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100th Anniversary Logo with the 100 in large letters and the museum logo
Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.
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  • Army Air Forces Enlisted in WWII

    Strong Contributors: Army Air Forces Enlisted in World War IIDuring World War II, enlisted men and women in the Army Air Forces (AAF) carried out a wide variety of specialized jobs in locations across the globe. While some roles were highly complex and others were quite ordinary, each was

  • A-1s in Southeast Asia

    Flown by the South Vietnamese (VNAF) and US Air Force during the war in Southeast Asia (SEA), the A-1 Skyraider excelled in operations including close air support and search and rescue. The single-engine propeller-driven attack aircraft, the last of its type to see combat in the USAF, excelled in

  • Against All Odds Lieutenant Colonel William Jones III

    On September 1, 1968, Lieutenant Colonel William Jones III, flying A-1H, serial number 52-139738, led a group of rescue helicopters to recover a downed pilot who ejected over North Vietnam. As the on-scene commander, Lt Col Jones flew multiple low-level passes near a well-defended enemy supply road

  • A-1 Legacy and the A-X Program

    The US Air Force learned many lessons regarding SAR and CAS from its A-1 Skyraider experience in Southeast Asia.As early as 1966, the USAF anticipated the need for a specialized close air support aircraft and these lessons shaped the request for proposals sent to industry under the new A-X

  • Artillery Threat

    North Vietnamese artillery units equipped with 130 mm cannons supported their infantry and armor forces attacking into Laos. These accurate weapons ranged seventeen miles and posed a dangerous threat to the Hmong and allied forces defending Laos and were a primary target for the Ravens.To deal with

  • A Call for Unification

    In September 1963, Det 3 PARC commander Major Alan Saunders submitted a comprehensive study outlining the need for a professional rescue service in SEA.Saunders also requested that the US Air Force be the responsible service for conducting all SAR missions during the war.Agreeing with Saunders’

  • ARS Enters Southeast Asia

    In the early 1960s all USAF rescue forces world-wide were assigned to the ARS. Air Rescue Centers held command and control of these assets. In December 1961, Pacific Air Rescue Center sent its first crew of three officers and three enlisted men to coordinate SAR operations at the Air Operations

  • Alice King Chatham - Art to R&D

    After completing her fine arts degree at the Dayton Art Institute in the 1930s, the military recruited Alice King Chatham to work on high-altitude protective gear. As a personal equipment design engineer/scientist in advanced biotechnology at the Aero Medical Laboratory her knowledge of the human

  • A-7D Sit-In Cockpit

    Note: Visitors are permitted to sit in this cockpit.This A-7D ejection seat trainer familiarized pilots with proper ejection procedures during simulated in-flight emergencies. The LTV A-7 Corsair II was a single-seat attack aircraft flown by the US Air Force from 1968 until its retirement in the

  • Aircraft Insigne, 139th Aero Squadron

    Note: This item is currently in storage This insigne was removed from the wreckage of Lt. David E. Putnam’s SPAD XIII aircraft during WWI. Lt. Putnam was shot down and killed on September 12, 1918 by a flight of eight German aircraft after flying to the aid of an allied observation plane.  Lt.