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.
  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 |
History
editEstablishment
editFollowing 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
editBy 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
editExhibits 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
editReferences
editFootnotes
editNotes
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.