WWII buzz numbers, blooming cacti, desert tortoise, and other random encounters among the sky islands

Fun Stuff

In pursuit of aerospace archaeology, one doesn't always find what they are looking for

Arizona served a variety of roles in World War II. The Army Air Forces opened up air fields all over the state: Kingman, Thunderbird I, Thunderbird II, Falcon, Yuma, Marana, Claiborne (Wickenburg), Williams, Luke, Ryan, Davis-Monthan, Douglas, Ajo, and Gila Bend.

Aircraft of all type were flown in Arizona's clear skies. Here's a quick list of some of the planes: B-17, B-24, B-29, B-25, P-51, P-39, P-40, P-38, RP-322, AT-6, BT-13, PT-17, AT-17, AT-9, and AT-11. Due to all the flying activity, accidents did happen. This site is dedicated to all those who served in Arizona during WWII.

Here's a brief look at some of the air fields as well s fun stuff I've come across while focusing on aerospace archaeology.

AT-9s at Williams Field during WWII.

Young men infront of an RP-322 at Williams Field, Chandler, AZ.

Desert Tortoise passing me

Looking for B-17 debris and came across this boulder. For miles and miles there was nothing but sharp fragmented rocks - then all of a sudden, there was this one boulder that was more or less rounded.

Colorful cacti blooming in the desert.

Shelters during desert manuevers.

Desert Training during WWII.

Luke Field AT-6 during WWII.

Women working on a B-24 at Davis-Monthan AAF during WWII.

B-24 at Davis-Monthan AAF during WWII.

Luke Field AT-6s at Grand Canyon during WWII. The "X" on the fuselage identifies the AT-6 as a Luke Field based plane.

BT-13 at Marana Army Air Field during WWII. The "S" on the fuselage identifies the BT-13 as a Marana based aircraft.

Chinese aviation cadets training at Marana Army Air Field during WWII.

Yuma Army Air Field based B-17. The "U" identifies this airfract as a Yuma AAF based plane.

Yuma AAF also had their own base logo as seen on this B-26.

Douglas AAF based AT-17. An "A" painted on the wings and fuselage identifies this as a Douglas AAF based aircraft.

Ryan built PT-22s at Ryan Field, Tucson, during WWII.

PT-17s from Claiborne Flying School, Wickenburg, Arizona, during WWII. Glider training also took place at Wickenburg during WWII.

Kingman Army Air Field is best known as a boneyard after WWII, but during the war, flight training and aerial gunnery training took place at Kingman.

British aviaiton cadets trained at Falcon Field, Mesa, AZ, during WWII.

Thunderbird Fields I and II were also in the Valley of the Sun training American and Chinese aviation cadets during WWII.