Story and photos by Scott Jankowski
Granite Falls Minnesota is located about 130 miles due West of the Twin Cities, with the Granite Falls Municipal Airport better known as Lenzen-Roe-Fagen Memorial Field situated 4 nautical miles from downtown. This single runway airport is home to the operations of Fagen Fighters and the Fagen Fighters World War II Museum which I had the opportunity to visit this past October. Granite Falls a city with a population of approximately 3,000 may be an odd location to find an operation like this, but this is Founder Ron Fagen’s hometown and also the headquarters for his heavy industrial construction company which is the 30th largest contractor in the United States. It is his love for aviation and because of his late father Raymond who was a D-Day Veteran that brought this amazing and unique museum to this small Minnesota city. Their operations and museum are centered around 4 hangers, a Trainer, Fighter, Bomber, and Navy Hanger. A 5th hanger is dedicated to maintenance, restoration and their warbird parts business. There is also a recreation of the 357th Fighter Groups Quonset Briefing Hut and Control Tower situated between the Fighter and Bomber Hangers.
We start our visit at the main entrance known as the Trainer Hanger which featured 6 aircraft and several vehicles, one of the unique facets of this museum is the fact that “If it has wheels on the ground, it drives or flies.” On display in this hanger is a 1918 built Curtis JN4-D Jenny, serial number 2975. This aircraft was manufactured out in Buffalo New York and is the only non-WWII aircraft, vehicle, or exhibit. The other bi-plane on display is a 1941 built Boeing A75N1 Kaydet/Stearman which served with the United States Army Air Force and carries serial number 41-8860. This primary trainer was manufactured at Hagerstown Maryland with the museum acquiring it in 2020. A 1943 built Fairchild PT-19A-FA Cornell was seen next, which carriers United States Army Air Force serial number 43-33687. This trainer was also manufactured at Hagerstown Maryland and has been part of the museum collection since 2000. The final aircraft on display is a 1941 built Ryan PT-22/ST-3KR Recruit, manufactured out in San Diego California. This aircraft also served with the United States Army Air Force and carriers serial number 41-15277 and have been part of the collection since 2012.
A pair of gliders will also be found in this hanger, one of which is a Laister Kauffman TG-4A which is the glider that trained the pilots of the larger and heavier Waco CG-4A Combat Glider. Also, on display is one of only 11 Waco CG-4A Gliders left in the world. The CG-4A on display originates from a World War II era airframe discovered at Minnesota based Villaume Industries. Villaume Industries was a subcontractor for the gliders actual manufacturer Northwestern Aeronautical Corporation based at the then Wold Chamberlin Field, the current location of the International Airport. Northwestern would produce 1,059 of the 14,000 produced, making them the second largest manufacturer behind the Ford Motor Company. The 5-year restoration project finished in 2012 and returned the glider to authentic specifications with 72,000 parts including original instrument panels, infantry seats, and landing gear. The CG-4A was used extensively in the Allied Invasion of France on June 6th, 1944 almost all of the gliders used that day were lost.
The Trainer Hanger also contains several vehicles that include a 1944 Harley Davidson WLA Type VII motorcycle, and a 1937 White Model 706 bus that was used to transport tourists around Yellowstone National Park.
Next, we moved on to the Fighter Hanger which is directly across the ramp from the Trainer Hanger and contained 5 aircraft. The first aircraft which is actually a trainer is a 1941 built Vultee Aircraft PT-13A Valiant, which flew with United States Army Air Force serial number 41-21386. This aircraft was used as a basic trainer in World War II and was acquired in 2012, it is also used to offer rides around the Granite Falls area.
The first fighter we encounter is a 1944 built Republic P-47D-30-RA Thunderbolt manufactured down in Evansville Indiana. The United States Army Air Force assigned serial number 44-32817 to this aircraft, and wears the colors of Minnesota native Lieutenant Duane Buholz who flew with 405th Fighter Group, 9th Air Force. Lieutenant Buholz would fly 72 missions and would be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with 9 Oak Leaf Clusters. The aircraft is named “Ski-U-Man” and is painted with a large Indian Chief’s Head on the fuselage. The original artwork was painted by Sergeant Eli Guiterrez who supposedly used a nickel as a reference having no idea how to draw an Indian Head. The name “Ski-U-Mah” name came from the rallying cry coined by John W. Armes and his roommate Win Sergent at the University of Minnesota. “Ski” pronounced “Sky” was a Sioux (Dakota Indian) battle cry for “Victory” Armes and Sergent added the U and Mah (to rhyme with Rha Rha Rha) as a team sheer in 1884. Fagen’s would acquire this aircraft in 2023 which is the same year it was painted in its current paint scheme.
