Castle Air Museum Foundation

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Castle Air Museum Foundation, Inc. Optimized for a screen resolution of 1024x768, using IE6+

Douglas built 2,960 Skyhawks between 1954 and 1979. Built small to be cost effective and so that more could be accommodated on a carrier, the lightweight, high-speed bombers were affectionately nicknamed "Heinemann's Hot Rod" (after Douglas designer Ed Heinemann), the Bantam Bomber, Mighty Mite and Scooter. Skyhawks provided the U.S. Navy and Marines and friendly nations with maneuverable, yet powerful, attack bombers that had great altitude and range capabilities, plus an unusual flexibility in armament capacity....... [read more]

When the closure of Castle Air Force Base was announced in 1994, a group of dedicated enthusiasts in the Atwater-Merced area formed a non-profit organization called the Castle Air Museum Foundation, Inc. Their purpose was to assume custody of the collection of aircraft. It was their dream to build a museum in which faithfully restored historic aircraft could be exhibited for public enjoyment.

Castle Air Museum represents history in a way the whole family can share with our awe-inspiring majestic warbirds. To stand under the wing of the Convair RB-36H Peacemaker or the Boeing B-52, you can imagine the sky around the bombers filled with enemy fighters!

The museum has been self-supporting since Castle AFB closed in 1995. Although most of our aircraft belong to the U.S. Air Force Museum, it does not provide any funds for maintenance and repair. Monies to operate the museum, maintain the aircraft and grounds and, hopefully, to add to the collection come from admissions, memberships, fund-raising events and donations. Contact us now and find out how to become a volunteer or a museum member. Since the Castle Air Museum is a non-profit organization, your tax-deductible contributions are also greatly appreciated.

Former Castle Air Museum curator, Dale Griffin, has just had a book published which highlights the History of Castle Air Force Base and the great units that served there.

Then there's the B-25 Mitchell, similar to the planes Jimmy Doolittle led off the carrier U.S.S. Hornet during this country's first desperate attempt to bomb Tokyo. The B-29 is here too... the bomber that ended World War II in the Pacific.

On the other end of the spectrum are the B-47 Stratojet and the British Avro Vulcan B.2... this nuclear bomber was the first of it's type to be put on display in the United States... and from our closest allie and northern neighbour Canada, comes the Avro Canada (A.V. Roe Canada, Ltd.) CF-100 Canuck Mk V... the first straight-winged aircraft to ever break the sound barrier!

The aircraft on display at Castle Air Museum are as much a part of America's heritage as Independence Hall and the Battlefield at Gettysburg, yet only a handful of these flying testimonials of our country's Air Force and Navy have survived decades of neglect and the salvage torch.

Castle Air Museum is launching a membership drive from October 1 to December 1. Join the Museum at the $60 Sustaining level or higher and get your name entered into a drawing to win a fabulous custom built SR-71 Blackbird model which will be personally autographed as shown in this photo below! Current members can have their name entered into the drawing for the model as well by upgrading their existing membership.