Behold The Naked Warplanes Of Tinker Air Force Base

Updated Dec 30, 2021 4:10 PM EST

Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma is something of a Mecca for many of the Air Force’s large aircraft. Beyond being home plate for the service’s E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control (AWACS) community, as well as a major KC-135 tanker base, among other functions, it serves as the depot maintenance and upgrade center for the B-1, B-52, E-3, E-6, and KC-135. More recently, it picked up the same role for the Air Force’s fledgling KC-46 fleet . Due to that depot maintenance mission — where the aircraft essentially get disassembled and refurbished — these aircraft take to the skies over the base from time-to-time looking unlike they would anywhere else — totally naked.

One photographer, who goes by the handle Redhome Aviation , has captured Tinker’s ‘naked planes’ in spectacular fashion and has posted some of the shots on his Instagram page . After seeing some of these awesome shots on Instagram, I reached out to him for a bit of background and to see if we could do a full layout. He was up to the task in both regards.

Here is some commentary about the images and a bit more about how Tinker Air Force Base is an aviation photographer’s dream spot from Redhome Aviation:

As a photojournalist, the area is ideal for aviation photography. After depot maintenance is accomplished on the aircraft, they are flown by the 10th Flight Test Squadron of the Air Force Reserve Command. After maintenance, the aircraft are typically sent for paint before their test flight, but on the occasions where their scheduled date in the paint barn is after the aircraft has cleared post dock, we get the rare ‘naked’ flight. The rarest aircraft to photograph in the nude is the B-1B Lancer, while the most famous aircraft in the buff was B-52H Stratofortress 60-0034 “Wise Guy” after restoration from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ in December 2020. We have even been afforded the views of a disassembled B-1B 86-0101 “Watchman” on her way via road to Wichita State University for digital imaging of her entire frame. We have a special location in the heart of Oklahoma where we get to see the hard work of the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group, the 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group, and the expert aviating of the world’s best aviators. There is no better spot in the world to see the E-3s of America’s Wing, the E-6B Mercury of STRATCOM Wing 1, KC-135s of the SH Okies gracing the skies, or the aviators in training from Vance AFB, Altus AFB, and Sheppard AFB as they practice navigation and approaches on one of the best airfields in the country. If all of that isn’t good enough for you, stay for the thunder in your chest of a B-1B on a full send departure or the eight TF33s of the mighty BUFF screaming as she climbs into the sky, naked as a jaybird.

As a photojournalist, the area is ideal for aviation photography. After depot maintenance is accomplished on the aircraft, they are flown by the 10th Flight Test Squadron of the Air Force Reserve Command. After maintenance, the aircraft are typically sent for paint before their test flight, but on the occasions where their scheduled date in the paint barn is after the aircraft has cleared post dock, we get the rare ‘naked’ flight.

The rarest aircraft to photograph in the nude is the B-1B Lancer, while the most famous aircraft in the buff was B-52H Stratofortress 60-0034 “Wise Guy” after restoration from the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ in December 2020. We have even been afforded the views of a disassembled B-1B 86-0101 “Watchman” on her way via road to Wichita State University for digital imaging of her entire frame.

We have a special location in the heart of Oklahoma where we get to see the hard work of the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group, the 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group, and the expert aviating of the world’s best aviators. There is no better spot in the world to see the E-3s of America’s Wing, the E-6B Mercury of STRATCOM Wing 1, KC-135s of the SH Okies gracing the skies, or the aviators in training from Vance AFB, Altus AFB, and Sheppard AFB as they practice navigation and approaches on one of the best airfields in the country.

If all of that isn’t good enough for you, stay for the thunder in your chest of a B-1B on a full send departure or the eight TF33s of the mighty BUFF screaming as she climbs into the sky, naked as a jaybird.

Now, without further ado, check out some fascinating ‘naked plane’ shots from Redhome Aviation:

KC-135R Stratotanker

Bonus! A Marine KC-130J Hercules

A huge thanks once again to Redhome Aviation for sharing his great shots with us. Make sure to check out his website here , his Instagram page here , and his Facebook page here , you won’t be sorry!

