In support of an official event 

The Museum will be closed Sunday, May 25
In addition, the Fourth Hangar will be closed Saturday, May 24

Guided tours of the 4th building, normally scheduled at 3:00 p.m. daily, are canceled through May 28.

Effective immediately, the William E. Boeing Presidential Gallery will have limited guest access due to scheduled event preparations. The only accessible exhibits during this time include: Douglas VC-54 Sacred Cow, Flying the President Exhibit, USAF Established Artifact. We anticipate full gallery access will resume by June 5, 2025.

National Museum of the United States Air Force
National Museum of the United States Air Force
Presidential aircraft at National Museum of the United States Air Force

About the Museum

Welcome to the official website of the National Museum of the United States Air Force -- the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world -- located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio. This site is provided as a public service by the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Public Affairs Division.

Use the top navigation bar to find information about planning your visit as well as events and activities taking place at the museum.

Meet the Director

Learn about museum divisions. 

Museum Mission

The National Museum of the United States Air Force collects, researches, conserves, interprets and presents the Air Force’s history, heritage, and traditions, as well as today’s mission to fly, fight, win … air power anytime, anywhere to a global audience through engaging exhibits, educational outreach, special programs, and the stewardship of the national historical collection. With our educational outreach, we motivate, educate, and inspire youth interest in the United States Air Force (USAF) and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The statutory duties delegated by the Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) are accomplished on behalf of the American People.

We are the keepers of their stories™

Playlist:
Video by NMUSAF PA
Museum Audio Tour 12: Air Power Gallery: Taking the Offensive - Pacific
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
Dec. 31, 1969 | 1:49
Although Hitler and Nazi Germany were defeated in May of 1945, the war in the Pacific would continue for another three months. It was clear that Japan was losing, but they would fight to the death to protect their homeland. In this gallery, you’ll notice some planes that were used in the Pacific Theater, including the P-47D -- one of the most famous planes in World War Two, and the A-20G Havoc — a plane that lived up to its name by creating havoc and destruction on low-level strafing attacks, especially against Japanese shipping and airfields across the Southwest Pacific. But probably one of the most notable aircraft of the war was a B-29 Superfortress called Bockscar. While the Army, Navy and Marines were planning an invasion of the Japanese homeland – a task that would likely cost hundreds of thousands American lives – the Army Air Forces were planning to deliver a new secret weapon. On August 9, 1945 the Bockscar dropped the Fat Man atomic bomb on Nagasaki, three days after the first atomic attack on Hiroshima. Soon thereafter, on September 2, 1945, General Douglas MacArthur received the surrender document aboard the battleship USS Missouri. World War Two was officially over, … however, the “Atomic Age” had just begun. If you’re interested in hearing first-hand what it was like to be involved with flying a plane that carried an atomic bomb, visit the Carney Auditorium portion of the pod map and listen to Brigadier General Paul Tibbets Jr., the pilot of the Enola Gay, as he presents “Air Power in World War Two.”
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Museum Lecture Series 53: My True Course
58:32
Museum Lecture Series 53: My True Course
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Museum Audio Tour 12: Air Power Gallery: Taking the Offensive - Pacific
Museum Audio Tour 12: Air Power Gallery: Taking the Offensive - Pacific
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Contact Us

National Museum of the
United States Air Force
1100 Spaatz Street
Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433
(937) 255-3286

Plan Your Visit

Air Force Mission

The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly, fight and win ... airpower anytime, anywhere.

To achieve that mission, the Air Force has a vision:

With a Total Force of more than 689,000 personnel, Airmen work to support all aspects of airpower, which includes five core missions: air superiority; global strike; rapid global mobility; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and command and control. Airpower also requires people and resources dedicated to unit readiness, base infrastructure and talent management.