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

Fact Sheet Search

  • U.S. Entry into World War I

    The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Although the reasons were varied and complex, the one having the greatest emotional impact upon the "average American" was Germany's introduction of unrestricted submarine warfare following the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915.Click here to

  • Escadrille Lafayette

    In February 1918 the airplanes and equipment of the Escadrille Lafayette, together with most of its pilots, were taken over by the United States, while the French ground personnel of the unit were replaced by members of the 103rd Aero Squadron, Air Service, American Expeditionary Force. During its

  • Escadrille Americaine

    Early in World War I, various Americans, sympathetic to the Allied cause, offered their service to France as ambulance drivers, while others fought in the trenches as members of the French Foreign Legion. A handful of these men were successful in transferring to the French Aviation Service prior to

  • Birth of Strategic Bombing

    Strategic bombing had its beginning during World War I when German Zeppelins began raiding London. Small attacks against England were carried out early in the war, but by October 1915, "squadron-size" raids by numerous Zeppelins had begun, always at night and in the dark of the moon.Early in

  • Wright Brothers 1916 Wind Tunnel

    This wind tunnel was designed by Orville Wright in 1916 and installed in his laboratory at 15 N. Broadway in Dayton, Ohio. He used this tunnel to conduct various aerodynamic experiments during the World War I period. In July 1918, Orville wrote to a friend, "I have lately put up a small tunnel in my

  • Pancho Villa Attacks New Mexico

    On March 9, 1916, the Mexican revolutionary, Pancho Villa, crossed the international border with more than 500 men and raided Columbus, N.M., killing 17 Americans. The next day, Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing was directed to organize a force to protect the border and the 1st Aero Squadron, commanded by

  • World War I Begins

    World War I began in August 1914. In contrast to the United States, which had fewer than a dozen military airplanes at that time, Germany, France and England had 180, 136 and 48 aircraft, respectively. These nations soon discovered the immense value of aerial reconnaissance to their armies and a

  • Halberstadt CL IV

    Introduced into combat during the last great German offensive of World War I, the CL IV supported German troops by attacking Allied ground positions. Equipped with both fixed and flexible machine guns, hand-dropped grenades and small bombs, the CL IV proved very effective in this role, but it lacked

  • Kettering Aerial Torpedo “Bug”

    In 1917 Charles F. Kettering of Dayton, Ohio, invented the unmanned Kettering Aerial Torpedo, nicknamed the "Bug." Launched from a four-wheeled dolly that ran down a portable track, the Bug's system of internal pre-set pneumatic and electrical controls stabilized and guided it toward a target. After

  • Bleriot Monoplane

    The Bleriot monoplane is currently off public display and in restoration(Feb. 2023). The Bleriot monoplane was an important early aircraft because of its inventor's notable exploits and the aircraft's role in early training and reconnaissance. It first achieved fame in 1909 when its designer, Louis