Unusual cemeteries

There comes a moment, when used planes, tanks, and even telephone booths need to be replaced with new ones. But what to do with those old? You can’t just scrap them, can you?

[msa-ads data-ad-client=”ca-pub-6965588547261395″ data-ad-slot=”7732882042″]

Aircraft Boneyard, USA



The 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG), often called The Boneyard, is a United States Air Force aircraft and missile storage and maintenance facility in Tucson, Arizona, located on Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. AMARG was previously Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center, AMARC, the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposal Center, MASDC, and started life after World War II as the 3040th Aircraft Storage Group.



AMARG takes care of more than 4,400 aircraft, which would make it the second largest air force in the world. An Air Force Materiel Command unit, the group is under the command of the 309th Maintenance Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. AMARG was originally meant to store excess Department of Defense and Coast Guard aircraft, but has in recent years been designated the sole repository of out-of-service aircraft from all branches of the US government.



AMARC has also been site of filming for scenes in several movie and television productions, despite the rather heavy security of AMARG and the base in general. The most recent and notable of these is Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The exterior scenes of the Smithsonian set were actually filmed in the Boneyard. The background of several shots can be clearly recognized while looking toward the fence-line from one of the major streets that run along the perimeter.

Ship Graveyard, Mauritania

The city of Nouadhibou (Arabic: نواذيبو‎) is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as the country’s commercial center.It is famous for being the location of one of the largest ship graveyard in the world. Hundreds of rusting ships can be seen all around, in the water, and on beaches.

One of the most commonly read explanation for that situation is that Mauritanian harbor officers were taking bribes and allowing ships to be discarded in the harbor and around the bay.

This phenomenon started in the 80’s after the nationalization of the Mauritanian fishing industry, numerous uneconomical ships were simply abandoned there. I’m guessing that foreign ship owners later found very convenient to get rid of their old vessels in the bay.

Graveyard Train, Bolivia

There were plans to develop the area near the city of Uyuni (3660 ft above the sea level) into a great railroad hub and terminal station. The construction started in the late 19th century, but was never completed.

Today, the empty husks of steam locomotives are rusting away under the watchful sun, like some kind of discarded metal carapaces – while the soft pinky-flesh train “kiddies”, no doubt, roam the desert, chewing on some llamas…

A picture worthy of S. Dali, perhaps entitled “Time & Rust” –

Strategic bombers graveyard, Russia

Although not as large as the graveyard in Arizona, the Russian aircraft base, located about 100 km from Vladivostok, is full of unused machines.

Here are rusting relics of the Cold War – medium-range bombers Tu-22M Backfire which were capable of carrying nuclear warheads and intercontinental attacks.

Probably a few years ago it was normally operating air-force base.

Anchor Cemetery, Portugal

Among the dunes of Tavira island, in Portugal, there’s an impressive anchor graveyard called theCemitério das Âncoras. It was built in remembrence of the glorious tradition of tuna fishing with large nets (“armações de atum”) fixed with these anchors, a fishing technique already invented by the Phoenicians.

Tavira used to be a place devoted to the tuna fishing. They built up this anchor graveyard to remember those who had to quit their occupation when the big fish abandoned the coasts.

USSR red army tanks graveyard, east of Kabul, Afghanistan

On the outskirts of Kabul there is massive storage of unused tanks. They belonged to the Soviet troops which occupied Afghanistan in the years 1979-1989.

When the Soviets began to withdraw, they did not have time to think about the fate of the damaged vehicles.

Now, you can not count on their fast recycling and all indicates that there will stay there for years.

Graveyard of submarines, Russia

The “resting place” of Soviet submarines is bay on the Kola Peninsula, near Severomorsk. Ships came here in the 70’s the last century and it seems that they are forgotten.

Local residents say that some were used as targets to practice for other units. Others were simply abandoned here, probably in line with the “out of sight, out of mind.”

Graveyard of boats, Uzbekistan

Uzbek town Mujnak once was full of life. All that changed the moment when the nearby Aral Sea began to dry up.

Boats full of fish became only memory. Currently, the lake is now about 100 miles from the Mujnaku.

The town used to have more than 10 000 inhabitants> Now it’s just few hundred. Most of them live on welfare.

Taxi graveyard, China

In the center of Chinese city of Chongqing, we can find a taxi cemetery. Economic development meant that more and more people could afford to own a car. Therefore, the taxi stopped being so much needed and found their way here.

Graveyard of telephone booths, England

This cemetery may be only in one country. In the vicinity of the village of Carlton Miniott is a place where worn, red booths go (which are systematically replaced by new ones).

[msa-ads data-ad-client=”ca-pub-6965588547261395″ data-ad-slot=”7732882042″]

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6