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Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to Castle Airport, a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed in 1995, after the end of the Cold War. It is one of the largest aerospace museums displaying vintage aircraft in the western United States.

Castle Air Museum

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Established	20 June 1981
Location	5050 Santa Fe Drive Atwater, California 95301
Coordinates	37.36475°N 120.577944°W / 37.36475; -120.577944
Type	Military aviation museum
Founder	Gen. James P. McCarthy[1]
Website	www.castleairmuseum.org

History and information

The museum opened with 12 aircraft on 20 June 1981 as a branch of the United States Air Force Museum system.[2] Only four months later, an additional four aircraft were placed on display.[3] Then in 1983, an audit criticized leadership for poor accountability of resources, displaying aircraft outside the museum's mission, and lack of security.[4] When Castle Air Force Base was closed in April 1995 and became Castle Airport, the museum similarly became private.[5][6][lower-alpha 1] The loss of federal funding eventually caused financial problems for the museum.[8]

It currently displays over 60 restored World War II, Korean War, Cold War, and modern era aircraft. The outdoor museum covers 11 acres (45,000 m²), and among the exhibit highlights are a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (one of only 19 surviving), a Boeing B-52D Stratofortress, and the massive, ten-engined Convair RB-36H Peacemaker, one of only four surviving and the largest mass-produced piston aircraft in history. An indoor museum features artifacts, photographs, uniforms, war memorabilia, aircraft engines, and a restored B-52 Stratofortress flight deck. A crew of volunteers restores and maintains the aircraft on display.[9] The museum also hosts a periodic Open House in which visitors can view the interiors of certain planes.

In May 2008, the museum reached its 50th displayed aircraft milestone with the addition of a Douglas A-4L Skyhawk. The aircraft was shipped to the museum in August 2006, and restored at a cost of $12,000.[9]

In October 2013, the Museum received a retired VC-9C aircraft that had previously served during several administrations as an alternate Air Force One and Air Force Two aircraft when use of the primary VC-137 or VC-25 was impractical.[10] Vice presidents such as Al Gore and Dick Cheney, and First Ladies such as Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, and Hillary Clinton, as well as presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, were among the individuals who used the plane.[10]

In 2021, the museum received 5 aircraft from Naval Air Museum Barbers Point, which had closed two years prior.[11][12][13]

Alleged paranormal occurrences

The B-29A Superfortress exhibit is reported to be haunted by a spirit named "Arthur."[14] Museum management has reported that visitors, including paranormal investigators, have heard knocking and footsteps from inside the plane. In addition, lights in the aircraft have been known to turn on and off, and the propellers are known to turn even though they are locked in place. An apparition has allegedly been photographed on several occasions, and paranormal researchers claim to have detected anomalous readings on their equipment.[15] The paranormal occurrences have been featured on an episode of UPN's Real Ghosts (1995).

Collection

Aircraft on Display[16]

