In this week's blog, we will explore the B-25 that is on display on the Yorktown and how it is becoming a teaching tool that thousands of students will learn from each year.
A major goal for us as a museum is to become not only a fun and inspirational place to visit, but also educational. That learning begins with books that our education team writes, publishes and distributes to every 5th-grade classroom in the state. It continues when the students come to our museum on field trips. While aboard the Yorktown, students are taught about the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan, and how B-25's were used and launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet.
For many years, our B-25 sat lifeless, suspended from the ceiling in the Yorktown's hangar deck. That changed in 2017 when the plane was lowered and restoration work began.
The plane was last used for business travel decades ago, before arriving at Patriots Point, so much had to be done to change it into the same Mitchell model used by the "Doolittle Raiders" in 1942. When work is finished in October, students will be able to board the bomber immediately after learning about the raid and what it took to launch B-25s from the aircraft carrier Hornet. They'll walk up a ladder at the tail of the plane and exit through a hole on the left side.
A smaller detail that the museum hopes to enhance is the emblem on the nose of the plane. The current name “Furtle Turtle” will be replaced by a “Ruptured Duck” decal instead.
None of this would be possible without the talented staff members working daily on making sure the restorations and enhancements are done properly. They take such care in the work they’re doing to make sure every visitor gets the full impact of what these planes and pilots did.
