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  • Origins of Engineer Aviation Battalions

    Created in 1939, Engineer Aviation Battalions (EABs), were self-contained units which became the core of World War II aviation engineering efforts. These skilled construction and engineering troops constructed, repaired, camouflaged, and if necessary, defended small airfields. Well-equipped and

  • OPERATION OVERLORD: D-Day

    D-Day, June 6, 1944—history’s largest amphibious invasion—sparked the liberation of Europe. Airmen enabled its success by breaking the Luftwaffe, crippling enemy transportation, gathering intelligence, and directly supporting Allied ground forces.         What is “D-Day”?“D-Day” was the general

  • OPERATION TIDALWAVE: Ploesti, August 1, 1943

    On August 1, 1943, the USAAF staged Operation Tidalwave—a daring, surprise low-level B-24 raid against the Axis’ critical source of fuel, the oil fields in Ploesti, Romania.   During the unescorted 1,000 mile flight from Libya, clouds broke the formation into two groups and a wrong turn caused even

  • OPERATION FRANTIC: Shuttle Raids to the Soviet Union

    In 1944, the US persuaded Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to allow USAAF aircraft to operate out of bases in the western Soviet Union.  Between June and September 1944, the Eighth and Fifteenth Air Forces conducted a total of seven so-called “shuttle raids” under the code name Operation

  • Olive Drab Service Coat

    Note: This item is currently in storage.This service coat belonged to William Aulwes who served in World War I. Note the unique balloonist insignia embroidered on the rank chevron.Donated by Mr. Robert Aulwes.Click here to return to the Featured Accessions index.

  • Other Memorials

    AC-130A Spectre Gunship Ubon ThailandUnited States Air Force Museum1st Radio Squadron1st Tactical Depot Squadron2nd Schweinfurt Association3rd & 4th Special Operations Squadrons5th Airdrome Squadron7th Combat Cargo Squadron8th Aerial Port Squadron39th Field Hospital47th Aerial Port Squadron51st

  • Operation Desert Storm Artifacts

    These artifacts were collected by members of the 907th Tactical Airlift Group, Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Ohio, during their tour of duty in support of Operation Desert Storm. They were presented to the National Museum of the United States Air Force on Jan. 17, 1992.Click here to return

  • Old Design, Young Airplane

    Over the years, the U-2 has been improved and modified many times. Several different models used a wide variety of sensors and cameras. The U-2 was even studied at one point for use on aircraft carriers to extend its range. The most visible change to the U-2 was the introduction of the U-2R in 1967.

  • Origins of the U-2

    In the early 1950s, Soviet military and economic developments were a mystery to the United States because the USSR was a secretive, closed society. Americans feared a rising threat from a nation they knew was developing long-range nuclear missiles and bombers. Before reconnaissance satellites were

  • OSI Confronts Terrorism

     Terrorism became a significant threat to the Air Force in 1972 in Iran, when Islamic Marxists injured a visiting USAF general in a bomb attack. Attacks were infrequent, but some Americans were killed in Iran in the 1970s. These attacks posed a new threat to the Air Force as violent opposition to