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The Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum is an aviation museum located in Oak Harbor, Washington focused on the history of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
  Location within Washington (state) | |
| Established | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Location | Oak Harbor, Washington |
| Coordinates | 48.2881°N 122.6544°W |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Website | www |
Background
On September 22, 1998, a group of 14 World War II veterans and their wives met at the Chief Petty Officer Club at NAS Whidbey Island. There they decided to form an organization and the following year they established the PBY Memorial Association[1][2]
The group began an attempt to purchase a PBY in 2002, but it was eventually unsuccessful.[2] In the meantime, it began work on a documentary about the history of Oak Harbor.[3] The group changed its name to the PBY Memorial Foundation in 2003.[2]
Establishment
The PBY-Naval Air Museum opened in an abandoned gas station in 2004.[2][1]
Move to NAS Whidbey Island
The museum moved into Building 12 on NAS Whidbey Island in February 2008.[4][a] However, the site was less than ideal as security restrictions limited access.[6] In 2010, the museum was finally able to purchase a PBY and it was moved to the base that June.[7] However, plans to acquire a Douglas A-3 Skywarrior were cancelled in 2012.[8]
Move to Oak Harbor
After its lease with the base ended, the museum was forced to move to a 4,500 sq ft (420 m2) former furniture store in downtown Oak Harbor in 2014, where it opened on July 25.[8][9][2] The PBY was towed to a parking lot across the street from the new location in January 2015, where it opened to the public three months later[10][11] The following year it opened a display about navy hospital corpsmen.[12]
The museum began efforts to move what was possibly the last remaining Homoja Hut in 2018 after it was threatened by development.[13]
The museum changed its name to Pacific Northwest Naval Air Museum by June 2020.[14]
Construction on a new facility to house the PBY began in August 2023.[15]
The Gene Guthrie Memorial Library is located at the museum.[16]
Exhibits at the museum include two flight simulators and a nose turret from a PBY.[17] The organization also owns a scale model of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier that it takes to parades.[2]
The museum holds an annual community luncheon.[19]
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