Image of the Air Force wings with the museum name underneath

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Fact Sheet Alphabetical List

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  • Beech AT-10 Wichita

    In 1940-1941 Beech Aircraft designed an advanced, multi-engine trainer that could be easily manufactured on a large scale. To conserve scarce metals needed for combat aircraft, Beech built the airframe out of plywood with only the engine cowlings and cockpit enclosure constructed of aluminum. The

  • Bell P-63E Kingcobra

    Note:  This aircraft has been placed on loan to the Museum of Aviation at Robins AFB Georgia.(Sept. 2021) This World War II fighter was developed from the P-39 Airacobra, which it closely resembles. The U.S. Army Air Forces never used the P-63 in combat, although some were used for fighter training.

  • Bell P-39Q Airacobra

    The P-39 was one of America's first-line pursuit planes in December 1941. It made its initial flight in April 1939 at Wright Field, Ohio, and by the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, nearly 600 had been built. Its unique engine location behind the cockpit caused some pilot concern at first, but

  • Beech UC-43 Traveler

    One of the most distinctive U.S. Army Air Forces aircraft was the UC-43 Traveler, a light transport biplane with negative or backward staggered wings. In June 1939 Beech delivered three examples of its popular commercial Model 17 Staggerwing aircraft for evaluation under the designation of YC-43.

  • Bristol Beaufighter

    The British Bristol Beaufighter filled the need for an effective night fighter in the U.S. Army Air Forces until an American aircraft could be produced. The Beaufighter had first entered operational service with the Royal Air Force in July 1940 as a day fighter. Equipped with a very early Mk IV

  • Boeing B-29 Superfortress

    The B-29 on display, Bockscar, dropped the Fat Man atomic bomb on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, three days after the atomic attack against Hiroshima. Bockscar was one of 15 specially modified "Silverplate" B-29s assigned to the 509th Composite Group. Most B-29s carried eight .50-cal. machine guns in

  • Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

    Note:  The B-17G Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby has been moved to the museum's restoration area where it will be placed in storage until it is transferred to the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum.The Flying Fortress is one of the most famous airplanes ever built. The B-17 prototype first flew on July

  • Boeing EC-135E ARIA

    During the early 1960s, NASA and the Department of Defense needed a mobile tracking and telemetry platform to support the Apollo space program and other unmanned space flight operations. In a joint project, NASA and the DoD contracted with the McDonnell Douglas and the Bendix Corporations to modify

  • B-10 Alaskan Flight

    In 1934 the Air Corps established a project for a mass flight to Alaska of its new type all-metal monoplane bomber, the Martin B-10. Such a flight would not only prove the feasibility of sending an aerial force to Alaska in an emergency, but it would be excellent training for personnel flying across

  • Balloons & Airships

    Following World War I, the Air Service expanded its lighter-than-air activities. It continued the use of captive observation balloons for several years and began using free balloons and even non-rigid and semi-rigid airships. It participated in numerous balloon races and flew its airships in various