Delivered to the US Navy as 129233. Sold as N9994Z in 1963. Stored at Chico, CA from 1966. Restored for the Pima Air and Space Museum with fake reg N9995Z in 1990 and delivered to them in 1991.

In the 1960s, Aero Union acquired five former US Navy AF-2 Guardians. Only two were fully converted to airtanker (N9995Z and N3144G), a third was partially converted, and two remained unused and unconverted. The latter three remained in storage at Chico, CA for many years.
Falsely painted as N9995Z, the Guardian at the Pima museum is in fact N9994Z, which was one of the unconverted aircraft. Aero Union donated it to the Pima Air Museum in 1991, restoring it to static display condition the previous year. Although this aircraft had never been an airtanker and had never seen service with Aero Union, they painted it in their full markings to resemble Aero Union's airtanker N9995Z / 21-E.

Actually ex N9994Z.

This is N9994Z, falsely painted as N9995Z.

Painted as N9995Z, but is actually ex N9994Z.

The aircraft is actually N9994Z ex US Navy 129233. It has been restored and preserved at Pima in the markings of N9995Z, c/n 296, an air tanker operated by Aero Union.

Not the prettiest aircraft on display, but nice to see one of the rare Guardians preserved here. This is actually N9994Z, painted as N9995Z. The real N9995Z is based at Leeward Air Ranch, Ocala, FL.

This is actually N9994Z, painted as N9995Z.