Skip to main content (Press Enter).
Toggle navigation
National Museum of the US Air Force™
National Museum of the US Air Force™
Search
Search the NMUSAF site:
Search
Search the NMUSAF site:
Search
Home
About Us
Contact Us
Visit
Hours and Admission
Directions
Groups and Tours
Museum Exhibits
Early Years Gallery
WWII Gallery
Korean War Gallery
SEA War Gallery
Cold War Gallery
Missile Gallery
Space Gallery
R and D Gallery
Global Reach Gallery
Presidential Gallery
Air Park
Memorial Park
Other Exhibits
Online Exhibits
Fact Sheets
Virtual Tour
Tour Podcasts
AF Museum Theatre
Flight Simulators
Museum Store
Food Options
Questions
Collections
Collection Management
Research
Restoration Projects
Featured Accessions
Donation Wish List
Donate an Item
Loan Programs
Education
For Educators
For Youth and Families
For Adults
For Kids
Family Day
Home School STEM Day
Aerospace Camps
Writing Competition
Upcoming
Press Room
News
Features
Media Kit
Photos
Video
Events
Calendar
Military Reunions
Home
Visit
Museum Exhibits
Early Years Gallery
Early Years Gallery
The museum's Early Years Gallery conveys the magic and wonder of the formative days of military air power. The gallery's aircraft collection, exhibits and artifacts combine to capture the spirit of imagination of that transformational era, chronicling the time from the Wright brothers and their contemporaries, through World War I and to the lead up to World War II.
Early Years Gallery Video.
Early Years Gallery
Early Years Gallery Virtual Tour
Early Years Gallery
Early Years Gallery
Early Years Gallery
World War I Era Posters at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
Aircraft
Bleriot Monoplane
Boeing P-12E
Boeing P-26A
Caproni Ca. 36
Caquot Type R Observation Balloon
Consolidated PT-1 Trusty
Curtiss 1911 Model D
Curtiss JN-4D Jenny
Curtiss O-52 Owl
Curtiss P-6E Hawk
De Havilland DH-4
De Havilland DH 82A Tiger Moth
Douglas O-38F
Eberhart SE-5E
Fairchild PT-19A Cornell
Fokker Dr. I
Fokker D. VII
G-3 Target Glider
Halberstadt CL IV
Hawker Hurricane Mk.IIa
Kellet K-2/K-3 Autogiro
Kettering Aerial Torpedo "Bug"
Martin B-10
Martin MB-2
Nieuport 28
Northrop A-17A
North American BT-14
North American O-47B
Packard LePere LUSAC 11
Ryan YPT-16
Schneider Schulgleiter SG 38
Sopwith Camel F.1
SPAD VII
SPAD XIII C.1
Standard J-1
Standard J-1 (fabric removed)
Thomas-Morse S4C Scout
Wright 1909 Military Flyer
Engines
Ansaldo
Curtiss Four-Cylinder
Kirkham Four-Cylinder
Roberts Model 4-X
Sturtevant 5A
Wright 6-60
Liberty 12-Cylinder
Liberty 12-A Inverted
Almen A-4 Barrel
Curtiss D-12
Lawrance L-4S
Ranger L-440
Hispano-Suiza Model A
Gnome N-9
Curtiss OX-5
Wright R-790
Wright R-1820 Cyclone
Oberursel UR-2 Rotary
Curtiss V2-3
Weapons
37mm Aircraft Cannon
First Shot Fired from an Airplane
Machine Gun Fired from an Airplane
Mark I Demolition Bomb
Early Years Exhibits
Lighter-than-Air Flight
Heavier-than-Air Flight
Meeting the Challenge: The Wright Brothers
Charles E. Taylor: The First Aviation Mechanic
Wright 1901 Wind Tunnel
U.S. Army Ballooning Renewed
Creation of the Aeronautical Division
Cpl. Edward Ward: First Enlisted Airman
Controllable Balloons: Dirigibles
Glenn Hammond Curtiss: Aviation Pioneer
Army Buys New Airplanes
Rodman Wanamaker Endurance Trophy
Flying Schools
First Military Multiple-Fatality Airplane Crash
Pancho Villa Attacks New Mexico
Wright 1916 Wind Tunnel
WWI Exhibits
World War I Begins
Birth of Strategic Bombing
Escadrille Americaine
Escadrille Lafayette
Eugene Jacques Bullard
U.S. Entry into WWI
WWI Production
WWI Training
Air Service Enters Combat
American Air Combat Stories
Thomas-Morse S4C Scout Model
Baron Manfred von Richthofen
"Stumpy" John Silver
WWI Aircraft Radios
Occupation of Germany
Refueling Wagon
Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker
Lt. Arthur Rahn
Lt. Harold E. Goettler
Lt. Erwin R. Bleckley
Lt. Frank Luke Jr.
WWI Sergeant's Field Uniform
WWI Regulation U.S. Army Air Service Pilot's Flying Outfit
Italian Aviation in WWI
Interwar Years Exhibits
McCook Field Wind Tunnel
Macready's Presentation Saber
Research & Development in the Interwar Years
Blunder Trophies
Air Corps Development, 1919-1935
Flights to High Altitude
Endurance Flights
Quest for Higher Speeds
Interwar Development of Bombsights
Aerial Route Flashing Beacon
Aerial Mapping
Ford Model T Ambulance
Battleship Trials
Brig. Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell
Pan American Good Will Flight
Balloons & Airships
B-10 Alaskan Flight
Advent of the All-Metal Airplane
Research & Development at McCook Field
Early Free-Fall Parachute
Airplane Landing Lights
Air Mail Ramp Light
Test Propellers
Lt. Gen. Frank M. Andrews
General Headquarters Air Force
Four-Engine Bomber
Strengthening the Air Corps
Hitler's Juggernaut
AAF Established
Flight Training on the Eve of WWII
RAF Accumulator Trolley
RAF Alert Shack
Eagle Squadrons
Maj. Don S. Gentile
Exhibit Areas
Early Years Gallery
World War II Gallery
Korean War Gallery
Southeast Asia War Gallery
Cold War Gallery
Missile Gallery
Space Gallery
Research & Development Gallery
Global Reach Gallery
Presidential Gallery
Air Park
Memorial Park
Other Exhibits
Featured Links
Join the Air Force
Military
Posted 11/04/2016
Civil Service
Posted 11/04/2016
AF Links
U.S. Air Force
Posted 03/10/2015
Recruiting
Posted 11/02/2016
Dept. of Defense
Posted 03/10/2015
Air Force Materiel Command
Posted 03/10/2015
Wright-Patterson AFB
Posted 03/10/2015
AFM Foundation
Become a Member
Posted 11/02/2015
Donate to the Foundation
Posted 11/25/2015
Legacy Data Plates
Posted 11/02/2015
AF Museum Attractions (Theatre & Simulators)
Posted 11/02/2015
Menu Item
Posted 10/30/2018
Menu Item
Posted 10/30/2018
Museum Store
Posted 11/02/2015
Food Options
Posted 11/02/2015
Heritage
Air Force History
Posted 03/10/2015
AF Historical Research Agency
Posted 03/10/2015
AF Historical Studies Office
Posted 03/10/2015
National Archives
Posted 03/10/2015
Aviation Sites
National Aviation Heritage Area
Posted 03/10/2015
Race to Dayton’s Amazing Aviation Places
Posted 03/10/2015
Aviation Museums
Posted 03/10/2015