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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  • Meuse-Argonne Offensive

    The next offensive was the Meuse-Argonne, scheduled to begin north and west of Verdun on Sept. 26. Gen. Billy Mitchell had only 842 planes under his control because the French had withdrawn three-fourths of their planes that had been available for the St. Mihiel offensive. Mitchell used the same

  • Maj. Raoul Lufbery

    Maj. Raoul Lufbery, a member of the Lafayette Escadrille, transferred to the U.S. Air Service following the country's entry into the war. A famous combat flyer of the period with 17 confirmed victories with the French, he was assigned to the 94th Aero Squadron that had just arrived on the Front. His

  • Martin B-10

    The B-10, the first "modern" all-metal monoplane bomber produced in quantity, featured such innovations as retractable landing gear, a rotating gun turret and enclosed cockpits. Powered by two 775-hp Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines, Martin's advanced design made the B-10 50 percent faster than

  • Martin MB-2 (NBS-1)

     The Martin MB-2 was the first U.S.-designed bomber produced in large numbers. First ordered in June 1920, it replaced the handful of British Handley-Page O-400 and Italian Caproni bombers produced in the United States under license during World War I.Derived from the MB-1 (or GMB) and designed as a

  • Meeting the Challenge: The Wright Brothers

    Although heavier-than-air powered flight posed more difficult problems than other methods of flight, it also held the greatest potential. To achieve heavier-than-air flight, the problems of control and aerodynamic lift had to be solved, along with the development of a lightweight engine for

  • Mastering Flight at Huffman Prairie

    During 1904-1905, the Wrights continued researching the mysteries of flight at Huffman Prairie near the Simms Station trolley stop (now part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio). In September 1904 Wilbur Wright reached a significant milestone. After ascending over Huffman Prairie in the Flyer

  • Mark I Demolition Bomb

    The Mark I 4,300-pound bomb, developed for the Mitchell bombing trials, was first tested on Sept. 29, 1921. Unfortunately, Mitchell never obtained permission to drop the bomb during the trials, and the largest bomb used weighed 2,000 pounds. Purportedly, the U.S. Army Air Service removed this bomb

  • Machine Gun Fired from an Airplane

    During the 1912 flying season at College Park, additional volunteers were accepted for flight instruction, more airplanes were purchased, and new experiments were conducted. One of the most notable tests was the first firing of a machine gun from an airplane by Capt. Chandler on June 7, 1912. He

  • McDonnell F-101A and C

    T.O. 1F-101A-1 Airplane: The F-101A and F-101C are single place supersonic fighters built by McDonnell Aircraft. The RF-101G and RF-101H are single place, supersonic, long range photo-reconnaissance airplanes modified from F-101A and F-101C airplanes by Lockheed Aircraft Service Company. Their

  • Method of Shooting Against Monoplace

    Note: This item is currently in storage.This newsletter, written for aircraft gunners and observers, describes the proper tactics of defensive shooting against enemy pursuit aircraft. The document was written in October 1917, by Lt. Pierre Sainflou of the French Aeronautique Militaire. Translated