Google Goes Inside the Boneyard
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The Boneyard" -- officially called the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) facility -- sits at Davis-Monthan AFB near Davis Monthan AFB, Tucson, AZ. And high resolution satellite imagery in Google maps gives a very neat overview of it. (Google)
The Davis-Monthan Air Force Base's <a href="http://www.dm.af.mil/units/amarc.asp" target="_blank">Web site</a> explains the facility's history: Immediately after World War II, the Army's San Antonio Air Technical Service Command established a storage facility for B-29 and C-47 aircraft at Davis-Monthan AFB. Today, this facility is the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG), which has grown to include more than 4,400 aircraft and 13 aerospace vehicles. (Google)
This one-of-a-kind facility within the Air Force Materiel Command structure provides critical aerospace maintenance and regeneration capabilities for Joint and Allied/Coalition warfighters in support of global operations and agile combat support for a wide range of military operations. (Google)
Davis-Monthan was chosen for this storage center due to Tucson's meager rainfall, low humidity, and alkaline soil. These conditions make it possible to store aircraft indefinitely with a minimum of deterioration and corrosion. In addition, the soil is hard, making it possible to park aircraft in the desert without constructing concrete or steel parking ramps. (Google)
In 1964 the Secretary of Defense directed the consolidation of all military aircraft storage and disposition centers into a single entity located at Davis-Monthan. This facility assumed the name Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center or MASDC. (Google)
In 1985, the addition of aerospace vehicles (Titan II missiles) as well as the Center's growing capability for restoring aircraft to flying status, prompted another name change to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center or AMARC. (Google)
In May, 2007, AMARC aligned as a Group under the 309th Maintenance Wing at Hill AFB, Utah and became the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309 AMARG). (Google)
The facility's mission has evolved beyond merely the storage and preservation of aircraft. Today the Group provides customer services including aircraft regeneration (restoring aircraft to flying status), programmed depot-level maintenance, and parts reclamation, in addition to its historic storage and disposal functions. (Google)