 | |
  Location within Minnesota | |
| Established | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Location | Granite Falls, Minnesota |
| Coordinates | 44°45′05″N95°33′29″W / 44.7515°N 95.5580°W |
| Type | Military aviation museum |
| Founder |
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| Website | fagenfighterswwiimuseum |
The Fagen Fighters WWII Museum is an aviation museum located in Granite Falls, Minnesota.
The origins of the museum lie in the establishment of Fagen Fighters Restoration in 1998. However, the museum itself was only founded in 2012. [1] [2]
In May 2016, the museum unveiled a boxcar used in the deportation of Jews during the Holocaust it had acquired from Georgenthal, Germany. [3]
A tornado that struck the airport in July 2016 damaged a number of other buildings, but did not affect the museum. [4]
In 2017, the museum purchased a collection of spare parts that belonged to collector Jay Wisler. [1]
The museum opened a fourth hangar featuring U.S. Navy aircraft in December 2023. [5]
The museum is made up of four display hangars, a restoration hangar, a reproduction Quonset hut, and a reproduction control tower. [6] [5]
The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 1940 to 1945. The A6M was designated as the Mitsubishi Navy Type 0 carrier fighter, or the Mitsubishi A6M Rei-sen. The A6M was usually referred to by its pilots as the Reisen, "0" being the last digit of the imperial year 2600 (1940) when it entered service with the Imperial Navy. The official Allied reporting name was "Zeke", although the name "Zero" was used colloquially as well.
The Douglas SBD Dauntless is a World War II American naval scout plane and dive bomber that was manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944. The SBD was the United States Navy's main carrier-based scout/dive bomber from mid-1940 through mid-1944. The SBD was also flown by the United States Marine Corps, both from land air bases and aircraft carriers. The SBD is best remembered as the bomber that delivered the fatal blows to the Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. The type earned its nickname "Slow But Deadly" during this period, along with a rarely-used accompanying nickname of "Furious D."
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver is a dive bomber developed by Curtiss-Wright during World War II. As a carrier-based bomber with the United States Navy (USN), in Pacific theaters, it supplemented and replaced the Douglas SBD Dauntless. A few survivors are extant.
The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada.
Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum in Chino, California, The museum has many flying and static aircraft, along with several rare examples under restoration.
Tillamook Air Museum is an aviation museum south of Tillamook, Oregon in the United States. The museum is located at a former U.S. Navy Air Station and housed in a former blimp hangar, known as "Hangar B", which is the largest clear-span wooden structure in the world.
Camarillo Airport is a public airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of Camarillo, a city in Ventura County, California, United States. The airport has one runway and serves privately operated general aviation and executive aircraft with no scheduled commercial service. A separate airfield in the southwest quadrant of the airport is for exclusive use of light-sport aircraft and ultralights. The airport is the site for an annual air show "Wings Over Camarillo", organized by the Southern California Wing of the Commemorative Air Force.
The Yanks Air Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and museum dedicated to exhibiting, preserving and restoring American aircraft and artifacts in order to show the evolution of American aviation, located at Chino Airport in Chino, California.
The Dakota Territory Air Museum is an aviation museum on North Hill in Minot, North Dakota near Minot International Airport. The mission of the Dakota Territory Air Museum is to be a historical aviation resource honoring the men, women and machines that have impacted the rich history of aviation through displays and events that educate, inspire and entertain people of all ages. The museum consists of a main information room, outdoor displays, a restoration hangar, the Scott Nelson Gallery, the Texas Flying Legends hangar, Wright Flyer Hangar and the Oswin H. Elker Hangar.
The Connecticut Air & Space Center is an aviation museum located near Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Airport in Stratford, Connecticut, that is focused on the history of aviation in Connecticut. Founded by George Gunther in 1998 after the closing of the Stratford Army Engine Plant, it occupied buildings 6 and 53 of the complex from 2001 until 2022. It now currently occupies a portion of the Curtiss Hangar and is open to the public.
The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to one of the world's largest collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from both World War I and World War II, and its complete collection ranges from the 1910s to the early 1950s.
Kawaguchiko Motor Museum / Fighter Museum is a museum located in Yamanashi prefecture, Japan. Founded in 1981 by former race driver and businessman Nobuo Harada, it has a collection of antique motor vehicles. In 2001 it opened a new area to display a collection of 20th century military aircraft used by Japan, from Japanese Imperial Forces during World War II and the Japan Self-Defense Forces in the postwar period.
The Wings Museum is an aviation museum located in Sussex, United Kingdom. It is housed in a 12,000 square feet (1,100 m2) hangar-like former farm building in Brantridge Lane, between Handcross and Balcombe. The museum displays mainly World War II-related flying memorabilia and equipment which have been donated, or which have been recovered and restored by volunteers.
The National Museum of World War II Aviation is an aviation museum located at Colorado Springs Airport in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Wings of the North Air Museum is an aviation museum located at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Carrier Aircraft Service Units (CASU) were United States Navy units formed during World War II for the Pacific War to support naval aircraft operations. From 1942 to 1946, 69 Carrier Aircraft Service Units were formed to repair and maintain aircraft. The first unit was deployed to Naval Station Pearl Harbor. The CASU-11, was deployed on January 22, 1943 at Naval Air Station San Diego. During the war the Navy lacked enough aircraft carriers to complete all the operational requirements.
