All Stories

About 82,000 American service members are listed as Missing in Action – 72,000 from World War II alone. Recent technologies like robotic submersibles, advanced sonar, and DNA matching are making it easier for recovery operations to find the downed airplanes, and identify the remains of service members.

As an intern with the Aeronautics Department I had the chance to review and scan hundreds of color images from WWII. What particularly drew my attention were the images of women who served in the Navy’s reserve force, since at the time they were not allowed to serve their country through military enlistment to the same extent as men.

Step outside of the Air and Space Museum and into the Lyle Tuttle Tattoo Art Collection in San Francisco, California to explore the symbolism of tattoo body art during World War II.

With the 75th anniversary of World War II commemorations nearing their end, it is worth reflecting on those participants whose stories are not always well told.

Aboard the battleship USS Missouri, representatives from the Empire of Japan met with those of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Soviet Union, China, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to sign the document that formally ended World War II.

Often overlooked in the histories of the battle is the Cactus Air Forces’ forgotten spine, the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) that fought a desperate battle over the skies of the Solomon Islands.

On April 2, 1942, the aircraft carrier USS Hornet was part of a secret plan to strike back at Japan. With no room for additional airplanes to land on the flight deck filled with B-25 Mitchell bombers, the US Navy turned to the Navy blimp L-8 for a special delivery.

For the Museum’s aviation perspective on the war, we are looking at the nation’s participation in the air war through three lenses – aircrew, ground crew, and the war workers that built the aircraft.

World War II is one of the best documented conflicts in history. Millions of photos and miles of motion picture film stock provide a rich visual documentation of the conflict in both its brutal violence and celebration of martial purpose.

The V-1 cruise missile was not the war-changing weapon Nazi leaders hoped it would be but the American military set out to copy it for use against Japan prior to an invasion.