This Oregon Air Museum Lives in a WWII Blimp Hangar the Size of Six Football Fields

The Tillamook Air Museum, Oregon

Not many museums can say they’re housed in a former blimp base. But in Tillamook, Oregon, one of the last standing WWII airship hangars now protects a fleet of historic planes instead of military blimps.

Here’s more about this giant piece of Pacific Coast history.

Strategic Air Command Reveals Aviation History

The G-model B-52 which served the air command base from 1961-1991 features more than 600 authentic switches, gauges, and controls.

Aviation buffs can examine the original equipment pilot and co-pilot ejection seats demonstrating the downward ejection system unique to early B-52 variants.

The aircraft commander’s position logged over 12,000 flight hours during actual Cold War nuclear alert missions, representing a tangible piece of deterrence history.

Flight Gear and Crew Dig Into Design History

Designed for high-altitude bomber crews, this Type 3 flight suit from 1944 features specialized silk insulation layers not found in other Axis flight gear.

Military collectors appreciate the original Imperial Japanese Army Air Service badges and squadron markings still visible. The double-stitched entry system trapped warm air between layers during missions above 20,000 feet.

Near the collar, rarely seen integrated oxygen mask connection points demonstrate the technical sophistication of Japanese aviation equipment late in the war.

Aircrafts That Highlight 1960s Air Travel

This particular aircraft, serial number 22, flew for Northeast Airlines as N8493H before transferring to TWA for the remainder of its service life.

Flying at 615 mph, the Convair cruised faster than the Boeing 707 of the same era.

Museum visitors walk through the fuselage with its original TWA interior configuration featuring 84 passenger seats and vintage galley equipment.

Hindenburg Disaster Artifacts Are Pretty Original

A rare 6-inch section of the outer covering fabric, treated with iron oxide and aluminum powder, represents the doping mixture that caused the airship’s destruction.

The collection includes a fragment of duralumin girder from the massive dirigible. There’s even the original passenger ticket from the final voyage on May 6, 1937.

You can check out the navigational chart used on previous Hindenburg crossings displays the exact North Atlantic route followed by the ill-fated airship.

Anderson Shelter Recreates London Blitz

Representing the 2.3 million shelters distributed to British civilians in 1939, this detailed replica contains authentic period items.

The interior of the shelter includes gas masks, ration books, and a battery-powered wireless radio. Its 14-gauge steel panels (made from corrugated steel design) were the perfect protection against aerial bombardments.

Measuring 6 feet tall and 6.5 feet wide, the shelter demonstrates the cramped conditions that British civilians endured in the German bombing campaign.

The F-14 Tomcat Flew Real Combat Missions

This impressive fighter aircraft, Bureau Number 158978, served exclusively with squadron VF-114 “Aardvarks,” flying over 5,800 combat hours before retirement.

Its variable-sweep wing design allowed speeds over Mach 2.34, while AIM-54 Phoenix missiles gave it the power to strike targets up to 100 miles away.

Look closely for the navy paint scheme with authentic USS Enterprise markings.

Gulf War Veteran Displays Combat History

Bureau number 160616 marks this A-7E, which joined VA-97 in 1977. It features a TACAN navigation system and a vintage head-up display from its service days.

After 6,342 flight hours and 891 carrier landings, this warbird retired. Now it’s proudly displayed in its final USS Nimitz carrier air wing paint scheme.

Cold War Exhibits Present Soviet Technology

The Polish-built PZL-Mielec Lim-6bis, tactical number 1732, served in the Polish Air Force until its retirement in 1986.

Under the hood, the Klimov VK-1F engine with afterburner capability pushed the aircraft to speeds reaching 711 mph during active military service.

Looking inside the cockpit reveals original Cyrillic instrument markings and the 23mm NR-23 cannon ports in the nose that once fired 850 rounds per minute.

Mt. Hebo Radar Station Monitored Soviet Bombers

Recreating the 689th Radar Squadron operations room from 1957-1980, this exhibit contains authentic AN/FPS-14 radar display consoles and communications equipment.

The detailed station model shows the precise mountaintop installation at 3,154 feet elevation, including the distinctive radome structures.

Reading the original technical manuals and declassified procedure documents reveals how operators maintained constant vigilance during 24-hour alert operations.

How Transport Planes Carried Space Equipment

Registration number N1037V identifies this unusual aircraft with its cargo hold measuring an impressive 111 feet long and 25 feet in diameter.

The plane transported up to 32,000 pounds. After completing 3,200 flight hours, this specialized transport joined the museum collection in 1995.

Now you get to walk through the giant cargo hold that reveals a towering 21-foot interior once used to haul massive aerospace parts.

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