Our Mission

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The primary missions of AMHF are preservation of this rare historical  artifact and education of the public about its historical significance,  as well as—because of the aircraft’s association with VPB-136 and Fleet  Air Wing Four—the larger history of the “forgotten war” in the northern  Pacific. Our organization brings the plane to airshows across the  country, where attendees are permitted to tour the plane and hear about  the type’s wartime service. We also host school outings, and keep an  open door for visiting groups to see our maintenance operations  first-hand. We provided materials and information that formed the basis  of a junior-high-level history curriculum in the Indianapolis Public  Schools, and regularly host veterans’ groups—most notably this past  year, the reunion of Patrol Bombing Squadron 148, a Harpoon squadron  that flew out of the Solomon Islands during the war.
Our organization also has a close, albeit non-monetary, relationship  with the USS Indianapolis Survivors’ Association. That ship was  torpedoed and sunk in 1945. Its crew of over 1200 had, just days before,  delivered the components for the atomic bomb to Tinian Island. As the  ship had been on a top-secret mission, it was not reported lost.  The  survivors of the sinking endured four days of horrifying conditions in  shark-infested waters. Fortuitously, a patrolling PV-1 Ventura of  VPB-152 spotted the remaining survivors in the water and initiated the  rescue operation.  The first aircraft to respond, coincidentally, was a  PB5Y Catalina Seaplane piloted by Indiana native Adrian Marks. Marks  landed, contrary to orders, and stayed until a rescue ship arrived. Only  318 men out of the Indianapolis’ original crew of 1200 survived the  ordeal.
As our PV -2 is a look-alike for the PV-1, we performed a fly-over for  the grand opening of the USS Indianapolis Museum, and our organization  has come to have a relationship with theirs. The ship’s veterans who  attended the event reported afterwards that the distinctive sound of a  PV’s engines was unforgettable to them. On several subsequent occasions,  we have displayed together with the USS Indianapolis Association. For  several years, our groups have co-located as a "pair" at the  Indianapolis Air Show. We have additionally discussed tentative plans to  travel together throughout the state to smaller venues much like the  Indiana Historical Society's "History Train" as the "Flying Classroom.”
In April 2011 we were awarded the Indiana Historical Preservation Award.   We are registered as a Historical Artifact with the National Park  Service and the Indiana Historical Society.
The Geography Educators Network of Indiana (GENI) has developed a lesson  plan on their Geography and History of the World (GHW) website at www.  IUPUI.edu and has deemed it "Indiana's newest lesson plan.” Nova also  has a basic curriculum on their website as a companion to the film "Last  Flight of Bomber 31."
Additionally, our aircraft was the subject of an article that appeared  in the Australian magazine “Flightpaths” in 2009, describing the efforts  of our maintenance force in replacing a failed engine and returning the  plane to flight during the preceding two years.