Aircraft Museum seeks donations, invites visitors

DAV Magazine, Jan-Feb, 2002

Six miles east of downtown Pueblo, Colo., just off Highway 50 at the Pueblo Memorial Airport, is where you'll find the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum, a gem of an aircraft museum for military aircraft enthusiasts, and they need your help to make a great museum even better.

The museum is currently seeking military memorabilia from World War I to present day for public display in the new 30,000 square-foot aircraft hanger housing the museum. Items sought include, but are not limited to: uniforms, uniform badges and patches, photos, books and newspapers about units (to include logs, diaries, year-books, letters, unit and ship histories, etc.), vehicles, aircraft, radio and radar equipment, navigation equipment, Mae West life jackets, life rafts, flight clothing, and other aviation equipment.

Displays at the museum honor all U.S. and allied air forces, including U.S. Naval air operations. Displays also mark military development between World War I and World War II, as well as aeronautic advances in space flight. With 23 vintage military aircraft on display, the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum is the largest military aircraft museum in Colorado and among the largest in the country.

During World War II, the Pueblo Memorial Airport was the Pueblo Army Air Base. It served as an advanced training base for B-24 Liberator crews. Among the countless crews who trained at the base was motion picture screen legend Clark Gable, who trained as an aerial gunner.

The Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum is a nonprofit organization. Anyone interested in donating items or visiting the museum may contact Bill Pearce, Public Relations Director, Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum, 31001 Magnuson Ave., Pueblo, CO 81001. You may also telephone the museum at (719) 948-9219, fax (719) 948-2437, or e-mail w0mwo@yahoo.com.