It is organized chronologically and that is the way we toured it and the way my photos are organized.
This first photo is of the 1909 Wright Flyer which was the very first airplane that the Army Signal Corp owned. Prior to WW I the Signal Corp was responsible for aviation operations.
The next area was WW I. This photo shows a Sopwith Camel. This was a British made fighter that was introduced in 1917 and was credited with more kills than any other fighter of WW I with a total of 1,294 enemy aircraft. It was equipped with a 110 HP rotary engine and two 0.303 machine guns. Its design made it very maneuverable but, unfortunately, also made it difficult to fly with many inexperienced pilots crashing.
This next photo shows a SPAD S.XIII. This was a French made fighter that was flown by Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker (26 victories) and Frank Luke (18 victories). It was powered by a 200 or 225 HP Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine.
This photo shows a Nieuport 28 which was another French made fighter that was used by some of the American squadrons.
This next photo is of an Italian made bomber, the Caproni. It was powered by three 150 HP engines, two in nacelles between the wings and one in a pusher configuration behind the cockpit. You had to dress warmly when flying as you were sitting out there in the breeze.
The next area was the period between WW I and WW II. During this time you see the evolution of aircraft from fabric covered, wooden biplanes with external bracing, to single wing, metal covered with internal bracing. This next photo is of a Curtis P-6E Hawk which was introduced in the 1920s.
This is a Boeing P-26 Peashooter. This was the first all metal aircraft in the Air Corps, though it still had external bracing and fixed landing gear.
Here is an example of an early American made bomber, a Martin B-10. As you can see, they weren't worried about camouflage back then. It was powered by two 675 HP engines and featured enclosed cockpits and retractable landing gear. At the time of its introduction in 1933 it was faster then any of the current fighter at `197 mph.
This is a Seversky P-35. This was the first single seat fighter in the Air Corps to feature all metal, enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear. It was introduced in 1937 but was considered obsolete by the time WW II started. However, there were P-35s at Wheeler Field in 1941 when the Japanese attacked and almost all of them were destroyed on the ground during the attack. A variant was sold to Sweden before WW II and remained in service with their Air Force until 1952.
Now we are getting into serious WW II aircraft led off by the Curtis P-40 Warhawk. This fighter entered service in 1939 and saw extensive service in the Pacific, Middle East and North African theaters. This photo shows a P-40 with the marking of the American Flying Tigers squadron that flew with the Chinese prior to the US entering WW II.
This photo shows the major foe of the P-40, The Japanese Mitsubishi Zero. The Zero had better low speed maneuverability then the P-40 but the P-40 was faster, more rugged and better at high speed maneuvers.
Here is a photo of a North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber. It was introduced in 1941 and gained fame as the aircraft that was used by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle's squadron in a surprise attack on Japan on 18 April 1942. For this raid the B-25s were stripped of much of their equipment so that they could take off from and aircraft carrier deck.
This is a photo of a Bell P-39 Airacobra which was introduced in 1941 and featured many innovative design ideas including tricycle landing gear, and engine mounted in the center of the fuselage behind the pilot and a cannon firing thru the center of the propeller. Unfortunately, it did not have a good supercharger for the engine and so was not good at high altitude. It did see a lot of service with the Russian Air Force where it was very successful.
Here we have a Consolidated B-24 Liberator by the name of Strawberry Bitch. This particualr B-24 was one of 19,256 built and saw service in North Africa where its long range enabled it to raid facilities in Romania. B-24s were also used by the thousands in Europe for mass raids over Germany.
Here is an North American A-36 Apache. If it looks like a P-51 Mustang it's because it was an early version of that aircraft that was developed as a ground attack dive bomber. A total of 500 were produced and it saw limited use until withdrawn from service in 1944.
This next aircraft is a British light bomber/reconnaissance aircraft. It had the distinction of being the only aircraft in WW II where the air frame was made entirely of wood. It was famous for its speed.
Here we wee the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. This was a twin engine fighter introduced in 1941 and over 10,000 were built. It was mostly used in the Pacific and America's top aces: Richard Bong (40 victories), Thomas McGuire (38 victories) and Charles MacDonald (36 victories) flew the P-38.
Here is a Republic P-47D Thunderbolt. This was a very successful fighter with about 16,660 built. The design philosophy for the development was to take the most powerful engine then available and build an airplane around it. It was the largest, heaviest and most heavily armed of the WW II fighters. Pat's Dad served in a P-47 outfit during WW II.
This photo shows a Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber. Over 5,000 were built and it was used primarily in the Pacific. When I was in college in Charlottesville, VA, some well to do gentleman had one of these that he had converted for his personal use. His daughter was going to college in New York and he would use this airplane to fly up and bring her home for long weekends and vacations.
