All Stories

The National Air and Space Museum’s World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation gallery will highlight the war's central role in defining the nature of military aviation and the remarkable experiences of World War I aviators.

A short history of early 20th-century drones.

When the K-III’s designer James Vernon Martin offered the diminutive aircraft to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum in 1924, he presented it as “the first aeroplane in the entire world to incorporate the retractable chassis.”  The aircraft is a one-of-kind, experimental World War I era single-seat scout biplane.

A small group of enthusiasts keeps World War I airplanes aloft.

The pigeon – ubiquitous bird, oft city-dweller, and… war hero? You might even consider the humble pigeon to be the first military aviator.

Today we cannot imagine war without the airplane, but there was a time when the airplane's military potential was not yet apparent.

Katherine Stinson was the fourth woman in the U.S. to obtain a pilot's license. Encouraged by her sister Katherine's success, Marjorie Stinson decided to learn to fly.

Ruth Law enjoyed one of the longest and most colorful careers of early aviators.

Welding and fabrication specialist Meghann Girard takes us through the way she combined contemporary technology with traditional metalworking techniques to fabricate missing parts from our Lincoln-Standard H.S.

Women in the United States have long served their country and women aviators have been no exception.  Perhaps the best known efforts are those of the Women Air Service Pilots (WASP), formed in 1943, merging the Women’s Auxiliary Flying Squadron and Women’s Flying Training Detachment.  But before the WASP, women pilots, such as Ruth Law, Opal Kunz, Florence “Pancho” Barnes, and Mary Charles were determined to serve their country in whatever way they could.