McChord Air Museum

The McChord Air Museum is an aviation museum located at McChord AFB near Lakewood, Washington. The museum is broken up into three separate areas: the main gallery, located at the south end of McChord Field in Building 517; the Heritage Hill Airpark, which overlooks the McChord runway; and the aircraft restoration and maintenance facility in Building 301.

McChord Air Museum

Location within Washington (state)
Established	July 1984 (1984-07)
Location	Lakewood, Washington
Coordinates	47°07′17″N 122°29′40″W / 47.1215°N 122.4945°W / 47.1215; -122.4945
Type	Military aviation museum
Website	mcchordairmuseum.org

History

Plans for a museum began around 1982, when the McChord Air Museum Foundation was established.^[1] By mid-1983, a B-18 had been transported to the museum, an F-106 at the base was expected to join the collection, and negiotiations were ongoing regarding the acquisition of a C-124.^[2] The museum opened to the public the following year in the 1,100 sq ft (100 m²) Building 192.^[3][4]

Over a decade after the last aircraft left service, a C-124 was flown to the museum on 9 October 1986.^[5] The museum began moving to a larger building in 1989.^[6]

The C-124, along with a C-141, was moved to the newly established Heritage Park overlooking McCord Field's runway on 5 January 2005.^[7] An F-16 that responded to the September 11th attacks was planned to go on display at the museum in 2006, but shortly before it arrived the location was changed to the Western Air Defense Sector headquarters building.^[8]

Exhibits

 

F-106 flight simulator

Exhibits at the museum include the former control tower of McChord Field, an F-106 simulator, and aviation artwork.^[9][10][11]

Collection

• Beech UC-45J Expeditor^[12]
• Consolidated OA-10A Catalina^[13]
• Convair F-102A Delta Dagger^[14]
• Convair F-106A Delta Dart^[15]
• Douglas B-18A Bolo^[16][17][18]
• Douglas B-23 Dragon^[19][20][21]
• Douglas C-124C Globemaster II^[22]
• Douglas TC-47D Skytrain^[23][24]
• Fairchild C-82A Packet^[25]
• Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II^[26]
• Kaman HH-43A Huskie^[27]
• Lockheed C-130E Hercules^[28]
• Lockheed C-141B Starlifter^[29]
• Lockheed T-33^[30]
• McDonnell CF-101F Voodoo^[31]
• McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle^[32]
• North American F-86D Sabre^[33]
• Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw^[34]

See also

• Malmstrom Museum

References

1. "McChord Air Museum Foundation". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
2. "McChord Museum is Worthy Project". Tacoma News Tribune. 8 June 1983. p. A-18. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
3. "McChord Air Museum is Open". The News Tribune. 22 July 1984. p. B-6. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
4. "Historian Plans Big Additions to McChord Air Base Museum". The Olympian. 4 January 1984. p. B4. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
5. Gordon, Susan (10 October 1986). "Globemaster Lands McChord Air Museum on Cloud 9". Tacoma News Tribune. pp. A-1, A-12. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
6. Scherman, Elizabeth (25 October 1989). "McChord Museum Boosts Rare Planes". The News Tribune. pp. E1, E2. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
7. "Move to the Hill". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
8. "From One Washington to Another". The News Tribune. 27 December 2006. pp. B1, B6. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
9. "The Tower". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
10. "F-106 Aircrew Training Device". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
11. "McChord Air Museum Gallery". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
12. "UC-45J Expeditor". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
13. "Consolidated SA-10A Catalina". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
14. "Convair F-102A Delta Dagger". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
15. "Convair F-106A Delta Dart". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
16. "Douglas B-18 Bolo". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
17. Gordon, Susan (28 March 1987). "World War II Era Craftsmen Piece Together Part of Past". The News Tribune. pp. A-10, A-11. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
18. Ashton, Adam (27 March 2014). "WWII Veteran has Wings Clipped". The Olympian. pp. A1, A6. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
19. "Douglas B-23 Dragon". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
20. "Distinguished B-23 Bomber Moves to Museum Air Park". The Olympian. 25 July 1994. p. C2. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
21. Ith, Ian (13 August 1994). "B-23: The 'Romantic' Relic". The News Tribune. pp. B1, B3. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
22. "Douglas C-124C Globemaster II". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
23. "Douglas TC-47D Skytrain". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
24. Churchill, Marlowe (4 February 1985). "On Display: C-47 Cargo 'Warhorse' Joins Budding Museum at McChord". The News Tribune. p. B-1. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
25. "Fairchild C-82A Packet". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
26. "Fairchild-Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
27. "Kaman HH-43A Huskie". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
28. "Lockheed C-130E Hercules". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
29. "Lockheed C-141B Starlifter". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
30. "Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
31. "McDonnell CF-101F Voodoo". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
32. "McDonnell-Douglas F-15A Eagle". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
33. "North American F-86D Sabre". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
34. "Museum News". McChord Air Museum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to McChord Air Museum.

• Official website