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

Access to the Presidential Gallery will be limited from May 15 to June 5
 

Fact Sheet Alphabetical List

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  • The "Big Belly" Bomber

    Dense foliage in South Vietnam made locating targets almost impossible, forcing the U.S. Air Force to use area, or "carpet," bombing. To support this tactic, the "Big Belly" program modified the bomb bays of many B-52Ds to carry more conventional bombs. Unmodified B-52Ds could carry only 27 even

  • Arc Light

    Beginning in June 1965, Strategic Air Command B-52s attacked communist positions in South Vietnam under the code name Operation Arc Light. Gradually, they also hit enemy strongholds in Laos, Cambodia and southern North Vietnam. Flying at altitudes where they could not be heard on the ground, the

  • B-52 Stratofortress in Southeast Asia

    The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress became a powerful weapon and an icon during the Southeast Asia War. Although the B-52 was developed to deliver nuclear weapons, its first combat mission took place in 1965 when it dropped conventional bombs on communist forces in South Vietnam. In Operation Arc Light,

  • Getting Closer: Precision Guided Weapons in the Southeast Asia War

    Despite early developmental problems, precision guided munitions (PGM) revolutionized the air war in Southeast Asia. By the war's end, laser guidance kits turned standard bombs into "smart bombs," making them 100 times more effective than free-fall, unguided bombs.At first, the U.S. Air Force's

  • North Vietnam: Linebacker and Linebacker II

    GOING DOWNTOWNIn response to the North Vietnamese "Easter Offensive" into South Vietnam in 1972, President Nixon suspended peace talks on May 8 and ordered OPERATION LINEBACKER, the renewed bombings of North Vietnam and the aerial mining of its harbors and rivers. When North Vietnam seemed ready to

  • Sputnik I

    The space age began on Oct. 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first artificial earth satellite. The event was a milestone in space exploration and a defining moment of the Cold War. It caused great anxiety in the United States because the public equated space achievements with

  • Cadillac Gage V-100 (XM706E2) Commando

    U.S. Air Force Security Police used the V-100 Commando to patrol base perimeters. During enemy attacks, U.S. Air Force V-100s functioned as mobile strong points and weapons carriers for Security Police Security Alert Teams (SATs). U.S. Air Force V-100s also provided convoy escort on occasion. The

  • The Threat

    Defending air bases in Southeast Asia involved numerous, complicated problems. The bases had large open spaces, long perimeters and vulnerable bomb and fuel dumps. Some air bases were located in urban areas, allowing the enemy to hide among the nearby population. Heavy jungle growth along base

  • Security Police Weapons

    The M16: American IconSince the 1960s, the 5.56mm M16 and its later variants have been the standard rifle for all U.S. armed services. It has also been widely exported to military services around the world.The U.S. Air Force was the first military service to acquire and adopt the M16. Personally

  • U.S. Air Force Dog Handlers

    Air Force dog handlers provided a unique and critical capability in defending air bases against attack. Under PROJECT TOP DOG 145, the U.S. Air Force sent 40 sentry dogs and 40 handlers to South Vietnam in the summer of 1965. Many more followed, with the U.S. Air Force sentry force in Southeast Asia