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Here's a mystery (at least to me, but possibly not to Bob Smart).

I was looking at satellite views of Aberdeen Proving Ground on mapquest.com for next week's trip, mapping out the route from the Maryland Avenue gate to the museum.

I was very surprised to see an aircraft boneyard just to the west of the southwest corner of Phillips Army Airfield. At max zoom the following aircraft are discernable:
Douglas C-54 Skymaster or C-118 Liftmaster
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star aka T-bird
McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
Republic F-105 Thunderchief
McDonnell F-4 Phantom
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
Vought A-7 Corsair II
The wing planforms of what appear to be a collection of biplanes, and....
....what clearly are several MiG 21s, and a Mil Mi-6 or Mi-8 helicopter.

So, I'm wondering what this collection of aircraft is doing at an ordnance proving ground, and what's the story on the Russian birds?

Anyone know?

Oh, Bob, what next? Black helicopters? That isn't a MiG-21, it's clearly an Su-9 . . .

Seriously though, they have test anti-aircraft weapons and projectiles for years. In the Google/LIFE collection there are photos of tests on a B-25 and P-47, maybe others. These were likely part of that testing.

KL

You never know at Aberdeen, the first time I visited back in 77, a T-72 rolled by on a flat bed and we were told that what we just saw didn't exist

Piney

Kurt Laughlin writes:
<<Oh, Bob, what next? Black helicopters?>>

- A-109E

Here's a mystery (at least to me, but possibly not to Bob Smart).

I was looking at satellite views of Aberdeen Proving Ground on mapquest.com for next week's trip, mapping out the route from the Maryland Avenue gate to the museum.

[snip]

So, I'm wondering what this collection of aircraft is doing at an ordnance proving ground, and what's the story on the Russian birds?

Anyone know?

I believed I had heard some aircraft were used for live fire testing - ie of the shoot them up kind...

There is also an F-4 on the main/"public" part of the post, at the USAF detachment I think. I has the tail code "APG" of course

BTW, try google maps - if you push the "link" button it will give you a link that you can post that will give exactly the view you want to show.

Oh yeah, on another note, I'm looking forward to meeting ArmyJunk tomorrow - its a tour of the Navy Museum at the Washington Navy Yard and Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren sponsored by the Coastal Defense Study Group. Bob may be on it as well.

Neil

Just got home from the last evening session of CDSG more on all that later

I found out a week or so ago that Mapquest has some of the APG 'behind the fence' very clear compared to the fuzzed out that Google does. It had some pretty clear shots of an aircraft park area near the airfield I will have to look at it when my eyes are clearer. No way I can ground check though