The Collings Foundation is a private non-profit educational foundation located in

Stow, Massachusetts Stow is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located west of Boston, in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts. The population was 7,174 at the 2020 United States Census. Stow was officially incorporated in 1683 ...

, with a mission dedicated to the preservation and public display of transportation-related history, namely automobile and aviation history. The Collings Foundation is headquartered at a small private airfield in Stow that includes a small museum that opens for special events and pre-scheduled tour groups. The

American Heritage Museum The American Heritage Museum is a military history museum located on the grounds of the Collings Foundation in the town of Stow, Massachusetts, west of Boston. The collection consists of over 100 artifacts, most of which were formerly part of ...

, a collection of military vehicles, is located on the grounds of the foundation. The organization also has a satellite operations base at

Ellington Field Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base is a joint installation shared by various active component and reserve component military units, as well as aircraft flight operations of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) under the aegis ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, primarily housing its

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

jet aircraft and helicopter collection. The Collings Foundation operates two touring collections of historic military aircraft: The Wings of Freedom Tour and The Vietnam Memorial Flight. The Wings of Freedom flights also provided a platform for testing a smartphone-based

automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast Automatic may refer to: Music Bands * Automatic (band), Australian rock band * Automatic (American band), American rock band * The Automatic, a Welsh alternative rock band Albums * ''Automatic'' (Jack Bruce album), a 1983 electronic rock ...

(ADS-B), a means of future air safety technology. The Collings Foundation offered vintage

warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or th ...

rides to the general public in exchange for donations until permission for such flights was revoked by the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

following the fatal 2019 crash of the foundation's B-17G.

History

The organization was founded in 1979 by Robert F. Collings and Caroline Collings. , Caroline Collings continues to serve as financial director, while son Rob Collings is the CEO and chief pilot of the foundation. On July 4, 2013, the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation founded by

Jacques Littlefield Jacques Littlefield (November 21, 1949 – January 7, 2009) was the founder of the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation (MVTF), also called the Littlefield collection. Collection Jacques Littlefield collected many vintage military vehicles in ...

and located in

Portola Valley, California Portola Valley is a town in San Mateo County, California. Located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the Bay Area, Portola Valley is a small, wealthy community nestled on the eastern slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. History Portola Valle ...

, donated their entire collection of military vehicles to the Collings Foundation. A year later, the Collings Foundation auctioned off 120 of the vehicles to fund creation of a new museum at their headquarters. The remaining vehicles are now the centerpiece of the

. The organization's

B-17G Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

crashed in October, 2019, killing seven of the thirteen people on board. In March 2020, the organization's permission to carry passengers was revoked by the

(FAA), citing “notable maintenance discrepancies” and a failure to maintain a “a culture of safety” leading up to the crash.

Collection

Aircraft collection

Airworthy aircraft

* Bell UH-1E Iroquois * Bleriot XI *

Boeing PT-17 Kaydet The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military Trainer (aircraft), trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing i ...

* Boeing PT-17 Kaydet * Cessna UC-78 Bobcat *

Consolidated B-24J Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

''"Witchcraft"'' * Curtiss Headless Pusher *

Curtiss Model F The Curtiss Models F made up a family of early flying boats developed in the United States in the years leading up to World War I. Widely produced, Model Fs saw service with the United States Navy under the designations C-2 through C-5, later r ...

* Curtiss P-40B Tomahawk * Curtiss TP-40N Warhawk *

Douglas A-1E Skyraider The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ...

* Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk * Eastern FM-2 Wildcat * Eastern TBM-3E Avenger * Grumman F6F-3 Hellcat * Lockheed P-38L Lightning ''"Pudgy V"'' *

Lockheed T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...

McDonnell F-4D Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...

* Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe ''"White 1"'' – Reproduction * Morane-Saulnier MS.500 Criquet *

North American A-36 Mustang The North American A-36 (listed in some sources as "Apache" or "Invader", but generally called Mustang) was the ground-attack/dive bomber version of the North American P-51 Mustang, from which it could be distinguished by the presence of rectang ...

