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March Field Air Museum

Aviation museum in near Moreno Valley, California From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The March Field Air Museum is an aviation museum near Moreno Valley and Riverside, California, located at March Air Reserve Base.

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History

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Establishment

The museum was founded in 1979 as March Air Force Base Museum. One of the first exhibits at the museum was a collection of art painted by Hazel Olson.[1][2] It opened to the public on 19 December 1979 in the former base theater, Building 467.[3][4] Following the establishment of the March Field Museum Foundation in May 1980, it moved to a new location in Building 420 – the base's 26,000 sq ft (2,400 m2) former commissary – where it reopened on 20 February 1981.[5][6] That same year, a B-29 was flown to the museum.[7] By 1983 it had been renamed to the March Field Museum and had at least seven aircraft on display. As a smaller institution it was categorized as a "Class C" museum, but hoped to be promoted to "Class B" status and move to a location off base to attract more visitors.[8] By 1986, the museum's planes were dispersed between three different locations on the base and plans for a 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m2) building were made to bring them together.[9] At the start of 1987 a site on the west side of the runway along Interstate 215 had been selected and in July 1990 construction was approved.[10][11]

Move

Construction on a new 19,200 sq ft (1,780 m2) hangar on the 30-acre (120,000 m2) parcel began in April 1992.[12] It opened in the new location in 1993. Originally operated by the Air Force, the museum's operation was transferred to a nonprofit organization in 1996. In May 1999, the museum changed its name to the March Field Air Museum. In June of the following year the Dick Van Rennes Restoration Hangar was dedicated.[6]

By 2002, a replica P-38 under construction at the museum was over ninety percent complete.[13]

The museum's 120th aircraft, an F-16, was added to the collection on 3 October 2025.[14]

In October 2025, the president, Jamil Dada, fired the museum's collections manager, archivist and a restoration assistant. The director of collections and security supervisor subsequently resigned in protest. Dada claimed that the museum was having financial difficulties. This was disputed by the former director of collections, who stated that the museum had been solvent as of 2023.[15] It was alleged that the museum president and vice president announced plans to eliminate the museum's archives and sell aircraft from the collection at a volunteer meeting. The museum later issued a statement that it did not intend to do so.[16]

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Exhibits

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Indoor exhibits

Indoor displays include a timeline of March Field, a gallery about the Space Race, a display about strategic reconnaissance and a recreation of a World War II-era mural.[17][18] The P-38 National Association also operates the Tony LeVier Hangar south of the main hangar.[19]

Outdoor exhibits

  • A memorial to War dogs.[20]
  • The Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act, signed July 25, 2014, designated the memorial at the museum in honor of current and former members of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross as the Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial. The national memorial was dedicated on October 27, 2010.[21][22]
  • A memorial to NASA astronauts killed in the Challenger and Columbia disasters that uses a Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster.[23]
  • 15th Air Force Commemorative Wall. Dedicated in 1998, the 15th Air Force Commemorative Wall at March Field Air Museum pays tribute to the men and women who served in the 15th Air Force during World War II.[24]
  • Frank Zizzo Radio Room – An approximately 1,100 sq ft (100 m2) hut with over 100 radios operated by the Moreno Valley Amateur Radio Association.[17][25]
  • Firebase Romeo Charlie – A recreation of a Vietnam War firebase.[26]
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Aircraft on display

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Bell P-59A Airacomet
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North American B-25J Mitchell
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Vultee BT-13A Valiant
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Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress
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Events

The museum held an annual gala celebration.[131]

In the media

The March Field Air Museum was featured on an episode of Ghost Adventures in 2018. The team of paranormal investigators investigated paranormal claims of artifacts being thrown out of their glass cases by an unseen force while in the Main Hangar, voices of children who died with their mother from the flu when they lived on the property before the Restoration Hangar was built, and sounds of soldiers preparing for battle while in the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter display aircraft.[132]

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References

External links

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