Stories of daring, stories of technological feats, stories of prevailing against the odds ... these are the stories we tell at the National Air and Space Museum. Dive in to the stories below to discover, learn, and be inspired.
Showing 51 - 60 of 158
June 23, 2020
Curator Michael Neufeld discusses how Nazi Germany's high-tech weapons were assembled in part by forced and slave labor from the various Nazi camp systems.
June 09, 2020
The Tuskegee Airmen’s fight for equality involved more than their skills in the air. It required coordinated, collective actions of civil disobedience in which 162 officers risked their careers and their lives to stand up against systemic racism in the US Army Air Forces (AAF).
May 08, 2020
Curator Russell Lee explores a lesser-known form of World War II aviation: the fighting glider.
May 08, 2020
For the 75th anniversary of VE Day, curator Christopher Moore shares the story of the last American World War II aerial victory in Europe.
May 07, 2020
Carolyn Russo, curator of the Museum's art collection, shares the story behind the painting November 1944, by artist Robert Jordan, who served in World War II and was a Prisoner of War at Luft IV POW camp.
May 01, 2020
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.
April 20, 2020
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.
April 17, 2020
On April 17, 1945, 75 years ago to this day, Flak-Bait's Army Air Forces crew led it on its 200th mission.
April 13, 2020
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.
April 02, 2020
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.