, turn right and fly to Van, Turkey. From Van, the pilot was to reverse course and "orbit" (fly a race-track pattern) between Van and Trabzon. This course would parallel the Soviet frontier, but the aircraft was not to approach the border closer than 100 miles. The aircraft's crew reported passing over Trabzon at an altitude of 25,500 feet. The crew acknowledged a weather report from Trabzon -- the last word heard from the flight. What happened next is unclear. The C-130 crew may have become disoriented by Soviet navigational beacons in Armenia and Soviet Georgia, which were on frequencies similar to those at Trabzon and Van--one signal in Soviet Georgia was stronger than that in Trabzon. At that time, the Soviets denied downing the aircraft, claiming that the C-130 "fell" on their territory. On September 24, 1958, the Soviets returned six sets of remains, but, when queried, stated they had no information regarding the eleven missing crewmen. On February 6, 1959, seeking to get the Soviets to reveal more details, the United States, in a session at the United Nations, made public a tape recording of the Russian fighter pilots' conversations as they attacked the C-130. The Soviets continued to deny responsibility for the shoot down, and the fate of the remaining crew members remained unknown during the Cold War. A C-130 is now on display in the National Vigilance Park and Aerial Reconnaissance Memorial dedicated to the airman and their families. The ceremony took place on September 2, 1997. See more...

Republic F-105G "Thunderchief" Wild Weasel

On 29 September 1972, F-105G tail number 63-8302 was operating as a SAM suppressor for a strike near Hanoi. The aircraft was locked up by an SA-2 missile radar at Phuc Yen and shortly afterwards was struck by an SA-2. The aircraft caught fire and within minutes the crew was forced to eject about 23 miles west of Hanoi. Both crewmen had good chutes..., but SAR efforts were turned back due to weather and MiG fighters in the area. The two crewmen were Lt Col James W. O'Neil (Pilot) of Los Angeles, California, and Captain Michael J. Bosiljevac (EWO) of Omaha, Nebraska. Radio Hanoi announced that both crewmen were captured alive, but only Lt Col O'Neil returned with the other POWs; Hanoi denied knowledge of Captain Bosiljevac and he was continued as Missing in Action. Lt Col O’Neil was released during Operation Homecoming, but Captain Bosiljevac remained captive. He died in captivity. On September 24, 1987 Major Bosiljevac’s remains were returned to the U.S. Government by Hanoi, with positive identification announced on 3 February 1988. See more...

Northrop T-38C Talon "White Rocket"

The 12th Flying Training Wing (12 FTW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), and formerly of the now inactivated Nineteenth Air Force. It is stationed at Randolph Air Force Base, Texas. The 12 FTW is the only unit in the Air Force conducting both pilot instructor training and combat systems officer training. The mission of the 12 FTW is to provide instructor pilot training in the Raytheon-Beech T-6A Texan II, the Northrop T-38 Talon and the Beech T-1A Jayhawk jet trainers. The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world's first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2012 in air forces throughout the world. The T-38 has been in service for over 50 years with the USAF. The T-38C is used to prepare pilots for aircraft such as the F-15C Eagle and F-15E Strike Eagle, as well as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, B-52 Stratofortress, B-1B Lancer, B-2 Spirit, A-10 Thunderbolt, F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. The AETC received T-38Cs in 2001 as part of the Avionics Upgrade Program. The T-38Cs owned by the AETC have undergone propulsion modernization which replaces major engine components to enhance reliability and maintainability, and an engine inlet/injector modification to increase available takeoff thrust. The upgrades and modifications, with the Pacer Classic program, should extend the service life of T-38s past 2020. See more...

Lockheed C-141B Startlifter "Golden Bear"

The Golden Bear, C-141A Starlifter, 63-8088 was the first delivery to an operational unit, made on 23 April 1965 to the 44th Air Transport Squadron, 1501st Air Transport Wing, Travis Air Force Base, California. Since the late 1960s the "Golden Bear" flew in almost every major military contingency and humanitarian operation in which Travis AFB participated. The operations included military flights to Southwest Asia, Panama, Honduras, and Grenada and the airlift of relief victims of natural disasters in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Mexico City. In 1973 it brought home 566 military and 25 civilian prisoners of war from North Vietnam. The GOLDEN BEAR was the first C-141A from Travis AFB to fly into Saigon, initiating a mammoth shuttle service between Travis and Vietnam that lasted several years. When the original Starlifter model, designated C-141A, entered service in 1965, it could carry 154 passengers, 123 paratroopers or 80 litters for wounded with seating for 16. It was soon discovered that the aircraft's volume capacity was relatively low in comparison to its lifting capacity; it generally ran out of physical space before it hit its weight limit. To correct the perceived deficiencies of the original model and utilize the C-141 to the fullest of its capabilities, the entire fleet of 270 in-service C-141As were stretched, adding needed payload volume. These modified aircraft were designated C-141B. Golden Bear returned to Marietta, Georgia in 1980 to be modified. It was estimated that this stretching program was equivalent to buying 90 new aircraft, in terms of increased capacity. The aircraft remained in service for over 40 years until the USAF withdrew the last C-141s from service in 2006. The Travis Air Museum and Jimmy Doolittle Air and Space Museum Education Foundation, with support from the 60th Air Mobility Wing Civil Engineers, restored this historic aircraft in 2005. The aircraft, now the best preserved C-141 in the Air Force as well as the most historic, rests next to the Oath of Enlistment wall at the intersection of Burgan Boulevard and Travis Avenue below the old hospital. Signed and Numbered prints are available directly from the Artist. See more...