  Location within Washington (state) | |
| Established | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Location | Oak Harbor, Washington |
| Coordinates | 48°17′17″N122°39′16″W / 48.2881°N 122.6544°W |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Website | www |
The Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum is an aviation museum located in Oak Harbor, Washington focused on the history of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
On September 22, 1998, a group of 14 World War II veterans and their wives met at the Chief Petty Officer Club at NAS Whidbey Island. There they decided to form an organization and the following year they established the PBY Memorial Association [1] [2]
The group began an attempt to purchase a PBY in 2002, but it was eventually unsuccessful. [2] In the meantime, it began work on a documentary about the history of Oak Harbor. [3] The group changed its name to the PBY Memorial Foundation in 2003. [2]
The PBY-Naval Air Museum opened in an abandoned gas station in 2004. [2] [1]
The museum moved into Building 12 on NAS Whidbey Island in February 2008. [4] [lower-alpha 1] However, the site was less than ideal as security restrictions limited access. [6] In 2010, the museum was finally able to purchase a PBY and it was moved to the base that June. [7] However, plans to acquire a Douglas A-3 Skywarrior were cancelled in 2012. [8]
After its lease with the base ended, the museum was forced to move to a 4,500 sq ft (420 m2) former furniture store in downtown Oak Harbor in 2014, where it opened on July 25. [8] [9] [2] The PBY was towed to a parking lot across the street from the new location in January 2015, where it opened to the public three months later [10] [11] The following year it opened a display about navy hospital corpsmen. [12]
The museum began efforts to move what was possibly the last remaining Homoja Hut in 2018 after it was threatened by development. [13]
The museum changed its name to Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum by June 2020. [14]
Construction on a new facility to house the PBY began in August 2023. [15]
The Gene Guthrie Memorial Library is located at the museum. [16]
Exhibits at the museum include two flight simulators and a nose turret from a PBY. [17] The organization also owns a scale model of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier that it takes to parades. [2]
The museum holds an annual community luncheon. [19]
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington.
The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina, is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In US Army service it was designated the OA-10, in Canadian service as the Canso and it later got the NATO reporting name Mop. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other nations. The last military PBYs served until the 1980s. As of 2021, 86 years after its first flight, the aircraft continues to fly as a waterbomber in aerial firefighting operations in some parts of the world.
VP-102 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. It was established as VP-18 on 1 September 1937, redesignated as VP-13 on 1 July 1939, redesignated as VP-26 on 11 December 1939, redesignated as VP-102 on 16 December 1940 and disestablished on 18 April 1942.
Lyle Franklin Bull was a rear admiral and Naval Flight Officer bombardier/navigator in the United States Navy. For extraordinary heroism on a bombing run over Hanoi in 1967, Bull was awarded the Navy Cross, the navy's second highest honor. The Hanoi mission for which Bull received the citation was a key storyline in the novel, Flight of the Intruder as well as a film by the same name.
VPB-91 was a Patrol Bombing Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 91 (VP-91) on 1 December 1941, redesignated as Patrol Bombing Squadron 91 (VPB-91) on 1 October 1944 and disestablished on 2 April 1946.
VP-3 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 16-F (VP-16F) on 2 January 1937, redesignated Patrol Squadron 16 (VP-16) on 1 October 1937, redesignated Patrol Squadron 41 (VP-41) on 1 July 1939, redesignated Bombing Squadron 136 (VB-136) on 1 March 1943, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 136 (VPB-136) on 1 October 1944, redesignated Patrol Squadron 136 (VP-136) on 15 May 1946, redesignated Medium Patrol Squadron (landplane) 3 (VP-ML-3) on 15 November 1946, redesignated Patrol Squadron 3 (VP-3) on 1 September 1948, and was disestablished on 1 November 1955. It was the second squadron to be designated VP-3, the first VP-3 was redesignated VP-32 on 1 July 1939.
