China Lake Range Targets

[quemerford]

I was given a whole bunch of photos some time ago, all taken at China Lake circa 1987, and hopefully of interest:

F-84F 51-9499:



F-84F 51-9433:



F-84F 52-6475:



RF-84F 53-7550:



RF-84F 53-7568:



RF-84F 53-7530:



unidentified F-84F:



unidentified RF-84F:



I have a good number of others, including F-102, F-89, F-8, A-4 etc if anyone is interested. Anyone care to add any here?

[WIXerGreg]

I'm most interested in B-29's if anybody has anything.

[Pat Carry]

thanks for the photos

[quemerford]

Greg,

I hope these are of interest:

44-62112:


44-62134:










44-62160:


44-69729:




44-69957:








44-69972:




44-70049:


44-70102:






44-84084:




And a couple of group shots:

[WIXerGreg]

So sad to see them in that state. Thanks for posting them!

[markboss]

Those B-29 pics are great and also sad...

[APG85]

Fantastic set of pictures...!!

[Courier Sportster]

the F-84F canopies in open position are interesting-- seems a little oddball to me. is that protrusion behind it, also part of the support? i sure can see that B-29 gear door with 'no smoking 100 feet' hanging on my wall as art. RF-84F direct hit was impressive. no craters at all, that's some hard dirt.

[DoraNineFan]

Granted that the pictures are old, but is there anything viable left there today for another B-29 project or parts source?

[quemerford]

I looked at Google Earth today and on a 2013 shot you can still see a pair of B-29 wings and a tail out there, what's left of 44-69957. I think the nose went to Inyokern but Spitfires have been rebuilt with less...

The museum at CL has at least one B-29 in its compound too.

[airnutz]

the F-84F canopies in open position are interesting-- seems a little oddball to me. is that protrusion behind it, also part of the support?

Yes, I was reading up on the F-84's recently and the cutaway ID'd that as "Canopy Rear Hinge Arm". Its robust structure, compared to the forward hinged supports, suggest it carries the main weight of the unit.

[Kyleb]

Granted that the pictures are old, but is there anything viable left there today for another B-29 project or parts source?

I've looked at China Lake on Google Earth. It is a big place and isn't like they put big pointers towards the interesting stuff.

When I looked I found several B-29 wings visible, but no intact aircraft. Again, the area is huge, so there may be better stuff out there if you're more patient with Google Earth than I am.

Last edited by Kyleb on Sun Feb 05, 2017 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Courier Sportster]

thanks airnutz excellent explanation. i can understand it now. those two feeble supports did seem extra flimsy. i love the F-84F, it looks like a classic sports car. the lines...it's a masterpiece of good looks. even all blowed up i love them.

[ALOHADAVE]

Don't be sad about those B-29s in the desert. Thank God they were there. One was FIFI and one was

B-29-25-MO Serial Number 42-65281
Named "Miss America 62"
USAAF, 20th AF, 6th BG, 24th BS
Aircraft History:
Built by the Glenn L. Marin Co. in Omaha, Nebraska. Delivered to the USAAF on December 11, 1944. Assigned to the 20th Air Force, 6th Bombardment Group, 24th Bombardment Squadron. Assigned to pilot Bruce R. Alger who nicknamed it "Miss America 62", for his new born daughter, who Alger figured would be eligible to be the winner of the Miss America pageant in 1962.
Wartime History:
Operated from North Field on Tinian.
Postwar:
In October 1945 it returned to the United States and as assigned to the 4196th Base Unit (Air Technical Services Command) at Victorville Field, CA. Then, onto other bases including Robins Field, GA, Smokey Hill, KS, Kindley Airbase in Nashville, then was modified for weather reconnaissance and served on Bermuda. Finally, she served as a target tug, Randolph AFB Texas when its service ended.
Afterwards, sent to NAS China Lake for use as a target. Stored at NAS China Lake from 1960 - 1985.
Restoration:
In 1984 this B-29 Disassembled and delivered to the Travis Air Force Base Museum for restoration in 1986. In 1994, after ten years and 120,000 volunteer restoration hours, the bomber was put on public display as "Miss America 62".

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[airnutz]

i love the F-84F, it looks like a classic sports car. the lines...it's a masterpiece of good looks. even all blowed up i love them.

I'll second that emotion, tho I'm a bit more partial to the sleekness of the Thunderflash...in either guise "Madre de Thud" is a sexy bird!