Pensacola, FL National Museum of Naval Aviation
The museum opens at 0900 so I was in no hurry to get there in the morning. Even taking time to eat an omelet at the IHOP I pulled into the parking lot at quarter till and got a prime spot.
I checked in at the front desk to get the scoop. I had stashed most of my gear in the bags on the bike but was still wearing riding over-pants. I was told I could leave them at the counter if I wanted; nice since it was plenty warm inside the huge building. The free guided tour didn't start until 0930 so I had some time to kill in the lobby. Spinning high above was a replica of the first Curtis plane to launch and land on a ship at sea. The Wright Brothers declined the Navy's proposal that was taken on by Curtis Manufacturing. This is a full reproduction built by The Smithsonian.
There was a display in the lobby of the different classes of aircraft carriers so I looked up my Dad's ship, USS Leyte CV32 of the Essex class.
Also in the lobby and A4 Skyhawk and a Marine Cobra.
Our tour began with the early years of naval aviation and WWI. The navy wanted a flying boat so Curtis filled that order.
At the outbreak of WWI the Navy had no fighters that could compete so they used what the Brits had, the Sopwith Camel. This one actually flew from the catapult of the battleship USS Texas. Yes, it was rigged with pontoons for landing at sea. Note Snoopy on the stick.
Curtis eventually got up to speed with this model.
This was a model flown by The Great Waldo Pepper. The Jenny
I can't recall what model this was.
This one was designed for anti sub warfare. There were four built and this one made the first trans atlantic flight in 1919, way before Lindy. Of course it had a crew of 6-8 where Lindy did it solo. Curtis D4. Powered by 4 400 HP engines. It was restored by the Smithsonian and was loaned to this museum. The building was actually built around the plane so the loan is now kind of permanent.
After WWI the navy went with Grumman Manufacturing. The Grumman FF1, first carrier plan with retractable landing gear. This one was found is a scrap heap in South America by an American working as a crop duster. He bought it and shipped it home. He worked with Grumman to restore her and they realized this was the only one of the 29 planes built left in existence. They offered to purchase it but he refused wanting more than anyone wanted to pay. He finally agreed to donate it to the museum as long as his name would be displayed with the plane. His name was Schwinddler. He got his wish.
A really nice Ford Tri-motor that had been assigned to NAS Pensacola.
An atrium in the rear of the building has a cool Blue Angel display.
Then Pearl Harbor happened. The Navy fighter of the day was the Grumman Hellcat.
Going up against the Mitsubishi Zero.
The trainer of the era was the Texan. Most well known for it's portrayal of the Zero in movies such as Tora, Tora, Tora.
The P40 Warhawk. Flown by the Flying Tigers in China/Southeast Asia against the Japanese. The only Army plane flown by Navy aviators.
One of the displays was a full scale reproduction of an Essex class flight deck. Including a Dauntless and an Avenger.
They know the history of these planes from the military records attached to the chassis numbers. This Dauntless survived the Battle of Midway when it's pilot made an emergency landing on Midway with only one operating landing gear. The plane had over 200 holes from enemy ordinance. She was patched back together and continued to fight. Here are some of the riveted patches.
The Avenger
The Wildcat
Probably my personal favorite of WWII is the Corsair.
The above photo demonstrates how many aircraft the have in this building. Hard to get one isolated for a good photo.
Another example of the Hellcat.
Around the mezzanine level they had numerous displays showing life in the navy during WWII including aboard the carriers and on island bases for the marines.
Moving on past WWII, the last prop fighter and one of the least known and most capable of the fighters. The A1 Sky Raider. It could carry heavier payloads of more varying types of ordinance including nukes. Sky Raiders even logged several kills against the Mig15 during the Korean War.
From the mezzanine looking over the display floor.
Many of the early jet models including the Banshee and the Cougar. Unfortunately the flight line was closed the day I was there so I didn't get to see the many newer planes on display outside. The good news was that the museum is opening a new display hanger and many of the planes will be moved inside on more permanent display, so I have a reason to go back one day. I still had lots to do this day so I left around 1200 to get on down the road.