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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  • Lt Col Robert Krone: 1st Squadron Commander 100-Mission Tour

    Commander of the 469th TFS, 388th TFW, Lt. Col. Krone's first "counter" was on Nov. 15, 1965. On June 3, 1966, he became the first squadron commander to complete a 100-mission tour.Click here to return to Badge of Honor: 100 Missions Up North.  Find Out More

  • Legacy of the Southeast Asia Wild Weasels

    The Wild Weasels in Southeast Asia created an essential and lasting capability for the U.S. Air Force. Though some believed that SAMs would be "the death of the flying Air Force," the Wild Weasels provided an effective counter, paving the way and protecting strike forces over North Vietnam. The Wild

  • Laos: The Panhandle and the Ho Chi Minh Trail

    THE TRAILThe confused situation caused by the civil war in Laos permitted North Vietnam to use southern Laos -- known as the "Panhandle" -- to move troops and supplies to South Vietnam. In 1959 the communists began traveling along the same network of paths through the Panhandle's mountains and

  • LS 85: In the Jaws of the Enemy

    "... it appears we may have pushed our luck one day too long in attempting to keep this facility in operation ..."- Cable from William Sullivan, U.S. Ambassador to Laos, to the U.S. State Department, March 11, 1968In the fall of 1967, the U.S. secretly put a modified COMBAT SKY SPOT radar on a

  • Laos: Plain of Jars

    THE SECRET WARIn response to a Laotian request for assistance, the U.S. initiated covert operations to keep "neutral" Laos from falling to the communist offensive across the Plain of Jars. The U.S. ambassador in Laos assumed control of all US operations in northern Laos, including the CIA-operated

  • Laos

    OVER THE FENCE In 1954 the Geneva Peace Accords established Laos as an independent state led by the Royal Lao government. Shortly thereafter, opposing groups, including the North Vietnamese-supported communist Pathet Lao, started a civil war. The U.S. sent a small number of advisors to assist the

  • LAU-3 Rocket Launcher

    The early Wild Weasels (and the accompanying F-105Ds) employed the reusable nineteen-shot LAU-3 rocket launcher to attack SAM sites. The F-100Fs typically carried two LAU-3s while the F-105Ds carried four. The LAU-3 could fire its 2.75-inch rockets individually, rapidly in sequence or all at once.

  • Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor

    The Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor is the world's first stealthy air dominance fighter. Its radar, weapons control and electronic warfare systems work together as one integrated unit. The Raptor combines stealth, maneuverability and the ability to fly long distances at supersonic speeds -- or

  • Lockheed EC-121D Constellation

    The EC-121, originally designated RC-121, was a radar-picket version of the U.S. Air Force's C-121 passenger airplane. The EC-121 provided early warning by detecting and tracking enemy aircraft with the electronic gear in the large radomes above and below its fuselage.The Air Force ordered 82

  • Leading Jet Ace: Capt. Joseph McConnell Jr.

    The leading jet ace of the Korean War was Capt. Joseph McConnell Jr., who scored his first victory on Jan. 14, 1953. In a little more than a month, he gained his fifth MiG-15 victory, thereby becoming an ace.On the day McConnell shot down his eighth MiG, his F-86 was hit by enemy aircraft fire, and