Tillamook Air Museum August 5, 2019
(This post is part of a (mostly) non-ship series about a trip to the West I took during July and August of 2019)
Tillamook Air Museum located to the South of the town of Tillamook, Oregon is a museum where the building itself is one of the exhibits. Two of theses structures were built in 1943 as part of Tillamook NAS (Naval Air Station) to house squadron ZP-33 which consisted of 8 K class airships. These airships were used for anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort. This area is now known as the Port of Tillamook Bay in which a number of industrial and commercial businesses reside.
This giant 1072×296 foot structure no longer houses airships but instead a collection of aircraft and related exhibits as well as various ground vehicles.
The entry fee is paid in the gift shop area. Entering the giant open space of the museum the aircraft look tiny.
The first aircraft I came across was their Gulf War era A-7E Corsair II.
Next is an F-14 Tomcat.
Making my way around is a display of beautiful antique fire trucks.
A Russian Mig-17 takes up position near the gigantic doors of the building.
Next is an Aeritalia G.222 which was designated as a Alenia C-27A Spartan when purchased by the US Air Force.
Next is a room containing a number of dioramas of the various theaters of World War II showing the vehicles and some of the environments.
Exiting the diorama room and moving further along is an exhibit containing the remains of a Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver Wreckage which crashed nearby during WWII and was found in 2010.
The nose and part of the fuselage of a Convair 880 is on display here as well.
The museum space is split in two with half seeming to be for general storage. In that space I spotted Curtis Lumber Company Heisler #2.
Some trucks are on display nearby including this 1952 Studebaker military tanker truck.
Adjacent is a room with a variety of smaller aircraft including biplanes such as this Nieuport 11,
monoplanes such as this Fairchild GK-1,
and unusual propeller planes such as this Nord 1101 Noralpha,
and unusual jets such as this Fouga CM-170 Magister.
Some antique ground vehicles are also on display here.
Located through a door in this space is the helium generation plant once used for the airships that once lived in this large building.
In the outside display area is found an unusual pair on display near each other, a steam locomotive once belonging to Polson Logging Company and a Mini Guppy aircraft.
In this area a view of the massive doors through which the airships once passed is afforded.
The Mini Guppy had two lives, first as a 1949 built Boeing 377 Stratocruiser flown by Pan Am Airways until 1960, then converted in 1967 by Aero-Spacelines to its current form.
This is a remarkable museum with a variety of different kinds of vehicles and eras represented and definitely worth the journey to visit. It is not far from the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad. Check out my flickr album by clicking here to see more photos I took at the museum!