- Luke was another high priority target,
primarily because of the WGAF F-104G
Starfighters assigned to the 4453rd Combat
Crew Training Wing. Silver ‘Zippers’ were
long gone from European skies, so the 75
we logged were a delight to see. The 71
F-4Cs were also a superb sight.
Phoenix Sky Harbor was on our itinerary
because of the resident Arizona ANG KC-
97L Stratofreighters which looked lovely
glinting in the sun.
While travelling to Nellis AFB in Nevada,
we passed through Gila Bend and the
town sign read ‘The home of 2,500 friendly
people and two old crabs’! The nearby
Buckeye Municipal Airport contained
a mixture of stored aircraft, including a
Grumman RF-9 Cougar 141675/N9256,
North American FJ3 Fury 135883, F-86L
Sabre 51-6071, numerous former MASDC
helicopter inmates such as UH-1As and
Hiller OH-23 Ravens along with a couple
of A-26s, a B-25 and a Lockheed L-1049
Super Constellation, N90816.
Our last day out west was Wednesday,
May 8 and on the schedule was a base
tour of Nellis. Although before the days
of Exercise Red Flag, the base was still
a fascinating place. On the large ramps
were 25 F-4Es, five F-4Cs, two General
Dynamics F-111E Aardvarks, 12 A-7Ds,
and 17 F-105s (of differing variants)
belonging to the 57th Fighter Weapons
Wing. Some of the Thunderchiefs had
earlier style markings, reflecting the recent
arrival of some units or aircraft back from
South East Asia – for example, F-105G 63-
8263 still sported the ‘JB’ tailcode of the388th TFW at Korat in Thailand. Several
others had the South East Asia serial
presentation and no unit codes. There
were also 25 F-111As of the 474th TFW
plus T-38s from the USAF’s Thunderbirds
display team.
The base was also hosting some visiting
aircraft consisting of a AC-130H Spectre,
five C-130Es from 463rd Tactical Airlift
Wing from Dyess AFB, Texas; five RF-4Cs
from the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance
Wing at Bergstrom AFB, Texas; three F-5Es
from the 425th Tactical Fighter Training
Squadron at Williams AFB, Arizona, plus
two US Marine Corps OV-10A Broncos,
navy Rockwell T-2C Buckeye, three USAF
Cessna A-37B Dragonfly aircraft and aLockheed VC-140B JetStar.
With such a wealth of great aircraft at
Nellis, it was with some regret that we said
goodbye to the Las Vegas area and headed
back to LA for our red-eye flight to Dallas
on our Regional Air Pass. However, on this
car journey we also took in a brief stop at
Norton AFB where we saw 21 C-141As.
LAX had a surprise waiting for us, as
parked there was a rare ERB-47H 0-34296.
The following morning, the main
destination was Grand Prairie Airport to
see the Boeing CH-47A Chinooks, UH-1s
and OH-58As of the 49th Armored Division,
Texas National Guard. En route we made
three stops. First was Meachan Field,
which had a Lodestar, DC-3, Convair 340
and Beech 18. We stopped for a quick look
from the fence at Carswell AFB, though62 Aviation News incorporating Jets March 2018Above: There were plenty of propeller-driven aircraft at MASDC in 1974, such as C-47s, C-117s,
C-119s, C-121s and C-124s (illustrated).
Below: West German Air Force F-104Gs at Luke AFB in natural metal finish were one of the
highlights of the trips.Among the more interesting types seen at Nellis AFB was the Thunderchief, some of which retained their distinctive South East Asia serial
presentation and former unit markings.58-63_tales_part2_1974DC.mfDC.mfDC.indd 62 05/02/2018 14:49