As more and more aircraft were restored and the Planes of Fame collection grew, an additional display facility was opened in Valle, Arizona in 1995. Located halfway between Williams, Arizona and the south rim of the Grand Canyon, this facility houses over 40 of the Museum’s aircraft, many of which are also flyable. Our mission is to preserve aviation history, inspire interest in aviation, educate the public, and honor aviation pioneers and veterans. The Museum is dedicated to the preservation, perpetuation and exhibition of historical aircraft, and to the men and women, both famous and unknown, who devoted their lives to flight.
The Millville Airport was dedicated “America’s First Defense Airport” on August 2, 1941 by local, state, and federal officials. In less than a year, construction of military base facilities began, and in January 1943, the Millville Army Air Field opened as a gunnery school for fighter pilots. Gunnery training began with Curtiss P-40F “Warhawk” aircraft, but after a few weeks, the P-40s were gone, and the Republic P-47 “Thunderbolt” ruled the skies over Cumberland County. During its three year existence, thousands of soldiers and civilians served here, with about 1,500 pilots receiving advanced fighter training in the Thunderbolt.
Following the War, the airfield was declared excess to the governments needs, and returned to the City of Millville. Most of the airport buildings were converted to apartments for the many veterans returning from the war. The last of the apartments vanished in the early 1970s, and the airport soon became a hub of industry and aviation for Southern New Jersey.
The Silent Wings Museum, a public institution, preserves and promotes the history of the World War II military glider program by creating an environment for collecting, documenting, interpreting and exhibiting artifacts and information for public education and enjoyment.
