Aviation-History Travel

Visiting the Sites, Events, and Hardware That Made History.

- Budd Davisson

Travel trends in recent years have been evolving from pure sightseeing to what might be termed as “experiential,” a combination of observation and experience. This is why so many tours are focused around certain types of endeavors, such as archeological digs, off-the-beaten-path trekking, etc. Aviation-history travel, in which the traveler is inserted into the locations where world-shaking history was made, follows that trend.

When you’re talking about aviation history, it’s hard to ignore the impact that wars have had on aviation. And then, when you’re talking about the impact aviation has had on wars, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that the “WW” in “WW II” stands for “World War.” There are very few parts of the globe that weren’t affected to one extreme or the other by that conflict. And the primary battlegrounds, notably in Europe and the Pacific, were more than affected; some were totally reshaped.

Immense amount of construction and destruction altered European landscapes and left behind memories of a time when conflicts were of monumental proportions. Many of those reminders are touchstones for those who were there and want to remember as well as for those who want to gain a tactile understanding of the arenas where history was made. This interest has given rise to a well-organized community of tour companies that can take you to the remains of the airfield where Uncle Frank was based, tour world-class museums where artifacts of the conflicts are put in context, and take you to the depths where barnacle-covered wreckage accurately portray the cost of war.