What WW2-related museum or site has stayed with you?

Looks kewl

 

Almost forgot: Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam!

 

I live about forty miles from New Orleans, so I visit the National World War II Museum about once a year. I try to go when there is some special program going on that seems interesting. I've been to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. The U.S.S. Kidd in Baton Rouge is chock-full of fun childhood memories, such as Boy Scout sleep-overs onboard. When I was twelve my father and I visited the U.S.S. Alabama in Mobile Bay, Alabama. The Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, Florida is top-notch. Of course, there is always the Smithsonian Air and Space and American History Museums in D.C. The U.S. Holocaust Museum wasn't built yet the last time I was in DC, but will visit the next time I go.

 

I went to the U-505 when I was about 12, and it was outside then. I still have that souvenir program.

 

That's a great museum, I've been dozens of times and go back anytime I'm anywhere close. You have to pass the apartment where we lived when my Dad was training to be an RIO in F4's after his second tour in Vietnam, to get to the main gate. Good memories.

Another of my favorites. The wife loves to go to Charleston and we always stop by to see "The Fighting Lady" USS Yorktown and "The Ship that Wouldn't Die" DD Laffey. Two iconic ships.

The USS North Carolina in Wilmington. Been a bunch of times and it is one of the better WWII battleships. USS Kidd in Baton Rouge, numerous visits and the best preserved Fletcher class destroyer. National Museum of the Marine Corps.

 

U.S. Army Museum in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and the U.S. Marine Corps Museum in Triangle, Virginia near Quantico.

 

That's on my list the next time I'm out in that part of the country. A family friend of ours was a fireman on the USS North Carolina. Before he was on the North Carolina, he was on the USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor.

 

The North Carolina is an excellent example of a WWII fast battleship, she's been a museum ship longer than all the WWII vets except USS Texas. I've visited three of the Iowa's and they're great ships but in 1980's configuration. Visited Texas, historic ship but in fairly poor shape due to her age, as is Olympia, but we're talking WWII. USS Alabama is in good shape (been 7 or 8 times) and generally in WWII fit, but if you've visited both you can tell the North Carolina is closer to complete.

 

I know the Missouri is being restored to her wwii configuration they said one of the hardest things was trying to find single 20 mm guns I don't see why they just don't make dummy guns since it's really just for display they can have some coasted parts and some metal parts made up to fill the galleries of AA that they need to fill. Also the Iowa is going thru restoration but not sure how far they have gotten. On he Missouri they replanted the deck all the way back over the part they had stripped when they added the helo deck. Most of the added structures for the added auto cannons and missile launchers have been removed and I don't know if the dual 5inch turrets were found and replaced or if they built dummy turrets to replace the turrets that were removed. I guess it would make good reading to see what they have been doing I'm not sure what their going to do about a lot of the old radar and fire control equipment that was pulled off as that stuff was obsolete back from the war and has been replaced many times over the years that stuff probably just doesn't even exist anymore. Don't know if they will just try to make replicas. Wonder if they will try to make some of the guns gas firing like on the victory lane for show. Although the Victory Lane did shows were she would sail out of the harbor and they had those fake zeros attack and used guns that just fired a gas charge so it looked and sounded like they were firing live rounds but it wa just like shooting blanks I think they use propane gas bottles. Any way they put on a great show the zeros were old t6 Texans painted to look like zeros but I think after Tora Tora Tora or Pearl Harbor they got a few of those remodeled Texans that really look like a zero now. That was some great remodel work changing the wing tips and tail, the canopy I wonder if they had to build a mock up or computer model before the actual conversion. In any case it looked really good. Didn't they build some other replica planes like the torpedo bombers the B5Ns and the D3A Val's I really like the Val I got a collector set a ten kit set with ten planes, early and late torpedo bomber early and late Val and early and late zero haven't figured out the zeros yet need to go to a English site as the original sites are Japanese and can't read it, lol, I may be part Japanese but didn't go to j school. Too bad I didn't stay with that gal that did she might be able to translate for me, lol. Oh well I'll find out sometime.
Thing about the zeros some changes are so slight hard to even see the differences. Like the exhaust pipes are grouped different or the cowling is a little changed etc.

 

The Missouri is being restored to her December 7, 1991 appearance, according to the USS Missouri's Memorial Association website. It's always been my understanding that the quad-bofors mounts are the hardest to acquire.

