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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  • Stateside Training Experiences

    Despite the Army's reluctance, thousands of blacks entered the AAF, and of the 157 EABs that saw duty in World War II, 48 were segregated black units. All of those units received uneven training, but the black units faced additional difficulties arising from segregation. These troops often had

  • Sperry S-1 Bombsight

    The Sperry S-1 precision bombsight was developed in the 1930s. It was designated as "standard" equipment in March 1941 and was used in some U.S. Army Air Forces bombers early in World War II; however, all contracts for production of the Sperry sight were ordered canceled in late 1943. Use of the

  • Strategic Bombing: Victory Through Air Power

    To avoid another long and bloody war like World War I, the U.S. Army Air Forces' leaders in the 1930s planned to use strategic bombing to destroy the enemy's factories, power supplies and transportation facilities. Without weapons, the enemy could not fight, and the war would be ended quickly.During

  • Shooting the Sun: Navigators

     Following preflight training, navigation cadets went to flying school, where they spent from 15-20 weeks. Emphasis was placed on precision dead-reckoning navigation with basic proficiency in radio and celestial navigation. A navigation cadet logged approximately 100 hours in the air and about 500

  • Slave Labor Built V-Weapons

    Germany did not have enough skilled labor to produce as many V-weapons as quickly as it wanted. Therefore, the Nazis used skilled prisoners as forced labor to build V-1s and V-2s. Most of this work was done in a huge underground complex known as the Mittelwerk, which the Nazis set up after Allied

  • Shuttle Raids to Russia

    Early in 1944, the U.S. persuaded Stalin to permit AAF heavy bombers to fly shuttle missions to Russia to bomb enemy targets in eastern Germany and the Balkans without having to fly back to England and Italy. The Soviets made three airfields available near Kiev and the U.S. devoted months preparing

  • Strategic Bombing Resumed

    On June 20, the AAF's heavy bombers returned to strategic operations to destroy Germany's war production industries. Throughout the summer, they waged their campaign, halting only long enough during the latter part of July to join tactical air units in assisting the ground forces in breaking out of

  • Saga of B-17 PN9E

    The most remarkable Arctic rescue of World War II involved B-17 PN9E, which was reported missing somewhere in southeastern Greenland on Nov. 9, 1942. An air search was launched and on Nov. 24, the plane finally was discovered by Col. Bernt Balchen 40 miles inland from the Greenland coast. Thus began

  • Steadfast to the End: 1st Lt. Raymond L. Knight

    Note:  This exhibit has temporarily been removed from display. In April 1945 1st Lt. Raymond Knight was a P-47 fighter-bomber pilot with the 350th Fighter Group based out of Piso, Italy. Knight had already completed more than 80 combat missions, received the Distinguished Flying Cross and five Air

  • Softening Up for the Normandy Invasion

    Before D-Day, 9th Air Force medium bombers and fighter-bombers attacked Luftwaffe (German air force) airfields, V-1 launching sites, coastal batteries, key bridges and railroad marshaling yards in the Normandy region. Ninth Air Force aircrews also flew many missions against the Pas de Calais to