One Of The Many Treasures Of The Evergreen Air Museum
The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum contains innumerable treasures. In addition to being the home of the infamous 'Spruce Goose,' the airplane and helicopter exhibits and the artifact, research library and archive collections form the core of the Museum, yet there is a sense in which they are really only secondary, supportive tools to their mission.
Museum personnel note that, "The aircraft, stories and artifacts are up-close and personal examples of human achievements that have brought us to this current place in history. We strive to create an environment that not only teaches children, youth and adults about the great milestones in the story of aviation, but also demonstrates the importance of other human skills like mathematics, teamwork, determination, perseverance, science and technology."
One of the aforementioned treasures is a spectacular de Havilland D.H.-4. This aircraft was a British-designed World War I observation and bombing plane. When the United States entered the war in April 1917, it had no tested warplane designs of its own so it built nearly 5,000 de Havillands under license. The D.H.-4 was the only American-made airplane used in combat by the United States during World War I.
This D.H.-4M still carries an Airworthiness Certificate! Built in 1918, this aircraft was one of 180 D.H.-4s modernized by the Boeing Aircraft Company in 1923 for mail hauling service. The aircraft later worked in the movies appearing in Men With Wings (1938) and The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955). It also appeared in Spirit of St. Louis starring James Stewart as Charles Lindbergh, who flew the same type of aircraft for early United States mail transport.
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