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

  • Informal Shirts

    To the left is a shirt adopted by the men of Flight B, 3rd Air Rescue Service (ARS) Squadron during the Korean War for wear on informal occasions. The donor commanded this unit when it was activated in June 1950. The shirt was donated by Col. Christopher Bressan, USAF (Ret.) from San Antonio, Texas.

  • POW Canteen

    Note: This item is currently in storage.This canteen was carried throughout the Bataan Campaign and on the infamous Death March. It was taken from the donor by one of the Japanese sergeants at the command of Japanese officers.Donated by Master Sgt. (Ret.) Robert J. Vogler.Click here to return to the

  • Operation Heat Rise

    The museum's B-58A set three speed records on March 5, 1962, and in the process won both the Mackay and Bendix Trophies for that year. The following is the story of Operation Heat Rise as told to the museum by the flight's Defensive Systems Operator, Capt. John T. Walton. Museum: Capt. Walton, let's

  • Intercepting the “Rex”

    Gen. Frank M. Andrews, commander of General Headquarters (GHQ) Air Force, wanted heavy bomber techniques developed as quickly as possible, so 12 of 13 Y1B-17s built were assigned to the 2nd Bomb Group, Langley Field, Va., beginning in March 1937. In addition to long-range bombardment, the Army was

  • Model 299 Crash

    15 November 1935 "Cause of crash of the Boeing bomber" The findings of the Board of Officers convened at Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, to investigate the cause of the crash on October 30, 1935, of the Boeing Aircraft Company Bombardment plane, model 299, were to the effect that the accident was not

  • Model 299 Press Release

    IMMEDIATE RELEASE BOEING TEST BOMBER, MODEL 299 Hailed as the fastest and longest range bomber ever built, a giant four-engined all-metal airplane, today was brought to light by the Boeing Aircraft Company of Seattle after more than a year of work on the project. Known merely as the Boeing 299, the

  • Cat and Mouse

    As the Wild Weasels steadily acquired better equipment and honed their tactics, the enemy SAM crews constantly made changes to counter them. For instance, to avoid being tracked by Wild Weasels, they launched SAMs without guidance radar at American aircraft, only turning on the guidance when the

  • Baldwin Dirigible: U.S. Army's First Airship

    The first powered aircraft ordered by the Aeronautical Division was not an airplane, but rather a dirigible designed by Thomas Scott Baldwin. The Signal Corps had long urged the U.S. Army to buy a dirigible, and many European armies had them by the turn of the century.After seeing Baldwin

  • Military Ballooning: The American Civil War

    The UnionMilitary ballooning in the United States began early in the Civil War. Balloons gave the Union the ability to view enemy troops from the "high ground" during a battle. Best known of the "aeronauts" was Thaddeus S.C. Lowe. He and others made numerous observations using hydrogen-filled

  • Ballooning: First in the Air

    Balloons became the first air vehicles. The golden age of ballooning that began in the 1780s captured the public's fancy and offered thrills and amusements -- as well as an incentive and a means for further scientific investigation of the principles of flight.In September 1783, Joseph and Etienne