Combat Air Museum

The Museum is home to the 35th Division Museum. It includes 36 pieces of military equipment outside–airplanes, helicopters, tanks, artillery, jeeps, trucks, artillery tractors, etc. The Museum includes over 125 inside exhibits, including exhibits on the Civil War, Indian Wars in Kansas, Spanish-American War, Mexican Border War of 1916, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm-Desert Shield, and the Global Wars on Terrorism–Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The Museum includes the Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame, a MAS*H replica of the “Swamp,” an original oil portrait of Adolph Hitler, a Snowgoose UAV, and Maj Daniel Forbes.

Have a look in our Facebook Musée Avion MONTELIMAR……search on GOOGLE or in http://www.meacmtl.com

The Southern Museum of Flight, one of the largest aviation museums in the Southeast, is dedicated to presenting civilian, military, and experimental aircraft and memorabilia from the earliest history of powered flight. The 75,000 square foot facility houses over 90 aircraft, as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs, and paintings. In addition, the Southern Museum of Flight is home to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame with over 65 biographical plaques presenting Alabama aviation history through collective biography.The Southern Museum of Flight has something for everyone! Adult admission is $7 and student/senior is $6. Active military & families are free. Annual museum family emberships are $45. Family memberships include reciprocal memberships with hundreds of other museums. Discounted group rates are available.

The Minnesota Air National Guard Historical Foundation, Inc. is a private, philanthropic organization chartered as a nonprofit corporation under the statutes of the State of Minnesota on May 14, 1980. The Foundation operates the Minnesota Air National Guard Museum.Located on the active Minnesota Air National Guard Base at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the Minnesota Air Guard Museum is an authorized USAF Air Park of the 133rd Airlift Wing.Following approval by the 934th TAG (the base host) in 1983, work began to establish the Museum, starting in old alert hangars that once housed Northrop F-89 Scorpions. In the summer of 1984, the formal dedication was held when Eva Miller, widow of Minnesota Air Guard founder Ray S. Miller, cut the ribbon. The event was part of a base open house that drew about 30,000 visitors.Established in 1921, Minnesota’s Air National Guard enjoys a unique place in history as the first federally recognized unit in the nation. From those historic roots the unit became the 133rd Tactical Airlift Wing (Minneapolis-St. Paul) and the 148th Fighter Interceptor Wing (Duluth). Its legacy of accomplishment mirrors Minnesota’s historical leadership in civil, commercial, aero-medical and aerospace technology and innovation.The Minnesota Air National Guard Museum is home to historically significant aircraft and ancillary artifacts, historical documents, photographs, manuscripts and books. Volunteers have played a key role in aircraft restoration, tours and seminars benefitting students, citizens and organizations from the multi-state region.MissionThe historical mission of the Foundation was to:Preserve the heritage and traditions of the Minnesota Air National Guard;Establish, maintain and operate a museum and library;Promote and encourage research into the history, traditions and benefits of a strong militia program to Minnesota and the Nation;Take custody, restore, catalogue, and validate historic objects and artifacts whether acquired by gift; purchase, demise or otherwise from individuals, the Minnesota National Guard and the Air National Guard or the United States Air Force;Foster and promote public knowledge and interest in local military history, as part of the continuing militia history.Today’s mission is to help strengthen STEM and career education for students and teachers while learning about the innovation and achievements of people and companies, both yesterday and today. Through the proposed new Minnesota Air and Space Center to be built on the Fort Snelling Upper Post, the Foundation will:Commemorate: Honor those who serve & buildEducate: Learn from the past & prepare for the futureInnovate: Showcase people & ideas at work

The Charlotte Airport hangar was erected in 1936-37 by the Works Progress Administration, better known as WPA, a program tied to the federal work program that served Charlotte during the Great Depression. The airport consisted of two buildings, an administration/terminal building, one hangar, a beacon tower, two 3000-foot runways and one 2500-foot runway.On May 17th 1938 Eastern Airlines flew the first commercial flight into Charlotte and in the airport\’s first year of operation six flights took off from Charlotte each day. Two years later, the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport in honor of the mayor Ben E. Douglas who headed the movement to build it.In 1941, the Army Air Force took control of the airport and renamed it Morris Field in honor of Major William Colb Morris. Then in 1954 the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport in honor of Mayor Ben Elbert Douglas.Charlotte Douglas Airport grew rapidly over the years but in 1991, the original hangar was scheduled to be torn down to make room for expansion. Floyd and Lois Wilson heard about the removal of the hangar and decided to step in to save the historical landmark. They organized a small group of aviation enthusiasts and formed the Carolinas Historical Aviation Commission (CHAC). Their vision – \”To preserve the past, present and future aviation history of North and South Carolina.\” Of course the logo reflected this vision.The organization acquired its first aircraft from the U.S. Army in 1992 – a North American T-28 Trojan.The T-28 was a trainer designed in 1949 to replace the T-6 Texan used during WWII. It was in production from about 1950 to 1957.Two years after the CHAC was formed, the old hangar officially became the new home of the Carolinas Aviation Museum.Due to the extension of the new taxiway in 2010, the hangar was moved and the museum was relocated to the new 40,000 square foot hangar on First Flight Drive.The original hangar is still part of the museum and can be seen across the runway from the new hangar. But it is currently used only for storage of some of the museum\’s aircraft.Stop by and see how the museum has evolved…with many of our displays under one roof.

