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

Fact Sheet Search

  • Lt. Harold E. Goettler

    Harold E. Goettler of Chicago, Ill., enlisted in the U.S. Army's Aviation Section in July 1917. After pilot training, he joined the 50th Aero Squadron in France, where he was assigned to fly U.S.-built De Havilland DH-4s on artillery spotting missions. The DH-4 carried a pilot and an

  • Lighter-than-Air Flight

    Lighter-than-air flight was the first method used to take to the skies. Air that is less dense (or "lighter") rises. Heating the air inside of an envelope (or balloon) makes the heated air less dense, thereby causing it to rise. Another method is to fill the envelope with low-density (or "light")

  • Lawrance L-4S

    Lawrance L-4S 60-hp air-cooled engine of the early 1920s was flight-tested in "Pony Blimp" airships as well as the Sperry "Messenger" airplane. It is typical of early-type radial engines that were developed following the demise of the rotary engine used during World War I.Click here to return to the

  • Liberty 12-A Inverted

    The inverted Liberty is a conversion of the famous Liberty 12, one of America's greatest technological contributions during World War I. During the war, 20,478 Liberty 12s were produced in the United States and used primarily in U.S.-built DH-4s, the only American-made airplane to get into combat

  • Liberty 12-Cylinder

    Note:  This engine has been removed from display.America's major technological contribution to World War I was the "Liberty" aircraft engine. It was light, powerful and efficient. America's auto industry turned out 20,478 of them for the war. The Liberty engine continued in military and civilian use

  • Lt. Gen. Daniel James III

    A Family Tradition of ExcellenceDaniel James III is the first African-American to hold the post of Director of the Air National Guard. He assumed that command in 2002 following a flying career that included more than 300 combat missions in Southeast Asia and 4,000 flying hours. James, who retired in

  • Lt. Harold R. Harris Letter

    Note: This item is currently in storage.In September 1917, Lt. Harold R. Harris, who had recently completed Ground School at the University of California Berkeley, was en-route to Italy, to assist in establishing the 8th Aviation Instruction Center for the Allied Expeditionary Force in Foggia.

  • Lt. Lloyd “Scotty” Hathcock

    Captured in Italy during the summer of 1944, Lt. (later Maj.) Lloyd "Scotty" Hathcock spent the rest of the war in Stalag Luft III and Stalag VII-A prison camps. After the war, Hathcock stayed in the service and helped to desegregate the U.S. Air Force.Click here to return to the Tuskegee Airmen