 The former operations building | |
  Location within Utah | |
| Established | 2001 |
|---|---|
| Location | Wendover, Utah |
| Coordinates | 40°43′41″N 114°02′16″W / 40.7280°N 114.0377°W |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Founder | Jim Petersen |
| Curator | Landon Wilkey[1] |
| Website | www |
The Historic Wendover Airfield is an aviation museum located at Wendover Airport in Wendover, Utah focused on the history of Wendover Air Force Base.
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Further information: Wendover Air Force Base |
Due to the remote location and favorable climate, many of the buildings at the base remained in unaltered, although somewhat deteriorated, condition.[citation needed] For this reason, the base was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[2]
The Historic Wendover Airfield Foundation was established in 2001 after Jim Petersen visited the airport as part of a tour group. The following year he became airport manager.[3] The project began with the renovation of, and opening a museum in, the former operations building in March of that year.[4][5]
The Enola Gay Hangar was placed on the 2009 list of America's Most Endangered Places and as a result the foundation received a number of grants, including one from the Save America's Treasures program, that allowed the structure to be restored.[6][3] This was followed by the rededication of the control tower in 2012 and the completion of work on the service club in 2015.[7][8]
The museum encountered some controversy when, in 2017, it agreed to display one of the one thousand origami cranes folded by atomic bomb victim Sadako Sasaki.[9]
The museum acquired a Douglas C-54 Skymaster in September 2020.[10][better source needed] Two months later, one of the barracks was destroyed by fire after a stove was left unattended.[11][12] Then, in 2021, the museum unveiled a four phased plan, called "Save Where They Walked", for the restoration of many of the remaining buildings on the airport.[13][better source needed][14]
The museum placed a replica of the Fat Man atomic bomb on display in June 2023.[15]
Exhibits at the museum include a replica of the Little Boy atomic bomb, an origami crane made by Sadako Sasaki, World War II homefront materials, World War II uniforms and prototype atomic bomb components.[25][26][27][28][29]