Museum - War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico

Playing Cards have been around for a long time and for a time they held a large role in the military outside of killing time and providing entertainment. Bicycle Playing Card Co. is one of the most recognized brands in playing cards and one that has had the most affiliation with the military. During World War I, they produced decks of cards to match each branch of the U.S. armed forces and during the Second World War they produced two types of cards that not only supported ...the US Military but assisted Soldiers in the field. They later went on to develop a deck to be used during Vietnam. Escape Map Cards were produced by Bicycle in an attempt to assist both downed pilots and captured soldiers in escaping German forces. Decks were also distributed by the Red Cross through Special Christmas Parcels and since they were common, Nazi camp guards remained unsuspicious about the cards. When wet the cards could be peeled apart to reveal a map, once the cards were arranged into proper order the map could be properly read. These cards are credited with over 350 escape attempts with at least 30 of which were successful. Spotter Cards were made to educated both the public and military on aircraft designs. The cards were printed with silhouettes of aircrafts both allied and axis and contained the name of the aircraft it represented. They were named accordingly in order to allow soldiers to spot the various types of incoming planes and identify if they were friend or foe. Ace of Spades Deck was created at the behest of two Lieutenants in the Army as the design of the Ace of Spades was regarded as a superstitious symbol. In 1966 they were created as a method of psychological warfare against the Viet Cong. This eventually led to multiple soldiers placing the card on their helmet using a helmet band over their camo cover. As the holidays quickly approach us, feel free to browse our selection of playing cards inside the gift shop. We do have two styles of Replica Spotter Cards as well as other designs. *Now in Stock we have 2021 Calendars with photographs of some of our most popular aircrafts, and our very own War Eagles Air Museum: Museum Collection book. WEAM Museum Collections 19.95 Calendar 11.95 Bicycle Spotter Cards 12.00 War Planes and World War II 9.95 All Other Playing Cards 8.95

We are open this weekend & have plenty of space for social distancing Face masks are required for entry. #wareaglesairmuseum #newmexicotrue #aviation #history

Repost* We apologize, the previous post on this was deleted and we had to retype it to put it up again. Today’s spotlight shines on our The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch (Stork). These were used as German Liaison Aircrafts that were built by Fieseler before, during and in some cases after the Second World War (in Russia, France, Czechoslovakia and Romania). In 1935, the German Reich Aviation Ministry invited designs for a new liaison/forward air controller aircraft, and the Fiesel...er Storch (Stork) Fi-156 won, due to its incredible STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) characteristics. The Fi-156 was used to rescue Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from siege in the Alps, and was the last German aircraft to be shot down in the European theater of WWII. Its maximum speed was that of 109mph with a cruising speed of 87mph, it has excellent STOL performance and an incredibly low stall speed of 31mph. Our aircraft is dressed in German Colors particularly those of the Afrika Korps of Germany, with a Swastika over the palm tree located on the side of the aircraft. The Afrika Korps was a German expeditionary force that participated in the North African Campaign during WWII between 1941 and 1943.

Happy to announce we are open again starting tomorrow, 10am-4pm, Wednesday through Sunday! All the Covid protocol still applies, of course; masks and five persons max per group, but we are OPEN! Come on over and say hello!

This gorgeous Consolidated PBY Catalina landing at Dona Ana County International Jetport this afternoon at 4:30.

Greetings, Friends of the Museum! We are open today, 10am - 4pm. The weather is great, come on by. Today's spotlight is the Boeing Stearman PT-17 Kaydet, a true poster child for military trainer aircraft. Stop by and take a look at ours- For many years, War Eagles Air Museum’s World War II era training aircraft collection included the Vultee BT-13B Valiant basic trainer and a North American AT-6 Texan advanced trainer. The Boeing/Stearman PT-17 Kaydet, an aircraft in which ne...arly all U.S. military pilots got their first taste of flight was absent from the museum’s lineup. On January 4, 2004, the Museum filled in that missing piece with the acquisition of a 1943 Boeing/Stearman PT-17 primary trainer from a local El Paso owner. Unfortunately, the aircraft records are incomplete and little is known about its background though it is a former crop duster. See more

Congratulations to all that made this possible! You're all RockStars!

