Vilu

Vilu

Vilu is a village in Guadalcanal, located 29.8 kilometers northwest of Honiara. The village's landmark is the Vilu Military Museum, also known as the Vilu War Museum. The museum was established in 1975 by Fred Kona, who ran the museum until his death in 1994, after which his family took over the running of the museum. The museum is outdoors and houses the remains of Japanese and American aircraft and artillery destroyed during the 1942-43 Guadalcanal campaign, during which several major battles took place on and around Guadalcanal. A number of the wreckage in the museum has been moved from other locations, and the museum also maintains a number of plaques, among them the Royal New Zealand Air Force and HMAS Canberra plaques. Abandoned during the civil unrest in Guadalcanal, the museum was later reclaimed and is now visited by American and Japanese tourists. The aircraft collection includes the Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat, F4F Wildcat (wing and tail section only), Vought F4U-1 Corsair, Lockheed P-38F Lightning, Bell P-39 Airacobra (engine and propeller only), Douglas SBD Dauntless, Grumman J2F-5 Duck (wing and pontoon front only) and Mitsubishi G4M1 Model 11 (only the nose section and outer wing panel parts).