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Vermont ANG Heritage, part One. Vermont is a state of New England in the Northeastern United States with a long and rich history. Proud of its aviation heritage, the Vermont Air National Guard has a nice collection of preserved aircraft for the local population and visitors to see. Home for the VT ANG is Burlington IAP, at Burlington, VT on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain. On display next to the main gate to the ANG base, this collection of aircraft is accessible to the public for viewing and visitors can also see the unit's F-16s taxying and taking-off from the airport's main runway. The Vermont ANG flying unit is the 158th Fighter Wing, "The Green Mountain Boys", and has been flying the F-16 "Fighting Falcon" since April 1986. The 158th FW flew the Air Defense mission until October 1, 1998 when it officially converted back to a general purpose role. The VT ANG was organized and federally recognized as the 134th Fighter Squadron on July 1, 1946 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in August 1996 with special celebrations and an Open House. To commemorate this anniversary back in 1996, some of the planes in the collection were given original VT ANG markings weeks before the open house and were on display for the airshow. During August 2006, the unit celebrated its 60th anniversary with an airshow featuring the USAF Thunderbirds and the U.S. Army Golden Knights. For this occasion, aircraft 84-1275 from the 158th FW received special markings to commemorate this anniversary. The unit has flown 8 different types of aircraft for its primary mission and a few more for support. The collection includes most of the aircraft flown by the unit and the oldest type is the T-33A, flown since November 1953 by the VT ANG until September of 1983. The last T-33, 53-5398 departed Burlington on Sept.23, 1983 and ended and era of over 30 years of "T-bird". The aircraft was flown to Fresno, California by Lt Col. David Ladd, DCO and its crew chief, MSgt. Homer Baker Jr. The T-33 preserved on base, 52-9734, represents one of the original aircraft assigned to Burlington. This aircraft was received fresh from the factory on November 18, 1953. It last served with the ADWC at Tyndall AFB before being transferred to Burlington for preservation. The primary mission while assigned to the Vermont Air National Guard was for target support and instrument training. While assigned to the Green Mountain Boys, the type accumulated over 40,000 flying hours during its 30 years of operation. The latest addition is a F-94B restored after many years by Guard members. This type was flown from April 1954 until the fall of 1957. Next to serve with the VT ANG was the F-89J which left the base in August 1965. This aircraft returned in 1985 and following restoration, was displayed at the main grate. It is interesting to note that the J-model could carry two nuclear-tipped Genie missiles and four Falcon missiles under the wings. However, the F-89Js assigned to the VT ANG were equipped to carry only one Genie missile under each wing and had no other armament. Also part of the collection is a F-102A with full VT ANG markings, a type flown by the 158th FIG from August 1965 until 1974. The unit placed third in the William Tell Weapons Meet in October 1972 with that type. The F-102A is going through a restoration and will certainly be displayed near the main gate. Redesignated the 158th Defense Systems Evaluation Group in June 1974, the Group received 17 EB-57B equipped with electronic countermeasures and chaff emitting equipment, and 3 B-57C. Flown until June 1981, one aircraft, 52-1500, is also on display in its original markings. Redesignated a Tactical Fighter Group in the summer of 1981, the 158th received the F-4D "Phantom" and operated with this type until the spring of 1986 when the last flight took place on August 20th. The 158th TFG of the VT ANG received its first three F-4s on October 9, 1981 from the 56th TFW at MacDill AFB, Fla. The VT ANG has been flying the F-16 "Fighting Falcon" since 1986 and has received F-16A 79-0357 from the Arizona ANG in 1999. The aircraft was used as a load trainer and had received a special color scheme. Another F-16A, 78-025, has been received in 2006 and was dedicated to two members of the Green Mountain Boys during a dedication ceremony on August 20. 1st Lt. Stephen L.C. Taylor was killed during a training mission while at flight school in November 1993 and SSgt Dennis D. King passed away in March 1995 after serving several years with the VT ANG in the maintenance squadron. During its fifty years, the Vermont Air National Guard has been flying many different types of aircraft for support and on display is a C-131D, a type in service with the VT ANG in the seventies. The C-131D, 54-2810, was previously assigned to the 111th TASG/PA ANG at NAS Willow Grove. The aircraft was flown to Burlington on May 1st, 1989 by a crew from the 111th TASG. The latest addition to the collection was a C-47B that has been restored and put on display in Fall 1999. Also part of the collection is a C-45H that was donated to the VT ANG but never flown by the unit. Only a few miles from Burlington is the Vermont National Guard H.Q., at Winooski, home for the Vermont Veterans Militia Museum and Library. Among the tanks and artillery pieces are one F-4D in VT ANG's marking and two helicopters previously in use by the Vermont Army National Guard, one UH-1H and one OH-6A. The Museum and Library at HQ are a must to visit! Click on the museum link on this page to find out more about it.
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