Tornado Damages National Museum of U.S. Air Force’s Restoration Hangar

The storage hangar is one of three WWII-era structures located on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Thursday, February 29, 2024 at 02:33 PM ET

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The damaged facility—known as Restoration Hangar 4—is one of three historic buildings in Area B of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. [Credit: U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

An EF1 tornado damaged several buildings at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, including a historic World War II hangar belonging to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
The damaged facility, Restoration Hangar 4, lost sheet metal, and several aircraft and artifacts undergoing restoration sustained damage from flying debris.
The affected hangar holds significant historical value, having been used to modify B-29s for the atomic mission during WWII.
While other base buildings and some residential roofs were damaged, the public areas of the museum were unaffected, and base officials are assessing damage and focusing on safety.

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A historic World War II hangar belonging to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and several other buildings at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, were damaged by a tornado, according to the U.S. Air Force.

The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed that around 4:37 a.m. EST, an EF1 tornado first developed in Montgomery County, south of the air base near Dayton. In neighboring Greene County, where Wright-Patterson AFB is located, high winds ripped sheet metal off the hangar used by the museum for restoration.