• Source: Southern Museum of Flight

      • The Southern Museum of Flight is a civilian aviation museum Birmingham, Alabama. The facility features nearly 100 aircraft, as well as engines, models, artifacts, photographs, and paintings. In addition, the Southern Museum of Flight is home to the Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame, which presents Alabama Aviation History through collective biography.


      Overview


      The Lake Murray B-25C Mitchell bomber crashed in South Carolina during a 1943 training exercise. The right engine was torn off during the crash but the crew was able to escape unharmed before it sank to a depth of 150 feet (46m). The aircraft became a dive site for local technical divers until it was raised from the depths of the lake in September 2005. Dr. Bob Seigler who spearheaded the project, John Hodge and Dr. Bill Vartorella, formed the Lake Murray B-25 Rescue Project to salvage the aircraft from the bottom of Lake Murray. After recovery the remains of the aircraft were moved to the Southern Museum of Flight in Birmingham, Alabama for conservation and museum display. A video crew, including maritime video experts from Nautilus Productions, documented the recovery for the Mega Movers series on the History Channel.
      Featured on display is a diorama exhibit honoring Alabama's famed Tuskegee Airmen, as well as the Korean War Jets Exhibit and Vietnam War Helicopters Exhibit.
      The museum is currently on the grounds of the Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport but plans to reopen at the Grand River Technology Park.
      In 2017, the museum announced plans to move to the Barber Motorsports Park. In 2023, after delays, the museum stated that it was going to retain its original campus, although it would continue to move forward with plans for the new location as an expansion.


      Selected aircraft on display



      Military aircraft

      Civilian aircraft


      References




      = Notes

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      = Bibliography

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      External links



      Southern Museum of Flight website
      Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame website
      Lake Murray's B-25
      Lake Murray's Mitchell
      Podcast: Southern Museum of Flight
      B-25 Recovery and Preservation Project[usurped] Rubicon Foundation

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