It’s not often a city council votes to spend $88,000 of taxpayers’ money to purchase old military aircraft.
But for Foley city officials, the opportunity came on Sept. 3, and city officials are praising the purchase as part of an overall plan to highlight the recent designation as Alabama’s premiere World War II city.
The council spent the money to purchase a U.S. Navy biplane training aircraft as part of an evolving exhibit that has taken shape since Foley was named in January as the American World War II Heritage City for Alabama by the National Park Service.
“This is something that could be a real jewel for our city,” said Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich.
The plane’s purchase will also highlight the city’s relationship with Barin Field, which had more than 2,000 active-duty personnel while it served as a military base from 1942 to 1947. More than 5,000 aviation cadets were trained in Foley shortly after the 1940 U.S. Census show the city as tiny South Alabama town of around 850 people.
The field was opened on Dec. 5, 1942 – less than one year after the attack on Pearl Habor. It served as an auxiliary training center for the Pensacola Air Station.
Many of those aviators who trained at Barin Field went on to fight in the Pacific Theater, contributing to the Allied Victory. Barin Field is located east of the Foley Beach Express and outside the city’s incorporated boundaries.
“We want to have displays that really identify how Barin Field affected us as a city,” said Mike Thompson, the city’s administrator. “Many people who live in Foley today are here because their father or grandfather came here to learn to fly for the Navy, and after the war, they came back here and they made Foley their home.”
The plane is a 1941 N3N biplane and is one of several models that was used at Barin Field. The field is still operated by the Navy as an outlying landing field.
According to a city official’s review of similar planes for sale online, Foley might have gotten a bargain. A least two 1938 N3N-3 are listed between $175,000 to $185,000, according to online dealer sites provided by the city. A 1941 N3N-3 is going for $200,000 on another site.
The city doesn’t have a permanent plan for the plane, nor a timetable for its arrival. According to city spokesperson Guy Busby, the city is still developing a plan for the aircraft and it will be placed inside a secured storage area until those plans are complete.
He said plane will not be included in an exhibit at the Foley Railroad Museum on East Laurel Avenue. The city is planning to open an exhibit within the museum about Barin Field and the city during World War II later this year.
A permanent exhibition will include displays such as the N3N aircraft.
Hellmich also said that Foley is working with other institutions such as the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola to locate historic items that might be included in the upcoming exhibits.
Foley residents are also being encouraged to contribute to the planned exhibits. Anyone with items related to Barin Field or Foley during World War II can loan or donate artifacts to be included and photographs can be scanned and returned to the donors.
The museum displays are a way for Foley to recognize the distinction of being the sole Alabama city to receive the National Parks designation, calling it a “high honor.” Aside from Foley, nearby cities named as American World War II Heritage cities include Pensacola; Pascagoula, Miss.; and New Orleans – home to the National World War II Museum.
Contributions by a city to the World War II home front war effort include defense manufacturing, such as ships, aircraft, uniforms, and equipment; production of food and consumer items for Armed Forces and home consumption; volunteer participation; and civil defense preparedness.
The city already has some tributes to World War II, including a live oak tree that was planted by the Women’s Club of Foley in 1943, and a flagpole and stone marker that was dedicated after the war on July 4, 1946. The oak, flagpole and marker remain in Foley’s Heritage Park.
A World War II veterans memorial is at Max Griffin Park, and it has been expanded over the years to recognize veterans who served in later conflicts. The city also recently added two anti-tank guns acquired from the U.S. Army that are also displayed at Max Griffin Park.
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