Warplane Survivors USA: Ohio, Dayton, 3, National Museum of the USAF: Loening to North American

National Museum of the USAF: Loening to North American

Dayton, National Museum of the United States Air Force (NMUSAF), 1100 Spaatz St., Wright-Patterson AFB, 45433-7102.

(Library of Congress Photo)

Loening OL/OA-1A amphibian, USN, 1923.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3580124)

Loening amphibian, Reg. No. G-CA..., 18 Aug 1928.

(NMUSAF Photo)

Loening OA-1A (Serial No. 26-431).

LTV A-7C Corsair II (Serial No.)

LTV A-7D Corsair II (Serial No. 69-6192).

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

LTV A-7D Corsair II (Serial No. 70-0970), MB, C/N D-116.  The A-7D on display in the NMUSAF was flown on 18 Nov 1972, by Maj Colin A. Clarke on a nine-hour rescue support mission in Southeast Asia for which he received the Air Force Cross, the USAF's second highest award for valor in combat.  It was delivered to the museum on 31 Jan 1992.

(Clemens Vasters Photos)

LTV XC-142A (Serial No. 65-5924).

(NMUSAF Photos)

Macchi MC-200 Saetta (Serial No. MM8146), 372-5.  The NMUSAF's MC.200 was transferred from the Regia Aeronautica's 372nd Squadron in Italy to the 165th Squadron in North Africa in Nov 1942.  It was abandoned at Banghazi airfield following the battle of El Alamein.  It appears that it retained its 372nd markings.  Captured by British forces, it was subsequently shipped to the USA where it was exhibited around the country to sell war bonds. it was later obtained by the New England Air Museum.  In 1989 it was purchased by a private owner who had it restored in Italy by a team from Aermacchi, the original builder, before its acquisition by the NMUSAF.  It is displayed in the markings of the 372nd Squadron of the Regia Aeronautica that it carried at the time of its capture.

Mk. 41 Nuclear Bomb.

Martin MB-2, ca 1930s.  (USAAC Photos)

(NMUSAF Photos)

Martin MB-2 (Serial No. AS 6419).  The MB-2 became the Air Service's primary multi-engine bomber until replaced by the Keystone bombers of the late 1920s.  Today, no original MB-2 exists.  The reproduction on display at the museum was built using original Martin drawings and completed in 2002.

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Greg Goebel Photo)

Martin B-10 (Serial No. 146).  When the B-10 design was released for export in 1936, several countries purchased the export version of the bomber, the 139W, for their armed forces.  Argentina bought 35 Martin 139Ws, including 12 for the Argentine Navy.  After many years of service, the obsolete bombers were used for various types of training.  The aircraft on display at the museum was last used as a ground-training tool for Argentine engineering students at the "Jorge Newberry" National School of Technical Education, No. 1, in Buenos Aires.  When museum staff learned that the only known surviving B-10 was in Argentina, discussions began with Argentine officials to obtain this historic American aircraft for the museum.  As a magnificent gesture of friendship between Argentina and the United States, and in recognition of the tremendous historical value of the B-10 to the U.S. Air Force, the Argentine Navy presented this aircraft as a gift to the United States on behalf of the Argentine nation on 21 Aug 1970.  The gift was accepted by the U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, John Davis Lodge.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Martin B-26G Marauder (Serial No. 43-34581), C/N 8701 "Shootin In".  It is painted as (Serial No. 42-95857) a 9th Air Force B-26B assigned to the 387th Bombardment Group in 1945.

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

(Clemens Vaster Photo)

Martin-Marietta X-24A.

(NASA Photos)

(Clemens Vasters Photos)

Martin-Marietta X-24B (Serial No. 66-13551), actually SV-5Y, displayed as X-24A.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Martin EB-57B Canberra/Night Intruder (Serial No. 52-1499), c/n 082.  The aircraft on display in the NMUSAF was assigned to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, as a test aircraft in the early 1960s.  It was returned to combat configuration to replace combat losses in Southeast Asia.  Assigned to the 8th Bomb Squadron at Phan Rang, South Vietnam, in 1967, it flew in combat there for 2-1/2 years.  After returning to the United States, it was converted to an electronic countermeasures EB-57B.  It was flown to the museum in August 1981, and restored back to its Southeast Asia War bomber configuration in 2010.