Contact the editor: Tyler@thedrive.com

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更新于美国东部时间2021年12月30日下午4:10。

位于俄克拉荷马州的廷克空军基地堪称美国空军众多大型飞机的圣地。除了作为空军E-3“哨兵”空中预警与控制（AWACS）部队的驻地以及KC-135加油机的主要基地外，它还承担着B-1、B-52、E-3、E-6和KC-135等飞机的基地维护和升级中心的角色。近年来，它又承担了空军新组建的KC-46机队的相同职责。由于这项基地维护任务——飞机在这里会被彻底拆解和翻新——这些飞机偶尔会以与其他地方截然不同的面貌——完全“裸奔”地飞越基地上空。

一位网名为 Redhome Aviation 的摄影师以惊艳的方式拍摄了 Tinker 的“裸机”，并将部分照片发布在了他的 Instagram 页面上。在 Instagram 上看到这些精彩的照片后，我联系了他，想了解一些背景信息，并看看我们是否可以合作完成一个完整的专题报道。他欣然接受了这两个要求。

以下是Redhome Aviation对这些照片的一些评论，以及关于廷克空军基地如何成为航空摄影师梦想之地的更多介绍：

作为一名摄影记者，这片区域是航空摄影的理想之地。飞机完成基地维护后，将由空军预备役司令部第10飞行测试中队进行试飞。维护结束后，飞机通常会在试飞前进行喷漆，但如果喷漆日期安排在飞机离开基地之后，我们就能看到罕见的“裸机”飞行。最难拍摄到裸机的飞机是B-1B“枪骑兵”轰炸机，而最著名的裸机则是B-52H“同温层堡垒”轰炸机60-0034“智者”（Wise Guy），它于2020年12月在亚利桑那州戴维斯-蒙森空军基地的第309航空航天维护与再生大队完成修复。我们甚至还拍摄到了一架被拆解的B-1B轰炸机86-0101“守望者”（Watchman），它正通过公路运往威奇托州立大学，以便进行全机身的数字化成像。我们在俄克拉荷马州中心地带拥有一个特别的地点，在这里，您可以亲眼目睹第76飞机维修大队、第76推进系统维修大队的辛勤工作，以及世界顶级飞行员的精湛飞行技艺。世界上没有比这里更好的地方，可以观赏到美国空军第1联队的E-3预警机、战略司令部第1联队的E-6B“水星”预警机、SH Okies中队的KC-135加油机翱翔蓝天，或是来自万斯空军基地、阿尔图斯空军基地和谢泼德空军基地的飞行员在全国最好的机场之一进行导航和进近训练。如果这些还不够让您兴奋，那就留下来感受一下B-1B轰炸机全力起飞时震撼人心的轰鸣，或是观看强大的“BUFF”特遣舰队的八架TF33战斗机呼啸着冲向天空，如同裸露的松鸦般翱翔天际。

作为一名摄影记者，这里是航空摄影的理想之地。飞机完成基地维护后，由空军预备役司令部第10飞行测试中队进行试飞。维护结束后，飞机通常会在试飞前进行喷漆，但如果喷漆日期安排在飞机完成基地维护之后，我们就能看到罕见的“裸机”飞行。

最罕见的裸机拍摄对象是B-1B“枪骑兵”轰炸机，而最著名的裸机则是B-52H“同温层堡垒”轰炸机60-0034“智者”（Wise Guy），该机于2020年12月由亚利桑那州戴维斯-蒙森空军基地的第309航空航天维护与再生大队修复后拍摄。我们甚至有幸目睹了被拆解的B-1B 86-0101“守望者”（Watchman）轰炸机被运往威奇托州立大学进行全机身数字化成像的过程。

我们在俄克拉荷马州中心地带拥有一个独特的地点，在这里我们可以亲眼目睹第76飞机维修大队、第76推进系统维修大队的辛勤工作，以及世界顶级飞行员的精湛飞行技艺。世界上没有比这里更好的地方，可以观赏到美国空军第1战略司令部联队的E-3预警机、KC-135加油机以及来自万斯空军基地、阿尔图斯空军基地和谢泼德空军基地的飞行员在全国最好的机场之一进行导航和进近训练。

如果这些还不够让你兴奋，那就留下来感受一下 B-1B 全力起飞时胸腔里传来的雷鸣声，或者感受一下强大的 BUFF 战机八台 TF33 发动机在爬升入天空时发出的尖啸声，它像一只赤裸的松鸦一样。

现在，无需赘言，让我们一起来欣赏Redhome Aviation拍摄的一些精彩的“裸机”照片：

KC-135R同温层加油机

额外惊喜！一架海军陆战队的KC-130J大力神运输机

再次非常感谢 Redhome Aviation 与我们分享他的精彩照片。一定要去看看他的网站（链接在此）、Instagram 主页（链接在此）和 Facebook 主页（链接在此），绝对不会让你失望！

联系编辑：Tyler@thedrive.com

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