Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum    Ernie Pyle WWII Museum    Five Points Fire Museum    Fort Wayne Firefighters Museum   Freeman Army Airfield Museum   Virgil "Gus" Grissom Memorial   Hoosier Air Museum    Indiana Military Museum    Indianapolis Fire Museum   McClain Military Museum    Military Honor Park and Museum   Museum of the Soldier    National Military History Center/Automotive and Carriage Museum   National Model Aviation Museum    Rolls-Royce Heritage Center, Allison Branch    Ropkey Armor Museum    Wayne County Historical Museum

Indiana Museums - Aviation, Military, Automotive and Fire

Freeman Army Airfield Museum
Seymour, IN
Date Visited:  1-28-2017

The Freeman Army Airfield Museum is located at the Freeman Municipal Airport on the south side off Seymour, IN.  I visited the museum when it first opened in 1995, and this was my first visit since then.  Since its opening, the museum has expanded significantly!  It now occupies two former WWII Link Trainer buildings.  While it is like many other museums around the country that tell the story of a former WWII airfield, the Freeman Field Museum is unique in that it is at the location of  the Air Material Commands Foreign Aircraft Evaluation Center.  For many WWII aviation enthusiasts, the Foreign Aircraft Evaluation Center is infamous for bulldozing and then burying many one-of-a-kind and rare WWII aircraft at Freeman Field.  Needless to say, this was not one of the US Army Air Force's more stellar moments.  The museum has half of a building dedicated to the few relics recovered over the years.  It is well worth the trip to view these artifacts. 

The original mission of Freeman Field was as an advanced trainer base.  From 1943-45, there were 250 AT-10 Wichitas located at the field. 

The Freeman Army Airfield Museum has very limited hours on Saturdays only, so one must plan  a visit accordingly.  Combining this museum with the Virgil Grissom Memorial/Museum in Mitchell, IN is recommended for an interesting day trip.

 
The main museum resides in one of the five original Link Trainer buildings still standing.

On display are several aircraft and AT-10 items including this windshield from a Wichita. 

There are literally hundreds of photos from WWII on the walls of the museum .   The museum has a collection of 323 WWII Freeman Field period photos that visitors can be purchase on CD for a reasonable price.

One of the many photos of foreign aircraft that were tested and then buried at Freeman Army Airfield. 

This room has models and photos of German aircraft brought to Freeman Field.

This room was not open in 1995 when I originally visited the museum.  It has many weapons, uniforms and other military artifacts of WWII on display.

This is the original flight planning map from base operation at Freeman Army Airfield.  A very nice display for the museum. 

This is one half of the annex dedicated to the items that have been exhumed during digs at the airport.  This room is what sets the Freeman Army Airfield Museum apart from other museums of its type.

The top blade is from center engine on a JU-52.  The wooden blade below it is from a Ju-88.  Wood was utilized for the JU-88 late in WWII, due to the shortage of aluminum.  In the middle is a blade from a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, while the next down is from a either a Breda Ba.65 or Ba.88.  Bottom is from a Hawker Typhoon.  Freeman Field evaluated foreign aircraft, which included those of our allies.  The president of the museum told me that the Typhoon blade is very rare, and someone had visited to measure this one in order to make a new one.

On the reverse side, the top three blades are from an M-109 and the bottom two from a Spitfire.

For aviation and WWII enthusiasts, the Freeman Army Airfield Museum is a location of significant interest.  It has much to offer that other museums don't.  I recommend a visit here.