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A new National Air and Space museum gallery explores how American military aviation evolved, grew, and shaped our world in the years since World War II.

Aviation and space in the news.

The Air and Space Quarterly Interview with F-4 aviator Porter Halyburton about his time as a POW in Hanoi during the Vietnam War.

Navy pilots recall the final, frenetic days of the air war over Vietnam.

MiG-17 performance in Veitnam

Maj. Gen. Charles Bolden was NASA's first African American Administrator. He also served in the military and logged over 680 hours in space.

The Bell UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the Huey, remains a powerful symbol of the Vietnam War.

For the crews of US Navy Fighter Squadron 31 (VF-31, the “Tomcatters”), June 21, 1972, was the last day of their first line period of sustained operations onboard the USS Saratoga before a scheduled week off. That day proved to be one of the most significant in the squadron’s history. Discover why.

Maj. Robert C. “Bob” Mikesh, United States Air Force (ret.), died in February 2022, less than two weeks short of his 94th birthday. Bob was a combat pilot, Smithsonian curator, accomplished author, and a builder of museum-quality aircraft models.

Brig. Gen. Charles E. McGee, the eldest of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen, passed away on January 16, 2022. His life of dedicated service included flying combat aircraft in three major wars—a feat that was unthinkable before his career began, when the US military banned African Americans from combat flying roles.