When the closure of Castle Air Force Base was announced in 1994, a group of dedicated enthusiasts in the Atwater-Merced area formed a non-profit organization called the Castle Air Museum Foundation, Inc. Their purpose was to assume custody of the collection of aircraft. It was their dream to build a museum in which faithfully restored historic aircraft could be exhibited for public enjoyment.
Castle Air Museum represents history in a way the whole family can share with our awe-inspiring majestic warbirds. To stand under the wing of the Convair RB-36H Peacemaker or the Boeing B-52, you can imagine the sky around the bombers filled with enemy fighters!
Then there's the B-25 Mitchell, similar to the planes Jimmy Doolittle led off the carrier U.S.S. Hornet during this country's first desperate attempt to bomb Tokyo. The B-29 is here too... the bomber that ended World War II in the Pacific.
On the other end of the spectrum are the B-47 Stratojet and the British Avro Vulcan B.2... this nuclear bomber was the first of it's type to be put on display in the United States... and from our closest allie and northern neighbour Canada, comes the Avro Canada (A.V. Roe Canada, Ltd.) CF-100 Canuck Mk V... the first straight-winged aircraft to ever break the sound barrier!
The aircraft on display at Castle Air Museum are as much a part of America's heritage as Independence Hall and the Battlefield at Gettysburg, yet only a handful of these flying testimonials of our country's Air Force and Navy have survived decades of neglect and the salvage torch.
The museum has been self-supporting since Castle AFB closed in 1995. Although most of our aircraft belong to the U.S. Air Force Museum, it does not provide any funds for maintenance and repair. Monies to operate the museum, maintain the aircraft and grounds and, hopefully, to add to the collection come from admissions, memberships, fund-raising events and donations. Contact us now and find out how to become a volunteer or a museum member. Since the Castle Air Museum is a non-profit organization, your tax-deductible contributions are also greatly appreciated.
The Vultee BT-13 Valiant was an important trainer of World War II. Almost every pilot in the Army Air Corps or the Navy in World War II trained in the Valiant. It was used in the second phase of flight training, then known as "basic training". After completion of basic training, cadets went on to advanced training in either single engine or twin engine trainers.
During the Second World War, Castle Air Force Base was known as Merced Army Air Field. Thousands of Aviation Cadets took their basic flight training there in BT-13s. They were as common a sight over the San Joaquin Valley as B-52s and KC-135s were in the 70's and...... [read more]
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Rosie the Riveter was most closely associated with a real woman, Rose Will Monroe, who was born in Pulaski County, Kentucky in 1920 and moved to Michigan during World War II.
She worked as a riveter at the Willow Run Aircraft Factory in Ypsilanti, Michigan, building B-29 and B-24 bombers for the U.S. Army Air Forces. Monroe was asked to star in a promotional film about the war effort at home, and was featured in a poster campaign. The song "Rosie the Riveter" by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb... [read more]
