3 Historic Planes Saved as Fire Destroys Hangar
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Three historic airplanes that survived World War II were pulled to safety as a hangar housing an aircraft museum burned to the ground.
No one was injured in the Saturday night fire at the Yankee Air Museum in Wayne County’s Van Buren Township, 25 miles west of Detroit.
But the fire destroyed the museum’s wooden hangar at Willow Run Airport, built by Henry Ford to produce World War II bombers on assembly lines like those used at his automotive plants.
The cause remained under investigation.
The 50,000-square-foot hangar and its contents -- including two airplanes undergoing restoration, photos, books, uniforms, equipment and memorabilia -- were destroyed, museum President Jon Stevens said.
He estimated the loss at $5 million to $7 million.
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