Warbirds and Airshows - Tillamook Air Museum

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Warbird and Aviation Museums of the Pacific Northwest
Tillamook Air Museum - Tillamook, OR
May 27, 2012

Of all the Museums I visited in the Pacific Northwest in May of 2012 this is the one that is the one I remember the most and want to revisit. This is mainly due to the historical significance of the airship hangar itself which can be seen for miles down the road and just dominates the landscape. This is more than just a collection of airplanes but a part of a former WWII Naval Air Station were airships were launched to patrol the Pacific Ocean just a couple of miles away. In my opinion if there if one could only visit one aviation museum in the area this would be it as there is also the lure of the Oregon coast and coastal mountains nearby to compliment the trip to the museum.

The former airship hangar that houses the Museum can easily be seen from Highway 101. In fact when driving south on 101 the hangar can be seen for quite some time before arriving. It dominates the landscape.

This is one of two hangars that were built in WWII. The second one burned while storing hay in 1992. Note the concrete structures at each end that hold the doors.

The first aircraft one sees when coming up the road to the museum is this Mini-Guppy. The next 3 images give the history of this rare aircraft. The two concrete pillars in the left hand side of the photo are the what held one set of hangar doors up on Hangar A that burned.

It should be notes that Jack Erickson of Erickson Air Crane is a founding member of the Tillamook Air Museum.

This wall display in the hangar shows the location of the 17 airship hangars that were built to help defend against submarine attack along the coasts and their current status. German submarines operated off both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts during WWII sinking 233 ships during 1942. This naval disaster for the US has been brushed aside in the history of WWII by US historians and history books. Most people don't even realize it happened and how severe it was. While the threat existed on the west coast from Japanese submarines it never really materialized.

K-Ships were the workhorse of the Navy Airships during WWII.

This should give an idea of the enormous size of the hangar.

Missing from the collection when I was there was the P-38, which was out for repair.

Looking straight up. Note that there are two cat walks just to the inside of the lights.

This photo of the side of the hangar shows the wooden construction and the ladder leading up to one of the cat walks.

The wooden structure that makes up most of the hangar rests on this concrete wall and the foundation underneath it.

This is a rare PV-2D, the first of 35 built at the end of WWII.

The Museum's F4U-7 Corsair, one of only three remaining of the 94 that were built for the French in 1952. The white tent area behind the Corsair is enclosed and has several aircraft in it. It also appears to be an area that the Museum can rent out for events and can be heated.

This AD-4W is the only one of this type air worthy in the world. This aircraft not only served with the US Navy but spent 10 years in service with the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm and the Swedish Air Force until it came out of service in 1984. The Museum purchased it in 1991.

Also inside the "tent" was this very rare Martin Mauler, which is one of four survivors of the 151 that were built. This particular airframe has had a particularly rough life having been involved in two crash landings and one mid-air collision that killed both pilots. It is a static display only.

This is the only flyable Bellanca Aircruiser left in the world.