Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum
The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum is a United States Marine Corps aviation museum currently located at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California. The museum contains exhibits and artifacts relating to the history and legacy of United States Marine Corps Aviation. The outdoor exhibits include 31 historical aircraft, multiple military vehicles and equipment. Indoor exhibits feature photographs, artifacts and artwork from the early days of aviation to the present. Overview. The Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum has the largest collection of historical aircraft flown by U.S. Marine Corps aviators in the world. Currently on display in  an outdoor setting are 31 aircraft from World War II to the present. Indoors there are 8 galleries displaying artwork, photographs, uniforms and artifacts from World War I to today. The museum has a 27,000 square foot restoration hangar. In 2021, the Marine Corps announced that it would be permanently closing the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum and transferring the aircraft to other museums. Subsequently, museum supporters began a campaign to move the museum to a new location. The Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation began discussions with the City of Irvine about a possible relocation of the museum to the former Marine  Corps Air Station El Toro, where it was founded in 1989. The museum would become part of a planned Cultural Terrace at the former air station, now renamed Orange County Great Park. In December, the museum announced that an agreement had been reached to move the aircraft to the abandoned Marine Aircraft Group 46 hangars in 2023. Collection. MCAS Miramar Post Exchange. The following items, being located away from the museum complex, are available only to visitors who have access to the post exchange.