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| AMARC - SKYWARRIORS FINAL REST | |||||||||||||||||
| CHINA LAKE WHALE | By my next visit in 1993 the name had changed from MASDC to AMARC (Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Centre). The old "Boneyard" role was decreasing in favour of an aircraft contingency withdrawal programme ie, to supply US forces with mission-capable aircraft at short notice in a national emergency (a war in other words!). Good to see another rare Whale - the "White Whale" of NWC China Lake, namely 142630, the last Skywarrior to carry the NA-3B designation. She was used as a flying test bed and was fitted with a range of noses depending on the test being performed. She was retired in 1991 and is currently on AMARC's "Celebrity Row". | ||||||||||||||||
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| Still 1993 and another mark of Whale; this time the A3D-2T variant originally produced in 1959 as a navigator and bombardier trainer which accommodated a pilot, an instructor and six pupils in an enlarged fuselage cabin. Only 12 were built and they were re-designated as the TA-3B in 1962. This TA-3B is 144859 marked as GD-122 belonging to VAQ-33 which was based at Key West, Florida. The "Firebirds" main mission was tactical electronic warfare but they also had a secondary role of training aircrews and maintenance personnel (FRS and FRAMP!) prior to their assignment to one of six squadrons still flying the Whale in the mid 80's. Rene Francillon took a well-known photograph of '859 as she made an off-centre trap aboard USS Kitty Hawk in March 1985, damaging the starboard wing tip on the deck. A tricky plane to land! She now sleeps at AMARC as well | TRAINING WHALE | ||||||||||||||||
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| LAME WHALE | At the time of writing this page there were 31 Whales stored in AMARC, some recently arrived, others from the early '70's. This is EKA-3B 142255 which arrived in 1973 and apart from a missing nose undercarriage is still in very good condition. Two tail codes are visible - "TR" which she would have worn when with VAQ-135 based at Whidbey Island; and "NK" which I think was applied to VAQ-130. The letters CVW-14 are just visible and I believe this to have been the USS Enterprise in the early 70's. If so it is very likely that '255 saw action during the Vietnam war. Several A-3's were actually lost to enemy fire during the war - 142653 was shot down by a MiG over the China Sea on the 12th April 1966 while being ferried from Cubi Point to USS Kitty Hawk by a VAH-4 crew. The remains of many other Skywarriors litter the seabed in the Gulf of Tonkin owing to operational accidents including catapult failures and even a drogue 'chute deploying during a bolter! And, I fear, many able and gifted men died with them. | ||||||||||||||||
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This is RA-3B 142669. She was constructed in November 1958 and was consigned to storage at MASDC in January 1971. I took this photo in October 1999 and she is still there today - the longest stored A-3 in AMARC. And perhaps one of the most interesting. The RA-3B was built as a photo-reconnaissance platform, carrying up to 12 cameras, and served in that role with VAP-61, VAP-62 and VCP-63 squadrons. There is still a faint trace of the "SS" code on her tail that means she served with VAP-61 as SS-910 and would most certainly have performed hazardous missions over North Vietnam. The majority of the RA-3B's were converted into either NRA-3B or ERA-3B models but for some reason 142669 was forgotten and remains as a very rare original RA-3B. One of her camera ports is visible just behind her nose undercarriage strut. I hope this rare Whale will be preserved one day. | ALMOST THIRTY YEARS | ||||||||||||||||
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| AWAITING THE END | So, my last photo of a plane that first flew in 1952, that still serves today in private hands and has actively taken part in several conflicts. And although I have never seen her fly has captured my imagination! A plane whose first pilots were youthful when she originally entered service in 1956 and must now be in their late 60's. How do I sum that up? Well, the Whale is still the heaviest plane to have regularly flown from an aircraft carrier and that has never been surpassed. She literally acted as a fuel tanker lifeline and saved many airmen from ditching during the Vietnam War, and she also flew into action herself and occasionally paid the price. And she still flies even today testing the latest aviation related technology. The final cost was the 108 Skywarriors that crashed or were lost in flight, an incredibly high price to pay. | ||||||||||||||||
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| Links to Mike's Other Skywarrior Pages | ||||||||||||||||
| Skywarrior at Fairford
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