North American AT-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

* North American B-25J Mitchell ''"Tondelayo"'' * North American F-100F Super Sabre * North American TF-51D Mustang ''"Toulouse Nuts"'' * North American TP-51C Mustang ''"Betty Jane"'' * Supermarine Spitfire IX * Vought F4U-5NL Corsair * Waco UPF-7

Static aircraft

* Lockheed T-33 * Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-10 * Wright Model EX "

Vin Fiz Flyer The ''Vin Fiz Flyer'' was an early Wright Brothers Model EX pusher biplane that in 1911 became the first aircraft to fly coast-to-coast across the U.S., a journey that took almost three months. History The publisher William Randolph Hearst ha ...

" – Replica

Aircraft under restoration

* Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress ''44-83785'' * Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina *

Douglas A-26B Invader The Douglas A-26 Invader (designated B-26 between 1948 and 1965) is an American twin-engined light bomber and ground attack aircraft. Built by Douglas Aircraft Company during World War II, the Invader also saw service during several major ...

* Fairchild PT-19 * Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8 ''"White One"'', ''Werknummer'' 931 862 * Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D-9 ''"White Two"'' *

Grumman G-21 Goose The Grumman G-21 Goose is an amphibious flying boat designed by Grumman to serve as an eight-seat "commuter" aircraft for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman's first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, a ...

Nieuport 28 The Nieuport 28 C.1, a French biplane fighter aircraft flown during World War I, was built by Nieuport and designed by Gustave Delage. Owing its lineage to the successful line of sesquiplane fighters that included the Nieuport 17, the Nieu ...

* Piper L-4H Grasshopper 43-30426 ''"Rosie the Rocketer"'' (flown by then-Major Charles Carpenter in France, 1944).

Automobile collection

Brass era

*1901 Oldsmobile Curved Dash *1904 Franklin Type A Roadster *1906 Pope Waverly Electric Carriage, original un-restored *1906 Stanley Steamer Touring Car (20 hp) *1908 Cadillac Open Roadster Runabout *1913 Ford Model T Touring Car *1913 Mercer Speedster Raceabout (replica) *1914 Stutz Bearcat *1915 Buick Touring Car *1916 Chalmers Model 120 Sedan *1916 Chevrolet Baby Grand Touring *1916 Oldsmobile Model 44 Touring Car *1919 Willys-Sterns Knight Touring Car

Roaring 20s

*1921 Marmon Model 34 Speedster *1924 Ford Model T *1926 Chevrolet Woody Depot Hack

Classic era

*1927 Rolls-Royce Springfield Phantom 1 Phaeton *1928 Packard Model 533 Sedan *1928 Chrysler Model 72 Roadster *1928 Packard Phaeton *1928 Pierce Arrow Series 81 Limousine *1929 LaSalle Model 2H *1929 Pontiac Model F Cabriolet *1930 Cord Model L29 Convertible Coupe *1931 Studebaker President *1932 Duesenberg SJ Dual-Cowl Phaeton *1935 Packard Model 1208, Convertible Sedan *1936 Auburn Boat-Tail Speedster *1937 Cord Model 812 Phaeton

Celebrity cars

*1940 Cadillac Limousine V-16, owned by Al Capone, original un-restored

Indianapolis 500 cars

*1961 Trevis/Offy – Trevis team car, sister car to the 1961 winner. Ran Indy 1961–1964. *1972 Gurney Eagle/Turbo Offy – Leader card Spl. Team car. Ran Indy 1972–1974. *1979 Porsche Indy – The factory race car that smashed all track records before being banned. *1980 Penske PC-9/Cosworth DFX – Mario Andretti's Michigan 500 winner. Ran Indy. *1980, Qualified second with Mario Andretti. Also driven to victory by Rick Mears at the Copa Mexico 125. *1987 March/Buick – Rich Vogler's best Indy effort *1995 Lola/Ford XB – Michael Andretti's race winning car

