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Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum facts for kids

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Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum
Polikarpov Po-2 Paul Allen's WWII Flying Heritage Collection.jpg
The collection's Polikarpov Po-2 on display
Former name Flying Heritage Collection
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 Everett, Washington, where you can see amazing old military airplanes, tanks, and other equipment. It's a nonprofit organization that works to save and show these rare items. The museum opened its doors again in May 2023.

Inside its three large hangars, you'll find military items from countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union. The museum is located at Seattle-Paine Field International Airport. You can often see mechanics working on these machines during the week. The museum offers guided tours, fun activities, and even war conflict simulators. It's a great way to learn about history!

Museum History: How It Started

In 1998, Microsoft Corporation co-founder Paul Allen started collecting and saving old airplanes. Paul Allen loved aviation and history. He knew that original World War II planes were becoming very rare. So, he wanted to fix them up perfectly and share them with everyone.

Moving to Paine Field

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. This new spot gave the museum more space.

In 2013, the museum added a big new hangar, about 22,000 square feet, for its growing collection. Then, in 2018, another hangar called Hangar C opened. This added more than two dozen new items to see.

A New Name and Mission

On March 24, 2017, the museum changed its name. It went from the "Flying Heritage Collection" to the "Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum." This new name showed that it now had military vehicles and weapons, not just airplanes. In 2018, the museum became a public nonprofit organization.

The museum temporarily closed on March 3, 2020, because of problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Ownership and Reopening

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 the collection. This sale was confirmed in August 2022.

The plan was for the museum to stay in Everett and reopen in 2023. It is now managed by the Wartime History Museum, which is a nonprofit group started by Steuart Walton in 2022. The Wartime History Museum bought the items from the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum. The museum officially reopened to the public in Everett, Washington, in May 2023.

Ilyushin Il-2m3 Shturmovik - Paine Field - USA (Sept 2012) - Ready to fly view 1.
The airworthy Ilyushin Il-2 of the Flying Heritage Collection

Amazing Warbirds: Historic Aircraft

The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum has many historic items. Their most valuable collection pieces are all aircraft, often called "warbirds." The museum also has a large collection of armored vehicles.

United States Aircraft

United Kingdom Aircraft

Soviet Union Aircraft

Imperial Japan Aircraft

Germany Aircraft

Powerful Tanks: Armored Vehicles

The museum's collection includes many different vehicles and weapons. These items range from World War II to some more modern pieces. Most of the tanks are from the United States, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union.

United States Tanks

  • M1A1 Abrams turret trainer
  • M48A1 Patton (Cut in Half)
  • M4A1 Sherman
  • M5A1 Stuart
  • M60A1 Patton
  • M24 Chaffee
  • M7B1 Priest
  • M8 Greyhound
  • M26 Pershing
  • M55 self-propelled howitzer

United Kingdom Tanks

  • Churchill Mk VII Crocodile

Soviet Union Tanks

  • FMDB T-34/85
  • T-54M

Germany Tanks

  • Jagdpanzer 38(t) (Hetzer)
  • Panzerkampfwagon IV Ausf. H

Japan Tanks

  • Type 95 Ha-Go

Big Guns: Artillery Collection

The museum also displays various types of artillery, which are large guns used in warfare.

United States Artillery

  • M2 155mm "Long Tom" field gun

United Kingdom Artillery

  • 17-Pounder Mk. I anti-tank gun

Germany Artillery

  • 75mm PaK 40 anti-tank gun
  • 88mm Flak 37 anti-aircraft gun

Japan Artillery

  • 47mm Type 1 anti-tank gun

Other Military Vehicles

Beyond tanks and planes, the museum has other interesting military vehicles.

United States Vehicles

  • M5A4 high-speed tractor
  • AM General M936A2 wrecker
  • Dodge WC24 command car
  • Dodge WC54 ambulance
  • Ford GPW "Jeep"
  • Harley-Davidson WLA
  • Landing craft, vehicle, personnel (LCVP)
  • M3A1 half-track personnel carrier
  • M274A5 Mule

Germany Vehicles

  • BMW R75
  • Opel Super 6
  • Scheuch-Schlepper
  • Volkswagen Kubelwagen Typ 82 Kfz.1

See also

  • List of aerospace museums