Must See Museums

The National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, TX

The National Museum of the Pacific War

Of course it featurs a lot about a home town son, Adm Nimitz

 

My family and I lived across the street from the AF Museum while I was assigned to WPAFB, and it was a great place to take the oldest son on Saturdays. Great museum now with a lot more exhibits!

 

I would suggest visiting the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach CA (One of two of the largest and fastest troopships in the War) and it's great maritime museum aboard.

 

Airborne & Special Operations Museum, Fayetteville, NC

Le Memorial de Caen, Normandy

Steve W.

 

I thought about adding the Queen to my list, but it's been nearly thirty years since I was on board. It is where I'll stay on my next Calif visit (she's a hotel, and a museum).

 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Australian War Museum/Memorial... Its HUGE! Has many rare peices...Many of them are Australian centric obviously, like a Japanese Minisub or the last Australian Lancaster "G" for George. Most Australians are rightly proud of the place...tells the right story and exhaustively. Has many very cool "re-creations" of battle scenes etc etc....Can't help thinking we are a bit behind the times in terms of presentation....but well worth a visit for anyone coming to Australia...Its in Canberra...Probably the only reason you would want to visit the place.
PS: The National Museum of the Airforce looks like MY kind of museum!! Some beautiful exhibits! Crikey i'm jealous!

 

I'd love to see 'G-for-George' ; which reminds me of another gem of a Museum if you're in the Midlands of England....

The only place in the UK where you can ride in an Lancaster Bomber - Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre

Worth it for the atmosphere alone of seeing a Lancaster kept at a genuine Bomber Command WWII airfield.....

 

I forgot that the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry has the U-505. For anyone who wants to actually set foot on one of the "Unterseeboots", this is the place to do it.

I think there might be some other WW2 things to see in the Chicago area. Mom told me, when she was a teen (in WW2) she would go to Soldier Field to see the soldiers march. Now, it's where the Bears play.

 

I envy you Dauntless! I got to visit her and stay the night on board when I was ten on a family vacation. Greatest vacation ever. I just visited her a few weeks ago on a trip to see a Nascar race. The train was way late, and by the time we got there, the tour had closed for the day. I was happy enough though just taking photos. She's still a beautiful sight.

 

Mods and/or Adms: Can we make this a sticky???

 

USS Yorktown in Charleston, SC
Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum - Charleston Harbor, SC

Definitely agree about the Galveston sites. (Lone Star Flight Museum, Seawolf Park and USS Texas)


Not WW2, but have to recommend the National WWI Museum in Kansas City.
National World War I Museum - Home Page

 

I was once lucky enough to have a brother stationed at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington D.C. In my college days, I visited there, spending two weeks having dinner with his family while I saw Wash D.C. Things I saw in D.C.

The Capitol Building (tour)
The Lincoln Memorial
The Jefferson Memorial
Arlington Cemetery
The Air and Space Museum
The National Art Museum
The National Archives
The National Museum of Science and Industry
The F.B.I Tour
(the main Smithsoanian was closed for renovations)

 

The Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. is also a good visit.
Spy Museum

 

The ships to see:

USS Massachusetts Fall River, MA
http://www.battleshipcove.com/index.htm

USS North Carolina
Wilmington, N.C
http://www.battleshipnc.com/
USS New Jersey
100 Clinton Street, Camden, NJ
http://www.battleshipnewjersey.org/

USS Intrepid
New York City http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/
USS Texas (Near Houston)
http://www.usstexasbb35.com/
USS Lexington (Corpus Christi Texas)
http://www.usslexington.com/
Queen Mary (Los Angeles)
http://www.queenmary.com/Special-Packages.aspx
USS Midway (San Diego)
http://www.midway.org/

Hawaii-Pearl Harbor-USS Arizona & USS Missouri

 

If tank museums are your scene then may I recommend one to you ?

This one is in Israel at a place called Latrun and holds about 200 tanks of every shape and size.

I was there in May this year and made a report on wwtalk when I returned home.
The Museum of the Jewish Soldier in WW2 - World War 2 Talk

Ron

 

Quite excellent Ron !! Thank you for this gem.

 

Since I'm visiting Europe next year, I'll put down the museums I'm visiting whilst there;

*RAF Museum London
*Museum of The Battle of Normandy
*Musee Airborne, St. Mere Eglise
*Dead Man's Corner Museum
*Berlin Wall Museum

 

Please let me add Eben Emael in Belgium.....
​

 

As mentioned above, Battleship Cove in Fall River Massachusetts is a must see for any WW2 naval buff. For $15 you can explore the your hearts content 3 major WW2 ships, a destroyer (built in 1945), a sub (1943), the the huge battleship USS Massachusetts (1941). All are fully restored back to a WW2 configuration and have an amazing amount of the ships open. There are no tour guides so you can go where you want, take loads of photos, and spend as much time as you like. There are literally hundreds of places to explore, like the rear turret of the battleship is open by crawling up a hatch and going into the gun director and over to one of the gun mounts. Engine rooms, shell hoists, kitchens, machine shops, radio rooms, bridges, conning tower, Sonar, Radar, gun directors, torpedo rooms, 5 inch gun turrets, it just boggles the mind! And no lines, no waiting, photos allowed. There are also a Soviet missile corvette to go through (with little labels for running the ship stuck on next to the Cyrillic writing). Two fully restored PT boats, an Elco 80 footer and a Higgins 88 foot, plenty of artifact and history kiosks, and so much more. The best museum I have ever been in for sheer exploratory pleasure. Watch your head!
Battleship Cove, the world's largest historic naval ship exhibit.