VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — I recently visited the Military Aviation Museum to check out a piece of military history with roots in Virginia Beach.
"It's one of the smaller airplanes in the collection. But that's by no means a reflection on the impressive record that the Wildcat had during the war," said Keegan Chetwynd, the director of the Military Aviation Museum.
The FM2 Wildcat was America's principal carrier-based fighter at the start of World War II.
"This is basically the F-18 of the day, the Navy's frontline fighter," Chetwynd added.
Even though this airplane was built in New Jersey, it does have a direct connection to Virginia Beach.
Chetwynd told me, "What's particularly interesting about this one is it was actually stationed in Pungo in 1945. So there was extensive training infrastructure here in the Virginia Beach area that prepared units to deploy for combat as part of what were called composite groups - where bombers and fighters were paired up and put on special, smaller aircraft carriers that were designed for hunting and killing German submarines or escorting convoys."
When you visit the Military Aviation Museum, you’ll notice the Wildcat’s wings are folded up, just as they would onboard an aircraft carrier.
"We feel like having this airplane here, and more importantly, still flying, it gives people a chance to kind of hear that sound in the skies over Pungo once again," said Chetwynd.
The Military Aviation Museum is located on Princess Anne Road in the Pungo section of Virginia Beach. For more information on museum hours and admission, click here.
