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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  • ASV-3 ASSET Lifting Body

    The ASSET program was the first phase of Spacecraft Technology and Advanced Re-entry Tests (START). This was a USAF research program designed to develop a reusable, maneuverable, re-entry vehicle capable of being flown from earth orbit to a precise landing point on earth. Since wings provide no lift

  • Aerojet Aerobee Rocket

    The Aerobee was designed to carry instruments aloft to collect data on the upper atmosphere and to place small animals in a weightless condition for physiological studies. It was launched by a solid-propellant booster engine of 18,000 pounds thrust that burned for only two and a half seconds. After

  • Arc Light

    Beginning in June 1965, Strategic Air Command B-52s attacked communist positions in South Vietnam under the code name Operation Arc Light. Gradually, they also hit enemy strongholds in Laos, Cambodia and southern North Vietnam. Flying at altitudes where they could not be heard on the ground, the

  • ALQ-71 Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) Pod

    Carried by fighter aircraft, ECM pods jammed enemy radars by emitting high powered radio signals. Though effective when carried in large, close formations in level flight, an ECM pod was of little value in the small, constantly maneuvering formations used by Wild Weasels. Furthermore, ECM pod

  • Airman 1st Class William H. Pitsenbarger

    Born in 1944 in Piqua, Ohio, William H. Pitsenbarger was an ambitious only child. He wanted to quit high school to join the U.S. Army Special Forces' "Green Berets," but his parents convinced him to stay in school. After graduating in 1962, Pitsenbarger joined the Air Force.A1C Pitsenbarger learned

  • A Dangerous Business: Forward Air Control in Southeast Asia

    During World War II, air power provided valuable support to American ground troops. However, air attacks against nearby enemy ground forces, or close air support (CAS), required detailed coordination with the ground commanders to avoid hitting friendly forces. At first, the U.S. Army Air Forces

  • AN/MSR-1 (“Misery”) Communications Intercept Van

    During the Southeast Asia War, the Department of Defense sought to limit the amount of information having possible intelligence value that could be gathered by enemy intercept teams. Long range HF (high frequency) radio communications were known to have been monitored and short range VHF (very high

  • Air Force Reserve AC-119G Shadows

    In 1968, the Air Force Reserve (AFRES) 71st Tactical Airlift Squadron mobilized and converted to the AC-119G Shadow gunship, becoming the 71st Special Operations Squadron (SOS). The 71st SOS deployed the first of 18 AC-119G gunships to South Vietnam in December 1968. For the next six months, 71st

  • Air National Guard F-100s in South Vietnam

    In 1968, four Air National Guard (ANG) F-100 squadrons deployed to Southeast Asia to provide close air support for friendly troops in South Vietnam. The first was the Colorado ANG 120th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) in May 1968, followed by the 174th TFS (Iowa), 188th TFS (New Mexico) and the

  • Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard Explained

    The Air Force Reserve (AFRES) is a federal reserve component of the U.S. Air Force. The Air National Guard (ANG) is the air militia component of the National Guard of each state or territory (with each state's ANG under the jurisdiction of that state's governor). AFRES and ANG units can be mobilized