  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 |
| Director | Barry Meldrum [1] |
| President | Judy Lewis [2] |
| 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. [3] [4]
The group began an attempt to purchase a PBY in 2002, but it was eventually unsuccessful. [4] In the meantime, it began work on a documentary about the history of Oak Harbor. [5] The group changed its name to the PBY Memorial Foundation in 2003. [4]
The PBY-Naval Air Museum opened in an abandoned gas station in 2004. [4] [3]
The museum moved into Building 12 on NAS Whidbey Island in February 2008. [6] [a] However, the site was less than ideal as security restrictions limited access. [8] In 2010, the museum was finally able to purchase a PBY and it was moved to the base that June. [9] However, plans to acquire a Douglas A-3 Skywarrior were cancelled in 2012. [10]
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. [10] [11] [4] 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 [12] [13] The following year it opened a display about navy hospital corpsmen. [14]
The museum began efforts to move what was possibly the last remaining Homoja Hut in 2018 after it was threatened by development. [15]
The museum changed its name to Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum by June 2020. [16]
Construction on a new facility to house the PBY began in August 2023. [17] In preparation for the move, plans were made to restore the aircraft in March 2024. [18]
The Gene Guthrie Memorial Library is located at the museum. [19]
Exhibits at the museum include two flight simulators and a nose turret from a PBY. [20] The organization also owns a scale model of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier that it takes to parades. [4]
The museum holds an annual community luncheon. [22]
Whidbey Island is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington state. Whidbey is about 30 miles (48 km) north of Seattle, and lies between the Olympic Peninsula and the I-5 corridor of western Washington. The island forms the northern boundary of Puget Sound. It is home to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. The state parks and natural forests are home to numerous old growth trees.
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; it was used during the Vietnam War. 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.
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 designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. In US Army service it was designated the OA-10, in Canadian service as the Canso and it later received 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.
Patrol Squadron FIVE (VP-5) is a long-lived maritime patrol squadron of the United States Navy. It is the second squadron to bear the VP-5 designation. VP-5 is the second oldest patrol squadron, the fourth oldest in the United States Navy, and the 33rd oldest squadron in the United States military. As of 2019, VP-5 is still active and is based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.
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.
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 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.
VP-AM-1 was an 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.
Developed as a naval patrol aircraft, the Consolidated PBY Catalina was a widely exported flying boat during World War II. Over the course of the conflict it served with a number of different nations in a variety of roles. In the Royal Australian Air Force, PBYs and PB2Bs served as multi role bombers and scouts, the type eventually earning great renown among Australian aircrews. The motto of the Catalina squadrons was "The First and Furthest."
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.
Roebuck Bay Seaplane Base, also called Broome Seaplane Base, was located in Roebuck Bay Western Australia near the town of Broome. The base opened in March 1942 and operated Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplanes during World War II. The base was used by the United States Navy starting in 1942.