Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air | National Air and Space Museum

A young blond child wears an astronaut costume. The child has taken their helmet off and is smiling.

Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air will examine how the wartime revolution in technology and tactics redefined the promise and peril of military aviation, as well as explore the dramatic changes to flight and America's role in world affairs.

The exhibition will feature fighter aircraft such as the North American P-51D Mustang, the Eastern Aircraft (Grumman) FM-1 Wildcat, and the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G, as well as smaller artifacts that tell the stories of workers from all walks of life that helped the United States and its Allies achieve victory.

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A rendering of an exhibition featuring information about the Tuskegee Airmen. — An artist's rendering of Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air.

Sponsors

Jay I. Kislak World War II in the Air is made possible by the generous support of:

Kislak Family Foundation / Jay I. Kislak

About Jay I. Kislak >>

Daniels Fund in Honor of Bill Daniels
In Memory of Harold E. Hodel
Stuart and Paula Fred

Mary E. Jenkins
Foster and Coco Stanback
In Honor of Jim Todd
Paul R. Wood

Exhibition Preview

Mechanics at Tuskegee Army Air Field maintain an engine of a Vultee BT-13A Valiant — Mechanics at Tuskegee Army Air Field, Alabama, maintain an engine of a Vultee BT-13A Valiant. This aircraft was used for basic flight training for the Tuskegee Airmen.

WAVES specialist first class Lorraine Taylor and specialist first class Martha Harrison — The WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Approved by Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942, the WAVES program recruited women between 18 and 36 years old (and officers between 20 and 50) to serve onshore in the continental United States. Many of these women, starting in 1944, also served in Alaska and Hawaii.

Here, WAVES specialist first class Lorraine Taylor perches atop the nacelle of the number one engine of a Naval Air Transport Service four-engine Skymaster. Inspecting the accessory action on the engine is specialist first class Martha Harrison. These WAVES aviation mechanics are working on the ramp at Naval Air Transport Squadron Four, NAS, Oakland, California.

An African American man stands smiling in front of an olive drab airplane. — Lt. Clifford Allen of Chicago, Illinois, stands in front of a C-47 preparing to drop the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion. The 555th was the only African American parachute unit and was not ready in time to deploy to Europe. Instead, as incendiary Japanese balloon bombs were launched towards the U.S. in mid-1945 in hopes of starting large fires in the Pacific Northwest, the 555th was assigned to jump on fires to extinguish them as part of “Operation Fire Fly.” The unit made 15 such jumps. Note the 150-foot rope for descending from tall trees; the plastic helmet and catcher's mask were protection against branches and brambles.

A woman in a red kerchief drives rivets into a silver reflective surface. — A riveter works on a wing panel of a Vultee A-31 Vengance dive bomber at Vultee’s Nashville, Tennessee, plant in February 1943.

A man looks out from inside an airplane's cockpit. — Lt. Hiawatha Mohawk, one of the few Native American fighter pilots of World War II, flew with the 319th Fighter Squadron, 325th Fighter Group. Here, he straps into his Republic P-47 for a mission in Italy supporting ground troops of the Fifth Army. Mohawk had two aerial victories during the war and went on to a long career flying fast jets in the Air Force.

A woman and a man look at a document, which appears to be balanced on an airplane. — When military leaders agreed and approved the creation of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), about 25,000 American women applied to be an auxiliary part of the home-front army. A fraction of the applicants — 1,820 in total —were accepted into the program, and 1,074 graduated. The WASP flew 60 million miles in all types of military aircraft, including fighters and B-17 and B-29 bombers, and paved the way for today’s fully vested female military pilots. These women ferried aircraft, cargo and personnel; tested aircraft; and towed targets throughout the 48 states, filling in gaps left by male pilots who had been sent to war.

Here, Lt. Robert Williams, a maintenance officer, briefs Lorena Daily, a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP) before she departs with a Beechcraft C-45 assigned to the Royal Air Force (probably for multiengine training). Daily had learned to fly from famed barnstormer “Tex” Rankin. She joined the WASP in 1943 and ferried a range of aircraft across the U.S., including the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.

A line of men in uniform look at a 3D map. — An intelligence officer briefs pilots for “Operation Strangle” in spring 1944. They were to attack key supply lines keeping German forces operating in Italy.

Overall view of gray and yellow checkered P-51 Mustang aircraft

North American P-51D Mustang

Grumman FM-1 (F4F-4) Wildcat aircraft with folded wings in museum

Eastern Division FM-1 (Grumman F4F-4) Wildcat

Three-blade propeller on nose of Messerschmitt Bf 109 aircraft

Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6/R3

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