There's some odd things going on around the museum. Either Halloween is coming up or we finally found a couple of our missing volunteers...

Do you remember this? February 2015. So much fun!

The severe drought in our area has made the desert around the museum even drier than normal & all the wildlife are very, very thirsty.....

War Eagles has so much memorabilia to study in addition to the warbirds. Here you’ll see a porcelain hand grenade produced by the Japanese when they ran out of raw material. Very rare find. Interesting story.

Today’s post from War Eagles

INCOMING AIRCRAFT Good morning all. The museum is closed today, but Chris from the CAF advises he will be stopping for fuel at KDNA at about 11:00 to 11:30 today - TUESDAY - 9/29/2020. Come out and greet if you are able. Safe travels Chris!

Happy Monday, hope all of your football and baseball teams won over the weekend! The Museum is closed today and tomorrow, but open this week Wednesday through Sunday 10am-4pm. Please stop by! Today's spotlight is on our Canadian built Lockheed T-33A Silver Star, venerable trainer of jet pilots during the 1950s and 1960s: Lockheed (Canadair) T-33A (CL-30) Silver Star 3... In 1943, based upon Great Britain’s efforts to produce a jet fighter, the US Army Air Corps leaned on Lockheed for a competitive design. The resulting XP-80 prototype flew in January 1944. The army ordered 5000 P-80 (re-designated F-80 after the USAF was formed) Shooting Stars in the waning days of WWII. The T-33A Silver Star trainer was built to support distribution of the F-80 worldwide, including 656 aircraft under license by Canadair. The museum’s T-33A Silver Star 3 was built and delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force in May 1957. In 1970 it was sold as surplus to a Canadian firm, then to a US drone company in 1977, and purchased by founder John MacGuire in 1984. Technical Specifications: Length: 37’ 8 Wingspan: 42’ 5 Empty Weight: 8440 pounds Max Weight: 16,800 pounds Max Speed: (570 mph) Cruise Speed: (470 mph) Ceiling: 47,000 feet Range: 1275 miles Powerplant: Rolls Royce Nene 10 5100-pound-thrust turbojet engine

Currently tracking another beautiful Sunday at the museum. We are open today until 4pm. #newmexicotrue #airportlife #aviation #history Face masks are mandatory.

There is an annual event that the War Eagles Air Museum is proud to support, Wreaths Across America, locally sponsored by the El Paso Aviation Association. Last year they placed about 6000 wreaths on veteran's graves at Fort Bliss National Cemetery during the holidays. Please review the attached photos for information and give Didi Shaffer a call at 915-207-2231 or [email protected] The Museum participates each year and hopes you will too.

Hi Folks, Today's spotlight is on our 1956 Cadillac Sedan. Beautiful car!

Thank Goodness its Friday! Hope you have a great weekend. The Museum is open this weekend, 10am-4pm, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Today's spotlight is on our 1975 Lincoln Continental, what a great CruiseMobile it is. Too big, long and wide for today's "compact" parking spots, and boasting a 460 cubic inch V-8 engine to move it quickly about, they just don't make them like this anymore. Probably never will. Stop by and check it out, along with another fifty vehicles and 38 aircraft on display. Y'all take care!

https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=Fub2McUgvyB Good Morning, Folks. Here is something that is a pretty big deal. Our good friend Timo at 3D Casa (3d-casa.com) has created a virtual tour of the museum that is the nicest 3D tour I've seen. This is a great substitute for our friends in Australia, Europe, and local friends who are still nervous about covid. We are still open Wednesday thru Sunday, 10am-4pm, and have a huge hangar that allows separation. But if you can't come see u...s, here is a fun way to visit. Like businesses everywhere, the museum has suffered the virus through closures and reduced visitor counts. We still depend on visitors, memberships and donations to keep the doors open, but you can still "visit" the Museum for free through this excellent tour. Please click on the link at the top and enjoy! Thanks, Timo!

Good morning. Be safe out there folks. State operated museums are closed in New Mexico. War Eagles though, is indeed open. Bring your mask. We have 64,000 square feet to practice our new found art of social distancing. Thanks to Buck McMille and family and congratulations on becoming our newest Benefactor Member.

