C-130A, 55-0007, ended up in Bolivia where it rests today.
F-100s on the Wheelus flightline.
F-102A of the 497th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.
F-101C of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing.
An F-105 visitor from the 36th TFW at Bitburg Air Base, Germany.
Another 105, this time from the 49th TFW, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.
C-47 that was assigned to Wheelus for various odd-jobs.
C-54 undergoes engine work.
Here are a few photos taken around 1961-ish. Our photographer was plagued by either a poor camera, or bad picture-taking skills, but he did bless us with a variety of aircraft.
So, about Wheelus Air Base.
European weather is typically not the type one would choose when wanting to fly. The situation was, of course, the same in the 1950s and 60s. Enter Wheelus Air Base. Located right next to Tripoli, Libya, on the sunny shores of the Mediterranean. Salubrious climate aside, Wheelus was an extremely important facility for two other reasons: 1. South of its location stretched an endless desert tailormade for a bombing range. 2. The open skies of the region were well-suited for engaging in air-to-air practice (dogfights).
Given that neither of those aforementioned two factors was readily found in the topography (or skies) of central Europe, the fighter squadrons of the US Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) regularly rotated through Wheelus in order to maintain their qualifications in the air-to-ground and air-to-air missions. According to those who took part in such deployments, a few weeks in Libya was a pretty sweet deal. Plenty to do on the base, nice beaches, and booze was cheap. Also, it wasn’t foggy or snowing.
The Jive Bomber 