TILLAMOOK — The Tillamook Air Museum is operated by the Port of Tillamook Bay. It’s mission statement strives “to interpret, preserve, educate, and honor the World War II history of Naval Air Station Tillamook and Hangar B, as well as the history of both civil and military aviation.”

The artifacts are housed in the wooden blimp hangar built in 1942-1943 at Naval Air Station Tillamook to guard against potential Japanese submarine attacks. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby Hangar A was destroyed in a 1992 fire.

Outside is a Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy painted with the museum’s name in orange. The Boeing wide-bodied cargo plane dates to about 1967.

Aircraft inside date from the early days of aviation up to the modern era. Although almost all are originals, they include a 2000s’ replica of a Nieuport II that French pilots flew during World War I.

Others include an A-4 Skyhawk, which was mounted on a pole to “guard” the U.S. Highway 101 turnoff to the museum for years. In 2021, the Navy asked museum staff to move it inside where it has been restored. The single-seater was an asset during the Vietnam era (the type flown by U.S. Sen John McCain) and used in flight demonstration shows, as well as a trainer at the real “Top Gun” aviation schools.

The museum is home to an A-7E Corsair II light attack aircraft that saw action with Tomcats in the Persian Gulf War, concluding its service in Desert Shield/Storm. It also hosts a Stearman PT-17 primary trainer biplane whose uses have included pilot training, airshow displays and crop dusting

Well-lit side rooms display artifacts and uniforms from World War II and the Korean War, including a Women’s Army Corps uniform worn during the Luftwaffe’s Blitzkrieg attacks on England. Medals of the kind earned by local aviator Donald Kenneth Kilgore flying B-24 “Liberators” in WWII are in a glass cabinet.

Another exhibit features a display of German submarine technology next to a Holocaust remembrance gallery. Two display cases house Axis forces’ artifacts collected as somber war souvenirs.

• The Air Museum will celebrate Independence Day with a picnic outside Hangar B from 11 a.m. to 4 p..m July 4, featuring a live auction, games, food and drinks.

Tillamook Air Museum

6030 Hangar Road, Tillamook

Open daily, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. summer hours through August.

General admission $13; seniors, $11; youth (7-17), $8; child (2-6), $4; military, active duty or retired, $9.

Annual pass (holder and guest), $40

Family pass (2 adults, 4 children up to 17 years), $65.

Free to Tillamook County residents on the third Sunday of each month.

https://www.tillamookair.com/info