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  • Combat Aircraft to Museum Artifact

    After the bond tour, the Memphis Belle went to MacDill Army Air Field, Florida, to be used for training.  At war’s end, it was stored at Altus Army Airfield, Oklahoma, with other surplus bombers awaiting scrapping. In 1946, the city of Memphis, Tennessee, acquired the aircraft and displayed it

  • Bombing Campaign Leaders

    Three iconic USAAF generals—Carl Spaatz, Ira Eaker, and James “Jimmy” Doolittle—played key roles in leading the strategic bombing campaign in Europe. Gen. Carl Spaatz decorates a wounded Eighth Air Force Airman while he recovers in a hospital in August 1944.Carl A. SpaatzAfter leading the Eighth Air

  • "Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress"

    The 1944 documentary movie “Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress” increased the aircraft and crew’s already substantial fame.  This unique film was the brainchild of legendary film director William Wyler. In 1942, Major Wyler went to England to film heavy bomber operations in Europe.  He and

  • Deadly Skies over Europe

    The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) built a sophisticated defense system to counter the USAAF strategic bombing offensive.  Enemy fighters and antiaircraft guns (also called “flak”) took a devastating toll.  The USAAF lost more than 8,000 heavy bombers—each of which typically carried ten crewmen—in

  • Regensburg/Schweinfurt, August 17, 1943

    On August 17, 1943, the USAAF suffered staggering losses in the two-pronged attack against the Messerschmitt fighter factory at Regensburg and the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt, Germany.   To split the German defense, these raids were supposed to occur simultaneously, with the Regensburg force

  • “Big Week”: February 20-25, 1944

    In February 1944, the USAAF and RAF conducted an all-out campaign against Germany’s aviation industry and the Luftwaffe.  Heavy bombers from the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces hammered aircraft, engine, and ball-bearing plants by day, and RAF bombers attacked by night.  Code named Operation

  • The "Memphis Belle" and Nose Art

    The “Memphis Belle”The Memphis Belle was named to honor Morgan’s fiancée Margaret Polk, of Memphis, Tennessee, whom he met before leaving for England.  Their love story was well-publicized, but their engagement ended during the war bond tour.Morgan flew on combat missions with a picture of Margaret

  • Eddie V. Rickenbacker WWI Diary

    Note: This item is currently in storageIn commemoration of the Centennial of World War I, the National Museum of the United States Air Force will regularly post excerpts from Capt Edward V. Rickenbacker's 1918 wartime diary.  These begin with Saturday, March 2, 1918, the date Rickenbacker began

  • 94th Aero Squadron

    Note: This photo is currently in storage Having completed gunnery school, Rickenbacker was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron. In late February, he and severalother pilots traveled to Paris to fly their new Nieuport 28s back to Villeneuve. However, a snow storm delayed their return,and Rickenbacker

  • Lt. Edward Rickenbacker

    Note: This item is currently in storageEddie Rickenbacker completed his pilot's training in just 17 days.  In addition to earning his pilot's wings, Rickenbacker also was commissioned as an officer. On December 10, 1917, Lt Rickenbacker and fourteen other pilots - including Capt. Fiorella LaGuardia,