The Yankee Air Museum was established to help preserve Southeast Michigan’s extraordinary aviation history.  This history has many components – such as the 1941/1942 construction of the Willow Run Bomber Plant by the Ford Motor Company.  Ford brought automotive assembly line techniques to aircraft production, building 8,685 B-24 Liberator bombers, a key part of the Allied arsenal in WWII. At its peak, the Bomber Plant employed over 42,000 people (about 40% of which were women, unprecedented for the times), producing up to one B-24 an hour.

A group of local aviation enthusiasts wanted to preserve this heritage and organized the Yankee Air Force in 1981 (the name evolved into the Yankee Air Museum in the early 1990’s.)  They began planning to preserve the history of the Bomber Plant.  Countless hours of work would go into this project, continuing to this day.

In late 1981, Museum personnel acquired a WWII era hangar on airport grounds; thousands of hours of work went into restoring the hangar into a useable facility.   Subsequently, a series of flyable aircraft, static aircraft, and a wide range of aviation art, uniforms, instruments, and other artifacts were obtained and displayed.  The Museum was formally dedicated in May, 1982.

The first flyable aircraft in the collection was a Douglas C-47 WWII era transport, obtained in 1982.  Originally named Yankee Doodle Dandy, this aircraft was repainted/renamed in 2018 as Hairless Joe in a China-Burma-India WWII Theater paint scheme.

The next flyable purchased was a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress. Named the Yankee Lady, it underwent nine years of restoration, beginning in 1986, and returning to flying status in 1995.

A North American B-25D Mitchell medium bomber was then acquired in 1987.  The Yankee Warrior saw combat in World War II (eight missions over Italy) and is one of only two B-25Ds still flying today.

In 2014, an additional flyable was obtained – a Waco YMF-5C, recreating the barnstorming era in aviation.

These aircraft are flown and displayed at numerous air shows, and are the pride of the Museum. Rides can be purchased on these aircraft, helping people establish a connection to previous generations of aviators.

The Museum grew through the 1980’s and 1990’s.  In October 2004, a devastating setback occurred – a fire that destroyed the hangar housing the museum. Through the heroic efforts of personnel on hand, the B-17 and C-47 were towed, pushed and pulled out of the building before the fire reached them, saving the heart of the collection.  The B-25 had just landed and was not in the hangar; aircraft on display outside of the hangar were not damaged. The Museum however, lost virtually all of the aircraft tooling, equipment, spare parts, office and display fixtures, and all of the artifacts.

Museum members, staff and volunteers, as well as many others in the community swung into action (donations for rebuilding were received from all over the world).  A key step was purchasing in 2009 a building from the Michigan Institute of Aviation and Technology.  The Museum moved into this building in October 2010 (six years to the day of the fire), which has about 28,000 square feet of display area for aircraft and artifacts, and additional space for restoration work, offices, classrooms and a retail gift store.

Other actions taken included renovating a schoolhouse built by Henry Ford in 1938 into the David and Andrea Robertson Education Center (dedicated in June 2010), which holds the Research Library. Numerous aircraft have been added to the collection – a few examples include a Douglas A-4C Skyhawk, a North American F-100 Super Sabre, a Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber (salvaged from Lake Michigan) and a Bell AH-1J helicopter. The Michigan Aerospace Foundation (doing business as the Yankee Air Museum Foundation) was  established in 2001 to coordinate fundraising efforts.

While the aircraft are very impressive, much more is done to promote aviation and history. The artifacts collection has been rebuilt, thanks to the generosity of our supporters.  Numerous aviation speakers have appeared, including Steve Ritchie, the only Air Force pilot ace in Vietnam, Bob Mason, author of Chickenhawk, about helicopter pilots in Vietnam, and Alexander Jefferson, a Tuskegee Airman and P-51 pilot.

The Museum is the driving force behind the Thunder Over Michigan, one of the premier air shows in the US – the US Navy Blue Angels and the US Air Force Thunderbirds have made numerous appearances over the years.  Each year, a wide range of historic aircraft are flown in for display.

The Museum also focuses on youth programming – STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education is integrated into exhibits and programs to inspire young people to pursue education and career opportunities in those fields.  Numerous programs are centered on Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and other youth organizations.

From day one, the Museum has worked towards ”educating individuals through the history of US military aviation, technology, and home-front efforts while inspiring ….pride in our national accomplishments.”   To support this goal, the remaining 144,000 square feet of the Willow Run Bomber Plant was purchased in 2014.  About 30,000 square feet of the renovated plant will be used for permanent hangar space for the flyable aircraft, with an expected construction completion date of December 31, 2019.  The remaining area will house the Museum’s static aircraft, exhibits, and administrative offices; timing for this phase of the renovation is fund-raising dependent.  When the move-in is completed, the Yankee Air Museum will have fulfilled one of its original goals – helping preserve this piece of Southeast Michigan’s aviation history.

If you are interested in supporting the Yankee Air Museum’s work, please contact Elisa Guyton, Associate Development Director, at 734-483-4030 ext. 227 or mail a donation to Yankee Air Museum, 47884 D Street, Belleville MI, 48111.

The Museum is home to the 35th Division Museum. It includes 36 pieces of military equipment outside–airplanes, helicopters, tanks, artillery, jeeps, trucks, artillery tractors, etc. The Museum includes over 125 inside exhibits, including exhibits on the Civil War, Indian Wars in Kansas, Spanish-American War, Mexican Border War of 1916, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Desert Storm-Desert Shield, and the Global Wars on Terrorism–Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The Museum includes the Kansas National Guard Hall of Fame, a MAS*H replica of the “Swamp,” an original oil portrait of Adolph Hitler, a Snowgoose UAV, and Maj Daniel Forbes.