Silent Wings Museum

Silent Wings Museum, "The Legacy of The World War II Glider Pilots", is a museum in Lubbock, Texas.

History

In 1971, former pilots of the U.S. Army Air Force's Glider Program banded together to form the National World War II Glider Pilots Association, Inc. Their mission was to establish a forum for glider pilots to interact socially and provide the framework for the preservation of the history of the U.S. glider program.

One of its first goals was to locate and restor a WACO CG-4A (See CG-4 Hadrian) glider for public display. Several pilots in the Dallas area learned of just such a glider sitting on top of a tire store in Fresno, California. After World War II, the aircraft had been purchased as military surplus, placed on top of the building and used as advertising. In 1979 the glider was purchased, restored and completed in time for the reunion in Dallas. After the reunion steps were taken to build a museum to house the CG-4A.

The first Silent Wings Museum opened to the public on November 10,1984 in Terrell, Texas. By 1997, the need for a more permanent museum home was realized. Lubbock, where a majority of the pilots had trained, offered to provide a new site for the museum. The pilots selected Lubbock as the new location and the Terrell site closed in January 2001. The following October, the former South Plains Army Airfield site opened the new Silent Wings Museum with the restored CG-4A glider as the centerpiece of the exhibits.

Exhibits

The museum features a fifteen-minute program in its theatre entitled "Silent Wings: The Story of the World War II Glider Program." Visitors then move on to the Timeline, Hangar and Combat Galleries. Photographs and artifacts, including a fully restored WACO CG-4A glider, airborne equipment, and the living exhibit: the British Horsa Glider restoration project.

Education and Outreach

Silent Wings makes learing about history a hands-on experience with educational tours, footlocker loan kits and scavenger hunts. Tours can be scheduled and teaching materials can be reserved.

Silent Wings offers a variety of outreach programs and provides speakers that can tailor a program to fit a group's meeting.

The Adams Research Library is located within the Silent Wings Museum. It is home to an extensive archive and book collection about the WWII military glider program. Research appointments can be scheduled.