The Evansville Wartime Museum is a military museum located at the Evansville Regional Airport in Evansville, Indiana.
History Background During World War II, Evansville was the site of a Republic Aviation factory that built Republic P-47 Thunderbolts.
Plans to obtain an aircraft for display in the city began as early as 1986, when a former supervisor at the plant, Frank Whetsel, purchased the wreckage of a P-47D, serial number 42-8320, that had crashed in Lake Kerr in Florida and founded the P-47 Heritage Commission. The airplane arrived in Evansville the following February and was delivered to the University of Southern Indiana. The Commission attempted to raise money by holding a bingo game in 1991, but was accused of violating state gambling laws.
As a result of the commission's difficulties, a new group called the P-47 Foundation, led by Andy Easley, purchased the project from the commission. Following Frank's death in 1992, his son Jim took over the project with the intent of building a hangar in which to display the airplane. However, the airframe was destroyed on 18 March 1997 in a fire at the Franklin Industrial Center where it was being restored. Immediately following the fire, the foundation attempted to obtain an example from the Air Force Museum System, but was unsuccessful. It was also forced to return an engine that had been on loan.
Establishment Despite the loss of the P-47, the goal of representing the role of the city during World War II remained. As a result, in 2013 a project, the Freedom Heritage Museum, was announced. Established by Richard Litov and John Dunn, it planned to renovate a hangar at the Evansville Regional Airport. It was envisioned that the facility would complement LST-325 docked on the Ohio River in downtown Evansville. As part of the effort, the museum held a number of events the following year. The museum opened on 27 May 2017, shortly after changing its name to the Evansville Wartime Museum. The P-47 Foundation was finally able to acquire a P-47, Tarheel Tal, from the Lone Star Flight Museum in 2020. The airplane was repainted the following year as Hoosier Spirit II, to represent the first P-47 built in Indiana. Following an effort by the foundation, the P-47 was designated the official state aircraft of Indiana in 2021.
The museum was significantly damaged by a storm on 2 April 2024.
Exhibits The museum has a number of galleries focused on World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War as well as three flight simulators.
Collection Aircraft
Boeing N2S-1 Republic P-47D Thunderbolt
Ground vehicles
DUKW M4A4 Sherman
See also Indiana Military Museum – a military museum in nearby Vincennes, Indiana USS LST Ship Memorial Museum – a museum concentrating on Evansville's production of LSTs in Downtown Evansville
References Footnotes
Notes
Further reading
External links
Evansville P-47 Foundation