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Open: 10am - 4pm, Tuesday - Saturday

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Yanks Air Museum
Yanks Air Museum
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  • April 2026

  • Sat 11
    Easter at Yanks Air April 11, 2026

    EASTER CELEBRATION & Eggs-citing Egg-Hunt!

    Featured Saturday, April 11 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
    Yanks Air Museum 15121 Stearman Drive, Chino, United States

    TICKETS FOR 2026 EVENT WILL BE POSTED CLOSER TO THE EVENT DATE Looking for...

  • October 2026

  • Sat 24
    Halloween Hangar Trick or Treat event at Yanks Air Museum

    HAUNTED HANGAR TRICK OR TREAT at YANKS!

    Featured Saturday, October 24 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
    Yanks Air Museum 15121 Stearman Drive, Chino, United States

    TICKETS FOR 2026 WILL BE POSTED CLOSER TO THE EVENT DATE Join us for...

  • November 2026

  • Wed 11
    Veterans Day - FREE Admission to Veterans

    VETERANS DAY – Free Admission to Veterans

    Featured Wednesday, November 11 @ 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
    Yanks Air Museum 15121 Stearman Drive, Chino, United States

    For one day, we stand united in respect to veterans. FREE Admission to Veterans...

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The Convair/General Dynamics VC-131F Samaritan was The Convair/General Dynamics VC-131F Samaritan was the U.S. military's dedicated medical airlift platform, a militarized version of the Convair CV-240/340/440 family of commercial airliners. Featuring a strengthened fuselage floor, large cargo doors, and over 20 litter stations accommodating many medical patients plus attendants, it provided critical battlefield evacuation and VIP medical transport from 1957 through the mid-1970s.

Powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial piston engines driving Hamilton Standard four-blade propellers, the VC-131F offered reliable short-field performance with 4,000 shaft horsepower per engine. Its pressurized cabin—derived from the Convair 240/340 airliner—allowed the aircraft to transport passengers or medical patients comfortably at higher altitudes.

The Samaritan logged thousands of hours evacuating wounded from Vietnam and transporting patients between military airfields and medical facilities, often operating from forward airstrips under combat conditions. More than just a transport, it represented the Air Force's commitment to rapid casualty care, saving countless lives by bridging the gap between battlefield and hospital. 

Our aircraft was delivered on January 3, 1956, and initially assigned to BAR San Diego, California, where it served until 1960 before transferring to BAR Columbus, Ohio. In January 1961, it underwent conversion to VC-131F configuration at NAS Anacostia. From May 1962 until 1982, it operated out of NAF Andrews in Washington, D.C., including service as a Late 340/440 Admiral’s aircraft and as transportation for the Commander of the Naval Reserve, accumulating 12,322 flight hours. It was retired to MASDC at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, on August 18, 1982, before joining our collection in June 2004 and arriving at the museum on October 26, 2004.

📸 @paddybphotography
On March 7th 1945 the PV-3 prototype tandem helico On March 7th 1945 the PV-3 prototype tandem helicopter completed its first flight. The PV-3 was the first successful tandem-rotor helicopter and paved the way for other aircraft such as the Piasecki CH-21B Workhorse and the Boeing CH-47F Chinook.

Pictured is the PV-3 on its first flight, a CH-21B Workhorse, and a Boeing CH-47 Chinook.
In 1963, the U.S. Navy began searching for a repla In 1963, the U.S. Navy began searching for a replacement for the A-4 Skyhawk. Speed of development was critical, so Chance Vought proposed a simplified, more rugged derivative of its successful F-8 Crusader. The result was the A-7 Corsair II, an aircraft designed for range, payload, and precision rather than raw speed.

Though less complex than the F-8, the A-7 represented a major leap forward in strike capability. It could carry nearly every offensive weapon in the Navy’s inventory and deliver it accurately over long distances. Entering service during the height of the Vietnam War, the Corsair II quickly proved itself as a dependable and effective bombing platform. Its performance and versatility even led to adoption by the U.S. Air Force.

Affectionately nicknamed the “Short Little Ugly Fella,” the A-7 earned the respect of the crews who flew and maintained it.

Our A-7B, Bureau Number 154475, was delivered in January 1971 and assigned to VA-46 at NAS Cecil Field, deploying aboard the USS John F. Kennedy. It later served with VA-203 at NAS Jacksonville beginning in September 1977 and with VA-205 in Atlanta in July 1983. In June 1984, it was retired to storage at MASDC, Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.

