National Museum of the United States Air Force

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Image:NMUSAFExterior.jpg

The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official national museum of the United States Air Force and is located at Wright-Patterson AFB, east of Dayton, Ohio. Over 300 aircraft and missiles are on display, most of them indoors. Admission is free.

The museum has many rare and important aircraft and other exhibits, including one of four surviving Convair B-36s, the only surviving XB-70 Valkyrie, and Bockscar—the B-29 Superfortress that dropped the second atomic bomb in World War II.

The museum has several Presidential aircraft, including those used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The centerpiece of the Presidential aircraft collection is SAM 26000, the first aircraft to be called Air Force One, used by John F. Kennedy through Richard Nixon during his first term, after which served as the backup Presidential aircraft. That aircraft was most used by Lyndon B. Johnson.

There is a large section of the museum dedicated to pioneers of flight, especially the Wright Brothers, who conducted some of their experiments at nearby Huffman Prairie. The Wright's 1909 Military Flyer is on display, as well as other Wright Brothers artifacts. The building also hosts the National Aviation Hall of Fame, which includes several educational exhibits.

The museum has a large inventory of USAAF and Air Force clothing and uniforms in its collection. At any time over fifty WWII vintage A-2 jackets are on display, many of which belonged to famous figures in Air Force history. Others are beautifully painted to depict the airplanes and missions flown by their former owners. Included in the museum's displays are the A-2 jacket worn by Gen. Jimmy Stewart, P-38 ace Maj. Richard I. Bong's B-3 sheepskin jacket and boots, an A-2 jacket worn by one of the few USAAF pilots to get airborne during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and former President Ronald Reagan's peacoat.

The museum completed the construction of a third hangar and hall of missiles in 2004. It now houses Cold War-era planes such as the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter and others. Fundraising has begun for a fourth hangar to house the musuem's space collection, presidential planes and an enlarged educational outreach area, making all more accessible to the public.

The museum has an IMAX theatre that mainly features aviation and space oriented IMAX films. There is a charge for these films.

The museum owns other aircraft that are on loan to other aerospace museums in the United States. Most of these loaned aircraft duplicate aircraft that are exhibited by the museum. The museum's staff has very high standards for the quality of care/restoration of loaned assets, and has, in the past revoked these loans when it was deemed that these other museums did not have the resources to properly care for an artifact. This happened in the case of the famous B-17, Memphis Belle.

1 History
2 Partial List of Collection
3 External links

[edit] History

(From the Air Force Museum Foundation)

The museum dates back to 1923 when the Engineering Division at Dayton's McCook Field first collected technical artifacts for preservation. In 1927 it moved to then-Wright Field and was housed in a succession of buildings. In 1954 as the Air Force Museum it was housed in its first permanent facility, Building 89 of the former Patterson Field in Fairborn, which had been an engine overhaul hangar, and many of its aircraft were parked outside and exposed to the weather. It remained there until 1971 when the current facility was first opened. Not including its annex on Wright Field proper, the museum has more than tripled in square footage since its inception in 1971.

[edit] Partial List of Collection

All aircraft in this list were designed/built in the United States of America, unless otherwise indicated.

[edit] Building an Air Arm (1907-1917)

Wright Brothers 1901 wind tunnel
Wright 1909 Military Flyer
Curtiss 1911 Model D
Wright Brothers 1911 Wind Tunnel
Bleriot Monoplane (France)

[edit] World War I

SPAD VII (France - used by U.S. Lafayette Escadrille)
Curtiss JN-4D "Jenny" (trainer)
Standard J-1 (trainer)
Thomas-Morse S4C Scout (trainer)
Avro 504K (trainer)
Nieuport N.28C-1
Sopwith F-1 Camel (Great Britain, used by United States Army Air Service)
Fokker Dr.I (Germany)
Caquot Type R Observation Balloon (France - used by United States Army)
Halberstadt CL IV (Germany)
SPAD XIII (France)
Fokker D.VII (Germany)
Kettering Bug Aerial Torpedo (U.S - First cruise missile)
Caproni Ca.36 (Italy)

