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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Jwt708, post: 2369677, member: 32619&quot;]Tonight I dug into my vast collection of military trade tokens and retrieved this blue plastic token:</p><p><br /></p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/media/ca840a-mcclellan-afb.3606/full" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>CA840a; McClellan AFB, Sacramento, California </p><p>Obv.: MCCLELLAN / AFB / 25¢ / NCO CLUB</p><p>Rev.: GOOD / FOR 25¢ IN / TRADE</p><p>Plasitc, blue, 28mm</p><p><br /></p><p>McClellan Air Force Base (AFB) had a long but not very glamorous past as an Air Force overhaul center for aircraft and space/ground communication electronics. McClellan AFB was first established in July 1936 and was operational in November 1938 as Sacramento Air Depot (Locating Air Force Base Sites*, 2014). It&#039;s first mission was repair and overhaul of P-38 and P-39 aircraft. The sort of work performed would be jobs that exceed field repair capabilities or upgrades that would be impractical to do where the aircraft was located. This is known as depot level maintenance.</p><p><br /></p><p>P-38</p><p>[ATTACH=full]484361[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>P-39</p><p>[ATTACH=full]484362[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>The Depot Facility</p><p>[ATTACH=full]484363[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>In the tradition of naming airfields after fallen airmen Sacramento Air Depot was renamed McClellan Field on 1 December 1939. Major Hezekiah McClellan pioneered arctic aviation and died at Wright Field in 1935 flying a P-30.</p><p><br /></p><p>With the outbreak of World War II McClellan Field began overhaul/repair operations of P-40, B-17, and B-26 aircraft in addition to the P-38 and P-39. The famous Doolittle Raiders stopped at McClellan Field to arm their aircraft before embarking on the Tokyo bombing mission. McClellan Field would continue to arm aircraft throughout the war, as they were sent to the Pacific theater. </p><p><br /></p><p>After World War II and when the Air Force was established as a separate service, McClellan Field was renamed McClellan Air Force Base in 1948. It&#039;s mission as a depot facility continued and numerous aircraft would come to McClellan AFB for repair or overhaul/upgrade: F-80, F-86, F-100, F104, T-33, F-111, A-10, and F-15. </p><p><br /></p><p>F-111 Depot</p><p>[ATTACH=full]484366[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>I found the above picture particularly interesting because it appears they&#039;re doing fuel systems repair which is my job in the Air Force. If you look at the aircraft in the foreground you&#039;ll notice a large black object in front of the right wing and it appears to be a fuel cell. Also notice the the holes in the aircraft on top of the fuselage in the center - those are likely removed fuel tank access panels. Finally note the person at the aircraft&#039;s left dressed in white. White cotton coveralls are required when performing in tank maintenance. </p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/media/open-fuel-tanks.2122/full" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/media/fuel-systems-maintainer.2121/full" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p><img src="https://www.cointalk.com/media/fuel-systems-repair-tech-school.3033/full" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /> </p><p>[ATTACH=full]484368[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>With very few exceptions, the Air Force has a long history of draw downs in force; less people, less planes, less bases. McClellan AFB was first targeted in the Reagan administration for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) committee and faced it two more times. Under the Clinton administration in the 1995 BRAC it was decided to close the base. 13 July 2001 McClellan AFB was closed. Today the airfield remains, where a Coast Guard unit flies C-130s with a few buildings still being utilized. Parts of the base also serve as the Aerospace Museum of California where 40 aircraft are on display including an A-1E Skyraider! [USER=1886]@longnine009[/USER] </p><p><br /></p><p>A-1E Skyraider</p><p><img src="http://www.aerospaceca.org/_Media/aircraft/a_1e_6442-2.jpeg" class="bbCodeImage wysiwygImage" alt="" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>*My sources are limited on McClellan to Google searches and the book &quot;Locating Air Force Base Sites: History&#039;s Legacy&quot; edited by Frederick J. Shaw. Air Force History and Museums Program, Unites States Air Force. Updated edition 2014. Other sources had conflicting information concerning the various names McClellan had prior to being named after McClellan AFB and I chose to defer to Shaw&#039;s work.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>While I don&#039;t expect a lot of McClellan tokens to be posted, feel free to post whatever you want! It&#039;s a free-for-all![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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