Biographical / Historical
In 1946, President Harry Truman signed a bill establishing the Smithsonian's National Air Museum to memorialize the development of aviation; collect, preserve, and display aeronautical equipment; and provide educational material for the study of aviation. The legislation did not provide for the construction of a new building, however, and the collection soon outgrew the Museum's exhibition space. Since there was no room left in the Arts and Industries Building or the "Tin Shed," World War II aircraft and other items such as engines and missiles were stored at an abandoned aircraft factory in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Park Ridge, IL (Orchard AFB; Orchard Place) Collection | Collection | search=s=0&n=10&t=K&q=*&i=0 | SOVA
Until the panic created by the Korean War forced the collection to move out and downsize. (Evidently they wanted to restart aircraft production again out of this factory, but never did.) I have always been fascinated by what was there at one time and what was lost to accommodate the vacate order. Along those lines I will be posting pictures (and other material) that I believe to have been taken there, when it was still used as overflow storage for the suddenly bursting Smithsonian aircraft collection. I invite you both post and comment, and maybe we can catch a fleeting glimpse of what once was and could have been if not for...
A plane that needs no introduction, the Horton Ho IX V3. With a set of wings attached, though I think I read somewhere that they were not for this particular aircraft. Can anyone confirm or correct? Anyway, not the background for both possible aircraft identification as well as the surrounding structure. This should be in the background of any picture you post.
In 1946, President Harry Truman signed a bill establishing the Smithsonian's National Air Museum to memorialize the development of aviation; collect, preserve, and display aeronautical equipment; and provide educational material for the study of aviation. The legislation did not provide for the construction of a new building, however, and the collection soon outgrew the Museum's exhibition space. Since there was no room left in the Arts and Industries Building or the "Tin Shed," World War II aircraft and other items such as engines and missiles were stored at an abandoned aircraft factory in Park Ridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.
Park Ridge, IL (Orchard AFB; Orchard Place) Collection | Collection | search=s=0&n=10&t=K&q=*&i=0 | SOVA
Until the panic created by the Korean War forced the collection to move out and downsize. (Evidently they wanted to restart aircraft production again out of this factory, but never did.) I have always been fascinated by what was there at one time and what was lost to accommodate the vacate order. Along those lines I will be posting pictures (and other material) that I believe to have been taken there, when it was still used as overflow storage for the suddenly bursting Smithsonian aircraft collection. I invite you both post and comment, and maybe we can catch a fleeting glimpse of what once was and could have been if not for...
A plane that needs no introduction, the Horton Ho IX V3. With a set of wings attached, though I think I read somewhere that they were not for this particular aircraft. Can anyone confirm or correct? Anyway, not the background for both possible aircraft identification as well as the surrounding structure. This should be in the background of any picture you post.
