French
DeutschHistoric Wendover Airfield
 The former operations building | |
  Location within Utah | |
| Established | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Location | Wendover, Utah |
| Coordinates | 40°43′41″N 114°02′16″W / 40.7280°N 114.0377°W |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Founder | Jim Petersen |
| Curator | Landon Wilkey[1] |
| Website | www |
The Historic Wendover Airfield is an aviation museum located at Wendover Airport in Wendover, Utah focused on the history of Wendover Air Force Base.
History
[edit]Background
[edit]Due to the remote location and favorable climate, many of the buildings at the base remained in unaltered, although somewhat deteriorated, condition.[citation needed] For this reason, the base was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[2]
Establishment
[edit]The Historic Wendover Airfield Foundation was established in 2001 after Jim Petersen visited the airport as part of a tour group. The following year he became airport manager.[3] The project began with the renovation of, and opening a museum in, the former operations building in March of that year.[4][5]
The Enola Gay Hangar was placed on the 2009 list of America's Most Endangered Places and as a result the foundation received a number of grants, including one from the Save America's Treasures program, that allowed the structure to be restored.[6][3] This was followed by the rededication of the control tower in 2012 and the completion of work on the service club in 2015.[7][8]
The museum encountered some controversy when, in 2017, it agreed to display one of the one thousand origami cranes folded by atomic bomb victim Sadako Sasaki.[9]
The museum acquired a Douglas C-54 Skymaster in September 2020.[10][better source needed] Two months later, one of the barracks was destroyed by fire after a stove was left unattended.[11][12] Then, in 2021, the museum unveiled a four phased plan, called "Save Where They Walked", for the restoration of many of the remaining buildings on the airport.[13][better source needed][14]
The museum placed a replica of the Fat Man atomic bomb on display in June 2023.[15]
Facilities
[edit]
- 2410 barracks – restoration completed[16]
- Administration building – restoration ongoing[17]
- B-29 hangar – restoration ongoing[18]
- Control tower – restoration completed[19]
- Dining hall – restoration ongoing[20]
- Norden bombsight storage – restoration completed, 2013[21]
- Nurse's quarters – restoration ongoing[22]
- Service club – restoration completed[23]
- Shower and latrine building – restoration upcoming[24]
Exhibits
[edit]Exhibits at the museum include a replica of the Little Boy atomic bomb, an origami crane made by Sadako Sasaki, World War II homefront materials, World War II uniforms and prototype atomic bomb components.[25][26][27][28][29]
Collection
[edit]Aircraft
[edit]Ground vehicles
[edit]Events
[edit]The museum holds an annual airshow.[32][33][34]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "Landon Wilkey". Utah State University. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Asset Detail". National Park Service. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ a b Benson, Lee (2 August 2020). "The End of World War II Began in Wendover". Deseret News. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Airfield Museum Open". Tooele Transcript-Bulletin. 7 March 2002. p. B2. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Sagers, Larry (2002). "Wendover's Big Part in Ending World War II". Tooele Valley. Vol. 4, no. 1. pp. 5–8. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Gates, Chuck (31 May 2010). "Historic Wendover Hangar Saved". Deseret News. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Crews Restore WWII Control Tower". The Spectrum. 3 June 2012. p. C5. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Copelan, Corinne (30 October 2015). "Wendover Air Base Service Club Returned to Former Glory for Veterans". High Desert Advocate. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Glionna, John M. (2 June 2021). "Veteran's Mission: Turn Historic Airfield into Museum". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Pettersen, Ralph M. (11 November 2023). "DC-4 - DC-6 - DC-7 News". Propliner Information Exchange. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Stauffer, McKenzie (24 November 2020). "Historic Military Barracks at Wendover Airbase Destroyed by Fire". KUTV. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Cabrero, Alex (9 December 2020). "Historic WWII Airfield Damaged by Fire". KSLTV. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "HWA Save Where They Walked Capital Campaign". YouTube. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Support". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Cabrero, Alex (21 June 2023). "Replica of Historic WWII Atomic Bomb to Debut at Wendover Air Museum". KSLTV. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "2410 Barracks". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Administration Building 1808". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "B-29 Hangar". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Control Tower". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Dining Hall". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Norden Bombsight Storage". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Nurse's Quarters". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "John T. Brinkman: Service Club". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Shower and Latrine Building". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Little Boy Replica Exhibit". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Sadako Saskai Paper Crane Exhibit". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Wendover Homefront Exhibit". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "WWII Uniforms Exhibit". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Bomb Prototype Component Exhibits". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Douglas C-54 Skymaster". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "F-86L". Historic Wendover Airfield. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Air Show – Event Information". Historic Wendover Airfield. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Molyneux, Logan (26 August 2005). "Air Appparent". Daily Herald. pp. B1–B2. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ Joseph, Spencer (25 August 2023). "Wendover Air Show is Ready for Takeoff This Weekend". FOX 13. Retrieved 30 January 2024.