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

Fact Sheet Search

  • The Foggiani

    The bombing effort continued to grow in spite of the disaster to the Italian ground forces at Caporetto. In late 1917, due to the lack of suitable training facilities in the United States, a contingent of some 500 Americans were sent to Foggia, Italy, to learn military flying. After completing their

  • Thomas-Morse S4C Scout

    This aircraft is located in the Early Years GalleryThe Thomas-Morse Scout became the favorite single-seat training airplane for U.S. pilots during World War I. The Scout first appeared with an order for 100 S4Bs in the summer of 1917. The U.S. Army Air Service later purchased nearly 500 of a

  • Tragedy Strikes

    Tragedy struck during a flight on Sept. 17, 1908, when the right propeller on the 1908 Flyer fouled a guy wire, causing the plane to crash to earth. Orville Wright was seriously injured, while Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, along on the flight as a passenger, was fatally injured, thus becoming the first

  • The Aerodrome: Samuel Pierpont Langley

    In 1896 Samuel Pierpont Langley, astronomer and secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, flew an unmanned steam-driven airplane model three-fourths of a mile. In 1898 he received a Congressional grant of $51,000 for further development of an airplane capable of carrying a person. Langley and his

  • Terry Aitken

    Terry Aitken is senior curator of the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In this position, Aitken helps guide the museum in its mission of preserving the heritage of the U.S. Air Force and for its interpretation and exhibit to the American public