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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  • Shuttle Raids to Russia

    Early in 1944, the U.S. persuaded Stalin to permit AAF heavy bombers to fly shuttle missions to Russia to bomb enemy targets in eastern Germany and the Balkans without having to fly back to England and Italy. The Soviets made three airfields available near Kiev and the U.S. devoted months preparing

  • Rome Liberated

    During the first half of 1944 while the Allies had been preparing for the invasion of France, their forces in Italy had slowly driven the enemy northward. Rome was liberated on June 4, and by late September, the Allies had passed beyond Florence. In support of the land battle, Italian-based medium

  • V-1 Buzz Bomb

    Germany answered the invasion of France by launching its first V-1 against London on the night of June 12-13. By July 21, 4,059 V-1s had been fired, 3,045 of which reached England. Although this "secret weapon" did little to alter the course of the war in France, it killed 3,875 people and injured

  • Tactical Support

    On July 25, the Allies launched a massive attack at St. Lo to break out southward from the invasion bridgehead. The AAF and RAF committed their forces based in England to support the ground offensive, both on the front lines and in rear areas. Fighter-bombers and tanks operated as a team, with the

  • Strategic Bombing Resumed

    On June 20, the AAF's heavy bombers returned to strategic operations to destroy Germany's war production industries. Throughout the summer, they waged their campaign, halting only long enough during the latter part of July to join tactical air units in assisting the ground forces in breaking out of

  • Flight Nurse's Creed

    I will summon every resource to prevent the triumph of death over life.I will stand guard over the medicines and equipment entrusted to my care and ensure their proper use.I will be untiring in the performances of my duties and I will remember that, upon my disposition and spirit, will in large

  • 1st Lt. Mary L. Hawkins

    On Sept. 24, 1944, 1st Lt. Mary Louise Hawkins was evacuating 24 patients from the fighting at Palau to Guadalcanal when the C-47 ran low on fuel. The pilot made a forced landing in a small clearing on Bellona Island. During the landing, a propeller tore through the fuselage and severed the trachea

  • 1st Lt. Aleda E. Lutz

     One of the most celebrated flight nurses of World War II, 1st Lt. Aleda E. Lutz flew 196 missions and evacuated over 3,500 men. In November 1944, during an evacuation flight from the front lines near Lyon, France, her C-47 crashed killing all aboard. Awarded the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf

  • 1st Lt. Suella Bernard

    On March 22, 1945, two CG-4A gliders landed in a clearing near the bridgehead at Remagen, Germany, to evacuate 25 severely injured American and German casualties. Once the gliders were loaded, C-47 transports successfully snatched them from their landing site and towed them to a military hospital in

  • 2nd Lt. Elsie S. Ott

    As the flight nurse on the first intercontinental air evacuation flight, 2nd Lt. Elsie S. Ott demonstrated the potential of air evacuation in January 1943. An Army nurse who had never flown in an airplane and had no air evacuation training, she successfully oversaw the movement of five seriously ill