Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
As you enter the Modern Flight Gallery, you will notice a distinct separation in the hangar. On the right-hand side is the Korean War exhibit, and on the left, the Southeast Asia War exhibit. The gallery is displayed a little different than the previous galleries you have visited. These exhibits are not listed chronologically, but tell a specific story in its entirety. Part of the Modern......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
Although Hitler and Nazi Germany were defeated in May of 1945, the war in the Pacific would continue for another three months. It was clear that Japan was losing, but they would fight to the death to protect their homeland. In this gallery, you’ll notice some planes that were used in the Pacific Theater, including the P-47D -- one of the most famous planes in World War Two, and the A-20G......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
Early in 1942, Japanese forces cut the Burma Road. For the next three years, the only means of getting supplies from India to U.S. and Allied forces in China was by air over the rugged Himalayan Mountains. Known as the “Hump”, this air route crossed some of the world’s most inhospitable terrain. Treacherous weather, freak winds and violent turbulence over mountain ranges as high as......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
The aircraft considered by many to be the best fighter during World War II was the P-51 Mustang. With its long range and high altitude capabilities, the P-51 was capable of accompanying bombers all the way to Berlin and back. This aircraft would eventually become the plane of choice for the Tuskegee Airmen. Just behind the B-24 you will find an exhibit dedicated to these courageous black......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
D-Day: June 6, 1944. It could have been a field day for a strong Luftwaffe. Thousands of ships, boats and landing craft crowded the English Channel. A dominant German air fleet could have created much havoc. However, American air power had destroyed the Luftwaffe on the air and on the ground. Before the first troops stormed the beaches, more than 1,000 B-17s and B-24s plastered German defenses......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
In late 1941, Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met in Washington. For several weeks, they and their advisors shaped a strategy for the war against the Axis powers. The two Allies agreed that Nazi Germany had to be defeated first while they fought only a holding action in the Pacific. Once the European war was won, they would turn their......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
During World War Two, operations were conducted throughout several different theaters -- or places of action. In the Mediterranean, the U.S. Army Air Forces began using aircraft such as the British Bristol Beaufighter, an effective night fighter, in the summer of 1943. Beaufighters flew night cover for Allied forces in Italy and France until the closing days of World War II. The British......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
As early as 1930, the War Department considered using women pilots, but the Chief of the U.S. Army Air Corps called the idea "utterly unfeasible," stating that women were too "high strung." Nothing was done until after the American entry into World War Two. Facing the need for male combat pilots, the situation by mid-1942 favored the use of experienced women pilots to fly U.S. Army Air Forces......
