Wings & Wheels: Liberty Aviation Museum and Ohio Motorpool

The connection between historic military vehicles and vintage warbird aircraft is somewhat obvious, and it seems that it has not been uncommon for MV groups and aircraft museums to combine for shows or other activities. Such is the case in northern Ohio, on the Lake Erie shoreline, where the Liberty Aviation Museum has hosted the Ohio Motorpool March meeting for approximately 10 years.

The Liberty Aviation Museum is located at the Erie-Ottawa International Airport in Port Clinton, Ohio. The airport is significant in local aviation history in that Island Airlines based its fleet of Ford Tri-Motor aircraft there, serving the islands of Lake Erie, providing mail, provisions, transport, and even ambulance service for almost 50 years, from the 1930s until the 1980s.

The museum is a fascinating collection of aircraft, local history, military vehicles, and Americana, and a gem on the southern Lake Erie shoreline. It has an interesting history that dates back to 1991, when a small group of WWII aircraft enthusiasts organized to produce a show. By 1994, they had achieved that goal, generating a well received air show at the Erie-Ottawa International Airport, and in 1996 they announced their plans to build a museum on the grounds. With consideration of local aviation history, a hangar and museum along with a 1950s era themed diner were envisioned.

By that time, the group was already working to get a flyable Ford Tri-motor, and those efforts led to the establishment of the Tri-motor Heritage Foundation, and their ongoing 1929 Island Airlines Ford Tri-Motor 5-AT-40, (serial #13) restoration project. In 2010 they acquired a flyable WWII vintage B-25 Mitchell Bomber, and in 2011 they started construction of the permanent home for their museum, which opened to the public in July of 2012. In 2014 they opened their second hangar to house their expanding collection.

It seems that Ohio Motorpool March meetings at the museum started occurring about that time, and it has always proved to be an interesting day trip. Returning every year, I started to anticipate seeing whatever new surprise the evolving displays had to offer. The collection is vast and keeps expanding, but continues to be anchored by the long-term restoration of PT-728, a WWII Vosper PT boat built at Annapolis Yacht Yard in 1945. It was initially intended for Russian use, however the end of the war canceled its delivery. At some time before the museum acquired the boat, it had been modified to look like an Elco PT boat.

The initial restoration was completed several years ago, however, upon certification testing, an issue was detected that was later determined to involve the keel and stem. Undeterred, beyond the replacement of those major components, the group took the opportunity to rebuild it better, upgrading all of the ribs using mahogany wood. With this year’s visit, the number of old ribs remaining has dwindled, and the diagonal stringers were catching up to the rib construction.

The museum’s other major attraction, B-25J Mitchell “Georgie’s Girl”, was produced by North American Aviation at its Fairfax — Kansas City plant in 1945. It underwent comprehensive restoration work at Aero Trader in Chino, Calif. before making its debut at the museum grand opening in 2012. Not too long after this, the organization purchased a flyable 1928 Ford Tri-motor 5-AT from a museum in Oregon, which recently returned from a nine-year lease to the EAA in Oshkosh, Wis. In beautiful condition, it is expected to be providing rides to the public this summer. More recently, the Liberty acquired a 1945 Consolidated PBY-6A Catalina in 2022, and is still in the process of going through all of the systems and components.

There are still more aircraft to see at the museum, including a 1941 PT-17 Stearman Kaydet, WWII Grumman TBM-3 Avenger torpedo bomber, and even a custom built midget class pylon racer that competed in the 1949 Cleveland National Air Races. The big buzz in the aircraft section during this visit, however, was about the progress made on the Tri-motor Heritage Foundation 1929 Island Airlines Ford Tri-Motor. This year, we returned to find the airframe newly painted in its very striking Island Airlines colors.

Since its opening, the museum has always featured military vehicles in its collection. The displays comprise several WWII Jeeps, a couple M29 Weasels, an M3 halftrack with Israeli modifications, a cab-over WWII GMC deuce with shop body, and a half-ton Dodge ambulance. In the past few years, a couple more war-time Dodges have also joined the ranks, and we can’t forget about the small number of German WWII vehicles in the collection, including a Kubelwagen, Horch,and an Einheits Diesel truck. Lately, the most popular MV on site might be the WWII era M4A3E8 Sherman tank owned by the Lima Historical Society. The Sherman has been living at the museum for several years now.

The Liberty has also continued to expand into Americana, with a number of classic cars, travel trailers, fire engines, and even Barney Fife’s patrol car. Maybe the most interesting item in this area of the collection is a 1947 Flxible Bus that actually served as a mobile mooring mast and support vehicle for the famous Goodyear Blimp. Flxible Corporation built buses in nearby Loudonville, Ohio, and produced three for Goodyear, of which this is the only known to have survived. This very interesting vehicle is the result of a multi-year restoration, but still powered by its original 331-cid six-cylinder Reo “Super Mustang” engine driving through a four-speed non-synchronized manual transmission, with air-assisted manual steering.

The Liberty Aviation Museum hosts a number of events all summer long, including a military vehicle themed show on Sept. 7-8. It truly is a wonderful institution, with something interesting to see in literally every nook and cranny. Their desire and efforts to preserve artifacts from the past to offer future generations a glimpse of their heritage is commendable.

The Ohio Motorpool recognizes this and supports the museum’s work. The Liberty also realizes that the Ohio Motorpool and other MV hobbyists have a similar goal to preserve history, which is why this partnership, and others around the world are so beneficial and important. 

The Liberty Aviation Museum
3515 East State Road
Port Clinton, Ohio 43452
(419) 732 - 0234
www.libertyaviationmuseum.org/