Aircraft Carrier Question

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Olefin

I definitely agree on the boneyard aircraft being available by later in the war - at least until the Mexicans overran Davis Monthan - so the question is how much of a priority would the carrier planes have been with the need to get things like stored Phantoms, B-52's, etc.. back up to speed to replace air losses in Europe, Iran and Korea?

I can see at least some F-8's and A-4's for sure but would any have been left in the US for the Lex or would they have been sent overseas immediately?

I live in Tucson and have driven past the DM boneyard many times. I've often wondered if/how those aircraft could be readied for combat operations. It is dry here, and that's a major reason that DM was chosen as the go-to storage place, but the constant sun can really do a number on certain materials- plastics, especially become stiff and brittle. The paint on a lot of the aircraft out there is really faded and it suggests less superficial wear is at play as well. Even microscopic cracks in airframes can cause catastrophic failures. And, so far, we're just talking about airframes. What about electronics?

Are radars and other complex avionics left in place when an aircraft is stored? I honestly don't know, although I imagine that they are not. The heat here can't possibly be good for sensitive electronics. If they're removed prior to storage, where are they? Are they canibalized for spare parts or sold to secondary markets overseas? That's what I've always thought. In either case, the aircraft stored in the boneyards are going to need serious refurbishment in order to be rendered operable. That's going to take time, money, and perhaps the manufacture of new components. How long? Certainly more than a couple of weeks.

Does anyone have any good leads to sources that can answer these questions? I don't want to cause this thread to go off on a major tangent but I'm really curious as to how long-term outdoor storage effects the readiness of modern aircraft.