Bombers and torpedo planes will be the stars of the latest expansion of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, and visitors will be able to get close-up views of the warplanes on elevated catwalks. Construction of the new $35 million exhibit was formally announced today. One of Boeing Co.’s most famous World War II aircraft, the B-17G Flying Fortress heavy bomber, will be a centerpiece of the new exhibit. The new museum wing will be called the U.S. Freedom Pavilion: Land, Sea and Air. “This will be our largest building and a wonderful new chapter on the story of the war,” says Gordon Mueller, the museum’s president and CEO. The pavilion will be financed by a $20 million grant through the Department of Defense and a $15 million gift from Boeing. It will have 30,000 square feet of exhibit space—about half of the current space—and is scheduled to open early in 2012.
World War II Museum plans $35 million expansion
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