Skip to main content
Reserve Free Passes
Donate

Search form

Visit

Visit

  • National Air and Space Museum in DC
  • Udvar-Hazy Center in VA
  • Plan a Field Trip
  • Plan a Group Visit
View of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center tower at sunset

One museum, two locations

Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC.

What's On

What's On

  • Events
  • Exhibitions
  • IMAX and Planetarium
Apollo 11: Buzz Aldrin on the Moon

At the museum and online

Discover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually.

Explore

Explore

  • Stories
  • Topics
  • Collections
  • On Demand
  • For Researchers
space shuttle launch

Dive deep into air and space

Browse our collections, stories, research, and on demand content.

Learn

Learn

  • Programs
  • Learning Resources
  • Plan a Field Trip
  • Professional Development
  • Education Monthly Theme
Women in Aviation and Space Family Day

For teachers and parents

Bring the Air and Space Museum to your learners, wherever you are.

Give

Give

  • Donate
  • Become a Member
  • Wall of Honor
  • Ways to Give
  • Host an Event
Bob Hoover Gives an Air Show Performance

Be the spark

Your support will help fund exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts.

Aircraft History Cards

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Archives
  3. Archival Collections
  4. Aircraft History Cards
Archival collections
  • Technical and scale drawings
  • Aircraft technical manuals
  • Captured German & Japanese air technical documents
  • Technical reference files
  • Film Archives
  • Photo Archives
  • Audio collections
  • Aircraft history cards
Accessing the collections
  • Search the Archives
  • Plan your visit
  • Research request
Rights and reproductions
  • Rights requests
  • Obtaining reproductions
  • Pricing & fees
FAQ
Archival collections
  • Technical and scale drawings
  • Aircraft technical manuals
  • Captured German & Japanese air technical documents
  • Technical reference files
  • Film Archives
  • Photo Archives
  • Audio collections
  • Aircraft history cards
Donating to the Archives
Contact us

Our Archives holds microfilm copies of aircraft records created by the United States Air Force and its predecessors and the United States Navy. These records are commonly called Aircraft History Cards. The Museum's holdings are partial duplicate sets of those held by the services. The Museum holdings do not include history cards for aircraft operated by Army Ground Forces/Army Aviation (post-WWII), non-activated Air National Guard units, or the United States Coast Guard.

What is an Aircraft History Card?
An Aircraft History Card (or the USAF "Individual Aircraft Record Card") is a compilation of the inventory history of a single aircraft, showing the location or controlling unit and status of that aircraft at a given time. Other information may also be included, such as airframe time, time since overhaul, and so forth. In most cases, this history covers the period from the acceptance of the aircraft by the controlling service until it is removed from that service's inventory.

Aircraft History Cards are not an operational history of the aircraft. They do not include any information on missions flown, crews assigned, or markings. They do not generally include specific maintenance or modification information. The records for Army Air Forces (AAF) aircraft transferred overseas during World War II stop upon arrival in theater and do not resume until the aircraft either returns to the continental United States or is removed from the inventory. Gaps exist for both Navy and AAF aircraft during 1943-1944, apparently due to changes in record-keeping policies and systems. Other gaps may exist on some cards and most cards contain a variety of data formats.

The Museum holds microfilm covering the following aircraft:

U.S. Air Force:
Aircraft retired from the Air Force inventory from the late-1920s through May 1953 except aircraft whose record cards had been removed from the master aircraft file prior to microfilming due to security or other concerns. For more information, see the US Air Force History Card Finding Aid.  For information not held by the Museum, contact the United States Air Force:

United States Air Force
Air Force Historical Research Agency
600 Chennault Circle
Maxwell AFB, AL  36112-6424
https://www.afhra.af.mil/

U.S. Navy
Aircraft, 1911-1949 (all aircraft, all records); Stricken Aircraft, 1949-1962 (records for aircraft removed from USN inventory during time period); Stricken Aircraft, Dec 1962-Jun 1965 (records for aircraft removed from USN inventory during time period); Active Aircraft, Dec 1962-Jun 1965 (records for aircraft still on USN inventory in Jun 1965); and Active Aircraft, Jun 1965 through FY1986.  For more information, see the US Navy History Card Finding Aid.  For information not held by the Museum: Aircraft History Cards covering 1911 to 1987 have been transferred to the National Naval Aviation Museum. For information on aircraft from 1987 to the present, please contact Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).

Accessing This Collection

  • Submit a research request to our reference desk
  • Plan a visit to our reading room
  • Order Reproductions
  • Fee Schedule

 

Stay up to date on the latest stories and events with our newsletter

Thank you. You have successfully signed up for our newsletter.

Error message

Sorry, there was a problem. Please ensure your details are valid and try again.

  • About
  • Newsroom
  • Support
  • Get Involved
  • Contact
  • Host an Event

National Air and Space Museum

6th St. and Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20560

202-633-2214

Open daily
10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Free Timed-Entry Passes
Required

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

14390 Air and Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly, VA 20151

703-572-4118

Open daily
10:00 am - 5:30 pm
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use