[edit] Inter-War Years

Image:Martin YB-10 NMUSAF GVG.jpg

De Havilland DH-4 (U.S. built from a British design)
Martin MB-2 (First U.S. designed bomber)
Loening OA-1A (observation amphibian aircraft)
Consolidated PT-1 "Trusty" (trainer)
Boeing P-12E
Curtiss P-6E
Boeing P-26A Peashooter
Martin B-10
Douglas O-38F
Douglas O-46A
North American O-47B
Curtiss O-52 Owl
North American BT-9B (trainer)
Stearman PT-13D Kaydet (trainer)
Fairchild PT-19 Cornell (trainer)

[edit] World War II

Image:DoolittleRaidDisplayAtAFMuseum.jpg

Image:BockscarAndFatmanDisplay.jpg

Hawker Hurricane Mark.IIa (Great Britain)
Bristol Beaufighter Mk. I
De Havilland DH 82A Tiger Moth (Great Britain)
De Havilland Mosquito
Curtiss P-36A Hawk
Curtiss AT-9 "Jeep"
Mitsubishi A6M2 "Zero" (Japan)
Douglas B-18 Bolo
Seversky P-35A
Douglas A-24 Dauntless
Taylorcraft L-2M Grasshopper (observation)
North American B-25B Mitchell (Part of a display commemorating the Doolittle Raid)
Bell P-39Q Airacobra
Curtiss P-40E Warhawk (Flying Tigers paint scheme)
Ryan PT-22 Recruit (trainer)
Vultee BT-13 Valiant (bombing trainer)
Supermarine Spitfire Mark. Vc (Great Britain)
Supermarine Spitfire PR. XI
Macchi MC.200 Saetta (Italy)
Fieseler Fi 156C-1 Storch (Germany)
Noorduyn Norseman (Canada)
North American A-36A Apache
Consolidated B-24D Liberator
Lockheed P-38L Lightning
Martin B-26G Marauder
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt
Douglas C-47D Skytrain
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10 Gustav (Germany)
Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 (Germany)
Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet (Germany)
Messerschmitt Me 262A Schwalbe (Germany)
Junkers Ju-88D (Germany)
Fieseler Fi 103 (V-1) "Buzz Bomb" (Germany)
V-2 with Meilerwagen (Germany)
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress
- The Memphis Belle, the legendary B17-F, is at the museum and is being restored and when complete, will become the museum's principal specimen of the B-17
North American P-51D Mustang
Curtiss C-46D Commando
Consolidated OA-10 Catalina (Army Air Forces variant of the PBY Catalina)
Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly (world's first production helicopter and the Army Air Force's first service helicopter)
Douglas A-20G Havoc
Northrop P-61C Black Widow
Kawanishi N1K2-J Shiden-Kai "George-21" (Japan)
Yokosuka Ohka Trainer (Japan)
Boeing B-29 Superfortress Bockscar - Aircraft that dropped atomic bomb on Nagasaki

[edit] Korean War

Image:C-124 NMUSAF.jpg

North American F-82B Twin Mustang
Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star (First operational U.S. jet fighter)
North American F-86A Sabre
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis 'Fagot' (USSR - this aircraft was landed in Japan by a defector and later test flown by Chuck Yeager)
Lockheed F-94A Starfire
Republic F-84E Thunderjet
North American T-6 Mosquito (forward air control version of T-6 Texan trainer)
North American B-45C Tornado
Douglas C-124C Globemaster II
Sikorsky YH-5A
Sikorsky UH-19B Chickasaw
Douglas A-26C Invader
Fairchild C-82 Packet
Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

Douglas VC-54C Sacred Cow
- Used by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and first 27 months of Harry Truman's administration
- The National Security Act of 1947, creating the United States Air Force, was signed aboard this aircraft [1]
Douglas VC-118 Independence
- used by Harry Truman
Lockheed VC-121E Columbine III
- Used by Dwight D. Eisenhower
Bell UH-13J Sioux
- Used by Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy
Boeing VC-137C - SAM 26000 (Boeing 707 - first aircraft called Air Force One)
- Used by John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon during his first term.
Beech VC-6A Lady Bird Special (King Air B90)
- Used by Lyndon Johnson for frequent trips from Austin, Texas to LBJ Ranch
Aero Commander U-4B (military version of L-26 Aero Commander)
- Used by Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1956 to 1960 for short trips
North American T-39A Sabreliner
- Used to transport Lyndon Johnson after leaving office
Lockheed VC-140B JetStar
- Used by Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan for trips requiring a smaller aircraft