PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A special project that began 10 years ago, when an FM-2 Wildcat fighter plane was recovered from its 68-year slumber on the bottom of Lake Michigan, has recently taken an exciting turn as the Air Zoo Restoration Team pushes ahead for a spring 2024 completion.
Through the efforts of the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, and the Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Center, a WWII FM-2 Wildcat will be restored and provided on long-term loan to the National Medal of Honor Museum, scheduled to open in Arlington, Texas, in the fall of 2024, for permanent display in its galleries.
The 1942 Navy fighter plane will be a centerpiece in the new museum’s Above & Beyond: Naval and Aviation Gallery.
Eight different WWII pilots earned the Medal of Honor while flying the Wildcat. No other single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft has more Medal of Honor actions associated with it than the Wildcat fighter. The M.O.H. recipients were Henry Elrod, Butch O’Hare, Joe Bauer, Jefferson DeBlanc, Joe Foss, Bob Galer, John Smith, and James Swett.
Once the aircraft is fully restored in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the Wildcat will be transported to the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas, where it will be placed on permanent display. The National Medal of Honor Museum is slated to open its doors to the public in late 2024.
Leaders from all three organizations will be at the Air Zoo’s Flight Discovery Center on Thursday, July 14th for their second planning meeting.
More information on the Wildcat restoration project can be found online at https://www.airzoo.org/
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