Aircraft fanatics and lovers of all military history will enjoy this collection of historic aircraft. See the airplanes that made history, including one that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki in 1945.
It’s no secret I prefer my feet firmly planted on the ground. I love military history, but air warfare holds no particular appeal for me. Still, it was hard to pass up an opportunity to see the National Museum of the United States Air Force on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in western Ohio. I was thoroughly impressed by its collection of historic aircraft, particularly from the Second World War. The WW2 bomber “Memphis Belle” was finally on display.
The museum spans several large interconnected Air Force hangers and features examples from all periods of militarized flight. You could spend hours getting lost among the displays. The Early Years Gallery includes a World War 1 era British observation balloon, and a dog fighting German Fokker Dr. I and U.S. Thomas-Morse S4C Scout.
The World War II Gallery is the most interesting and expansive. The museum has examples of a wide variety of fighters and bombers, including experimental German jet aircraft like the Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet and the intimidating Me 262A Schwalbe, the world’s first operational turbojet aircraft. Fewer than 300 saw combat. Pieces of the “Lady Be Good,” a Consolidated B-24D Liberator bomber that went down in the Libyan desert, are on display.