Good Morning, Happy Sunday. The museum is open today, 10am-4pm, come on by this afternoon and check it out. A couple days ago we had a great visit by Chris and his Grumman Wildcat, you can see the videos in this group. Today's spotlight is on the Museum's big brother to the Wildcat; our Grumman/General Motors TBM-3E Avenger! Designed in 1939, the Grumman TBM-3E Avenger served with distinction in WWII with the US Navy and Marine Corps. It was the heaviest carrier-based aircraf...t of its time. Grumman Aircraft and General Motors built almost 10,000 TBM Avenger variants. In spite of ineffective torpedoes, this aircraft performed admirably during the Navy’s island hopping advances across the Pacific theater. The museum’s TBM-3E Avenger was built in February 1945, and served stateside before being sold as surplus in 1956. It was purchased by WEAM founder John MacGuire in 1988. Technical Specifications: Length: 40’ 11 Wingspan: 54’ 2 Empty Weight: 10,550 pounds Max Weight: 17,900 pounds Max Speed: 240 knots (275 mph) Cruise Speed: 130 knots (150 mph) Ceiling: 30,100 feet Range: 1000 miles Powerplant: 1 ea) Wright R-2600-20 1900-horsepower 14-cylinder radial piston engine

Good Morning, Friends of the Museum! Today is Wednesday; our Monday at the Museum because it is open for the next five days, Wed-Sun 10am-4pm. Some local schools are in session, some are out. The Museum is an incredible educational experience. The hangar is as big as a football field, plenty of room for safe social distancing. Today's spotlight is on our Women in Aviation display. While it primarily focuses on the WWII WASP program and post-war Ninety-Nines organization, women did then and now play a huge role in aviation. We were lucky enough to recently receive a donation from the estate of Norma Seiwert her tools and coveralls from when she worked for Northwest Airlines in Minneapolis during WWII. It's a fascinating story, and we will soon be adding it to this display. My bestest to you and yours. Hope to see you at the Museum-

Grumman Wildcat leaving KDNA 09-18-2020

Wildcat Arrives!

Good Morning, Friends of the Museum! We are open today and tomorrow, 10am-4pm. Hope you all have a great weekend. Here's a museum favorite, and one of those airplanes that the more you dig into its history, the more you want to research. From the engine, to the gull wing airframe design for carrier use (which was delayed), to the historic Marine Corps push through the Pacific, the movies and TV series, this is just a fascinating airplane. Here's the short version, but I encou...rage you to poke around online and learn more about it. Fun Fact: Due to it's unique blend of power and high drag capability, the Corsair was a better dive bomber (which it was never designed for) than other Navy dive bombers. Good stuff- Vought F4U-4 Corsair In 1938, the US Navy requested designs for a carrier-based fighter. Vought’s gull wing Model V-166B, using the most powerful aircraft engine at the time, won the contract. The first XF4U-1 flew in May 1940. Oil leaks, stall issues and visibility problems due to the long nose restricted carrier operations until April 1944, although land based Marine and Navy units deployed in September 1942 were very successful. The museum’s F4U-4 Corsair was built in May 1945 and saw combat in the Pacific Theater from the USS Intrepid, and in the Korean War in 1952-1953 from the USS Valley Forge. It was decommissioned in 1956 with 2,069 flight hours. Museum founder John MacGuire purchased the aircraft in 1980. Technical Specifications: Length: 33’ 8 Wingspan: 41’ Empty Weight: 9200 pounds Max Weight: 14,670 pounds Max Speed: 387 knots (446 mph) Cruise Speed: 195 knots (215 mph) Ceiling: 41,500 feet Range: 1500 miles Powerplant: 1 ea) Pratt & Whitney R-2800-18W Double Wasp, 2760-horsepower, radial engine

Beautiful start to the day! #newmexico #newmexicotrue #sunrise #TGIF #Aviation #history

Hello Friends of the Museum! We are open, the kids are off school this week, we have a 64,000 square foot hangar full of cool airplanes, cars and displays with plenty of social distancing. Come on down! We're open Wednesday thru Sunday 10am -4pm. Here are some highlights from my game cam in the t-hangars at Santa Teresa from last month. Here, kitty, kitty! Hope you enjoy!