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Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum facts for kids
![]() The collection's Polikarpov Po-2 on display.
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Former name | Flying Heritage Collection |
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Established | 2004 |
Location | Paine Field, Everett, Washington |
Type | Aviation museum |
Founder | Paul Allen |
Owner | Steuart Walton |
The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum is a special place in the U.S.A. It's a nonprofit organization that collects and shows off amazing old military aircraft, tanks, and other cool equipment. The museum opened its doors again in May 2023.
Inside its three large hangars, you can see military items from different countries. These include the United States, Britain, Germany, the Soviet Union, and Japan.
The museum is located at Seattle-Paine Field International Airport in Everett, WA. Mechanics often work there during the week, keeping the old machines in great shape. You can take guided tours, join fun activities, try war conflict simulators, and explore many historical items.
Contents
History of the Museum
How It Started
In 1998, Microsoft Corporation co-founder Paul Allen started buying and saving old airplanes. He loved aviation and history. Paul knew that original World War II aircraft were becoming very rare. So, he wanted to fix them up perfectly and share them with everyone.
Moving and Growing
The collection first opened to the public in 2004 in Arlington, Washington. But in 2008, it moved to a newly fixed-up hangar at Paine Field in Everett, Washington. In 2013, the museum added a big new hangar to hold its growing collection.
In 2018, another hangar, called Hangar C, opened. This added over two dozen more items to see. On March 24, 2017, the museum changed its name. It went from "Flying Heritage Collection" to "Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum." This new name showed that it now had military vehicles and weapons, not just planes. In 2018, the museum became a public nonprofit organization.
Recent Changes
On March 3, 2020, the museum had to close for a while. This happened because of problems from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In April 2022, news came out that the museum's collection had been sold. Steuart Walton, who is the grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton, bought it. This sale was confirmed by news channels in August 2022. The plan was for the museum to stay in Everett. It reopened in 2023 under the care of the Wartime History Museum. This is a nonprofit group that Steuart Walton started in 2022.
The museum is now open again and is growing its operations.
Amazing Aircraft Collection
The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum has many historic items. Its most famous items are the aircraft, often called "warbirds." The museum also has a great collection of armored vehicles. You can learn the specific stories of these aircraft when you visit the museum.
Aircraft from the United States
- North American P-51D Mustang
- North American B-25J Mitchell
- Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
- Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk
- Goodyear FG-1D Corsair
- Grumman F6F Hellcat
- Curtiss JN-4D Jenny
- Bell UH-1B Iroquois "Huey"
Aircraft from the United Kingdom
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk.Vc
- Hawker Hurricane Mk.XIIA
- de Havilland D.H.98 Mosquito T.Mk.III
- Avro Lancaster B. Mk.I (nose section)
Aircraft from the Soviet Union
- Polikarpov I-16 Type 24 "Rata"
- Polikarpov U-2/Po-2
- Ilyushin II-2M3 Shturmovik
Aircraft from Imperial Japan
Aircraft from Nazi Germany
- Fiesler Fi 103 V-1
- Fiesler Fi 103R Reichenberg
- Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5
- Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-13 (Dora)
- Messerschmitt Me 262
- Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3 (Emil)
- Messerschmitt Me 163 B Komet
- Mittelwerk GmbH V-2 Rocket
Awesome Tanks and Vehicles
The museum's collection includes many different vehicles and weapons. These items date from World War II to more modern times. Most of them are from the United States, Germany, Japan, or the Soviet Union.
Tanks from the United States
- M4A1 Sherman
- M5A1 Stuart
- M24 Chaffee
- M26 Pershing
Tanks from the United Kingdom
- Churchill Mk VII Crocodile
Tanks from the Soviet Union
- FMDB T-34/85
- T-54M
Tanks from Germany
- Jagdpanzer 38(t) (Hetzer)
- Panzerkampfwagon IV Ausf. H
Tanks from Japan
- Type 95 Ha-Go
Other Military Vehicles
- M5A4 High-Speed Tractor (United States)
- Dodge WC24 Command Car (United States)
- Ford GPW "Jeep" (United States)
- Harley-Davidson WLA (United States)
- Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVP) (United States)
- M3A1 "Half-Track" Personnel Carrier (United States)
- Volkswagen Kubelwagen Typ 82 Kfz.1 (Germany)
Images for kids
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The airworthy Ilyushin Il-2 of the Flying Heritage Collection.
See also
- List of aerospace museums