March Field Air Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1979 |
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| Location | Riverside County, near Moreno Valley, California |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Founder | Lt. Gen. James E. Mullins |
The March Field Air Museum is a cool place where you can see lots of airplanes! It's an aviation museum, which means it's all about planes and flying. You can find it near Moreno Valley and Riverside, California, right at the March Air Reserve Base.
Contents
History of the Museum
The museum started in 1979. Back then, it was called the March Air Force Base Museum. One of its first displays showed art painted by Hazel Olson.
In 1981, the museum moved to a new spot. It opened to the public in a building that used to be a base store. That same year, a huge B-29 airplane was flown to the museum.
The museum moved again in 1993 to where it is now. This spot is west of the runway, next to Interstate 215. The Air Force used to run the museum. But in 1996, a special group that doesn't make money took over.
What You Can See: Exhibits
The March Field Air Museum has many interesting things to see. You can explore both indoor and outdoor displays.
Indoor Displays and Fun Facts
Inside the museum, you'll find many cool exhibits. These include:
- A copy of the Wright Flyer, which was one of the first successful airplanes.
- Part of a Boeing B-47 cockpit. This part was used in a 1955 movie called Strategic Air Command, starring Jimmy Stewart.
- Many movies about aviation that play all the time.
- A German 30mm cannon and different jet engines.
- Parts of missiles and bombs, cut open so you can see inside.
- A recreated mural from the time of World War II.
- Training modules for the B-52 bomber.
Special Memorials to Remember Heroes
The museum also has important memorials to honor brave people.
- A memorial that remembers War dogs. These dogs helped soldiers in many ways.
- The Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial. This special memorial honors members of the Armed Forces. They received the Distinguished Flying Cross award for being very brave while flying. This memorial was officially named a national memorial in 2014. It was first dedicated in 2010.
- A memorial for NASA astronauts. It honors those who died in the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle accidents. It uses a large piece from a Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster.
- The 15th Air Force Commemorative Wall. This wall was dedicated in 1998. It honors the men and women who served in the 15th Air Force during World War II.
Amazing Aircraft on Display
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The museum has more than 114 different aircraft for you to see! Here is a list of some of the planes you can find there:
- Aero Commander U-9A 52-6218
- Bell AH-1F Cobra 69-16416
- Bell P-39Q Airacobra – A plane made from different parts.
- Bell P-59 Airacomet 44-22614
- Bell OH-58 Kiowa 71-61668
- Bell UH-1B Iroquois 62-12537
- Bell UH-1D Iroquois 66-0925
- Bell UH-1F Iroquois 63-13143
- Bensen B-8M
- Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress 44-6393 "Starduster" – This plane was used by Lt Gen Ira C. Eaker for his travels.
- Boeing B-29A Superfortress 44-61669
- Boeing B-47E Stratojet 53-2275
- Boeing B-52D Stratofortress 55-0679 – This plane flew 175 combat missions during the Vietnam War.
- Boeing KC-97L Stratofreighter 53-0363
- Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker 55-3130 "Old Granddad"
- Cessna A-37 Dragonfly 71-0790
- Cessna T-37B Tweet 57-2316
- Cessna O-2A Skymaster 68-11067
- Cessna O-2B Skymaster 67-21465
- Consolidated PT-6A 30-385
- Convair C-131D Samaritan 54-2808
- Convair F-102A Delta Dagger 56-1114
- Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk
- Douglas A-26C Invader 44-35224
- Douglas EA-1E Skyraider 132789
- Douglas C-54Q Skymaster 56514
- Fairchild PT-19B
- Fairchild C-123K Provider 54-0612
- Folland Gnat E1076
- General Atomics MQ-1B Predator
- General Dynamics FB-111A Aardvark 68-0245
- Grumman YF-14A Tomcat 157990 – This was the 11th test model of the F-14.
- Grumman EA-6B Prowler 161882
- Grumman HU-16E Albatross 1293
- Hughes OH-6A Cayuse 68-17252
- Lockheed C-141B Starlifter 65-0257
- Lockheed D-21B
- Lockheed P-38L Lightning – A copy of the original.
- Lockheed R5O-5 Lodestar 12473
- Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird 61-7975
- Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star 58-0513
- LTV A-7D Corsair II 69-6188
- Martin EB-57B Canberra 52-1519
- McDonnell F-101B Voodoo 59-0418
- McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II 63-7693
- McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II 68-0382
- McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II 63-7746
- McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle 76-0008
- McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender 84-0185
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 0393215744
- MMIST CQ-10A Snowgoose
- Nieuport 11 – A smaller copy of the original.
- Nieuport 11 – Another smaller copy.
- North American TB-25J Mitchell 44-31032
- North American F-86H Sabre 53-1304
- North American F-86L Sabre 50-0560
- North American F-100C Super Sabre 54-1786
- North American SNJ-4 Texan 51360
- Northrop F-89J Scorpion 52-1949
- Northrop T-38A Talon 60-0593
- Northrop YA-9A 71-1368
- Piasecki H-21 Workhorse 53-4326
- Republic F-84C Thunderjet 47-1595
- Republic F-84F Thunderstreak 51-9432
- Republic F-105B Thunderchief 57-5803
- Republic F-105D Thunderchief 62-4383
- Sauser P6E
- Schweizer TG-2
- Sikorsky HH-34J Choctaw 148943
- Stearman PT-13D Kaydet 42-16388
- Stinson L-5 Sentinel
- Vultee BT-13A Valiant 41-21487
- Vultee BT-13A Valiant N54865 – This plane was changed to look like a Japanese Aichi D3A Val Dive Bomber for the 1970 movie Tora! Tora! Tora!.
- Wright Flyer – A copy of the original.
The Museum in Television
The March Field Air Museum was shown on an episode of the TV show Ghost Adventures in 2018. The people from the show explored the museum. They looked into stories about things moving on their own in the Main Hangar. They also investigated reports of sounds of children and soldiers in other areas of the museum.
