Yankee Air Museum
Coordinates: 42°14′21″N 83°30′29″W / 42.23903°N 83.50808°W
| Yankee Air Museum | |
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| Established | 1981 |
| Location | Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, United States |
| Type | Aviation museum |
The Yankee Air Museum is an aviation museum located near Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. The museum has a small fleet of flying aircraft and a collection of static display aircraft outdoors.
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[edit] History
The Yankee Air Force Inc. was founded in 1981 to pursue these goals:[1]
- To preserve a part of Michigan's extensive aviation history.
- Acquire one of the original USAAF hangars and restore it to its original condition.
- Obtain a B-24 Liberator built at the Ford Willow Run plant, site of the museum.
[edit] Fire and rebuilding
On the night of October 9, 2004, the Yankee Air Museum's hangar on the northeast side of Willow Run (KYIP) burned down.[2] The B-17, B-25 and C-47 were saved through heroic efforts by museum volunteers. The Stinson was at another hangar. Everything else inside the hangar was destroyed, including the original prototype North American YOV-10A Bronco, Waco CG-4A Glider, a former Thunderbirds Republic F-105, Aero L-39, Link Trainer, artifacts, spare parts, tools, and the Museum's library.
There are plans in place to rebuild.[3] The first building was dedicated on April 16, 2007, and the objective of the Michigan Aerospace Foundation, Inc. is to build a greatly expanded, state-of-the-art aviation museum and aerospace facility to replace the lost facility. The museum reopened to the public on October 10, 2010.[4][5]
[edit] Collection
From 2007 until August 2011 the Yankee Air Museum's flyable aircraft were hangared at the Township Airport at Grosse Ile, Michigan.[6]
The Museum's flyable aircraft include:[7]
- 1944 Boeing B-17G-110VE Flying Fortress 44-85829 " Yankee Lady - ex-PB-1G 77255[8]
- 1943 North American B-25D Mitchell 43-3634 " Yankee Warrior - veteran of 8 combat missions over Italy[9]
- 1944 Douglas C-47 Skytrain Yankee Doodle Dandy [10]
The Museum Airpark also contains a number of retired aircraft. These aircraft include:[11]
- B-52D Stratofortress
- UH-1P Huey
- Douglas DC-6
- F-86L Dog Sabre
- F-84F Thunderstreak
- RF-84F Thunderflash
- F-101B Voodoo
- Lockheed T-33B
- RB-57A Canberra
- F-4C Phantom II
- Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy
- PB4Y-2G, BuNo 59876 - (the US Navy single tail version of the B-24)
[edit] See also
[edit] Other large collections of flying historic aircraft
- Commemorative Air Force, in Midland, Texas.
- Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at RAF Coningsby, UK
- Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire, England;
- Fantasy of Flight, in Polk City, Florida;
- Champlin Fighter Collection at the Seattle Museum of Flight.
- The Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas.
- The Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum in St Louis, Missouri
[edit] References
- ^ O'Leary, Michael, Thunder over Michigan, Air Classics, Nov 2003
- ^ Mary Grady (October 10, 2004). "Michigan's Yankee Air Museum Destroyed In Fire". AVWeb.com. http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/briefs/188312-1.html. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ^ "Project Announced To Rebuild Yankee Air Museum". WDIV. http://www.clickondetroit.com/community/4406475/detail.html. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ^ Yankee Air Museum rebuilt - Officials, volunteers resurrect historic site ravaged in 2004 fire, by Steve Pardo, The Detroit News
- ^ Spirits soar as Yankee Air Museum celebrates grand reopening six years after devastating fire by Tom Perkins, AnnArbor.com
- ^ Yankee Air Museum Visits Grosse Ile
- ^ Yankee Air Museum (undated). "Our Aircraft". http://www.yankeeairmuseum.org/our_aircraft.php. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ Yankee Air Museum (undated). "B17 Flying Fortress". http://www.yankeeairmuseum.org/b17_flying_fortress.php. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ Yankee Air Museum (undated). "B-25D Mitchell". http://www.yankeeairmuseum.org/b25_mitchell.php. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ Yankee Air Museum (undated). "C-47 Skytrain". http://www.yankeeairmuseum.org/c47_skytrain.php. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
- ^ Michigan Aerospace Foundation (2011). "History of YAM". http://www.michiganaerospace.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=37. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
[edit] External links
- Official Website Yankee Air Museum
- Crew Site for: B-17 "Yankee Lady" C-47 "Yankee Doodle", B-25 "Yankee Warrior", & V-77 Stinson
- Michigan Aerospace Foundation, Inc.
- Yankee Air Force Museum, Wurtsmith Division
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