Here we have a Douglas C-47 Skytrain more affectionately know as the Gooney Bird. This aircraft was derived from the Commercial DC-3 and over 10,000 were built. Just above it you see a troop glider. During the Normandy invasion, C-47s hauled paratroopers or towed these glider to place troops behind German lines.
And this is the famous Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. It was introduced in 1938 and 12,731 were built. It and the B-24 carried the brunt of the bombing campaign against Germany in the European theater, Memphis Bell of movie fame was a B-17.
Here is an example of the North American P-51 Mustang, the most successful fighter of WW II. P-51s saw service in all WW II theaters and also during the Korean War. More then 15,000 were built.
Here is a photo of the only jet powered fighter to see action in WW II, the Messerschmidt Me 262. It entered service in 1943 but engine problems and top level interference kept it from achieving operational status until mid 1944.
This photo shows another P-47. This is an earlier version. When both the P-47 and P-51 were first built the rear fuselage behind the cockpit was high and the canopy flowed right into the rear deck. This was great for improved streamlining but limited the pilots ability to see behind him. Later versions of both aircraft had a lowered rear deck and a bubble canopy for improved visibility. These older versions were referred to as razorbacks.
This is a Boeing B-29 Super Fortress heavy bomber, the largest bomber of WW II. This particular aircraft is "Bockscar" and was the B-29 that dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan to end WW II.
This is the last aircraft in the WW II area and is a Northrup P-61 Black Widow. The P-61 was developed as a night fighter, hence the black paint, and was the first aircraft designed to carry radar so it could find its targets at night. It was very heavily armed with 4 - 20 mm cannons in the nose and 4 - 0.50 caliber machine guns in a remotely controlled turret on top of the aircraft. The P-61 is credited with the last air victory of WW II
The next area was the Korean War from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s. The first aircraft was the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star. This was the first operational jet aircraft used by the Air Corps. It was initially called the P-80 but when the Air Force came into existence in 1947 they changed the designation from P for pursuit to F for fighter. The F-80 began test flights in 1943 and some pre-production models saw limited use during WW II but it was July 1945 before production models were delivered, to late for use in WW II. They did see use in Korea but when the swept wing MIG-15 showed up it was relegated to ground support. The famous two seat T-33 T-Bird trainer was developed from the F-80.
Here is the most famous fighter of the Korean War the North American F-86 Sabre introduced in 1949. Counting all of the variations, almost 10,000 F-86s were built. This was the first swept wing fighter. Swept wings reduced drag as you approached the speed of sound (Mach 1) so that the F-86 could achieve a top speed of 690 mph. During the Korean War F-86s pilots had 757 air victories to just 103 losses.
And this was the main adversary of the F-86, the Soviet MiG-15.
This odd looking aircraft is the North American F-82 Twin Mustang. This was the last propeller driven fighter to be developed and deployed by USAF. Its mission was long range, high altitude bomber escort and all-weather interception. It did see service in the Korean War.
This is a Lockheed F-94 Starfire. It was developed from the T-33 which was developed from the F-80. It replaced the F-82 Twin Mustang in the role of all-weather interceptor.
This is a Republic F-84 Thunderjet. This was a competitor to the F-80 and F-86. Initial versions were straight wing and were superior to the F-80 but were not as capable as the F-86. As a result they were used as fighter bombers with a ground support mission at which they excelled and they ended up accounting for 60% of all ground targets destroyed. Eventually a variant, the F-84F Thunderstreak, was developed with a swept wing.
This is the Northrup F-89 Scorpion all-weather interceptor. It was the first aircraft equipped with guided missiles and could also carry the Genie, an air-to-air nuclear warhead equipped missile. It was designed to replace the P-61 Black Widow in the night interceptor mission.
The next eras that the museum covered were the Cold War and Vietnam War with examples of aircraft from those time periods. This is a North American F-100 Super Sabre. F-100s were introduced in September 1954 and was the first USAF aircraft that could achieve supersonic speed in level flight. They were used extensively in the Vietnam War where they achieved the first air victory being credited with shooting down three MiG-17s. However, they were primarily used for ground attack and later forward air control.
This aircraft is the McDonald RF-101 Voodoo which was the reconnaissance version of the F-101. The F-101 was introduced in 1957 and set many speed records with a top speed of over 1,200 MPH. The RF-101 is famous as it was the aircraft that over flew Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis and proved that Russia had delivered missiles to Cuba.
