Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
While the 1990s marked the end of the Cold War, a new chapter in Air Force history began to develop. There were the conflicts in the Middle East and also in the Balkans. With the collapse of communism in Yugoslavia, nationalism led to civil war and the horrors of "ethnic cleansing." When Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence from Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia, the Serbians fought to......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
In August 1990, Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, sent divisions of Iraq’s army into Kuwait. They quickly overwhelmed the small country and Hussein soon declared it part of Iraq. In the meantime, when Iraq’s leader ordered troops to begin massing along the Saudi Arabian border, several Middle East countries called for help. Operation Desert Shield, the name given to the U.S. military’s......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
From the beginning to the end of the Cold War the city of Berlin was the focal point of tensions between Western democracies and Soviet communism. In 1961, the communists erected a heavily fortified wall, dividing Berlin in two. However, in 1989, communist governments across eastern Europe collapsed, and on Nov. 9, the East German government partially opened the border in Berlin. A flood of......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
How could the United States efficiently and effectively move ballistic missiles during the Cold War? How could troops and equipment move quickly around the world? The answer was simple: airlift. One example of a large-capacity strategic cargo aircraft is the C-133A Cargo Master on display. This turboprop-powered airlifter handled a wide variety of military cargo. It could transport ballistic......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
To meet the threat of Soviet bombers, the United States needed the ability to locate, intercept and destroy enemy aircraft by day or night under all types of weather conditions. The F-89J could do just that. This all-weather fighter-interceptor of the Air Defense Command was the first to launch an air-to-air rocket with a nuclear warhead. Soon after, however, the Air Force began phasing out......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
The demand for information only grew as the Cold War went along. New capabilities in strategic reconnaissance were developed and the U-2 was modified with improved sensors and cameras. The most visible change to the U-2 was the introduction of the U-2R in 1967. Its 103-foot wingspan was 23 feet wider than earlier U-2s, and it had a more powerful engine. This significantly expanded the......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
While the United States was busy gathering intelligence on the Soviets and other communist nations through reconnaissance, spying and other measures, the country also had to guard against counterintelligence. Counterintelligence is the detection of espionage, sabotage, treason, sedition, subversion, disloyalty and disaffection. The Air Force’s Office of Special Investigation, or OSI, was......
Audio by NMUSAF PA | National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 12.31.1969
The United States needed to know what was going on behind the “Iron Curtain.” This was the term coined by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe the divide between Western Europe and Soviet territories and allies. Strategic reconnaissance was a way to find out about the communists’ air defense systems, nuclear-armed bomber force and the Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile program.......
