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

  • Wild Weasel Missions: Strike Support and Search and Destroy

    Strike Support: First In, Last OutOn strike support missions deep into North Vietnam, Wild Weasels ranged ahead of strike forces to suppress SAM sites and gun laying radars in the target area. Ideally, the Wild Weasels would destroy them, but intimidating the radars to shut down and keeping them

  • What is a Wild Weasel?

    "Wild Weasel" describes the specialized USAF crews, aircraft and missions that suppress enemy air defenses with direct attacks. It originates with the name of the USAF's first anti-SAM program in 1965 -- Project Wild Weasel.Click here to return to First In, Last Out: Wild Weasels vs. SAMs.

  • War over Radio Waves: Signals Intelligence

    The Radar War: Electronics IntelligenceThe enemy's air defense system depended heavily on radar signals. Enemy radars detected incoming U.S. aircraft, guided surface-to-air missiles and directed anti-aircraft fire.Air Force RB-66C, RB-47H and RC-135 crews identified enemy radar locations and

  • Wilson Hurley: Painting the FACs in Action

    Since pre-historic times, artists have attempted to convey the experience of warfare through art. Oftentimes, these artists base their interpretations of military actions on written or verbal accounts. Wilson Hurley, a FAC during the Southeast Asia War, put his personal memories of the war in

  • WWII Aviator Jackets

    Note: This exhibit is located in the connecting link between the World War II and Korean War Galleries. World War II USAAF aviators often personalized their flight jackets (usually the popular leather A-2 jacket), using such painted decorations as unit insignia, artwork that appeared on their

  • War in Context

    "Yours is now the role of watchfulness and preparedness, for you must continue to be the most vigilant and best prepared of all the forces that guard the safety of Americans and the security of the free world."- Gen. Nathan F. Twining, USAF Chief of Staff, to Far East Air Forces Airmen at the end of

  • WWII Royal Italian Air Force

    Regia AeronauticaItalian pilots enjoyed success in the invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935 and during the Spanish Civil War in 1936-1938, but suffered heavily while flying inferior aircraft against the Allies in World War II. Although the Regia Aeronautica carried out limited operations over

  • WWII Imperial Japanese Navy Aircrews

    It was a great honor in Japan to become a naval aviator. Early in World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy pilots went through a rigorous and at times brutal cadet program. Later, as these experienced airmen became casualties of war, hastily trained pilots replaced them. Imperial Japanese Navy Petty

  • WWII Luftwaffe Aircrews

    By the fall of 1944, Luftwaffe (German Air Force) pilots faced the impossible task of defending Germany against the huge, escorted bomber formations of the USAAF by day and the Royal Air Force by night. By this time, many of its best fighter aces had been killed and replaced with inexperienced,

  • WWII Royal Air Force Aircrews

    At the beginning of World War II in 1939, most pilots serving in the Royal Air Force (RAF) were British-born. As the war continued, airmen came from many different countries. Foreign-born RAF pilots sometimes flew as independent units and other times they were mixed in with British-born aircrews.