Warbird Information Exchange

Outside of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, there are concrete pads, with what looks like steel circles in the center. I heard rumors that these spots used to hold aircraft. I did some research, and found one picture of their EF-111A outside on one of these pads:



I'm wondering if you guys hold any other information on this, and maybe some other photos of aircraft displayed in these spots, excluding the F-15A currently in the Air Park.

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"When I was a kid, my dad would take me to the base to look at the planes up close. The B-58 was the first plane I got to take a good look at. The rest is history..."

Those pads are where the missiles used to be mounted for display. I understand they were taken off outdoor display years ago after one collapsed in on iteslf. This was the best pic I could turn up in a quick Google search, probably taken in the late 1970s.

SN

I was there in the early '70s and yes, those pads were for the missile collection. The missile that failed was the one shown in the right on the photo above: the Atlas missile. Atlas rockets were constructed so as to need pressurization to keep them intact; this was done so that the rocket could be made lighter in weight, something that was very important in the early days of rocketry and early rocket engines. Apparently--if I remember correctly--the pressurization equipment for the Atlas failed, so the rocket basically doubled over on itself. I recall seeing the photos in Aviation Week; don't know if they're available on the web but you might wish to do a search for it.

More on collapsed Atlas rockets here:
http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-new ... ed-in-snow

-Tom

As Steve indicated, the missiles were falling apart so they were put in storage for a number of years. 8 of the missiles have been totally restored and are now on inside display in the museum's missile gallery. http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/ ... llery.aspx Its a very interesting display. Eventually 2 more missiles will be displayed in this gallery but I do not know the time frame for this.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

My first trip there was in the early 90's. At that time they had the F-15 and A-10 now in the Cold War building displayed there. There is now an F-15 and coming soon is an A-10. These airframes are set up specifically to be outdoor display airframes.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

There are missiles in that photo? All I see is the goddess Valkyrie!

Tom P.

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

They weren't falling apart from lack of maintenance.
Back in the early 90s, the Atlas collapsed one night when its compressor failed.
They are so lightly made that to remain standing they had to be supplied with air pressure.
I'm sure you could still fine the base news release on it. I was assigned to the base then, so I remember it.

The pads were empty by 2003.
I was at the WWI "Dawn Patrol" fly-in that year with my 1914 car. One of the old car guys had his 1902-3 curved dash Oldsmobile. He set the steering tiller and let it go around in circles un-manned (but with him walking alongside) for awhile on one of the pads.
The oil ring is probably still there from the engine's "total loss" oil system.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
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