National Museum of the United States Air Force, Military aviation museum in Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, United States.
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is an aviation museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton that displays more than 400 aircraft and missiles in several indoor exhibition halls. The halls are organized by time period and guide visitors from early powered flight to modern space technology.
The museum began in 1923 as a collection of technical artifacts at McCook Field and initially served research and documentation purposes. After several relocations, it opened to the public at its current site in 1971.
The collection shows both fighter jets and reconnaissance planes alongside transport aircraft that served the American air forces for decades. Visitors can see the original cockpits and cabins in some of the aircraft, just as they were used by the crews.
The entrance is near Interstate 675 and admission is free. The four connected buildings are wheelchair accessible and can be explored with guided tours or at your own pace. The floor is hard and the halls are vast with few rest areas, so sturdy walking shoes help; a route that starts at the far Missile and Space Gallery and works back to the entrance suits short visits.
The centerpiece of the Presidential Gallery is SAM 26000, a modified Boeing 707 (VC-137C) that carried John F. Kennedy to Dallas on 22 November 1963. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president aboard it, and it later flew Kennedy's body back to Washington. It was repainted and returned to display on Presidents' Day 2010.
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