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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  • Tactical Air Command

    While Strategic Air Command (SAC) was expanding in the 1950s, Tactical Air Command (TAC) was doing likewise. Although many of its units had been transferred to the Far East during the Korean Conflict and others to Europe to bolster NATO, TAC had formed new units and acquired new airplanes to replace

  • Dart Aerial Gunnery Target

    Note: This item has been moved to storage.This aerial gunnery tow-target was fired upon by F-84F pilots of the 162nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard, Springfield, Ohio, during 1968 summer training exercises in Michigan. The target was towed behind another aircraft on 1,500 to

  • OSI Confronts Terrorism

     Terrorism became a significant threat to the Air Force in 1972 in Iran, when Islamic Marxists injured a visiting USAF general in a bomb attack. Attacks were infrequent, but some Americans were killed in Iran in the 1970s. These attacks posed a new threat to the Air Force as violent opposition to

  • Secrets for Money

    Another notable OSI case involved a Soviet spy in the United States. In 1986 senior Soviet military attache Col. Vladimir M. Ismaylov attempted to buy secret Air Force documents. Ismaylov was an agent working secretly for the Soviet Chief Directorate for Intelligence, or GRU. Ismaylov was the

  • Catching an Air Force Spy

    Unfortunately, even some Air Force members have committed espionage against the United States. The case of Jeffrey M. Carney is a Cold War example of how people can be tempted to turn against their own country. Entering the Air Force in 1980, Carney became disillusioned with the USAF and intended to

  • Counterintelligence in the Cold War and Beyond

    Counterintelligence: Detection of espionage, sabotage, treason, sedition, subversion, disloyalty and disaffection.Espionage played an important role in worldwide tensions between the East and West during the Cold War. Among OSI's many functions, counterintelligence has been crucial for national

  • OSI Civilian Attire

    OSI modeled its civilian attire after the FBI. This suit and hat were typical special agent attire in the 1960s. Modern OSI clothing includes items like the "raid jacket." It appears to be a normal denim jacket, but it has hidden flaps that can be pulled out to identify the wearer as a government

  • An Evolving Service Modeled on the FBI

    After becoming a separate service in 1947, the Air Force needed a single investigative branch to replace an inefficient mix of Army investigative functions. Founded in 1948, the new Office of Special Investigations (OSI) united a number of security-related groups. Organized similarly to the FBI,

  • Office of Special Investigations

    Note: This Exhibit is no longer on display.The Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) is the U.S. Air Force's criminal investigative service, and it plays an important role in protecting the USAF. OSI battles a wide variety of threats. Most OSI investigations focus on crimes such as

  • Willys Quarter-ton Jeep

    "[The] equipment ... among the most vital to our success in Africa and Europe were the bulldozer, the jeep, the 2 1/2 ton truck and the C-47 airplane. Curiously enough, none of these is designed for combat." - Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower The jeep, first used by the U.S. military during World War II,