Specialty Press

AMARG: America’s Military Aircraft Boneyard

by  Nicholas A.Veronica and Ron Strong

Reviewed By  Hub Plott, IPMS# 31328

MSRP: $24.95 ISBN: 978-1-58007-139-0 Website: http://www.specialtypress.com Soft cover, pages 144 pages, 325 photos Review copy courtesy of Specialty Press: 1-800-895-4585 This profusely illustrated book tells the story of where our military aircraft go to be stored, parted out, re-born and die. Unlike other books before it on this subject, the authors tell the history of the boneyard and delve into the processes and development of the strategic aircraft reserve concept. The book begins with how the government came to develop a strategic aircraft reserve. With over 300,000 aircraft built during WWII, vast numbers were surplus to the needs of the military with the end of the war. It was clear that all were not required to remain in service, but WWII had also taught the government that vast numbers of aircraft could be needed again. The government also wanted to avoid a repeat of WWI when all surplus aircraft were dumped into the civilian market, effectively killing the aircraft industry in the USA for a number of years. Thus, a system was developed whereby the obsolete aircraft would be sent to various locations and put up for auction while those that might be recalled to duty in time of conflict were stored in Pyote, Texas and the now famous Davis-Monthan outside of Tucson, Arizona. Chapter 2 covers the various processes of storage and disposal. It was interesting to learn that after being sealed properly, an airframe can be safely stored for over 40 years. Coverage is also given to the conversion of obsolete fighters for use in the drone program. This is a fascinating look into the inner workings of AMARG. Chapter 3 is a walk through time down the vast rows of stored aircraft from the early post WWII days until now. So many aircraft types are represented here, each its own time capsule. Even in storage and weathered, the colors and markings should prove useful to modelers. One interesting anecdote is that one of the main original purposes of AMARG was for the storage of B-29s and C-47s, and while the B-29s were mostly gone by 1961, it was not until 1994 that the last C-47 left AMARG The book concludes with the story of scrapping the big fleets from the B-36s to the C-141s. A sad but necessary end for so many faithful aircraft. Coverage is also given on the number of modern types in storage Many modern airframes are represented; B-1s, C-5s, F-16s; each helping to ensure that their siblings continue to serve! Of course the best part of this book is the multitude of (mostly) color photos used throughout! Photo coverage is there from the beginning to modern times. Especially nice was a color shot of many of the aircraft that were being held for proposed shipment to the Air Force Museum. In this book, every picture has a story to tell and a diorama to inspire. This book will be of interest to the modeler, aviation enthusiast/historian alike. I can recommend it to all that like the subject. The book is available now and may be ordered directly from Specialty Press at the website and phone number above. Shipping and handling of $6.95 will be added to each order. Our thanks to Specialty Press and IPMS/USA for this review copy.