Today I drove the Sammy the few miles outside of Wright Patterson AFB to visit the National Museum of the US Air Force. This museum had been recommended to me by Lee S. and it made it as part of the route I'm taking westward back to Colorado. I'd not heard of this museum you see, not till Lee mentioned it.
It's very well put together and curated, the four large hangar type buildings cover the different eras of aviation with an emphasis on the military side of things of course. The museum is free to visit, plan on several hours to really do it justice, there's just so much to see!
Here's some of the stuff that caught my eye:
I didn't know there had been a black aviator flying for the US in WWI:
I've always loved the Shark nose paint theme on the P40 fighters:
One of the premier fighter aircraft in WWII, the P51 Mustang
The Memphis Belle, which achieved the incredibly difficult 25 bombing missions over enemy territory:
The aircraft of the Airborne Soldier during WWII
This German ME-262 is the best looking aircraft from WWII, IMHO.
The B-29 that dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan, effectively ending the war:
Korean war foes, the US Sabre and the Russian Mig 15
MIG 17
During the Berlin Airlift operation, one of the pilots involved had a parachute harness fashioned for his dog; who apparently went on missions with him.
The planes, in all the hangars, are really crammed in there....
This P51 variant really catches one's eye:
Here you go Larry (he requested the Dragon Lady aka the U2) spy plane:
The U2's successor, the SR71 Blackbird:
The A-10's powerful gun and raison d'etre, the favorite aircraft of the grunts in a battlefield:
Oh hey look, moto content! KLR used by the Air Forces Pararescue Jumpers or PJs:
The Air Force One jet that brought assasinated president John F. Kennedy back to Washington, D.C.
FDR's ride to the Yalta Conference:
The YF-23, which didn't win against the F-22 when the competition for the Air Forces's next air supremacy fighter was held. I kind of like the looks of it:
Not to be left out, here's the Sammy posing by some outside displays of aircraft:
After the museum, I also visited the nearby memorial for the Wright Brothers:
Returning back to Wright Patterson AFB, I spotted this beaver trying to cross the road in front of me. He saw me and turned around headed for the canal that borders the road. He stopped and I managed to get the camera out for this shot:
I heartily recommend you visit the museum if you're ever in the Dayton, OH area! Very nicely done.
1 comment:
Thanks for the tour Dom, though I grew up north of there, we never visited the museum.
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