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Mask Policy:
In accordance with the updated guidance released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Defense (DoD) and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will require all visitors to wear face masks indoors effective July 30, 2021 until further notice.

Visitors ages three and up will be required to wear masks while indoors at the museum. This policy applies to all visitors, staff and volunteers regardless of vaccination status. Visitors may wear their own masks or a free paper mask will be provided. Cloth masks will also be available for purchase in the Museum Store.
Additional information available here.

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Sgt. 1st Class Harold O. Nicholls
Distinguished Service Cross, 1919Sgt. Nicholls repeatedly volunteered to act as a balloon observer in the last offensive of World War I. Three times he rose up beneath a hydrogen-filled balloon only to narrowly escape after it was hit by incendiary bullets. Fortunately, Nicholls survived to accept his medal.Click here to return to the Distinguished
Sgt. 1st Class Fred C. Graveline
Distinguished Service Cross, 1919Sgt. Graveline received his commendation for a series of 15 dangerous missions as a volunteer gunner in the 20th Aero Squadron of the 1st Day Bombardment Group. In doing so, he flew more combat sorties than any other enlisted man in World War I and shot down two German aircraft as well.Click here to return to the
Sabre Pilot
Air Force F-86 pilots wore a mix of World War II and newly-issued flight gear. This pilot has a flying suit and goggles from WWII, but he is also wearing a newer B-15 flight jacket and a post-WWII hard-shell helmet.He is equipped with an oxygen mask for the thin air at high altitude, and a "g-suit" for dogfighting. The Korean War was the first time
Soviet Pilots over MiG Alley
The opening of archives in the former Soviet Union confirmed a fact that had long been denied -- the USSR provided many of the MiG-15 pilots and units that fought in MiG Alley. Like their U.S. Air Force opponents, several of these Soviet pilots were World War II combat veterans.Before the Korean War, Soviet pilots were already in China training the
Strategic Bombing: New Flexibility
"Practically all of the major military industrial targets strategically important to the enemy forces and to their war potential have been neutralized." - Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer, FEAF Commander, less than two months into the Korean WarAfter destroying North Korea's industry in the first two months of the war, USAF B-29 Superfortresses
Special Operations: In the Enemy's Backyard
"We started dropping people way up north. We would fly eight-hour missions in a C-47, dropping people all over."- Capt. (later Brig. Gen.) Harry "Heinie" AderholtDuring the Korean War, Air Force personnel conducted highly-classified special operations in enemy territory, including partisan insertions, intelligence gathering, flare-drops, and
Sikorsky UH-19B Chickasaw
The UH-19B is a U.S. Air Force version of the Sikorsky S-55, an aircraft used by all U.S. military services in the 1950s and 1960s. After the first helicopter flew in November 1949, the USAF ordered production 50 H-19As in 1951. The USAF later acquired 270 H-19Bs with increased engine power, and in 1962 designated it the UH-19.Many H-19s were
Sikorsky YH-5A Dragonfly
The H-5, originally designated the R-5 ("H" for "Helicopter;" "R" for "Rotorcraft"), was designed to provide a helicopter with a greater useful load, endurance, speed and service ceiling than the earlier R-4. The first of four XR-5s made its initial flight in August 1943. In March 1944 the U.S. Army Air Forces ordered 26 YR-5As for service
Staff Sergeant Pilot Jacket
A-2 jacket, goggles, sergeant stripes and helmet. Jacket was issued to the donor upon his assignment to Colorado Springs Army Air Base in August 1942 following graduation as a staff sergeant pilot. Promoted to flight officer in 1943, he wore the jacket until retirement in 1960 with 3,300 hours flying time. The patch is that of the 487th Bomb
Sergeant Pilot WWI-Era Uniform
Sergeant pilot William Beigel's World War I-era uniform trousers and coat. The enlisted pilot wing and propellar insignia is on the right sleeve. He was post sergeant-major at Rich Field in Waco, Texas, in 1919 when he learned to fly at age 31. Items were donated by Mrs. William Beigel and are on display in the World War II Gallery.Click here to