This is the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, informally called the Thud. This was the main fighter bomber that provided ground support during Vietnam. It was introduced in 1958 and was famous for its ability to carry a heavy weapons load. It could carry a greater bomb load then either the B-17 or B-24 heavy bombers of WW II. A two seat version was developed for use as a Wild Weasel aircatraft whose job was to take out enemy surface to air missile (SAM) sites. Their motto was "First in, last out" and their job was to get the enemy to turn on his SAM radar which they would then attack with radar homing missiles.
This was is a MiG-21 Fishbed which was a short range fighter/interceptor introduced in 1959 and saw service in Vietnam. More MiG-21s have been built than any other aircraft since the Korean War and it is still in use by some countries.
This is a Douglas B-66 Destroyer light bomber that was introduced in 1956
This photo is of General Dynamic F-111 Aardvark which was introduce in 1967. This was the first operational swing wing aircraft and the wings could be moved in flight, almost straight during low speeds such ad landing and take off or swept far back during supersonic flight. It was produced in two version, an F-111 tactical attack aircraft or an FB-111 strategic nuclear bomber. A later version, the EF-111 was developed as an electronic warfare system.
This is the LTV A-7D Corsair II attack aircraft. It was developed from the Navy version as a dedicated ground attack aircraft. It was introduced in 1970 and replaced the F-100 for the ground attack mission during Vietnam.
This next aircraft is the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II. It was introduced in 1950 for long range, heavy lift cargo hauling. It was equipped with four Pratt & Whitney 3,800 HP engines. When I was an ROTC cadet in the early 1960s, we went on an orientation trip to Dover AFB, DE, and I remember seeing C-124s taking off. Their rate of climb was so low that it seemed a miracle that they ever cleared the trees.
This next aircraft is so large that it is too big to get in a single frame so here is a look at two of its engines and the nose, it is the Convair B-36 Peacemaker. It is the largest mass produced piston aircraft ever built and had a payload of 87,200 lbs. and a range of 10,000 miles. It was equipped with six 3,800 HP piston engines and four jet engines. The wing was so thick that the crew could crawl out to each engine if it needed service during flight. It was introduced in 1948 and replaced by the B-52 in 1955.
This is the Convair B-58 Hustler. It was the first operational supersonic bomber capable of Mach 2 flight and was introduced in 1960. It had a short operational life being replaced by the FB-111 in 1970.
This is the North American XB-70 Valkyrie which was a prototype high altitude supersonic heavy bomber that initially flew in 1964. The design concept was to field a bomber which could fly higher than Soviet air defenses. Only two were ever built and one was destroyed in a mid air crash with a photo plane. The design abandoned when it became obvious that overflight of Soviet defenses was not possible. I was stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB at the time that this prototype was delivered to the museum and I got to see it land.
This is a Convair F-102 Delta Dagger delta wing interceptor that was introduced in 1956. Its mission was to intercept Soviet bombers if they were ever to attack the US. It was the first supersonic interceptor and replaced the F-89 and F-94.
This is the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. It was developed and deployed in a "black" program and introduced in 1966. It could fly high enough and fast enough that enemy defenses could not reach it and none were ever lost to enemy fire. It still holds the world record for the fastest air breathing manned aircraft, 2,193.2 MPH.
However, this guy is even faster. This is the North American X-15 rocket plane that holds the absolute speed record at 4,519 MPH. It was carried aloft mounted under the wing of a B-52. After clearing the B-52 it would ignite its rocket engine and go like a bat out of hell. The orange and white tanks are for fuel and were dropped before the final speed dash.
They also had a whole section on ICBMs and space boosters. This is the Apollo 15 capsule which brought astronauts David Scott, James Irwin and Alfred Worden back from the fourth moon landing in August 1971.
They also had a couple of examples of current generation aircraft. This is the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor stealth fighter.
This is a Northrup B-2 Spirit stealth heavy bomber. Its of a very unique design being a flying wing.
The last area they had displayed Presidential aircraft. This is a Boeing VS-137 Stratoliner that served as the Presidential aircraft for seven presidents: Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Bush and Clinton. It is based on the commercial Boeing 707 and was replaced by the Boeing VC-25 which is based on the commercial Boeing 747. This particular aircraft had the sad duty to bring the coffin containing President Kennedy's body back to Washington after he was assassinated in Dallas.
This aircraft goes by the name of Columbine II. It is a Lockheed VC-121A Constellation that was used by President Eisenhower. It is based on the Commercial Lockheed Tristar airliner. It was the very first aircraft to be referred to as Air Force One.
That's all for today. I realize this was long but I had a lot of airplanes to cover and airplanes are my passion.
Tomorrow we will have a quiet day.
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