Parked next to the beautifully restored P-47 is a 1944 built North American P-51D-NT, constructed down in Dallas Texas with United States Army Air Force serial number 44-63864. This P-51 which carriers the name “Twilight Tear” which is an actual World War II combat veteran being delivered to the 78th Fighter Group in 1945. Based at Duxford England and flown by Lieutenant Hubert “Bill” Davis was named after his favorite racehorse and is credited with 3 aerial kills including a ME-262 jet. This aircraft would go to serve with the Swedish and Israeli Air Forces before being meticulously resorted with the museum acquiring the aircraft in 2005.
Manufactured in 1942 by Curtiss Aircraft at Buffalo New York is a P-40K Warhawk assigned United States Army Air Force serial number 42-10083. This P-40 was actually delivered to the Soviet Air Force as part of the Defense Aid Program. The aircraft would sustain battle damage in 1944 and was never repaired. The Fagen’s would acquire the aircraft in 2003 and proceeded to restore and repaint the aircraft in the colors of the 11th Fighter Squadron, 343rd Fighter Group known as the “Aleutian Tigers” and tasked with protecting the Aleutian Island Chain from advancing Japanese Forces. The group was commanded by Lieutenant John “Jack” Chennault, son of the famous Commander of the Flying Tigers Claire Chennault. When it was time for the group to choose nose art, naturally a Tiger Head was chosen by John to honor his father.
The final aircraft in the Fighter Hanger is a 1944 built Lockheed P-38G-5-LO Lightning built at Burbank California, carried United States Army Air Force serial number 44-27231. This P-38 never saw combat but instead ended up in civilian hands and was used in air racing. The museum would take possession of the aircraft in 2004 and in 2015 would repaint it to represent “Scat III” a P-38 the legendary Robin Olds flew when he was with the 479th Fighter Group, 434th Fighter Squadron where he would become the group’s first Ace by shooting down 5 German enemy aircraft.
Other exhibits in the Fighter Hanger included a M4 Sherman Tank, one of the approximately 5,000 of the 5 crewmember tanks produced, this was the most widely used tank in World War II. Another very unique vehicle on display is the actual Willy’s MB Jeep that General Omar Bradley used when he arrived on Omaha Beach on June 7th, 1944.
On of the more moving exhibits commemorates the Allied Invasion of Normandy on June 6th, 1944. This exhibit uses actual sand from Utah Beach France and features 12 Bronze Statues of soldiers belonging to the 4th Infantry disembarking from a Higgins Boat onto Utah Beach on D-Day. Private Ray Fagen is the first man off the Higgins Boat and was one of 20,000 men and 1,700 vehicles landed in the 15th hour on landing day. Private Fagen would go on to earn three battle stars for his participation in the Normandy Invasion, the Liberation of Paris, and the Battle of the Bulge. It is because of Ray Fagen and his service that Fagen Fighters and the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum exist today.
The Bomber Hanger is next which contained 5 aircraft, 4 flyable and 1 full size replica. The first aircraft is another trainer in the from a 1943 Fairchild PT-26 Cornell which was manufactured at Hagerstown Maryland and carried Royal Canadian Air Force serial number FH-950. The museum would acquire this aircraft in 2010 and is also available for rides around the area. The next aircraft is a liaison aircraft, a 1944 built Stinson L-5B Sentinel which carried United States Army Air Force serial number 44-17184. This L-5B was built by Vultee Aircraft at Wayne Michigan, a total of 729 of the “B” model were built and were used for Aeromedical Evacuation missions. It featured a wider and deeper rear fuselage as well as a larger passenger door for loading stretcher patients. This aircraft was acquired by the museum in 2022 after 5 years of restoration work.
The next aircraft on display is a 1945 built North American B-25J-30-NC Mitchell, manufactured at Kansas City Kansas and carries United States Army Air Force serial number 44-86698. This B-25 never saw combat, instead it was converted into a TB-25J and delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1952. This B-25 would go on to serve as a fire bomber and was the last B-25 to be operated as such. The museum would acquire the aircraft in 2012, in 2013 its current artwork of “Paper Doll” was applied. “Paper Doll” was piloted by Lieutenant J.W. Yerger with the 321st Bombardment Group, 447th Bombardment Squadron and was based at Solenzara Corsica and flew 125 combat missions.
The final flyable aircraft in the Bomber Hanger is a 1942 built Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero, with serial number 3858. This Zero was delivered to the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Group Number 3 and was abandoned at the Babo Airfield in New Guinea when found many years later it was in very rough shape. After several years of restoration work this Zero would go on to star in the Hollywood movie “Pearl Harbor” the museum would acquire this rare aircraft in 2021.
Also on display is a full-size mockup of a Messerschmitt BF-109F-4 Trop (WK NR.8693). This replica is painted to represent German Luftwaffe Ace Hans- Joachim Marseilles who claimed 158 aerial victories, the majority during the North African Campaign. No other pilot would claim as many Allied aircraft as he did.