Name	Role	Class	Introduced
Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck	Interceptor	Jet	1952
Avro Vulcan B.2	Strategic Bomber	Jet	1956
Beech C-45G Expeditor	Utility	Propeller	1937
Beechcraft YT-34 Mentor	Trainer	Propeller	1953
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress	Bomber	Propeller	1937
Boeing B-29A Superfortress	Bomber	Propeller	1944
Boeing B-47E Stratojet	Strategic Bomber	Jet	1951
Boeing B-52D Stratofortress	Strategic Bomber	Jet	1955
Boeing CH-47D Chinook	Transport	Helicopter	1962
Boeing KC-135A Stratotanker	Tanker	Jet	1957
Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter	Tanker	Propeller	1951
Boeing WB-50 Superfortress	Bomber/Weather Reconnaissance	Propeller	1948
Cessna O-2A Skymaster	Observation	Propeller	1967
Cessna T-37B Tweet	Trainer	Jet	1957
Cessna U-3A	Utility	Propeller	1957
Consolidated B-24M Liberator	Bomber	Propeller	1941
Convair F-102A Delta Dagger	Interceptor	Jet	1956
Convair F-106A Delta Dart	Interceptor	Jet	1959
Convair HC-131 Samaritan	Transport	Propeller	1950
Convair RB-36H Peacemaker	Strategic Bomber/Reconnaissance	Jet/Propeller	1949
Convair B-58A Hustler	Strategic Bomber	Jet	1960
Convair TF-102A Delta Dagger	Trainer	Jet	1956
Curtiss C-46D Commando	Transport	Propeller	1941
de Haviland Canada L-20 Beaver	Utility	Propeller	1948
Douglas A-26B Invader	Bomber	Propeller	1943
Douglas A-4L Skyhawk	Attack Fighter	Jet	1956
Douglas B-18 Bolo	Bomber	Propeller	1936
Douglas B-23 Dragon	Bomber	Propeller	1939
Douglas C-47 Skytrain	Transport	Propeller	1941
Douglas R5D-4 Skymaster	Transport	Propeller	1942
Douglas RA-3B Skywarrior	Strategic Bomber	Jet	1956
Fairchild C-119C Flying Boxcar	Transport	Propeller	1949
Fairchild C-123K Provider	Transport	Propeller	1956
General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon	Fighter	Jet	1978
General Dynamics FB-111A Aardvark	Strategic Bomber	Jet	1967
Grumman F-14D Tomcat	Fighter	Jet	1974
Grumman HU-16B Albatross	Amphibious Rescue	Propeller	1949
Grumman S-2 Tracker	Anti-submarine Warfare	Propeller	1954
Kaman HH-43B Huskie	Firefighting/Search and Rescue	Helicopter	1953
Kawasaki KAQ-1	UAV/Target Drone	Propeller	1950
Lockheed C-130A Hercules	Transport	Propeller	1954
Lockheed C-56 Loadstar	Transport	Propeller	1940
Lockheed F-104B Starfighter	Interceptor	Jet	1958
Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk	Stealth Attack Fighter	Jet	1983
Lockheed F-80B Shooting Star	Fighter	Jet	1945
Lockheed F-94A Starfire	Interceptor	Jet	1950
Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon	Bomber/Maritime Patrol	Propeller	1941
Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird	Strategic Reconnaissance	Jet	1966
Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star	Trainer	Jet	1948
Martin B-57 Canberra	Strategic Bomber/Reconnaissance	Jet	1951
McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle	Fighter	Jet	1976
McDonnell Douglas VC-9C	Executive Transport	Jet	1968
McDonnell F-101B Voodoo	Fighter	Jet	1957
McDonnell F-4E Phantom	Fighter	Jet	1960
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21	Fighter/Interceptor	Jet	1956
North American AT-6 Texan	Trainer	Propeller	1937
North American B-25J Mitchell	Bomber	Propeller	1941
North American B-45A Tornado	Strategic Bomber	Jet	1948
North American F-100 Super Sabre	Fighter	Jet	1954
North American F-86H Sabre	Fighter	Jet	1949
North American RA-5C Vigilante	Strategic Bomber/Reconnaissance	Jet	1961
North American T-39 Saberliner	Trainer/Utility	Jet	1962
Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler	Electronic Warfare	Jet	1971
Northrop F-89J Scorpion	Interceptor	Jet	1950
Northrop T-38 Talon	Trainer	Jet	1961
Republic F-105B Thunderchief	Fighter Bomber	Jet	1958
Republic F-84C Thunderjet	Fighter Bomber	Jet	1947
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak	Fighter Bomber	Jet	1954
Ryan BQM-34	UAV/Target Drone	Jet	1955
Saab J35 Draken	Fighter	Jet	1960
Vought RF-8G Crusader	Fighter/Reconnaissance	Jet	1957
Vultee BT-13 Valiant	Trainer	Propeller	1939

Complementary Exhibits[16]

Name	Type
AGM-28 Hound Dog	Cruise Missile
GAM-63 Rascal	Nuclear Air-to-Surface Missile
MB-1C	B-58 Nuclear Weapons Pod
MK. 17	Thermonuclear Bomb
NASA "Hyperglider"	Experimental Vehicle
Norden Mk. XV	Declassified Bombsight

Hidden aircraft collection

Castle Air Museum has several aircraft that cannot be displayed outdoors, as their fabric coverings do not hold up in the San Joaquin Valley weather. The museum is working to raise funds for a suitable building to display these and other items that they do not currently have indoor space to display.[17]

Restoration efforts

The museum has recently received several aircraft which are currently under restoration before they will be displayed on the museum grounds:[18]

References

Footnotes

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Castle Air Museum website
• SR-71 Online – Castle Air Museum Photo Tour
• Castle Air Museum RB-36H Peacemaker

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