Planes of Fame: Encyclopedia II - Planes of Fame - History

Planes of Fame - History

The Museum was founded by Mr. Edward Maloney, who recognized the importance of preserving WWII aircraft at a time when most of these planes were being cut up into scrap metal. Although the United States alone produced over 300,000 military aircraft during WWII, most of these were destroyed at the end of the war and many types disappeared entirely. Even fewer of Germany's and Japan's aircraft were saved. In his attempts to save endangered aircraft types from the scrap heap, Mr. Maloney pleaded, bartered, and even purchased the discards by the pound.

The Air Museum was the first permanent air museum west of the Rocky Mountains. It officially opened its doors to the public in January 1957, with an initial collection of six aircraft and a great deal of hope for the future. The museum's original location was in Claremont, California. As the collection began to outgrow this first makeshift facility, the aircraft were moved to the Ontario, California airport. In 1973, The Air Museum finally took up its present residence at the Chino Airport.

Incidentally, the location of the museum was originally the home of the Cal-Aero Flight Academy during WWII, where thousands of Army Air Corps cadets learned to fly the warbirds the museum is now preserving.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki