Foley is continuing its efforts to highlight the city’s history in Navy aviation training with the addition of a second aircraft for a future museum exhibit. The newest addition is a Beechcraft T-34B Mentor, a trainer plane that once played a major role in preparing Navy pilots. This aircraft was a common sight over Foley and South Baldwin County during its years of active use. Pilots regularly flew the T-34B in the area while training.

The T-34B served as the U.S. Navy’s main training aircraft from 1957 through the mid-1970s. Foley plans to feature the plane in a museum that will celebrate the city’s strong ties to Navy aviation and its local heritage.

The aircraft is owned by the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. The museum has agreed to loan the T-34B to Foley on a long-term basis so it can be part of the museum display.

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On Thursday, June 12, crews from the Foley Public Works Department, other city employees and volunteers, loaded the T-34B in two trucks to transport the aircraft from Pensacola to Foley. The fuselage of the disassembled airplane was loaded in one truck. The wings and tail sections were loaded on a trailer attached to a second truck.

The aircraft was placed in a city storage facility where it will be kept until a display site is ready.

Mike Chavers, Foley street superintendent, said the project was a joint effort by several city departments, residents, the NNAM and Pensacola Naval Air Station.

“First and foremost, we would like to send out a huge "thank you" to Aubry Morris with Little Bitty's Towing and David and Bob Irwin with Magnolia Equipment Rental for providing their equipment and donating their time to make this happen,” Chavers said. “Thanks to all the help and guidance from Kenneth Tillman, Michael Allen and Bruce Cummins from NAS.”

City workers taking part in the effort included Greg Frank, Will Ray, Bob Morrison and Mark Harbison from the Street Department and Dustin Wyatt, Andrew Salgado, Henry Prim and Daniel Bristow from the Municipal Complex.

Bonnie Towne, NNAM aircraft loan manager, coordinated the transfer of the T-34B to Foley. Foley received federal approval allowing the city to borrow materials from facilities such as the NNAM. City officials expressed thanks to Towne and other staff members at the NNAM for their help in the acquisition of the T-34B and other efforts to commemorate the community’s heritage.

The city now has an exhibit at the Foley Railroad Museum featuring Barin Field and Foley’s role in training Navy aviators. The new aircraft and other items now being collected will be part of an expanded exhibition.

Barin Field in Foley was a Navy aviation training base during World War II and the Korean Conflict. The Navy continues to use the field, located east of the Foley Beach Express, as an outlying landing field.

Barin Field opened in 1942. During its peak operation, more than 2,000 permanent personnel were stationed at the base and more than 5,000 aviation cadets were trained at the base in its first two years of operations.

In 2024, the National Park Service designated Foley as an American World War II Heritage City. The designation recognizes the role that a community played during World War II and efforts since then to recognize the men and women who served in the conflict.

The city also purchased a 1942 N3N biplane that will also be part of Foley’s commemoration of the area’s role in Navy aviation training.