National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force

The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force is a non-profit organization with a museum facility located in Pooler, Georgia, in the western suburbs of Savannah. It educates visitors through the use of exhibits, artifacts, archival materials, and stories, most of which are dedicated to the history of the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Corps that served in the European Theatre during World War II.

National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force

Location within Georgia Show map of Georgia National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force (the United States) Show map of the United States
Established	14 May 1996
Location	175 Bourne Avenue Pooler, Georgia
Coordinates	32°06′56″N 81°14′12″W
Type	Aviation museum
Founder	Major General Lewis E. Lyle
President	Scott Loehr
Website	mightyeighth.org

Among the many World War II exhibits are aircraft including a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber that can be viewed while being restored, a model of a Messerschmitt Bf 109G fighter, and a 3/4-scale model of a P-51 Mustang fighter. Aircraft on display outside include the B-47 Stratojet, MiG-17, and F-4 Phantom II from the post-WWII Cold War era.

History

Planning for a museum dedicated to the Eighth Air Force began in 1983. Thirteen years later, on 14 May 1996, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum opened to the public.^[1]

A 2003 statute named the museum as the official State of Georgia center for character education.^[2] The museum received a B-17 project from the National Air and Space Museum in January 2009.^[3] In February 2011, a fire truck that was used at Hunter Army Airfield during World War II was donated to the museum.^[4]

The museum changed its name to the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force in March 2013.^[5][a]

The museum broke ground on a 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m²) expansion in February 2024.^[7]

Areas

• Major General Lewis E. Lyle Rotunda
• Colonial Group, Inc. Art Gallery
• Miss Sophie's Restaurant
• Museum Gift Store
• Memorial Garden

Aircraft on display

• Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress^[8]
• Boeing NTB-47B Stratojet^[9][10]
• Boeing-Stearman N2S-3 Kaydet^{[9][failed verification]}
• McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II^[9]
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17^[9]

Photos

• 
  F-4 Phantom II in front of the museum
• 
  MiG-17 in front of the museum
• 
  Boeing B-47
• 
  B-17 being restored
• 
  Tail of B-17 being restored
• 
  B-17 tail view
• 
  B-24 nose art
• 
  The B-47 before being repainted
• 
  Strategic Air Command logo on the B-47

See also

• List of aerospace museums