📸 @paddybphotography
On March 5th 1936, Vickers-Supermarine’s Chief Tes On March 5th 1936, Vickers-Supermarine’s Chief Test Pilot, Captain Joseph “Mutt” Summers, lifted the prototype Type 300 into the air from Eastleigh Aerodrome at Southampton. The flight lasted only eight minutes, but it confirmed that Reginald J. Mitchell’s sleek new fighter possessed exceptional promise. Summers is widely credited with remarking afterward, “Don’t change a thing,” a concise endorsement of what would soon become the Supermarine Spitfire.

The Type 300 had been developed as a private venture to satisfy an Air Ministry requirement for a modern, high-speed monoplane interceptor. Drawing on Mitchell’s experience designing the Schneider Trophy–winning racing seaplanes, the aircraft featured a slim fuselage and distinctive elliptical wings that reduced drag while preserving structural strength. Powered on its first flights by an experimental Rolls-Royce Merlin C V-12 engine driving a two-bladed wooden propeller, the prototype demonstrated impressive speed and climb performance. Subsequent refinements, including improved exhaust arrangements, yielded additional thrust and higher top speeds.

Flight testing showed the aircraft to be stable, responsive, and well suited as a gun platform. Although K5054 suffered damage in later accidents and was ultimately lost in 1939, the Air Ministry had already ordered the Spitfire into production before the prototype ever flew. More than 20,000 examples would be built in numerous variants, and the Spitfire would become one of the most iconic and effective fighters of the Second World War. Summers himself went on to make the maiden flights of dozens of significant British aircraft, securing his place among the leading test pilots of his era.
On 4 March 1954, Lockheed test pilot Anthony W. “T On 4 March 1954, Lockheed test pilot Anthony W. “Tony” LeVier lifted the XF-104 Starfighter prototype off the runway at Edwards Air Force Base for the first time. The brief, roughly twenty-minute flight was conducted with the landing gear left down as a precaution, but it marked the debut of one of the most radical interceptor designs of the Cold War.

Conceived by Clarence L. “Kelly” Johnson and his Lockheed team, the XF-104 was built around the idea of extreme speed and climb performance. Its needle-like fuselage and exceptionally thin, short-span wings gave rise to the nickname “the missile with a man in it.” The prototype was powered not by the later General Electric J79, but by a Buick-built J65-B-3 turbojet, a licensed version of the British Sapphire, which provided enough thrust to begin exploring the aircraft’s high-speed envelope.

Two XF-104 prototypes were constructed, with 53-7786 serving as the primary flight test aircraft. Though early flights were cautious, the program quickly expanded the performance limits, and within a year, the aircraft was approaching Mach 1.8 at high altitude. The first prototype was ultimately lost in 1957 due to a catastrophic flutter failure, but the XF-104 had already paved the way for the production F-104 Starfighter, an interceptor that would go on to serve with the U.S. Air Force and numerous allied air arms around the world.
The SBD Dauntless was the U.S. Navy’s premier dive The SBD Dauntless was the U.S. Navy’s premier dive bomber in the early years of World War II. A modern low-wing monoplane with a multi-cellular wing design, it required no external bracing, giving it strength and aerodynamic efficiency. Because the wing could not fold, the aircraft was built compact enough for carrier operations. Its perforated dive brakes allowed for steep, controlled dives, and its 1,000-pound centerline bomb was mounted on a trapeze that swung the weapon clear of the propeller during release.

The Dauntless became the most successful U.S. Navy bomber of the war, sinking more Japanese shipping than any other Allied aircraft type. At the Battle of the Coral Sea, SBDs sank the carrier Shoho and damaged Shokaku, halting Japan’s advance toward Port Moresby. One month later, at the Battle of Midway, Dauntless crews sank four Japanese carriers in a decisive blow from which the Imperial Japanese Navy never fully recovered.

Our SBD-4 was delivered on September 21, 1942. It served at NAS Roosevelt and NAS Norfolk before joining VS-9 and VB-9 aboard the USS Essex in early 1943. The aircraft participated in operations over Marcus Island, Rabaul, Tarawa, the Gilbert Islands, Kwajalein, Truk, and Saipan before being stricken on March 30, 1944. After the war, it was used by MGM Studios as a wind machine before being acquired and restored in 1984.

📸 @paddybphotography

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  • Home
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