75th Anniversary of World War II

After Pearl Harbor, a Nebraska farm boy named Ben Kuroki volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps. He could not have been more American: born in the breadbasket of America, one of ten children, growing up in a small town of with a population of about 500, vice-president of his high school senior class.

Curator Michael Hankins examines the history of the World War II fighter plane P-38 Lightning and its connections with the fan-favorite SR-71 Blackbird.

Naval aviation curator Laurence Burke explores a lesser known type of naval aviation — spotter planes, a role mainly filled by Vought OS2U Kingfishers.

Few American fighter pilots on their own survived a turning, twisting, close-in dogfight against a capable Japanese pilot flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero during World War II. Curator Russell Lee explores in a new blog.

Curator John Anderson explores the impact of the NACA's Full Scale Wind Tunnel on creating faster and sleeker airplanes to help the Allies win World War II.

On April 17, 1945, 75 years ago to this day, Flak-Bait's Army Air Forces crew led it on its 200th mission.

Aeronautics curator Michael Neufeld examines the myth of the Nazi wonder weapons and the oft-repeated statement that if Germany had had the V-2 and other "wonder weapons" sooner, they may have won the war.

Beneath the colorful exterior of our Goodyear C-49 control car, which provided coverage at sporting events in the 1980s, lies a World War II veteran. Museum historian Tom Paone explores its service. 

Curator Bob van der Linden looks at the history of the flying boat, and how infrastructure investments during World War II changed commercial aviation. 

Aline “Pat” Rhonie made a perfect three-point landing in her 125 hp Luscombe Phantom when she touched down in Manchester, New Hampshire, on June 6, 1940. Owned by Rhonie, the plane was a Warner-powered, high-wing, two-seat cabin monoplane that she flew as the American Liaison for the French Aero Club. Rhonie piloted civilian and military aircraft throughout the United States as an American aviatrix and eventual member of the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron, yet her mission traversed international borders to support the Allied cause.