Castle Air Museum, Atwater

A lovely, spacious, huge museum with lots of interesting aircraft, shade, and a cafe and shop. It is outside Castle Airport, which until 1995 was Castle Air Force Base. Units based here flew B-36, B-52 and KC-135 operations.

The museum was founded in 1981, and now houses around 70 aircraft. Another Hercules, MC-130P 66-0212, has been reported as coming, but there was no sign of it during our visit, which was on 7th May.

Aircraft Reg'n Thumbs Notes
Avro Vulcan B2 XM605 RAF
Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck 5 100504 Canadian AF ex 18504
Beech C-45G (D18S) Expeditor 51-11897 USAF ex 42-56721, N87681, N608
Beech YT-34 Mentor 50-0735 USAF ex N2073A
Bell GAM-63 RASCAL   RAdar SCAnning Link: 1950s supersonic air to surface nuclear missile soon replaced by the Hound Dog.
Boeing B-17G Fortress 43-38635 A N USAF Virgin's Delight ex N3702
Boeing B-29 Superfortress composite 44-70064 and 44-6135 USAF as '44-61535 Raz'n Hell'
Boeing B-47E Stratojet 52-1066 USAF Spirit
Boeing WB-50D Superfortress 49-0351 USAF Flight of the Phoenix
Boeing B-52D Stratofortress 56-0612 USAF
Boeing B-52G Stratofortress cockpit section 57-6476 USAF - including a closeup of the B-52's unique undercarriage crosswind crab selector
Boeing KC-97L Stratofreighter 53-0354 USAF
Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker 55-3139 USAF
Boeing Vertol CH-47D Chinook 89-00153 153 US Army ex 68-15862
Cessna 150H N50198 USAF
Cessna O-2A Super Skymaster 67-21413 USAF
Cessna T-37B Tweet 56-3537 USAF
Cessna U-3A Blue Canoe 57-5849 USAF
Consolidated B-24M Liberator 44-41916 BH RE USAF
Convair RB-36H Peacemaker 51-13730 USAF
Convair YRB-58A Hustler 55-0666 USAF as Greased Lightning (61-2059) which made a record breaking refuelled Tokyo-London flight in 1963. I saw this at Chanute Air Museum in 2007.
Convair 240 N280P Ex HB-IRT, N1018C, N280P, as 'USCG 5785'. Never actually military.
Convair F-106A Delta Dart 58-0793 USAF as '0-72456'
Curtiss C-46D Commando 44-77575 USAF Honey Gal ex Japanese AF 51-1124 and 71-1135, N54510
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver 54-1707 USAF ex N43862
Douglas A-4L Skyhawk 149532 AF-401 USN
Douglas B-18B Bolo 37-0029 BI 24 USAF
Douglas B-23 (UC-67) Dragon 39-0047 112 MD USAF ex NR45361 (N45361), N1G, N244AG, N8658E, N409ME, N880L
Douglas B-26B (A-26B) Invader 41-39472 USAF as '44-35648 BC-648'. Ex N86482, Salvador AF 601, N26VC.
Douglas DC-3A (C-47A) Skytrain 43-15977 N-L7 USAF 7th Heaven ex NC812 (N812), NC112 (N112), N14, N21, N24010, N230GB
Douglas R5D-4 (C-54R, DC-4) Skymaster 90407 USN ex 44-9137 (in Berlin airlift, later Blue Angels support aircraft), N67038, N51848, N1057R.
Douglas RA-3B Skywarrior 144843 SS-913 USN
Douglas VC-9C (DC-9-32) 73-1681 USAF ex N681AL 1st of AMC's fleet of 3, used by presidents Reagan and Clinton, and first ladies Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush. The 2nd is at Dover AFB, and the 3rd is at the Evergreen Museum in Oregon.
Fairchild C-119C Flying Boxcar 49-0199 USAF ex N13744
Fairchild C-123K Provider 55-4512 WX USAF Hog Hauler
General Dynamics F-16A 80-0543 USAF
General Dynamics FB-111A Aardvark 69-6507 USAF
Grumman EA-6B Prowler ICAP 1 160436 SD-510 USMC
Grumman F-14D Tomcat 164601 AD-160 USN
Grumman HU-16B Albatross 51-7163 USAF ex N70725
Grumman S-2A Tracker 136421 USMC ex N434DF
Kaman HH-43F Huskie 62-4513 USAF
Kawasaki KAQ-1   Target drone used by Japan and the US in the 1950s.
Lockheed 18-08 (C-56) Lodestar '254' South African AF ex ZS-ASU, SAAF 1373, VP-KHW, ZS-DHK, SE-CDR, N6064V
Lockheed EC-121T Warning Star 52-3417 USAF ex N4257L
Lockheed C-130A Hercules N473TM (NR473TM) Tanker 63 Ex 56-0473. At Castle Airport, due to be moved into the museum within a few weeks.
Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star 58-0629 USAF
Lockheed F-80B Shooting Star 45-8490 FT-490 USAF
Lockheed EF-94A Starfire 49-2500 FA-500 USAF
Lockheed F-104D Starfighter 57-1330 USAF as '57-1312 FG-312'
Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird 61-7960 USAF
Lockheed T-39A Sabreliner 61-0664 USAF
Mark 15 Nuclear (hydrogen) bomb   15-20 Megaton warhead, could only be carried by the B-36.
Martin EB-57E Canberra 55-4253 USAF
McDonnell F-101B Voodoo 57-0412 USAF
McDonnell NF-4E Phantom II 66-0289 Thunderbirds 5 USAF - a genuine Thunderbirds aircraft, later an Edwards chase plane.
McDonnell F-15A Eagle 74-0119 FF USAF
MiG-21R Fishbed-H 2133 Czechoslovakian AF ex N80639 (NX80639)
North American AGM-28 Hound Dog   Supersonic, turbojet-powered, nuclear-armed air-launched cruise missile carried by the B-52. Served 1960-77.
North American JB-25J Mitchell 44-86891 USAF Lazy Daisy Mae ex NL3337G (N3337G)
North American B-45A Tornado 47-0008 BE-008 USAF
North American F-86H Sabre 53-1230 USAF
North American RA-5C Vigilante 156615 NE-611 USN
North American Harvard II C-GDJC Ex Canadian AF as 'USAF 02684 TA-684'
Northrop F-89J Scorpion 52-1927 FV-927 USAF
Northrop T-38A Talon 64-13271 BB USAF
Republic F-105B Thunderchief 57-5837 HI USAF
Republic F-84C Thunderjet 47-1530 FS-530 USAF
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 51-9433 FS-433 USAF
Saab TF-35 Draken AT-154 Danish AF ex N168TP (NX168TP)
Vought RF-8G Crusader 145607 PP-909 USN
Vultee BT-13A Valiant 42-89678 E-205 USAF marked as '6978'. Ex N63952.

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