National
museum of naval aviation, NAS Pensacola, Florida, USA
A
true place of pilgrimage for any naval aviation enthusiast, the NMNA is a real
treasure chest of exhibits ranging from the aircraft to the Cubi Bar Cafe,
faithfully reproduced from the real Officers' Club at the now defunct NAS Cubi
Point, Philippines. The museum building is almost completely filled with
aircraft, arranged in such a way that they follow the timeline of development of
US Navy's and USMC air power. Some of the aircraft that the NMNA owns have
to be displayed outside, on its own flightline, which can be viewed from inside
a bus that takes visitors there on 30 minute tours. One nice thing about this
museum is that its hosts are mostly actual USN and USMC ex-aviators, who provide
the guided tours, and are more than happy to share various stories from their
service careers. The museum is situated inside the vast Naval Air Station
Pensacola, several miles to the southwest of the town itself. The huge base
actually comprises several Navy institutions, such as the NATTC or the big Navy
hospital, but the main function of the base is, of course, the training center
for all future USN and USMC aviators. The vastness of the base can be
appreciated if you decide to go to the museum by public transport, which also
operates inside the NAS, and it takes the bus around 30 minutes from the main
gate to the museum itself! NAS Pensacola is also the home base of the World
famous Blue Angels, US Navy's flight demonstration team, and their training
flights can be viewed from the museums flightline, i.e. the visitors' stand,
weather permitting, of course. These training flights usually take place each
tuesday, early in the morning, but it is best to check with the museum staff the
day before. The Blue Angels also have a special place in the museum, several of
their aircraft also being exhibited there.
Since Pensacola is slightly
out of the way from most other tourist attractions in the state of Florida, be
sure to plan your trip there accordingly. For me, it was actually nice to not be
in a place crowded with tourists (especially after just having visited Miami and
West Palm Beach). Anyway, here are a couple of links that will be of some help
in planning your trip:
Gallery
These
are just a selection from over 200 photos I took there. I took many detail
photos of various aircraft, so if you are looking for something in particular
(FJ-1 Fury's nosewheel or SB2U Vindicator's engine, for instance), feel
free to contact me.
All
of the pictures on this page were taken by me, so if you wish to copy them for
anything else than personal use, please let me know first.
The Tomcat displayed outsde the museum entrance.
Visitors are greeted by an imposing sight, and by sounds from the nearby
airfield. |
A view inside the south wing, with a couple of Curtiss
Jennies in the foreground. |
A
Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk, the only preserved Curtiss Navy Hawk in existance
in the World. |
|
A Dauntless in pre-July 1943 markings, displayed on a
reproduction of a WWII aircraft carrier deck. |
The reproduction of the aircraft carrier deck is
completed by the island from the USS Cabot. An F6F-3 Hellcat is in the
foreground. |
Two views of a beautifully built model of the CV-6
Enterprise.The level of detail on this beauty has to be seen to be
believed! |
|
The Marines want to be seen as well, so an F7F-3
Tigercat and an F4U-4 Corsair are displayed. |
A couple of heavies from the early '50ies - a Douglas
AD-6 Skyraider and a Grumman AF-2S Guardian. |
An SNJ-4 Texan is shown, hanging in the atrium of the
museum. |
The atrium is dedicated to the Blue Angels, and
dominated by a display of four of their A-4F Skyhawks. |
A Beech GB-2 Traveller. Such rare aircraft are the real
treasure of the museum. |
The flight line tour begins, with an F9F-8 Cougar. |
A retired adversary F-16N. It's paintwork has begun to
deteriorate from being displayed in the Florida sun. |
An UH-1E Iroquois, universally known as the Huey. |
A Beech JRB Expeditor, in markings it wore during its
active career at NATTU Pensacola. |
A beautifully restored Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon. |
A Grumman S2F Tracker. |
One of my favorites, a beautiful Consolidated PBY-5A
Catalina in WWII Atlantic theater paint scheme. |
Back inside the museum building, this wonderful marine
F2H-1P Banshee displays mission markings for missions flown during the
Korean war. |
This photo gives new meaning to the phrase "a plane
and a half"! One whole F8U-1 Crusader, and the nose section of
another one. |
One of only five aircraft displayed which does not wear
USN or USMC markings, this Cessna O-1F Bird Dog landed on an aircraft
carrier in dramatic fashion during the evacuation of Saigon in 1975. |
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