SEATTLE, May 14, 2015--The last active duty flight of this Navy electronic warfare Grumman EA-6B Prowler jet will be to The Museum of Flight on May 27, where it will be officially decommissioned and taken into the Museum's permanent collection. Immediately after the plane's 12:15 p.m. arrival, there will be a brief ceremony with Museum officials and Cmdr. Christopher C. Jason, the commanding officer of the plane's squadron, Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 134, located at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.
"The Prowler will be the first electronic warfare aircraft in the Museum's collection," said Curator Dan Hagedorn, "it is the missing piece that fills our story of modern military aviation. Prowlers have been used since the Vietnam War, and their capability to suppress enemy air defenses is still formidable. This plane will not only compliment our older military jets on exhibit, but speak for the current state-of-the-art as well."
On Saturday, May 30 at 2 p.m., there will be a public program in the Museum about the Prowler.
After 45 years in service, the Navy is in the process of retiring all of its Grumman Prowlers and replacing them with new Boeing EA-18G Growlers. The last Navy Prowler flight will be next month at VAQ-134 on Whidbey Island.
Grumman EA-6B Prowler Program on Saturday, May 30
On May 30 at 2 p.m., in celebration of the Museum's EA-6B Prowler arrival, there will be a public program with Navy officials and the Museum's Curator, Dan Hagedorn. The program will look at the Prowler and its history with both the Navy at large, and with the Puget Sound region in particular. The program will be in the Allen Theater, and is free with admission to the Museum. The aircraft will be on free display in the Museum's parking lot all day.
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Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015, the independent, non-profit Museum of Flight is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, serving more than 560,000 visitors annually. The Museum's collection includes more than 160 historically significant airplanes and spacecraft, from the first fighter plane (1914) to today's 787 Dreamliner. Attractions also include the original Boeing Company factory, and the world's only full-scale NASA Space Shuttle Trainer. The Museum's aviation and space library and archives are the largest on the West Coast. More than 150,000 individuals are served annually by the Museum's on-site and outreach educational programs. The Museum of Flight is accredited by the American Association of Museums, and is an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.
The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, Exit 158 off Interstate 5 on Boeing Field halfway between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $20 for adults, $17 for seniors 65 and older, $17 for active military, $12 for youth 5 to 17, and free for children under 5. Group rates are available. Admission on the first Thursday of the month is free from 5 to 9 p.m. courtesy of Wells Fargo. McCormick & Schmick's Wings Café is on site. For general Museum information, please call 206-764-5720 or visit www.museumofflight.org
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