Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer Usage Conditions May Apply Usage Conditions Apply There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and image viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. More - https://iiif.si.edu View Manifest View in Mirador Viewer

This Flash Gordon Air Ray gun with a sparking flint disc in the muzzle was advertised as "the most amazing toy of the atomic age!" According to the toy's descriptions, it could shoot "a whizzing jet of air 20 feet with amazing accuracy." And yet, it was "safe as the air you breathe, and as inexpensive, since it requires no ammunition." Manufactured by the Budson Company of Chula Vista, California, the toy capitalized on the popularity of the Flash Gordon character.

Fictional space heroes often carried space-themed versions of the Western's ever-present six-shooter or rifle. As a result, for several generations, pretend gun play with ray gun toys formed a central part of many children's imagined space adventures. Exactly how one blasted space enemies often reflected the newest technologies. In the late 1940s, "atomic" guns proliferated. "Laser" guns followed the creation of the practical laser in 1960.

Michael O'Harro gave this toy to the National Collection in 1993, as a part of a large collection of space science fiction objects.

 Display Status

This object is on display in James S. McDonnell Space Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA.

James S. McDonnell Space Hangar
Object Details
Date 1948 Country of Origin United States of America Type MEMORABILIA-Popular Culture Manufacturer The Budson Company
 Dimensions Other: 5 1/2 x 10 x 5 1/4in. (14 x 25.4 x 13.3cm)
 Materials Gun, tin; disc in gun, rubber
 Inventory Number A19970629000 Credit Line Gift of Michael O'Harro Data Source National Air and Space Museum Restrictions & Rights Usage conditions apply
For more information, visit the Smithsonians Terms of Use.