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Museum Project

RAY MACALLISTER

April 2007 Update

SUPPORTING THE NATIONAL ATOMIC MUSEUM

As you have all probably heard from me before, the NWTA, in conjunction with the National Atomic Museum and other concerned parties has begun an effort to help museums get better Nuclear Weapon Displays. During the months since our Convention in October 2006 we have been literally deluged with requests for displays and perhaps more significantly with sources of displays! We now have access to dozens of items, ranging from the MK 7 to the B61 and W80. Many of these items are already here at Kirtland AFB. What remains now is to prepare them for distribution. This will entail inspection and some packaging.

A number of them are now classified. They must be declasssified, properly documented and marked and then logged into the NAM's accounting system and also the DOE's. This will be done by Sandia National Lab personnel. We are starting with the B/BA/W53. We have several here at KAFB and we have already disassembled one and declassified it and turned it over to the Atomic Museum and now awaits pickup. The majority of the 53s are at Nellis AFB and we will be going there in the early part of May, June, and July. There only remains a couple at the EOD school at Eglin AFB to finish off. We can probably make one good one from the two they have and send it over to the Armament Museum. Two or three W53s are also available and we expect them to go to the NMUSAF (WPAFB) and the PIMA Museum in Tuscon, AZ.

Details

Museum Project

Hi All,

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted anything on the Museum Project. Things have been moving along very nicely. Most of it has been on the classified side of the house, though. The most urgent item has been the B53 trainer demilling. Most of the items have been at Nellis AFB and as of last week these were completed by a Sandia Labs Team. The first item to be sent to a museum was a B53 display for the National Testing Museum in Las Vegas. This happened on Tuesday, July 24, 2007. The 896 MUNS moved the item. Many thanks to the 896th for their fine support. The Sandia Team reassembled the trainer right after it was declassified. Originally I thought that an NWTA team would be needed. This solved several problems including a hoist, a building, training, H gear etc. We'll get our chances down the road I'm sure.

The next items to go are a BA53 and a W53 for the NMUAF. The're picking them up at Nellis on July 29, 2007 in a C-17. Not bad!!. Mike Rhoads tells me that the W53 is absolutely pristine. Thanks to anyone who helped keep it that way during it's nearly 50 year life. I'm hoping to get representatives of all the organizations concerned together and make a little presentation to the NMUSAF during the convention. What do you all think?