An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

100th Anniversary Logo with the 100 in large letters and the museum logo
Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.
FREE Admission & Parking

Fact Sheet Alphabetical List

Fact Sheet Search

  • Regensburg/Schweinfurt, August 17, 1943

    On August 17, 1943, the USAAF suffered staggering losses in the two-pronged attack against the Messerschmitt fighter factory at Regensburg and the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt, Germany.   To split the German defense, these raids were supposed to occur simultaneously, with the Regensburg force

  • Rocket Fuel Handlers Exhibit

    FUELING ROCKETSWorking with rocket propellants requires special protective gear. The two suits here are examples of rocket fuel handlers' outfits from the 1940s-1990s. Liquid fueled missiles such as the Titan I and Titan II in this gallery used dangerous fluids and toxic chemicals, and Airmen

  • Reaction Motors XLR99 Rocket

    The XLR99 powered the record-breaking X-15 on its fastest flights at nearly seven times the speed of sound. It was the first large, throttleable, restartable liquid propellant rocket engine to be used in a piloted vehicle. The engine was used only in the X-15 program, which rocketed humans to the

  • Reaction Motors XLR11 Rocket

    The XLR11 was the first liquid-fuel rocket engine developed in the United States for use on airplanes, and it had a long career powering important research aircraft. An XLR11 engine powered the first airplane to break the speed of sound, the Bell X-1, in 1947, and also powered other X-1 models.

  • Rocketdyne LR79

    The LR79 rocket engine was a reliable workhorse for U.S. Air Force space and missile launches between 1958 and 1980. Variants of this liquid-fueled engine powered Jupiter and Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles (IRBMs), Juno II satellite boosters, and Saturn I and IB rockets used in the

  • Rolls Royce Avon MK 203 Turbojet

    The Avon MK 203 is an axial-flow turbojet engine similar to the Avon RA.28-49 used to power the vertical takeoff and landing Ryan X-13 Vertijet aircraft. This engine was donated to the museum in July 1986 by Rolls Royce Ltd., Glasgow, Scotland.TECHNICAL NOTES (Avon RA.28):Compressor: 15-stage axial

  • Republic YRF-84F FICON

    Please note: This aircraft is in storage.The museum’s YRF-84F participated in two U.S. Air Force experimental programs, the development of the F-84F fighter-bomber and later testing of the “parasite” fighter concept.The museum’s YRF-84F was the prototype of the F-84F Thunderstreak, which became a

  • Republic XF-84H

    The turboprop-driven XF-84H -- a joint Air Force/Navy project -- was designed to combine the speed of jet aircraft with the long range, low fuel consumption, and low landing speed of propeller-driven aircraft. The XF-84H’s modified F-84F airframe included a T-tail and a triangular fin behind the

  • Ryan X-13 Vertijet

    The X-13 was built to prove the concept that a jet could take off vertically, transition to horizontal flight, and return to vertical flight for landing.Equipped with a temporary tricycle landing gear, the first of two X-13s flew conventionally in December 1955 to test its overall aerodynamic

  • Ryan BQM-34F Firebee II

    The original BQM-34 Firebee II filled U.S. Navy requirements for a supersonic target to train aircrews and to test new weapons systems. The Firebee II retained many of the same basic systems as the highly-successful, subsonic Firebee I. The U.S. Air Force began receiving its BQM-34F version in the