Naval Air Station Wildwood Aviation Museum
Historic Hangar No. 1 holds aircraft and wartime training stories beside Cape May Airport.
Artwork inspired by John Marin
The enormous wooden hangar is not a neutral container. Built for naval aviation during World War II, it connects the aircraft on display to the crews who trained at Naval Air Station Wildwood. The museum uses planes, engines, artifacts, and hands-on exhibits to tell a broader story of flight and of the Cape May County airfield.
Some aircraft and exhibits change, so the permanent promise is the historic building and the questions it raises about training, technology, and risk. The hangar is not climate controlled: a summer visit can feel hot and a winter visit cold. Regular hours differ in January and February, and special events have separate arrangements. Give yourself time for both the airframes and the building’s own wartime history.
- Building
- World War II Hangar No. 1
- Airport
- Cape May
- Climate
- Hangar is unconditioned
Quick guide
- Read the hangar
- Notice how its timber structure served wartime aircraft.
- Look under a wing
- Pair an airframe with an engine or control exhibit.
Know before you go
- Start overhead
- The wood-built hangar is itself an artifact.
- Trace training
- Find how the wartime air station prepared crews.
- Compare machines
- Move from propeller aircraft to later technology.
- Dress for conditions
- The temperature inside follows the season.
Good to know
The hangar is not climate controlled, and the museum’s winter days are shorter than its March–December daily schedule. Do not assume a special-event aircraft lineup is present on an ordinary visit.
Notice these
- Historic Hangar No. 1
- Aircraft and engines
- Wartime training history