Other race cars

*1996 Rilley & Scott MkIII/Ford winner of the 1997 Rolex 24 hours of Daytona *1990 Nissan 300ZX- Factory team car winner of the 24 hours of Daytona, 12 hours of Sebring and the Drivers and constructors championship *1993 Porsche RS America- Rolex 24 and Sebring 12 hour veteran, the first team car of Champion Porsche

Sprint cars: 1920s–WWII

*1932 Crager-Ford *1932 Gemsa Ford *1936 Thomas Spl. *1937 Offy 270 ci. *1937 Rutherford – winner of over 300 races! *1937 Ranger-Aircraft Engine *Drayer-Ford *Riley Four Port

Sprint cars: post WWII-1950s

*1950 Ford/Offy

Midget racers: 1930s-1950s

*1936 Sowers- a rare Offy derivative *Caruso-Offy 110 ci. supercharged by Maserati *Studebaker *Elto Outboard *Indian *(3) Ford V-8/60

Military vehicles

Source: * 1917 Vim "Camp Devens Express" * 1920 Ford Model T Ambulance * 1942 Ford Jeep, GPW Willys MB * 1943 White Motor Co. M-16 half-track * M1917 6 Ton tank (American version of the

Renault FT The Renault FT (frequently referred to in post-World War I literature as the FT-17, FT17, or similar) was a French light tank that was among the most revolutionary and influential tank designs in history. The FT was the first production tank to ...

) * Panzer I. A *

Panzer V The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with Sonderkraftfahrzeug, ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern Front (World War ...

"Panther" Ausf. A. Only running Panther in the USA * Mercedes G4 staff car * Vickers Mk. IV light tank *

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name) ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a tank Sherman may also refer to: Places United St ...

turret trainer * M3 Lee * Matilda MK.II tank *

Sd.Kfz. 10 The Sd.Kfz. 10 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug – special motorized vehicle) was a German half-track that saw widespread use in World War II. Its main role was as a prime mover for small towed guns, such as the 2 cm Flak 30, the 7.5 cm leIG, or the 3.7 ...

1-Ton – German half-track , Personnel Carrier/Prime Mover *

Leichter Panzerspähwagen The ''Leichter Panzerspähwagen'' (German: "light armoured reconnaissance vehicle") was a series of light four-wheel drive armoured cars produced by Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1944. Development history The Sd.Kfz. 221 was the first in a series o ...

Sd.Kfz. 222 armored scout car – Germany * BMW R75 motorcycle and side car * M3A1 scout car * M5A1 Stuart light tank *

VW Kübelwagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

Type 82 *

Schwimmwagen The Volkswagen ''Schwimmwagen'' (literally "swimming car") was a four-wheel drive amphibious vehicle, used extensively by German ground forces during the Second World War. The ''Schwimmwagen'' is the most-produced amphibious car in history. Pro ...

Type 166 *

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The C ...

/76 Tank *

Sd.Kfz. 251 The Sd.Kfz. 251 (''Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251'') half-track was a World War II German armored personnel carrier designed by the Hanomag company, based on its earlier, unarmored Sd.Kfz. 11 vehicle. The Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the ''Panz ...

/1 Ausf. D armored half-track *

Sd.Kfz. 2 The (german: Sonderkraftfahrzeug 2) is a half-track motorcycle with a single front wheel, better known as the (), shortened to (pl. ). It was used by the military of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Design The started its life as ...

Kleines Kettenkrad "track-cycle" * LCVP "Higgins Boat" * Cromwell I tank * Jagdpanzer 38t Hetzer *

M4A3E2 } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It w ...

Sherman "Jumbo" tank * M16 MGMC half track *

M8 Scott The 75 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M8 was a self-propelled howitzer vehicle of the United States in use during World War II. It was developed on the chassis of the M5 Stuart tank and was equipped with a M116 howitzer in an M7 mount. Developm ...

