Chandler’s decommissioned F-86d Sabre Dog Korean Warplane, which has called the corner of Delaware Street and Chandler Boulevard home for more than 30 years, is moving to a new home Monday night.
Nate Meyers is the collections coordinator of the Chandler Museum. He says the plane’s original location was A.J. Chandler Park and was gifted to the city to symbolize the relationship between Chandler and the nearby Williams Air Force Base.
“When Williams Air Force Base opened in 1941, the closest town to the base was Chandler, and so all of the payroll for everyone stationed there went through banks here in Chandler, the USO was built here in Chandler,” said Meyers.
The base has since been converted to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, but the plane remains on loan from the Air Force.
Meyers says its current location on Chandler Boulevard has historical significance but believes the new location will allow for more people to see it.
“It’s a great piece of history for Chandler and for the Air Force history as well, so it’s a really great opportunity for the plane to really have a lot of eyes on it and be the center of attention in that memorial,” said Meyers.
Meyers says the current location was an area where service members came to get rides back to the base after conducting business in town.
The plane’s new location at Veterans Oasis Park is expected to open in early November.
