Wrecked Convair F-102, 1979 Windsor Locks Tornado Damage

Situated in three hangars just north of Bradley International AIrport, of Windsor, CT, the New England Air Museum was established after the original collection then called the Bradley AIr Museum was churned up by a freak Connecticut tornado in October 1979. The once magnificent collection had been scattered in literally to the winds, so when the indoor facility was established, it would be able to shelter extraodinary rare planes no longer in existence.

A fifty five Ton C-133 flipped over by tornado, 1979.

This writer was on a soccer field some fifteen miles away when that black sky tornado touched down and destroyed what had been the finest collection of military aircraft in the eastern seaboard. Note this was well before the Smithsonian Institution opened their record setting National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Perhaps the plight of these destroyed classic aircraft was what helped push the NASM out of theory into record setting reality.

Wolrd War Two vintage B-17 in need of a nose job, post Windsor Locks Tornado

In any case the New England Air Museum has been in this location since 1981 and the crown jewel of the collection is a rebuilt B-29 called Jack's Hack. If the nose of this beauty looks familiar it is because Hollywood legend George Lucas used that part of this plane as the cockpit for his scifi craft the Millenium Falcon, as seen in a host of Star Wars movies. Imagine a hot rod mash up of a flying saucer grafted to a B-29 nose. That is what one sees in these blockbuster movies.

Boeing B-29 Super Fortress

Silly art work aside, this heavy bomber was a veteran of 19 missions over Japan

Han Solo? No, more like Thirty seconds over Tokyo, B-29 cockpit interior

World War Two vintage Republic P-47D Thunderbolt

North American F-100. First supersonic production aircraft in the world

 Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. First Mach 2 production aircraft. Great interceptor. Dangerous at low level

 McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom. Twin engined monster made it ugly but rugged. Fast at Mach 2.5

Vietnam Era Bell UH-1B "Huey"

New England Air Museum 

36 Perimeter Rd.,
Windsor Locks, CT,
860-623-3305
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