Warbird Information Exchange

You guys will have to bear with me. I didn’t plan on having quite as many photos as I do, but as the beauty of the state of Oregon struck me as I drove to the coast, I decided to take some additional pictures. I promise I have narrowed my collection.

The trip from my house, to Tillamook, OR, is just under 2 hours. It never ceases to amaze me, even on a grey and misty day, just how beautiful Oregon is. As you make your way to the coast the landscape is so striking and diverse. It dawned on me that you drive through the heart of downtown Portland, then through the sprawling vineyards, the dense and stunning Tillamook National Forest, onto the pastoral areas in Tillmook, and then right in front of you it opens into the Oregon coast and you’re faced with beautiful oceans views.






A fork in the Wilson River.


My favorite tree, yes, I have a favorite tree.

And here’s what you really wanted, I’ll put you out of your misery of my narrative . . .

Please be advised that these were taken inside of a very dimly lit blimp hangar and the others inside a tent, inside the hanger, the quality of the pictures at times leaves something to be desired, but I did the best I could!

Enjoy!



In 1942, the U.S. Navy began construction of 17 wooden hangars to house the K-class blimps being used for anti-submarine coast patrol and convoy escort. Two of these hangars were built at the Naval Air Station Tilllamook, commissioned in December 1942 to serve the Oregon-Washington coastal area.

Construction of the two hangars was rushed to completion. Hangar "B" was the first one built and was completed in the spring of 1943. Hangar "A" which was destroyed in a 1992 fire, was completed in only 30 days. Amazingly, there were no serious injuries or deaths on the whole project.

Naval Air Station Tillamook was decommissioned in 1948.

Since 1994 the remaining hangar has been home to one of the top five privately owned aircraft collections in the nation.


F4U Corsair. Nothing better than walking in and being greeted by your favorite airplane.




Fairchild GK-1 Model 24


Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune








Douglas DC-3/C-47




Nord 1101 Noralpha


Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-17 Fresco




A-7 Corsair II – this was probably one of my favorites that I hadn’t seen before, very interesting looking. Definitely going to study up on this one a little more.






North American B-26 Mitchell








North American P-51D Mustang




Douglas A-26B Invader




Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon






Grumman J2F-6 Duck






Lockheed P-38 Lightning




Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar


SPAD XIII




Boeing/Stearman PT-17


T-6 Texan




Grumman TBF/TBM Avenger


Republic P-47D Thunderbolt




AM-1 Martin Mauler


Douglas SBD Dauntless


Bellanca Aircruiser




Hispano HA-1112 Buchon




Supermarine Spitfire T Mk.VIII




Aero L-29 Delphin


Consolidated PBY 5-A Catalina






Grumman F-14 Tomcat

Tillamook Air Museum is located at:

6030 Hangar Road, Tillamook, Oregon 97141
503-842-1130

The museum will be closed until March 1, 2007, for restoration.

After March if you can make it down, I highly suggest it.

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"It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane." Charles Lindbergh

That is really an outstanding collection. I dont think I have ever seen that Harpoon before. Thanks for sharing!

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Share your story: Rutgers Oral History Archive http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

Great pictures Steph!!!!

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Never drive faster than your Guardian Angel can fly!!

http://www.390th.org/
www.LSFM.org

Trae

You're welcome! It was a great collection to be able to share. Most of them just need some TLC. Hopefully that will get taken care of during the restorations.

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"It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane." Charles Lindbergh

Thank you! Means a lot coming from you.

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"It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane." Charles Lindbergh

Very nice pics, Steph. Looks like a great collection of aircraft.

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P-51, The Cadillac of the Sky!

Was the basketball rim still up on the back wall about 100 feet above the floor? My son figured that must be a five point shot. Not only is the collection impressive, but the building itself is worth the price of admission. Great shots. I've got a bunch from Tillamook that I took a few years ago that I'll see if I can add.

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The more I learn about aircraft, the more I realize I still have to learn.

Such a shame to see all these airworthy aircraft grounded. Including the unique Spitfire T8, airworthy when it left the UK.

And I was really, really sad to see the Corsair. Still one of my all-time favourites, I used to work on it when it was based in the UK with Lindsay Walton from 1980 until the mid-90s. It wore its original French Navy markings, sad to see that it has now has a generic USN scheme applied, even though they never operated F4U-7s.

And all those years work by Bruce Pruitt to get the P-38 airworthy..............

Still, thanks for posting Stephanie. Maybe one day these aircraft will land up in the hands of someone who will fly them again...........

Like I said, very cool Steph. I need to get out to some of these places.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

More pictures would be great. I believe the hoop was still there... seems like I recall seeing it.

The building is absolutely amazing. With as dim as it was I could hardly get any pictures... but it's just mind boggling...



The stairs on the left side just blow me away...

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"It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane." Charles Lindbergh

I agree that it was sad to see them grounded. But seeing them was still incredible to me. If you have a photo of the Corsair with its French Navy markings I would love to see it.

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"It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane." Charles Lindbergh

Yeah, we have some nice places out this way. You'll have to check it all out sometime!

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"It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane." Charles Lindbergh

Awesome pics Steph...thanks for sharing. Does anyone know why the A-7 Corsair has camels on the fuselage?

John

I do, but I am having a hard time recalling, number of missions flown, I want to say...

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"It is the greatest shot of adrenaline to be doing what you have wanted to do so badly. You almost feel like you could fly without the plane." Charles Lindbergh

Hmmm...just curious because I didn't think the A-7 flew during the 1st Gulf War. Not too familiar with that aircraft though so I could be wrong.

Thanks again for sharing!

John