Museum of Aviation To Honor WWII Aircraft and Vets

A group of local officials and dignitaries broke ground for a new hangar at the Robins AFB Museum of Aviation in Georgia on Friday.

The museum, based at Robins AFB in central Georgia will soon become the second largest Air Force museum. Only the National Museum of the US Air Force (formerly just the "Air Force Museum") based at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH, will be bigger.

The construction is part of the first phase of an ambitious $30 million multi-step program to honor the aircraft and veterans who served the United States. The expansion also includes a future new facility and education center for the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame and a simulated flight line on the Museum grounds.

The 60,000 square-foot hangar will honor the contributions of all World War II veterans and convey the World War II story in a way that appeals to diverse 21st Century audiences. Exhibits planned for the new hangar include:

• The Home Front

• World War II and the air war in Europe

• The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment and the invasion of Normandy

• World War II and the Pacific Theater

With the construction of the new hangar, aircraft that were left outside exposed to the elements, can now be viewed and protected under cover. Airplanes to be moved indoors include numerous WWII training aircraft, an A-26C Invader,a B-29B Superfortress, a B-25J Mitchell, the two main cargo planes of the era: C-46A Commando and DC-3/C-47 (with right wing removed for cutaway display), and two fighters that bookend the years of the war: a P-40N Warhawk and P-51D Mustang.

"The exhibits planned for this hangar" said General Al Hansen, Chairman, Museum of Aviation National Board of Advisors, "will promote patriotism and increase the public's understanding of America's historic role in World War II and the significant contributions of Robins Air Force Base. The new addition will inspire the generations that inherit the legacy of all who protected freedom during one of the greatest conflicts of the 20th Century."

Brig. Gen. Robert L. Scott Jr. who died this year in Warner Robins, GA at age 97, was a museum patron and promoter for many years. He was nationally famous as a fighter ace and then as author of "God Is My Co-Pilot," an account of his wartime exploits later made into a movie of the same title.

Oliver Bateman, who flew P-51 and P-40 fighters in China under General Scott, participated in the groundbreaking. He told the Macon Telegraph that preserving World War II history is crucial.

"Our squadron mates and fellow vets are dropping off at the rate of a thousand or so each day," Bateman said. "Facilities like this will show the history of World War II so we can be assured that children for generations to come will be able to see what went on at that time."

Last year, the Museum provided education programs to 38,000 students and teachers from all over the state of Georgia and the nation.

FMI: www.museumofaviation.org