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Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona
Arizona Aviation Museum Guide

Luke Air Force Base
Glendale, Arizona

The Luke Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located seven miles west of the central business district of Glendale, Arizona. It is also about 15 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona. The base is named after World War I Medal of Honor recipient and former Phoenix native, Lieutenant Frank Luke, Jr. Lt. Luke, the first U.S. aviator to receive the Medal of Honor, was born in Phoenix in 1897. He became known as the "Arizona Balloon Buster" when he scored 18 aerial victories during World War I (14 of these German observation balloons) in the skies over France before being killed, at age 21, on September 29, 1918. The 56th Fighter Wing (56 FW) of the AETC is the host wing at Luke AFB. The wing is composed of four groups of 27 squadrons, including eight fighter squadrons. There are several tenant units on base, including the 944th Fighter Wing (944 FW), assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command's 10th Air Force (10 AF) and operationally-gained by AETC. Luke AFB is a major training base of the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), training pilots in the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Luke AFB has the following aircraft static displays. There are three separate static displays on the base: (1) the Luke AFB Air Park with 8 aircraft; (2) the General Dynamics F-16A Block 15C "Fighting Falcon" static display; and (3) "The Tuskegee Airmen - Red Tail" F-16C Block 32D "Fighting Falcon" static display. Unfortunately, the display areas on the base are not open to the general public. A special thanks to a Friend in Arizona (AFIA) for the photos.

Luke AFB Air Park

North American AT-6G (AT-6C-NT) "Texan" (AF 42-3984), Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona (Photos by AFIA)

North American F-86F-25-NH "Sabre" (AF 52-5323 as 52-5430), Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona (Photos by AFIA)

Republic F-84F-45-RE "Thunderstreak" (AF 52-6782 as 52-6779 USAF Thunderbird), Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona (Photos by AFIA)

North American F-100C-1-NA "Super Sabre" (AF 53-1716), Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona (Photos by AFIA)

Lockheed F-104C-5-LO "Starfighter" (AF 56-0892 as 51-3243), Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona (Photos by AFIA)

Lockheed T-33A-5-LO "Shooting Star", (AF 58-0495 as 58-0745), Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona (Photos by AFIA)

McDonnell Douglas F-4E-35-MC "Phantom II" (AF 67-0327), Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona (Photos by AFIA)

McDonnell Douglas F-15B-7-MC "Eagle" (AF 73-0108), Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona (Photos by AFIA)

General Dynamics F-16A "Fighting Falcon" Display

General Dynamics F-16A Block 15C "Fighting Falcon" (AF 81-0687), Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona (Photos by AFIA)

"The Tuskegee Airmen - Red Tail" Memorial

General Dynamics F-16C Block 32D "Fighting Falcon" (AF 86-0291), Luke Air Force Base, Glendale, Arizona (Photos by AFIA)

A very special thanks to AFIA (A Friend in Arizona) for providing us with photos of the aircraft at this location.

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