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  • Cushman Model 39 Delivery Scooter

    This three-wheeled utility vehicle was built in 1943 for the U.S. Army. The Cushman company of Lincoln, Neb., began making scooters in 1936 and sold 606 Model 39s to the U.S. military during World War II. These utility scooters remained in service for many years moving various equipment and

  • MA-1A Start Cart

    The MA-1A start cart generates high velocity air for starting an aircraft jet engine. That air is fed into the aircraft engine, causing it to spin or "spool up" with sufficient rpm for starting. The cart's air delivery system is powered by a small turbine engine.Click here to return to the Cold War

  • Triumph and Tragedy: Maj. John "Jack" L. Armstrong

    On Sept. 3, 1954, Maj. John "Jack" L. Armstrong, an Air Force test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, flew an F-86H to set a new speed record of 649.302 mph for the 500-km course. For this feat, Maj. Armstrong was awarded the General Electric Trophy, but sadly, he was unable to accept

  • Strategic Air Command

    World War II proved what the proponents of air power had been championing for the previous two decades -- the great value of strategic forces in bombing an enemy's industrial complex and of tactical forces in controlling the skies above a battlefield. As a result, the Strategic and Tactical Air

  • 1957 Hughes Trophy

    Flying F-86Ds, the 512th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS) stationed at RAF Bentwaters, United Kingdom, won the Hughes Trophy for 1957. Instituted by the Hughes Aircraft Co. in 1953, the trophy became known as the highest Air Force award for air defense fighter achievement. The Air Force determines

  • 1956 Hughes Trophy

    In 1953 the Hughes Aircraft Co. inaugurated its annual achievement award for superior performance among U.S. Air Force squadrons involved in air defense. The Hughes Trophy is recognized as the top USAF award in air defense fighter achievement. The USAF determines the winner on the basis of

  • B-36 Remote Gun Turret

    Early models of the B-36 Peacemaker intercontinental bomber relied on concentrated fire from multiple gun turrets for protection from fighters. This concept had been used in World War II bombers, and the B-36 was the last U.S. bomber to employ massed gun turrets for defense.Early B-36s had six

  • B-36 Fuel Injection System

    This fuel injection system was developed by Bendix for the Pratt & Whitney R-4360-53 engine used to power the B-36 and probably represents the highest sophistication achieved in the evolution of aircraft piston engine fuel injection. This system injected aviation fuel directly into each cylinder of

  • XB-36 Landing Gear

    When the XB-36 was designed during World War II, specifications called for two main landing gear wheels to be equipped with the largest aircraft tires produced in the U.S. to that time. Manufactured by Goodyear, the tires were 110 inches in diameter and 36 inches in width. Weighing 1,320 pounds,

  • Clarktor-6 Towing Tractor

    The Clarktor-6 Towing Tractor, built by the Clark Equipment Co., has been used by the USAF since the early 1950s for towing small to mid-sized aircraft and ground support equipment.Click here to return to the Cold War Gallery.