 | |
 Hangar #1 | |
  Location in New Jersey | |
| Established | 1997 [1] |
|---|---|
| Location | Lower Township, New Jersey |
| Coordinates | 39°00′15″N74°54′30″W / 39.00418°N 74.90827°W |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Collection size | 20+ aircraft [2] |
| Founder | Dr. Joseph Salvatore [1] |
| Chairperson | Dr. Joseph Salvatore |
| Website | usnasw |
The Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located at the Cape May Airport in Lower Township, in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States.
The Cape May Airport, which hosts the museum, was originally constructed by the U.S. Navy from 1941 to 1942. Commissioned in April 1943 as Naval Air Station Rio Grande, the field was so named due to its proximity to the community of Rio Grande, New Jersey. [1] Due to problems with mail, telegram, and telephone service, caused in part by confusion with Rio Grande City, Texas, the Navy opted to rename the airfield as Naval Air Station Wildwood in June 1943. [3]
In the mid-1990s, Dr. Joseph Salvatore purchased Hangar #1, which was then dilapidated. [4]
The museum is located in the airport's Hangar #1, which is typical of the design of many U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps aircraft hangars of the 1940s, many of which are still in use today at both active Naval Air Stations, Marine Corps Air Stations and Coast Guard Air Stations across the United States, as well as other civilian airports that formerly served as air stations. The museum's hangar is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [5]
The museum's aircraft collection focuses on World War II, when the U.S. Navy conducted training operations at the site, but also includes more recent vintage military aircraft from the Cold War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the post-Cold War period. [2]
The museum suffered damage from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. [6]
A Humvee that the United States Coast Guard used in Afghanistan was placed on loan to the museum in 2014. [7]
In 2022, an R-2800 WWII aircraft engine recovered from the ocean was donated to the museum. [8] Later that same year, the museum had a new roof installed. [9] The museum temporarily closed in October 2023 to complete the second phase of roof repairs. [10]
The museum's collection includes:
The Northrop GrummanEA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, mid-wing electronic-warfare aircraft derived from the A-6 Intruder airframe. The EA-6A was the initial electronic warfare version of the A-6 used by the United States Marine Corps and United States Navy. Development on the more advanced EA-6B began in 1966. An EA-6B aircrew consisted of one pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers, though it was not uncommon for only two ECMOs to be used on missions. It was capable of carrying and firing anti-radiation missiles (ARMs), such as the AGM-88 HARM.
The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is an American biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman, or Kaydet, it served as a primary trainer for the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Navy, and with the Royal Canadian Air Force as the Kaydet throughout World War II. After the conflict was over, thousands of surplus aircraft were sold on the civilian market. In the immediate postwar years, they became popular as crop dusters and sports planes, and for aerobatic and wing walking use in air shows.
The Naval Aircraft Factory N3N was an American tandem-seat, open cockpit, primary training biplane aircraft built by the Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 1930s and early 1940s.
The Lone Star Flight Museum, located in Houston, Texas, is an aerospace museum that displays more than 24 historically significant aircraft, and many artifacts related to the history of flight. Located at Ellington Airport, the museum is housed on about 100,000 ft2 of property, including its own airport ramp. The museum, formerly located in Galveston, moved to Houston to avoid a repeat of the devastation suffered during Hurricane Ike.
The Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard was an early amphibious helicopter designed and produced by American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft. It was the first of the company's amphibious rotorcraft to fly.
The Convair C-131 Samaritan is an American twin-engined military transport produced from 1954 to 1956 by Convair. It is the military version of the Convair CV-240 family of airliners.
The Grumman J2F Duck is an American single-engine amphibious biplane. It was used by each major branch of the U.S. armed forces from the mid-1930s until just after World War II, primarily for utility and air-sea rescue duties. It was also used by the Argentine Navy, who took delivery of their first example in 1937. After the war, J2F Ducks saw service with independent civilian operators, as well as the armed forces of Colombia and Mexico.
Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is a naval museum located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at the mouth of the Cooper River on the Charleston Harbor, across from Charleston.
The Palm Springs Air Museum (PSAM), is a aviation museum in Palm Springs, California focused on World War II aviation. Many of these aircraft have been used by motion picture companies in movies.
The Air Zoo, founded as the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, is an aviation museum and indoor amusement park next to the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport in Portage, Michigan. The Air Zoo holds many historical and rare aircraft, including the world's fastest air-breathing aircraft, the SR-71B Blackbird. Many of its antique planes are airworthy. Among its other attractions are a 180-degree theater that projects a 2-D film simulation of a B-17 bombing mission during World War II; and various amusement rides, including flight simulators of a rocket trip to Mars, a U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet, a stunt biplane, a hot air balloon, a veteran U.S. Navy F-14A Tomcat that served aboard USS America, and more. Air Zoo is a Smithsonian Affiliate.
The Patuxent River Naval Air Museum is a museum at Lexington Park, Maryland, first opened in 1978, which preserves and interprets the Naval Air Station Patuxent River history and heritage of advancing US naval aviation technology with artifacts, photographs and film, documents, and related heritage memorabilia from Patuxent River and other naval stations. The museum is dedicated to those who have employed their talents in advancing naval aviation research, development, testing, and evaluation.
The Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum is a non-profit aviation museum located in Southern Colorado. It was founded in the mid-1970s by former Pueblo City Manager Fred Weisbrod. The museum is made up of two hangars that were built in 2005 and 2011. The hangars house several of the museum's aircraft along with thousands of artifacts dating from World War I to modern day. PWAM is home to the International B-24 Memorial Museum and the Southern Colorado Space Museum and Learning Center. There are several historic military vehicles in the museum's collection, many of which are still in operational condition. The museum is located six miles east of Pueblo, Colorado on US Highway 50 at the Pueblo Memorial Airport, occupying space on what was the Pueblo Army Air Base during World War II. It is managed and maintained by the Pueblo Historical Aircraft Society.
The Grissom Air Museum is a military aviation museum at Grissom Air Reserve Base near Peru, Indiana with over twenty aircraft on display.
The Quonset Air Museum was an aerospace museum located in Quonset Point Business Park in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
The Flugausstellung Peter Junior, previously the Flugausstellung Hermeskeil, is a private aviation museum in the town of Hermeskeil in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The Chico Air Museum is a nonprofit aviation museum located at the Chico Municipal Airport in Chico, California. Its mission statement is to "collect, preserve, document and display aircraft, and aviation and space artifacts. The museum’s primary purpose is to educate and inspire people of all ages about aviation and the history of flight".
War Eagles Air Museum is an aerospace and automotive museum with several exhibits. It is located at Doña Ana County International Jetport in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
The Warhawk Air Museum is an aviation museum located in Nampa, Idaho.
The Erickson Aircraft Collection is an aviation museum located at the Madras Municipal Airport in Madras, Oregon.
The Mid America Flight Museum is an aviation museum located at the Mount Pleasant Regional Airport in Mount Pleasant, Texas.
