National Naval Aviation Museum

The National Naval Aviation Museum is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. It was formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum. Founded in 1962 and relocated to its current location in 1974, the museum has been closed to the public since 2019 and is only open to holders of US Defense Department identification cards.

Overview

The museum is dedicated to the history of naval aviation, including that of the United States Navy, US Marine Corps, and US Coast Guard. Its mission is to "select, collect, preserve, and display" appropriate memorabilia representative of US Naval Aviation's development, growth, and historic heritage. More than 150 aircraft and spacecraft are on display, including four former Blue Angels A-4 Skyhawks, the Curtiss NC-4 (the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic), US Coast Guard helicopters, biplanes, a K-47 Airship control gondola and tail fin, an aircraft in which President George H. W. Bush was trained, and the S-3 Viking, which transported President George W. Bush to the USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003. (see Navy One).These historic and one-of-a-kind aircraft are on display both inside the museum's 300,000 square feet (30,000 m2) exhibit space and outside on the museum's 37-acre (150,000 m2) grounds.

The museum also works with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM or NAVAIR) as the Navy's programme manager for nearly all other retired Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard aircraft on display aboard U.S. military installations in the United States or abroad, or in a variety of other museums or public displays. In the same way that U.S. Air Force aircraft on loan from the NMUSAF's collection remain under official USAF ownership, these other American-preserved naval aircraft remain the property of the Department of the Navy and are typically identified at these locations as "On Loan from the NMUSAF."

History

The museum opened on December 14, 1962, in a cramped 8,500-square-foot building built during WWII. In June 1963, it was dedicated. The current facility's construction began in November 1972. The Phase I portion of the project opened in November 1974 and was dedicated on April 13, 1975. Phase II was completed in 1980, and Phase III was completed in 1990.Hurricane Ivan damaged the museum and some of the aircraft on display outside in September 2004. The museum and other National Park attractions were closed to the public in 2019 after a gunman killed three people and injured eight more at the air station. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the museum was closed for seven months.

Museum officials were said to be planning to reopen the museum to the public in 2021.  Discussions about converting portions of existing roads to create a dedicated access corridor to the museum began in 2022.

Important Information for Visitors

The National Naval Aviation Museum is open to current Department of Defense (DoD) ID cardholders Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. NAS Pensacola is only accessible to those with a Department of Defense (DoD) ID card (active duty service members, retirees, and their families). For base access information for Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC) holders, please visit cnrse. cnic . navy.mil/Installations/NAS-Pensacola/. DoD ID card holders are permitted to accompany guests, but must remain with them at all times. We have set up a special visitor information line at 850-452-8450 to answer any questions you may have about visiting the museum. Make your reservation today!

History

Sunday: 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Monday 9AM–4PM

Tuesday 9AM–4PM

Wednesday 9AM–4PM

Thursday 9AM–4PM

Friday 9AM–4PM

Saturday 9AM–4PM