Put out to Pasture

June 8, 2015 by 371fg 2 Comments

A recent photo feature on aircraft in the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, captured in one image what appears to be a former Samurai jet currently being preserved, serial number 85-1558.

F-16’s rest in the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ. Former Samurai jet 85-1558 rests to the right, in 457FS livery. (Courtesy Lili Sams at Mashable.com)

She is seen to the right, in markings of the Air Force Reserve’s 457th Fighter Squadron, the last unit she served with before entering the Boneyard on 2 August 2010.

Tail number 558 first arrived for duty at Misawa AB in June, 1987, as the 14th Tactical Fighter Squadron equipped with brand new aircraft.

Link to 558 in 14TFS

She served in the 14TFS until October, 1990, when she transferred back to the CONUS and to the 72nd Tactical Fighter Training Squadron in the F-16 RTU at MacDill.

She left MacDill in August 1992 and joined the AF Reserve, first in the land of the Cajuns, serving with the 706th Fighter Squadron in New Orleans before transferring to the 457th FS at Carswell/JRB Ft. Worth in July 1996. She was with the 457th for just over 14 years before “Big AF” decided it was time for her to rest in the summer of 2010.

Hopefully the ground crews at D-M will keep her in good condition. With the chaos around the world, Middle East, Eastern Europe, South China Sea, etc., we need some good jets on the bench in case we get into a situation that we need to get out of. So keep 558 ready to answer the call to duty if/when it should come!

References
Ghosts of aircraft past lie in wait at the ‘boneyard’, at: http://mashable.com/2015/06/07/ghosts-of-aircraft-past/?utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner

F-16C Block 30B 85-1558, in the F-16 Database at F-16.net, at: http://www.f-16.net/aircraft-database/F-16/airframe-profile/1914/