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Mask Policy:
In accordance with the updated guidance released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Defense (DoD) and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will require all visitors to wear face masks indoors effective July 30, 2021 until further notice.

Visitors ages three and up will be required to wear masks while indoors at the museum. This policy applies to all visitors, staff and volunteers regardless of vaccination status. Visitors may wear their own masks or a free paper mask will be provided. Cloth masks will also be available for purchase in the Museum Store.
Additional information available here.

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Two-War Flight Suit
Tuskegee Airman Lt. Haldane King, a B-25 pilot, wore this A-4 flight suit during World War II. His son, Capt. Haldane King Jr., a KC-135 pilot, wore it during the Southeast Asia War.Click here to return to the Tuskegee Airmen Overview. Find Out More
Training Begins
Reflecting contemporary American custom and War Department policy of segregation, the Army Air Corps announced the formation of its first-ever black combat unit, the 99th Pursuit (later Fighter) Squadron, in March 1941. The first ground crew trained at Chanute Army Air Field (AAF), Ill., and pilots trained at Tuskegee. Eventually, black aviation
Tuskegee Airmen
Reflecting American society and law at the time, the U.S. military remained racially segregated during World War II. Most African American soldiers and sailors were restricted to labor battalions or other support positions. One experiment in the U.S. Army Air Forces, however, demonstrated conclusively that African Americans -- if given equal
Type F-1A Utility Heater
The Type F-1A heater, built by the Herman Nelsen Corp., is a World War II-era portable gasoline-powered unit designed to produce a steady flow of heated air. The Army Air Forces used it in cold climates to pre-heat aircraft and motor vehicle engines for easy starting, and to heat crew compartments, tents, hangars and other shelters. A small
The Four Chaplains
Heroism and Interfaith in Icy WatersIn April 1941, the United States and Denmark signed an agreement pledging the U.S. to defend Greenland from invasion. It allowed the U.S. to build military bases in Greenland, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated was critical to defending the Western Hemisphere. During the summer of 1941, the U.S. began
Two Escapes: Capt. Jack Ilfrey
Capt. Jack Ilfrey, an ace who ended the war with eight victories, twice escaped capture. In November 1942, on a ferry flight from England to North Africa, Ilfrey diverted to an airfield in neutral Portugal because of a malfunctioning drop tank. The Portuguese seized his P-38 and Ilfrey was to be interned. However, while sitting in the cockpit
Tools of the Trade
USAAF airmen were supplied with many tools to help them evade the enemy if they were downed or to escape from POW camps if they were captured. In addition to these, ingenious POWs made their own from material at hand.Evasion PursesEvasion purses were issued to aircrews before they flew over enemy territory. Custom-made for specific areas, they
The Kindness of Strangers: Escape Routes and the Resistance
Resistance movements in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia worked with Allied intelligence to form escape networks. Countless other Europeans acted independently to help downed airmen. At the risk of death and torture to themselves and to their families from the Gestapo (German secret police), these brave "helpers" fed,
Tactical Support
On July 25, the Allies launched a massive attack at St. Lo to break out southward from the invasion bridgehead. The AAF and RAF committed their forces based in England to support the ground offensive, both on the front lines and in rear areas. Fighter-bombers and tanks operated as a team, with the airplanes forging ahead, bombing and strafing any
Target Berlin
Berlin, the capital of Germany, was selected as a prime target for the AAF, not only for its industrial importance, but because it was believed the Luftwaffe would react in force to defend it, suffering heavy losses in the process. The first attack was made on March 4, 1944, but only 29 bombers reached target because of weather.Two days later, 660