Why Don't We Display New Jersey Like it Was in WWII - YouTube

 

It might be good for a company that can make realistic looking dummy guns for such projects. They say many of the old guns were scraped or sold to countries that have small coastal navies and still use old technology. Lol, when I visited the victory lane one of the old salts asked me what I did and I told him I was a journeyman electrician and said they always have a need to good electricians for electrical maintenance or restoration. The wiring was like so 40 to 50 ish with the cloth wiring their use to be places you could still find it not sure if they even have any place that still makes or stocks that type of cable. Lol, makes me think of operation petticoat and they raid that warehouse and steal coils of that electrical cable the cloth type unfortunately the cloth dried out and broke down would crumble off and short out. The military got a type that was coated with a tar like substance that made the cloth last lots longer as long as it wasn't exposed to a lot of moisture. On ships they also painted it to resist too much moisture.

 

If you are ever driving up the Oregon Coast I recommend the Tillamook Air Museum. Most of the WWII Aircraft were recently relocated to Eastern Oregon, however, the hangar itself is impressive and worth a stop:

U.S. Naval Air Station Dirigible Hangar B (U.S. National Park Service).

The hangar was built by the US Navy during WWII to house blimps which patrolled the Oregon Coast. The Oregon Coast was the only place on the mainland US to have civilians killed from direct enemy action during WWII.

 

Tustin air station closed the two hangers air still there the navy still owns they south hanger they haven't turned it over to the county yet. The stupid city of Tustin has said they want to tear down the north hanger and repurpose the land but many organizations have fought it. Even trying to get the county to declare the building a historical site. Many were hoping they'd make the building into a indoor mall or giant indoor flea market. I really hope they save the building. The south hanger was damaged in a bad wind storm and the navy had it repaired. They say the navy won't turn the building over till the city or county presents a solid developement plan. I think they should make it into a museum. There's a number of small private air museums it might be great to get these small museums to com bind and make a great large collection plus they could make the hanger a piece of lasting history. I don't get why city idiots think it's so easy to just demolish things of historic value. Those buildings have been a icon for generations the marines used to station to house their fleet of helicopters for years till they closed it and el toro, as well as terminal island the bases were gifted to the cities or counties. Terminal island was rebuilt into the main container dock. Tustin into a shopping district, el toro into a business park like how stupid some idiot city consule member lobbied the business park saying we didn't need an airport we have John Wayne but jw is not a full international airport it can only handle up to a 757. Built to handle 767s but at only about 80 percent capacity. As such no airline will schedule a 767 they can't fully load. Like a full,runway is millions to build and they just wanted to build more office space how stupid like we don't have a bunch of office parks and malls sitting vacant. And airport would have brought thousands of new jobs transfers stations for airfreight maybe even a central hub for one or two of the large carriers meaning hundreds of air mechanic positions lots of construction jobs building a terminal maintenance facilities warehouses. Hotels restaurants and other businesses. What a waste and the stupid lady saying how LA didn't benefit from having an airport she has no idea what's she's talking about lax generates millions in revenue. And back the the 90s when this dingy lady was spouting off right after one of our housing crashes the first place I got back to work after my dad brother and I were all laid off after a year my brother and I got hired to do construction work at the airport. Lots of the companies here were struggling but one thing about an international airport foreign companies had money to invest at the time New Zealand air was building up we built their ticket offices and pilot lounge and their vip lounge. Five locations having to walk across the strip to the pilot loung was hairy the planes taxing and the noise. Lol, in construction we usually are suppose to wear steel toed and shod boots but most of us have a cheaper pair of plain leather wear for remodel type work. One of our guys just had the steel protected boots and would be late every day held up by the security as they would have to wand him and take his boots off we'd laugh as we'd pass him. Carrying my tools was a pain I'd have my full belt it weighed a ton plus my tool bag that was even heavier have to park in a lot like a couple of miles away they had shuttles come thru every 20/30 minutes then carry all that thru the security check I'd pull my boots and belt off and put them in the scanner tray and my bag they always opened my bag like what think I got some explosives. Sometimes wonder how good the security is as lax has had a couple of shootings surprising with all the cops they have there too.

 

Another vote for a museum.

Gawd help us if it's made into a homeless shelter. First indoor cooking fire and woosh! Gone.