A tornado wreaked havoc at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, damaging several buildings, including the National Museum of the United States Air Force (USAF).
The incident occurred in the early hours of February 28, 2024. Images of the aftermath show damage sustained by one hangar dedicated to aircraft restoration and several Cold War-era jets, including a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and a Lockheed T-33A jet trainer.
Colonel Travis Pond, the 88th Air Base Wing and installation commander, emphasized that the damage appears to be localized to the southern side of Area B, with assessments ongoing to gauge the full extent of the impact.
“Our initial focus right now is on safety and damage assessment,” stated Col. Pond. “I can’t speak highly enough about our security forces, Fire Department, and civil engineer Airmen for their quick response and hard work to assess damage and determine a path forward for restoring operations as quickly as possible.”
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado occurred in the Riverside area in Montgomery and Greene Counties, Ohio, where the air base is located. The maximum wind speed was estimated to have been 193 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour). There have been reports of damage to civilian infrastructure.
