National Warplane Museum

National Warplane Museum
Established	1994
Location	Geneseo, New York
Coordinates	42°47′47″N 77°50′47″W / 42.796379°N 77.846364°W
Type	Aerospace museum, history museum
Founder	Austin Wadsworth
Website	nationalwarplane.com

The National Warplane Museum is a warbird and military history museum currently located on the grounds of the Geneseo Airport in Geneseo, New York. Founded in 1994, the museum restores, flies, and displays vintage military aircraft from the Second World War and Korean War eras. In 1998, after a split developed in the membership with two thirds of the group wanting to move to a modern airport and grow, the National Warplane Museum moved to the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport near Horseheads, New York. In 2010, the Horseheads museum reinvented itself as the Wings of Eagles Discovery Center. In 2013, the National Warplane Museum name was reacquired by the 1941 Historical Aircraft Group which remained in Geneseo. ^[1] The museum hosts the annual Geneseo Airshow, billed as the "Greatest Show On Turf."^[2]^[3]

Aircraft collection

Douglas C-47 "W7" - Restored and airworthy
Beechcraft C-45 - Restored and airworthy
Douglas B-23 Dragon - Stored, awaiting restoration
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar - Undergoing restoration (on display)
Fokker DVII - (Replica) airworthy
Fokker Dr.1 - (Replica) airworthy
Antonov An-2 "Natasha" - Undergoing maintenance, on display
Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star - On display
North American AT-6 - Undergoing restoration
Grumman F6F Hellcat (Replica) - On display
Beechcraft UC-43 Staggerwing - Airworthy
Aeronca L-16 - Airworthy
Piper L-21 (Replica) - Airworthy
YO-55 Ercoupe - On display
Ryan Navion - Airworthy
Aero Commander 100 - On display
Lockheed C-130 Hercules "Saigon Lady" - Undergoing restoration

Hosted aircraft

The museum also hosts several aircraft owned by the Military Aircraft Restoration Corporation.

Five years after taking possession of the aircraft, the museum announced it was ending its lease of the Movie Memphis Belle B-17 in January 2020.^[4]

Land-Based Equipment Collection

The museum houses a small group named "The 1941 Motor Pool Restoration Shop." This group acquires, restores, and maintains a variety of land-based military vehicles. Currently working out of a pole barn next to the museum's main hangar, The 1941 Motor Pool Restoration Shop is not a separate business entity, and instead serves as a way to internally categorize museum projects.

DUKW - Restoration nearly complete - All major systems are functional
Oshkosh MB-5 - Undergoing restoration - Drive systems, lights and PKP firefighting systems are functional
GMC CCKW 2½-ton 6×6 truck - Restoration pending - Major components missing
GE 60 inch carbon arc Searchlight - Light restoration complete - Power supply awaiting restoration

References

^ National Warplane Museum Coming to Western New York
^ "1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum", Retrieved on 20 February 2012
^ 1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum Photos William Maloney. Retrieved on 20 February 2012
^ Leader, Matt (28 January 2020). "National Warplane Museum ending lease of iconic 'Movie Memphis Belle'". Livingston County News. Retrieved 1 December 2023.

External links

National Warplane Museum - official site

[1] National Warplane Museum Coming to Western New York

[2] "1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum", Retrieved on 20 February 2012

[3] 1941 Historical Aircraft Group Museum Photos William Maloney. Retrieved on 20 February 2012

[4] Leader, Matt (28 January 2020). "National Warplane Museum ending lease of iconic 'Movie Memphis Belle'". Livingston County News. Retrieved 1 December 2023.

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