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Air Force Armament Museum Aircraft
Our first Armament Museum aircraft is this B-25J Mitchell (44-30854). It was the last B-25 to retire from the Air Force. It retired in 1959. The aircraft is painted in the colors of the 34th Bomb Squadron, 17th Bomb Group. Its tail marking, 02344, commemorates the aircraft flown by Jimmy Doolittle off the deck of the USS Hornet. Doolittle was the first to launch from the aircraft carrier as he led a flight of B-25s to bomb Tokyo.
This P-47N Thunderbolt (44-89320) 'Expected Goose' was one of the last P-47s produced at Republic Aviation, Farmingdale, NY.
The Air Force Armament Museum's P-51D Mustang on display is actually an F-51D. It started out as a P-51D (44-13571) but was converted by Cavalier Aviation and re-serialized as 68-15796. Cavalier bought Mustang frames from the US government after World War II and converted them to 'executive' Mustangs, adding such frills as leather seats.
General Motors built this Republic Aviation designed F-84F Thunderstreak (51-9495). The Thunderstreak was a swept-winged version of the F-84 Thunderjet.
The Northrop Scorpion was developed as an all-weather interceptor. It was the first combat aircraft armed with nuclear weapons. This model is the F-89D (53-2610).
Gotta love the North American Super Sabre. It's a slick looking aircraft that was once flown by the USAF Thunderbirds. The one on display at AFAM is the F-100C (54-1986, marked as 54-1954).
The F-104 Starfighter still flies today as part of the Starfighter team. In the photo above we see an F-104D (57-1331).
Anyone familiar with the Vietnam War knows about the UH-1 Iroqouis helicopter nicknamed the Huey. This version is the UH-1M (66-15186). It was originally built as an UH-1C before being converted to night attack capability.
This Boeing RB-47H Stratojet (53-4296) was the last to be retired by the Air Force, having done so in 1967. RB models were the reconnaissance version of the B-47 bomber. It was the B-47 reconnaissance versions that came the closest to combat, probing Soviet air space during the Cold War.
Next up in our look at Armament Museum aircraft is another Boeing entry, the B-52 Stratofortress. This legendary bomber is still going strong today and will be for years to come. This B-52G (58-0185), dubbed 'El Lobo II', served in Desert Storm when it flew with the 2nd Bomb Wing out of Barksdale AFB, LA. Specifically, it flew on the first night of the war delivering AGM-86C Cruise Missiles on Iraq.
And now we come to our favorite jet of all time, the McDonell F-4 Phantom II. More specifically, it's the F-4C (64-0817, marked as 64-0813) nicknamed 'Miss Sel-Ala'. This airplane last flew on may 5, 1986. Photo by Horace Sagnor.
Our last Armament Museum aircraft is the rare SR-71 Blackbird. Only 32 were built. This one on display is the SR-71A (61-7959). Navigation Index:Return to the top of this Armament Museum Aircraft page.
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