A piece of World War II history touched down at the Foley Municipal Airport on Thursday afternoon.

A 1941 Navy N3N biplane arrived to become part of the city’s planned museum exhibit, and the vintage aircraft will honor Foley’s role in training U.S. Navy aviation cadets during the war.

“This is really an incredible day,” Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich said on Thursday. “This is an incredible aircraft. It's the start of our marking our designation as a World War II Heritage City.”

The N3N, which was purchased from a private owner in New York, took off Oct. 22 and completed its journey to Foley on Oct. 24. The biplane, with a top speed of 126 miles per hour and a range of 470 miles, landed around 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, drawing attention from the press as it taxied onto the airfield.

Hellmich joined the aircraft on the last leg of its trip. Pilot Phil Webb flew the biplane from Long Island, New York.

“The plane performed magnificently. This is 1941 technology right here but reliable. It started every time,” Webb said. “The plane flies really well. What a great way of seeing America. What a beautiful country we have.”

While this particular aircraft was not stationed at Foley’s Barin Field during the war, it is the same model used to train cadets there. Barin Field played a key role in U.S. Navy aviation training throughout World War II, and the city plans to highlight that history in a developing museum featuring the newly arrived N3N.

The National Park Service designated Foley an American World War II Heritage City. Only one community in each state or territory can receive the designation. The designation recognizes the role the community played at home supporting the United States during World War II and efforts since then to recognize the sacrifices made by Americans during the conflict. The museum exhibit will further commemorate these contributions.

The city will also open a World War II exhibit on Barin Field and the community during World War II in the Foley Railroad Museum. That exhibit is scheduled to open in December.

“We're doing the World War II heritage exhibit right now in our current museum,” Hellmich said. “We will build a museum and as we acquire more planes, and then we'll have more expansion. The Navy was always such, and it continues to be such a big part of South Baldwin and Escambia County.”

The yellow two-seat biplane, initially acquired by the U.S. Navy on Oct. 18, 1941, was used as a trainer at bases in Corpus Christi, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri.

The N3N itself has a rich history. Produced between 1935 and 1942, nearly 1,000 of these planes were built for the U.S. Navy. It typically carried a crew of two — a student and an instructor — and was designed to reach a maximum speed of 126 miles per hour. The model even gained pop-culture fame, as a converted N3N was used in the iconic crop-dusting scene in the 1959 film “North by Northwest.”

One N3N that was used at Barin is now on display in Washington, D.C., as part of the National Air and Space Museum.

Barin Field was a training center for Navy aviators from 1942 through 1947 and from 1952 until 1958. During World War II, more than 400 aircraft were assigned to the Foley base.

Although it will soon be part of the museum, the aircraft will remain at the Foley Airport until the exhibit space is ready.

After the N3N landed, Hellmich presented keys to the city to Webb and Larry Mattiello, who helped acquire the aircraft and arrange its transport to Foley.

“We also have a certificate of appreciation for everything that you guys have done in regards to getting the plane and flying it down from New York, finding the plane in New York, and dealing with the folks and doing it very quickly,” Hellmich said.

Webb said Foley’s efforts will honor thousands of Americans who trained in the Foley area.

“Those young Naval air cadets in World War II, they were training for a very serious purpose, and that was to go to war,” Webb said. “A lot of those kids were 18, 19, 20 years old, and a lot of them didn't come back. So, I commend the city for remembering their honor and for having a museum to commemorate what they did here, right over there, at Barin Field in these very skies when the chips were down in a very dark era of world history. They made history right here.”

The city also recognized Navy World War II veteran George Logsdon. Logsdon, 97, was among the ground watching the aircraft touch down at the airport.

“We want everyone to know that we appreciate your service and everyone who served our country,” Hellmich said.