National Museum of US Air Force

Photos by Anna Garcia for OHventures

 

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

1100 Spaatz Street
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Dayton, OH 45433
(937) 255-3286

The National Museum of the United States Air Force, located at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, is the world’s largest and oldest military aviation museum. My former boss was a licensed pilot who would always rant and rave about the Wright Patterson Air Force Base and all that takes place there. I hold our nation's servicemen and women in high regard, have a huge interest in history, and like any young boy growing up, always have had a fascination with airplanes and aircrafts. This museum was calling out to me!

There is no cost for admission to the museum, which consists of three large hangars. The first hangar is dedicated to the beginnings of aviation, the second is about World War II, and the third contains memorabilia from the Korean War & the Cold War. You can sign up to take a tour to the nearby base to see more planes, but the tours are limited. Currently the museum is home to a traveling Holocaust display of personal artifacts, which I would highly recommend, as many of the concentration camp liberators were from Ohio.

It is only fitting that the Dayton area is home to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (or NMUSAF), as this is known to be the "Birthplace of Aviation," where the Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur) lived and invented the world's very first successful aircraft. The museum houses many artifacts relating to the history and development of aviation and pays homage to the Wright Brothers. The Huffman Prairie (part of what is now called the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park), where the brothers performed many of their experiments, is located nearby.

In addition to the sections of the museum dedicated to the pioneers of aircraft (from Ohio and elsewhere), there are 360 aircraft and missiles on display, including many rare aircrafts such as Bockscar the B-29 Superfortress that dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki during the last days of World War II.

We are truly lucky to have such a renowned museum with such important historical artifacts located here in Ohio. It’s one of the many reasons I am proud to call Ohio home.

Many thanks go out to my friend Anna Garcia for providing insight, information and photographs from her visit to the museum in June 2012.