North American F-100 Super Sabre
F-100D s/n 56-2931
1 JUN 60
25 miles north of Nellis AFB NV

I first learned of this crash while reading the book Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram. As an instructor at the Fighter Weapons School out of Nellis AFB, John Boyd earned the nick name “40 second Boyd. He had a 40 dollar standing bet that he could get to the tail of any opponent within 40 seconds from a starting position where the opponent was on Boyd’s tail. He never had to pay. Boyd wrote a 150 page paper called the "Aerial Attack Study" which became the fighter tactics manual in the 1960s and is still in use today by many air forces around the world. He is considered the father of the F-15, F-16, and F-18 because his energy management theory had profound effects on the design of these aircraft; in particular the F-16. He went on to write "Patterns of Conflict" which is considered to be one of the most important writings on conflict, in business or war, since Sun-Tzu’s “The Art of War.” Boyd's theories were widely used in the Gulf War.

His detractors tried to use this particular crash as a means of having Boyd removed from the Air Force, but Boyd was able to prove the crash was due to a design flaw. Had his detractors succeeded in removing Boyd from the Air Force he would not have had the influence he did on aircraft design or warfare he has had today. As a result, this is a significant and historic crash site.

I highly recommend reading "Boyd: The Fighter Pilot Who Changed the Art of War by Robert Coram."
Cover page of the accident report.
Narrative from accident report.
F-100s on the ramp at Nellis AFB.
Scattered aluminum glittering in the sun looking down "Boyd Valley." This is a crash site, but is it Boyd's F-100?
NAA Inspection Stamp and 223- is the prefix for an F-100D, but could also be found on an F-100F.
More debris.
Looking at the impact crater in the direction the F-100 came from.
Looking at the impact crater in the direction the F-100 was headed.
A bent 20mm canon barrel.
A piece of titanium skin that has seen high heat.
Part of the instrument panel.
Rasa with the extreme aft end of the fuselage.
Close up of the aft end of the fuselage.
More titanium skin.
A piece of titanium that has not seen high heat.
Another section of the aft fuselage. This piece has just a tiny portion of the vertical attached to it with part of the s/n!
You can just make out a 62 here.
A very faded 31.
This side is harder to read as the left half is bent 90°s back. On the left is a 6 on its back followed by a crunched 2 where the metal bends 90°. Then a 9 followed by the bottom of a 3.
The lower half of the 6 on its back with the lower left of the 2 in the top of the photo.
he crunched 2 on the left and part of the 9 on the right. 62931! It's confirmed, this is Boyd's plane!
A tire.
Forward section of the engine.
Turbine wheel.