Wurtsmith Air Museum
  Location within Michigan | |
Former name | Wurtsmith Division (of the Yankee Air Force) |
|---|---|
| Established | 8 December 1993[1] |
| Location | Oscoda, Michigan |
| Coordinates | 44°27′31″N 83°21′27″W / 44.4586°N 83.3576°W |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Founder | James McLaughlin[1] |
| Website | www |
The Wurtsmith Air Museum is an aviation museum located at Oscoda–Wurtsmith Airport in Oscoda, Michigan focused on the history of Wurtsmith Air Force Base and aviation in northeastern Michigan.
History
[edit]Establishment
[edit]Following the end of the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force announced the closure of a number of air force bases in Michigan. This led to efforts to found aviation museums at the former bases such as the K. I. Sawyer Heritage Air Museum.[2] A group at Wurtsmith Air Force Base partnered with the Yankee Air Force to establish as the Wurtsmith Division on 8 December 1993.[3] It opened in 1997 in three hangars at the base.[1][a]
Independence
[edit]By July 2012, the museum had separated from the Yankee Air Force and become the Wurtsmith Air Museum.[5]
The museum received the navigators seat from a B-52 in 2020.[6]
The museum opened three new exhibits in 2023.[7]
Exhibits
[edit]Exhibits at the museum cover subjects such as women in aviation, General Paul Wurtsmith, 920th Air Refueling Squadron, the Army Air Service and a Link Trainer.[8]
Collection
[edit]- Baker Special[9]
- Cessna L-19A Bird Dog[9]
- Jeffair Barracuda[9]
- Lockheed T-33A[9]
- Lockheed T-33A[9]
- Osprey Osprey II[9]
- Piper L-4 Grasshopper[9]
- Rand KR-2[9]
- Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 – 3/4 scale replica[9]
- Sperry Messenger – 1/2 scale replica[9]
- Waco CG-4[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Pruit, Tiffany L. (16 September 2002). "History's Lessons". Livingston County Daily Press & Argus. Associated Press. p. 12A. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Group Hopes to Land Site for Aviation Museum". Detroit News and Free Press. Associated Press. 20 February 1994. p. 3C. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Our History". Wurtsmith Air Museum. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Former Air Force Base to House Museum". South Bend Tribune. AP. 21 July 2004. p. D1. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "[Homepage]". Wurtsmith Air Museum. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2023. Original museum website redirects to URL with new name from this point.
- ^ Alvord, Patricia (7 July 2020). "Wurtsmith Air Museum Receives Original Navigator Seat Donation". Oscoda Press. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ Kress, Manuela (23 May 2023). "New Exhibits Welcome Visitors to Wurtsmith Air Museum". Iosco County News-Herald. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Museum". Yankee Air Museum Wurtsmith Division. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Exhibits". Wurtsmith Air Museum. Retrieved 28 December 2023.