M22 Locust The M22 Locust, officially Light Tank (Airborne), M22, was an American-designed airborne light tank which was produced during World War II. The Locust began development in 1941 after the British War Office requested that the American government d ...

airborne tank *

M18 Hellcat The M18 Hellcat (officially designated the 76 mm Gun Motor Carriage M18 or M18 GMC) is a tank destroyer that was used by the United States Army in World War II and the Korean War. A top speed of up to was attained by keeping armor to a minim ...

tank destroyer * A34 Comet *

IS-2 The IS-2 (russian: ИС-2, sometimes romanized as JS-2The series name is an abbreviation of the name Joseph Stalin (russian: Иосиф Сталин); IS-2 is a direct transliteration of the Russian abbreviation, while JS-2 is an abbreviation of ...

Iosef Stalin *

SU-100 The SU-100 ('' Samokhodnaya Ustanovka'' 100) was a Soviet tank destroyer armed with the D-10S 100 mm anti-tank gun in a casemate superstructure. It was used extensively during the last year of World War II and saw service for many years af ...

* Sd.Kfz. 8 12 ton German half-track *Kommandogerät 38 *V-1 " JB-2 Loon" *

M8 Greyhound The M8 light armored car is a 6×6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used from 1943 by United States and British forces in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exporte ...

* LVT(A)-4 Landing Vehicle * M29C Weasel *

Daimler Dingo The Daimler Scout Car, known in service as the Daimler Dingo (after the Australian wild dog), is a British light, fast four-wheel drive reconnaissance vehicle also used for liaison during the Second World War. Design and development In 193 ...

Mk1 * M3 Gun Motor Carriage *

M7 Priest The 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was an American self-propelled gun vehicle produced during World War II. It was given the official service name 105 mm Self Propelled Gun, Priest by the British Army, due to the pulpit-like machine ...

SPH * M26A1 Pershing * M24 Chaffee * M39 Armored Utility Vehicle * M2A1 ''Bradley'' Fighting Vehicle * ZPU-23 Anti Aircraft Gun *

M41 Walker Bulldog The M41 Walker Bulldog, officially 76-mm Gun Tank, M41, was an American light tank developed for armed reconnaissance purposes. It was produced by Cadillac between 1951 and 1954 and marketed successfully to the United States Army as a replaceme ...

* M48 Patton *

PT-76 The PT-76 is a Soviet Union, Soviet amphibious vehicle, amphibious light tank that was introduced in the early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armed forces. It was widely exported ...

Amphibious Tank * T72G *

M551 Sheridan The M551 "Sheridan" AR/AAV ( Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle) was a light tank developed by the United States and named after General Philip Sheridan, of American Civil War fame. It was designed to be landed by parachute and to ...

M60A1 The M60 is an American second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 tank series was never officially ...

T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tank ...

*MAZ-7310/

Scud-B The R-17 Elbrus, GRAU index 9K72 is a tactical ballistic missile, initially developed by the Soviet Union. It is also known by its NATO reporting name SS-1C Scud-B. It is one of several Soviet missiles to carry the reporting name Scud; the most ...

Missile Launcher *

ZSU-23-4 SHILKA The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored Soviet self-propelled, radar-guided anti-aircraft weapon system (SPAAG). Etymology The acronym "ZSU" stands for ''Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka'' (russian: Зенитная Самоходная Ус ...

Anti-Aircraft Tank *

2S1 GVOZDIKA The 2S1 ''Gvozdika'' (russian: link=no, 2С1 «Гвоздика», " Carnation") is a Soviet self-propelled howitzer based on the MT-LBu multi-purpose chassis, mounting a 122 mm 2A18 howitzer. "2S1" is its GRAU designation. An alternative ...

M1A1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest t ...

Tank *QinetiQ TALON robot * iRobot PackBot

Trucks and farm vehicles

*1909 Peerless Steam Tractor *1915 Walker Electric Truck *1920s International Harvester *1931 Diamond T Truck *1931 Chevrolet Model C Cab-Truck

References

External links

*
The Last Flying B-24 Bomber (Collings Foundation)
via

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

{{authority control Aerospace museums in Massachusetts Automobile museums in Massachusetts Educational foundations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts Ellington Airport (Texas) Museums established in 1979 1979 establishments in Massachusetts