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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  • Battle of the Bulge

    Early on Dec. 16, 1944, the Germans began their large-scale counteroffensive in the Ardennes. During the first seven days, fog, clouds and snow seriously limited Allied air power, and by Dec. 24 the Germans had penetrated 50 miles westward. The weather let up and both Allied and German air power

  • Battle at Arnhem

    With their troops on the borders of Germany and Holland by late summer, the Allies decided to attempt a breakthrough in southeastern Holland toward the Ruhr, Germany's industrial center. On Sept.17, a massive fleet of airplanes and gliders staged an aerial invasion behind German lines, with U.S.,

  • Battle of the Bulge

    On Dec. 16, 1944, the German army launched a large-scale surprise attack against a quiet and thinly-manned sector in the Ardennes Forest. Poor weather kept tactical air power grounded, and the situation became desperate. When the weather finally started improving on Dec. 23, however, 9th Air Force

  • Breakout and the Race Across France

    "They bomb and strafe every movement, even single vehicles and individuals ... [causing a] feeling of helplessness against enemy aircraft ... the effect on inexperienced troops is literally 'soul shattering.'"- Gen. Freiherr Heinrich von Luttwitz, 2nd Panzer Division commander, July 17, 1944, near

  • Brig. Gen. Clinton D. "Casey" Vincent

    Clinton D. Vincent was the second youngest general officer in Air Force history, earning his star at the age of 29. After only seven years of service in the armed forces, he rose to the temporary rank of brigadier general. Vincent spent the first year of World War II with the Karachi American Air

  • Burma Campaign

    As the Allies gradually received reinforcements, the RAF and the 10th Air Force were able to win air superiority over the Japanese in Burma, and medium bombers and fighter bombers undertook energetic campaigns against enemy river traffic, bridges and railroads. In March 1944 Allied transport

  • Back to the Philippines

    The Battle of the Coral Sea and the fight at Guadalcanal in 1942 ended the Japanese drive across the Southwest Pacific, but Japanese troops still controlled the northern half of New Guinea. Before Gen. Douglas MacArthur could begin his drive to liberate the Philippines, he had to defeat the enemy

  • Balloon Bombs: Japan's Answer to Doolittle

    One of the best kept secrets of the war involved the Japanese balloon bomb offensive. Prompted by the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942, the Japanese developed the balloon bombs as a means of direct reprisal against the U.S. mainland. The balloons, made of paper or rubberized silk, carried

  • Bataan Death March

    The Bataan Death March began on April 10, 1942, when the Japanese assembled about 78,000 prisoners (12,000 U.S. and 66,000 Filipino). They began marching up the east coast of Bataan. Although they didn't know it, their destination was Camp O'Donnell, north of the peninsula. The men, already

  • Buying Time in the Pacific: The Battle of the Points

    In a gamble, the Japanese tried to outflank the main line by landing a force of 900 men on Jan. 23 in southern Bataan, followed by another 300 reinforcements on Jan. 27. About 1,000 men from the 24th Pursuit Group and 19th Bombardment Group fought alongside U.S. Army soldiers, sailors, Marines, and