VP-20 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 8-S (VP-8S) from elements of VT-9S on 1 July 1929, redesignated Patrol Squadron 8-F (VP-8F) on 3 April 1933, redesignated Patrol Squadron 8 (VP-8) on 1 October 1937, redesignated Patrol Squadron 24 (VP-24) on 1 July 1939, redesignated Patrol Squadron 12 (VP-12) on 1 August 1941, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 120 (VPB-120) on 1 October 1944, redesignated Patrol Squadron 120 (VP-120) on 15 May 1946, redesignated Heavy Patrol Squadron (Landplane) 10 (VP-HL-10) on 15 November 1946, redesignated Patrol Squadron 20 (VP-20) on 1 September 1948 and disestablished on 31 March 1949. It was the third squadron to be designated VP-20, the first VP-20 was redesignated VP-44 on 1 July 1940 and the second VP-20 was redesignated VPB-20 on 1 October 1944.
VP-22 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 4D-14 (VP-4D14) on 15 September 1928, redesignated Patrol Squadron 4-B (VP-4B) on 21 January 1931, redesignated Patrol Squadron 4-F (VP-4F) on 17 July 1933, redesignated Patrol Squadron 4 (VP-4) on 1 October 1937, redesignated Patrol Squadron 22 (VP-22) on 1 July 1939 and disestablished on 18 April 1942, with the squadron assets merged with VP-101.
VP-29 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 14-F (VP-14F) on 1 November 1935, redesignated Patrol Squadron 14 (VP-14) on 4 September 1937, redesignated Patrol Squadron 52 (VP-52) on 1 July 1939, redesignated Patrol Squadron 72 (VP-72) on 1 July 1941, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 122 (VPB-122) on 1 October 1944, redesignated Patrol Squadron 122 (VP-122) on 15 May 1946, redesignated Heavy Patrol Squadron (Landplane) 12 (VP-HL-12) on 15 November 1946, redesignated Patrol Squadron 29 (VP-29) on 1 September 1948 and disestablished on 18 January 1950.
VP-29 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 911 (VP-911) on 6 July 1946, redesignated Medium Patrol Squadron (Landplane) 61 (VP-ML-61) on 15 November 1946, redesignated Patrol Squadron 812 (VP-812) in February 1950, redesignated Patrol Squadron 29 (VP-29) on 27 August 1952 and disestablished on 1 November 1955. It was the second squadron to be designated VP-29, the first VP-29 was disestablished on 18 January 1950.
VP-32 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 62 (VP-62) on 6 September 1943, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 62 (VPB-62) on 1 October 1944, redesignated Patrol Squadron 62 (VP-62) on 15 May 1946, redesignated Amphibian Patrol Squadron 2 (VP-AM-2) on 15 November 1946, redesignated Patrol Squadron 32 (VP-32) on 1 September 1948 and disestablished on 6 June 1949. It was the second squadron to be designated VP-32, the first VP-32 was redesignated VP-52 on 1 July 1941.
VP-62 was a Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 62 (VP-62) on 1 May 1942 and disestablished on 1 July 1943.
VPB-43 was a Patrol Bombing Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 43 (VP-43) on 21 July 1941, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 43 (VPB-43) on 1 October 1944 and disestablished on 15 September 1945.
VPB-44 was a Patrol Bombing Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 44 (VP-44) on 3 June 1941, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 44 (VPB-44) on 1 October 1944 and disestablished on 20 June 1945.
VPB-45 was a Patrol Bombing Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 45 (VP-45) on 10 March 1943, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 45 (VPB-45) on 1 October 1944 and disestablished on 5 June 1945.
Patrol Bombing Squadron 61 (VPB-61) was a maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy, in service from 1942 to 1945.
VP-AM-1 was a Amphibian Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Patrol Squadron 53 (VP-53) on 1 May 1942, redesignated Patrol Bombing Squadron 53 (VPB-53) on 1 October 1944, redesignated Patrol Squadron 53 (VP-53) on 15 May 1946, redesignated Amphibious Patrol Squadron 1 (VP-AM-1) on 15 November 1946 and disestablished on 5 May 1948.
VP-AM-5 was a Amphibian Patrol Squadron of the U.S. Navy. The squadron was established as Amphibious Patrol Squadron 5 (VP-AM-5) on 21 November 1946 and disestablished on 31 December 1947.
Fleet Readiness Center Northwest (FRCNW) is located in Oak Harbor, Washington and is part of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Although originally named Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Detachment and established in 1959, it was changed on October 10, 2008, and is a subsidiary of the Navy's Fleet Readiness Center Command.