Also housed in the Bomber Hanger is perhaps the most poignant display in the entire museum. The focus of this exhibit is an 1899 manufactured original and untouched German boxcar which was used to transport people of the Jewish Faith, those that were considered “Undesirables” and Allied POWs to various types of camps and prisons. During World War II an estimated 4 million people were transported via rail, this preserved boxcar depicts Jewish People entering one side and Allied POW’s exiting the other. Diane Fagen provided the following quote which is on the museum website; “We decided to do this because we have a World War II Museum, which is not complete without this story. It was a terrible event that needs to be remembered so it doesn’t happen again. To us it means educating the future and keeping these stories alive.”
The Bomber hanger also features several other exhibits containing artifacts, artwork and vehicles, exhibits include rare artifacts from Colonel Jimmy Doolittle and Major Robin Olds. There are also several vehicles on display including a WC-55 Tank Buster among many others.
Moving on to the Navy Hanger where 3 aircraft were present, one of which was one of only two flyable Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldivers left in the world. This aircraft wears bureau number 83393 and was manufactured in 1945 at the Curtiss plant in Columbus Ohio. The Helldiver also known as the “The Big Tailed Beast” was built to replace the aging SBD Dauntless dive bomber. A total of 970 of this model would be built which features a bigger engine and greater fuel capacity. The United States Navy used this Helldiver as a training aircraft in 1945, and would crash land during a training mission and would be scrapped shortly afterwards. The Fagen family would purchase the wreck in 2006 and spent many years restoring this aircraft finishing it in July of 2024 when it made its debut at AirVenture Oshkosh 2024.
Parked next to the Helldiver is a 1946 manufactured Vought F4U-4 Corsair which was assigned Bureau Number 97388 and built at Stratford Connecticut. It is probable that this Corsair did participate in the Korean War at the outset of the conflict before returning to the United States for Overhaul and maintenance. The aircraft would be operated by many different units until the Honduran Air Force would take possession of the aircraft through a trade in 1958. They would use this airframe as a source of spare parts before returning to the United States in 1978, in 1982 famed warbird owner Gerald “Gerry” Beck bought the airframe and would spend the next 16 years restoring it to airworthy condition. The aircraft would be operated for many years and upon the tragic and untimely death of Beck in 2007 the aircraft was pass on to the now defunct Wings of the North Air Museum in Eden Prairie Minnesota. The aircraft would find a more secure and permanent home when Cindy and Whitney Beck would load the Corsair to the Fagen Museum in 2023.
The final aircraft in the Navy Hanger is a 1945 built General Motors Eastern Aircraft Division FM-2 Wildcat which carriers Bureau Number 86774. This aircraft was manufactured at Baltimore Maryland and saw limited use with the United States Navy before being utilized in the movie Industry as a wind generator, it would be restored and put on display in 1957. The aircraft would pass through a few different owners before a more comprehensive restoration took place before the museum acquired the aircraft in 2015.
Just like the other hangers in the museum complex the Navy Hanger also have several vehicles and artifacts on display and include a Ford GPW, and a Clark Tug among many others.
The Restoration Hanger which is attached to the main building or Trainer Hanger had a pair of aircraft present at the time of my visit. One of which being a North American SNJ-4 Texan manufactured in 1943 and wears Bureau Number 27234. This armed version of the SNJ is named “Bundle Buggy” and represents a very small contingent of SNJ’s used by Marine Air Group 11 based at Turtle Bay Espiritu Santo in the South Pacific and used as a general squadron hack and for artillery spotting.
The other airframe undergoing restoration is a 14-combat mission veteran North American P-51D Mustang, serial number 44-72753 which rolled off the Inglewood California Production Line in 1944. This P-51 was assigned to the 355th Fighter Group and named June IV, flew 100 combat hours, and was credited 4 enemy aircraft destroyed. The airframe was purchased by Fagen Fighters a few years back with the goal of resorting it back to its original 1940’s condition.
Also present on the museum grounds is a replica of the 357th Fighter Group’s Quonset Hut Briefing Building and control tower as they were found in 1945 in Leiston Field United Kingdom. It is complete with a statue honoring 357th Fighter Group Triple Ace Colonel Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson who was credited with 161/4 victories.
The mission of the Fagen Fighters World War II Museum is to “Preserve the memory of the heroes of World War II, promote patriotism in today’s Americans, and inspire tomorrow’s leaders to study and apply history’s lessons.” The Fagen family opened the museum in 2012 and has been operated continuously by the family since day one. This is one of the finest museums I have ever visited, if you ever find yourself in the area, I definitely recommend a visit. Until next time, “Blue Skies To All! “
