Boneyard Files

Boneyard Files explores the often-overlooked aircraft of Cold War aviation that now rest at the United States Air Force aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. Maintained by the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (309th AMARG), often called The Boneyard, the facility cares for nearly 4,000 aircraft, making it the largest aircraft storage and preservation facility in the world. Drawing on rare photographs from Neil Aird’s late 1960s “Monthan Memories” photos, this series tells the stories of various aircraft types. Each entry details the combat history, specifications, and reasons behind the retirement of these once-mighty planes, highlighting their legacy as they sit in the vast desert landscape.