The Beauty Around Us

Today is Day 12 of our 13-day vacation. We are traveling home from the VROC Reunion Rally, which was held in Eureka Springs, AR.

We visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH today.  In previous blog posts I shared photographs from the Presidential and R&D Galleries and from the Early Year’s Gallery and the World War II Gallery.  In today’s blog post I will share photographs from the Korean War Gallery.

According to the National Museum of the US Air Force website “[t]he Korean War Gallery contains aircraft and exhibits that tell the story of the U.S. Air Force’s role and performance in that conflict. Visitors can immerse themselves in a storyline that reflects the emergence of the modern Air Force as the service experienced significant changes in roles, tactics and technology during the war. The conflict’s two most striking symbols of air power on both sides – the F-86A Sabre and the MiG-15 – are on display next to each other. Mannequins used in exhibits depict both everyday moments in the lives of airmen as well as historical images, such as the famous photo featuring pilots headed to the flight line as they walk under the MiG Alley sign.”

Douglas C-124 Globemaster II

Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star

North American F-86A Sabre

and MiG Alley

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis

B-29 Walk-Through Fuselage

We walked through the fuselage.

Two bombs are shown here:
the VB-13 Tarzon Bomb
and the VB-3 Razon Bomb.

B-29 “Command Decision” nose art

Barracks Tent
with Douglas C-124 Globemaster II behind it

The National Museum of the US Air Force is a very cool place to visit. The museum is huge!  No way can you see everything in a day, let alone a few hours!

Before leaving the museum, we ate lunch (cheeseburgers, French fries/onion rings and chocolate cake) in the Valkyrie Cafe.

Today is Day 12 of our 13-day vacation. We are traveling home from the VROC Reunion Rally, which was held in Eureka Springs, AR.

We visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH today.  In yesterday’s blog post, I shared photographs from the Presidential and R&D Galleries.  In today’s blog post I will share photographs from the Early Year’s Gallery and the World War II Gallery.

When we returned to the main museum complex from the Presidential and R&D Galleries, the shuttle bus left us off at the entrance to the museum.

Entrance to the National Museum of the US Air Force

According to the museum’s website, the “Early Years Gallery conveys the magic and wonder of the formative days of military air power. The gallery’s aircraft collection, exhibits and artifacts combine to capture the spirit of imagination of that transformational era, chronicling the time from the Wright brothers and their contemporaries, through World War I and to the lead up to World War II.”

Wright 1909 Military Flyer
and
Curtiss 1911 Model D

Only the exhibits at the entrance to the Early Years Gallery were open to the public, when we visited the museum.  Rest of the Early Years Gallery displays were blocked off from visitors.

According to the museum’s website, “[h]arrowing and courageous moments are captured in the museum’s World War II Gallery, which houses one of the world’s top collections of WWII aircraft and a variety of engaging and evocative exhibits to tell the proud story of the U.S. Army Air Forces during the war. The gallery captures the pivotal moments, campaigns and figures of U.S. Army Air Forces’ air power in both the Pacific and European Theaters.”

Curtiss P-40E Warhawk

Consolidated B-24D Liberator

Fieseler Fi-156C-1 Storch

Republic P-47D

Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress

French “Forty and Eight” Railroad Car

Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman

Messerschmitt Me 262A Schwalbe

Douglas A-20G Havoc

Boeing B-29 Superfortress

Kawanishi N1K2-Ja Shiden Kai

TO BE CONTINUED

Today is Day 12 of our 13-day vacation. We are traveling home from the VROC Reunion Rally, which was held in Eureka Springs, AR.

We visited the National Museum of the United States Air Force today. The museum was located an approximate 20-minute drive from the Best Western Plus Dayton South, where we had spent the previous night.  We arrived about 20 minutes before the museum’s opening time of 9:00 am. Our first order of business, as soon as the museum opened, was to register for the shuttle bus service to the Presidential and R&D Galleries that are located on the controlled-access portion of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The first shuttle bus to the Presidential and R&D Galleries departed at 9:20 am, after a short briefing in the Carney Auditorium. We were registered as the third and fourth passengers.

According to the museum website, the “Presidential Gallery gives visitors the opportunity to view an historic collection of presidential aircraft, and walk through four of them including aircraft used by Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower as well as the Boeing VC-137C also known as SAM (Special Air Mission) 26000, which was used by eight presidents — Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Clinton — in addition to carrying heads of state, diplomats and other dignitaries and officials, on many historic journeys.”

Douglas VC-54C “Sacred Cow”

Lockheed VC-140B JetStar

Bob, exiting JetStar

Located next in line beyond the JetStar is the
Lockheed VC-121E Columbine III

Lockheed VC-121E Columbine III

Boeing VC-137C SAM 26000

I am about to enter the SAM aircraft.

Aero Commander U-4B

Douglas VC-118 Independence

This next aircraft was on display in the Presidential Gallery.  I believe, however, that it belongs in the R&D Gallery.  The display is listed as part of the R&D Gallery in the museum website.

Avro Canada VZ-9AV Avrocar

According to the museum’s website the “Research & Development Gallery offers visitors the opportunity to view … aerospace vehicles [that] represent advances in technological problem solving and will increase the museum’s opportunities to teach science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) themes and principles.”

Bell Helicopter Textron XV-3

Northrop-McDonnell Douglas YF-23A Black Widow II

General Dynamics NF-16A AFTI

North American F-107A

VB-9 Guided Missile

Ryan X-13 Vertijet

Martin X-24B

North American XB-70 Valkyrie
and
Northrop Tacit Blue

The Valkyrie could fly three times the speed of sound and was used as a research aircraft for the advanced study of aerodynamics, propulsion and other subjects. This is the world’s only remaining XB-70.

The shuttle bus service will soon end. The Presidential and R&D Galleries will close beginning Oct. 1, 2015. The aircraft and exhibits in these galleries will re-open as part of the fourth building on the main museum campus in June 2016.

We returned to the main museum campus at approximately 10:30 am.

***TO BE CONTINUED***