Pax Americana: Relics of Empire
Sentimental Journey rolled off the Douglas assembly line in late 1944, and was accepted by the U.S. Army Air Force on March 13, 1945. Manufactured too late to see service in the European war, the aircraft was assigned to the Pacific theater for the duration of the conflict. In 1947, the aircraft was removed from storage in Japan and assigned to Clark Field in Manila as a photo mapping plane. For nearly three years she served in that capacity, flying to all corners of the Pacific configured as an RB-17G. On January 27, 1959, final military orders were cut, transferring the airplane to military storage at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. Within a few months, 83514 was acquired by the Aero Union Corporation of Chico, California, and became a civilian aircraft as N-9323Z, the registration which remains with her today. For the ensuing eighteen years, an aircraft that had been designed to survive no more than a hundred missions, flew literally thousands of forest fire sorties throughout the country. On January 14, 1978, at a membership banquet for the newly formed Arizona Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, Colonel Mike Clarke announced the donation of the aircraft to the Arizona Wing of the CAF. A contest initiated by local media to name the aircraft resulted in more than 800 entries, and the ultimate selection of the name Sentimental Journey. The decision was made to use the most famous pinup picture of World War II for the nose art. Permission was secured from widower Harry James to add Betty Grable in her most tantalizing pose to grace the newly acquired bomber... © András Dancs | All Rights Reserved
Retired Grumman A-6 Intruders at the entrance to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island's Ault Field... "Pardon Our Noise... It's the sound of Freedom." © András Dancs | All Rights Reserved
Dwarfed by the mighty Rockwell B-1B Lancer Supersonic Heavy Strategic Bomber, visitors to the South Dakota Air & Space Museum contemplate anew America's penultimate phallic symbol of nuclear deterrence and mutually assured destruction in the unsettling era of Presidents Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and "Respected Supreme Leader" Kim Jong Un... © András Dancs | All Rights Reserved
The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) was a Maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon, and was itself subsequently replaced by the Lockheed P-3 Orion. Designed as a land-based aircraft, the Neptune never made a carrier landing, although a small number of aircraft were converted and deployed as carrier launched stop-gap nuclear bombers which would have to ditch or recover at land bases. © András Dancs | All Rights Reserved
Minuteman II LGM-30F Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Roadside Attractions of the American Midwest... Antecedent to today's Minuteman III, the LGM-30F - a solid fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile - once served as the ground based cornerstone of America's nuclear triad... © András Dancs | All Rights Reserved
Launch Control Facility Delta-01
Roadside attractions of the American Midwest... US National Park Service Minuteman Missile National Historic Site... "Missile Flight Delta-01"... The innocuous looking visible structure functioning as topside support for the secret underground Launch Control Center 31 feet below. The topside supported the missileers stationed underground in carrying out their mission. Equipment such as a backup generator for auxiliary power, and environmental control provided backup support in the event of a power outage or an attack. There were always eight people on the topside, all enlisted Air Force personnel who were stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, 60 miles to the west. These personnel included a Facility Manager (top ranking Non-Commissioned Officer on-site), a cook and six security police. They worked three straight days on, followed by three days off. In addition, the site had bunk housing for visitors, such as maintenance teams who were required to remain over night at the nearest LCF if they exceeded 16 hours in a work shift at one of the missile silos. They would spend the night at the nearest LCF before driving back to Ellsworth Air Force Base the following day. The building also contained a Security Control Center, where all security activities were coordinated and personnel would be processed when coming on site. Other areas on the topside included a day room, dining area and recreational room that Air Force support personnel used while at the facility. © András Dancs | All Rights Reserved
It was the summer of 1950 during a close air support mission somewhere over North Korea when RCAF Captain Pierre Gauloises, newly assigned to the US Fifth Air Force together with his Canadair Sabre Mk.5 realised a tad too late that his conventional armaments had been replaced with nuclear munitions. On the plus side, Captain Gauloises finally understood why USAF General Curtis LeMay had bought so many rounds for the Squadron during his impromptu visit to the Officers Club the previous evening... © András Dancs | All Rights Reserved