(NMUSAF Photo)

Martin RB-57D Canberra (Serial No. 53-3982), C/N 006.  The RB-57D differed significantly from the earlier B-57 bomber.  The RB-57D's much longer wings had a lightweight, honeycomb internal structure, and its more powerful engines provided a total of 6,000 pounds more thrust.  Martin built 20 RB-57Ds in three variants: 13 single-seat photoreconnaissance aircraft (seven of which could be refueled in mid-air), one single-seat radar mapping aircraft, and six two-seat electronic reconnaissance aircraft.  The RB-57D on display in the NMUSAF is one of the 13 photoreconnaissance RB-57Ds.  It is painted as it appeared in the late 1950s while it served in the 4025th SRS(L), and went on display in the museum in 2004.

(NMUSAF Photos)

McDonnell XF-85 Goblin (Serial No. 46-0523), C/N 1.  The McDonnell Aircraft Corp. developed the XF-85 Goblin "parasite" fighter to protect B-36 bombers flying far beyond the range of conventional escort fighters.  The "parent" B-36 would carry the XF-85 within a bomb bay, then if enemy fighters appeared, the Goblin would be lowered on a trapeze and released to combat the attackers.  Once the enemy had been driven away, the Goblin would return to the B-36, reattach to the trapeze, and be lifted back into the bomb bay.  Two test aircraft were ordered in October 1945, and flight testing with a modified B-29 began in 1948.  Test pilots could successfully launch the XF-85, but the turbulent air under the B-29 made recovery difficult and hazardous.  About half of the Goblin flights ended with emergency ground landings after the test pilot could not hook up to the B-29.  No XF-85s were ever launched or carried by a B-36.  The program ended in late 1949 when aerial refueling of conventional fighter aircraft showed greater promise.  The XF-85 was transferred to the NMUSAF in 1950.

(NMUSAF Photo)

McDonnell XH-20 (Serial No. 46-0689).  The XH-20 was essentially a test stand built to research ramjet-propelled helicopter rotor blades.  The XH-20 first flew in May 1947, but its fuel was delivered through a flexible line from tanks on the ground.  In May 1948, it made its first flight with self-contained fuel tanks.  Being a test stand, Little Henry was never intended to fly at any appreciable altitudes or distances.  While the XH-20 proved that a helicopter could use ramjet-propelled rotor blades, it was very loud and consumed fuel at a high rate.  The XH-20 on display in the NMUSAF, the only one built and flown, was obtained by the museum in 1953.

(NMUSAF Photos)

McDonnell F-101B Voodoo (Serial No. 58-0325), 13, C/N 697.  The F-101B on display in the NMUSAF served with the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, and with the 142nd Fighter Interceptor Group, Oregon National Guard.  It was flown to the museum in February 1981.

(NMUSAF Photos)

McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo (Serial No. 56-0166), AH, C/N 127.  The RF-101C on display in the NMUSAF participated in Operation Sun Run in 1957.  This Voodoo also flew vital low-altitude reconnaissance during the Cuban Missile Crisis and helped confirm that offensive missile sites in Cuba were being dismantled.  It also served in Southeast Asia with the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron.  It was flown from the 153rd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Mississippi Air National Guard at Key Field, Mississippi, to the museum on 27 Oct 1978.

(Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Devin M. Langer, USN Photo)

McDonnell AV-8B Harrier assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 163, launches from USS Makin Island’s (LHD 8) flight deck. Makin Island is underway off the coast of Southern California, conducting Composite Training Unit Exercise with Amphibious Squadron Five and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 14 Aug 2016.

McDonnell AV-8 Harrier (Serial No. 64-18262).

McDonnell Douglas F-4B Phantom II (BuNo. 151424).

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Martin McGuire Photo)

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (Serial No. 64-0829), SA, c/n 1169.  "SCAT XXVII", 149 TFG, two MiG kills.  The USAF sent its first F-4Cs to Southeast Asia in 1965, where they flew air-to-air missions against North Vietnamese fighters as well as attacking ground targets.  The first USAF pilot to score four combat victories with F-4s in Southeast Asia was Colonel Robin Olds, a Second World War ace.  The aircraft on display is the one in which Col. Olds, the pilot, and Lt. Stephen Croker, the weapons system officer, destroyed two MiG-17s in a single day, on 20 May 1967.  In its air-to-ground role, the F-4C could carry twice the normal load of a Second World War Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber.  The armament loaded on the aircraft on display in the NMUSAF is a typical configuration for an F-4C in 1967.  It consists of four AIM-7E and four AIM-9B air-to-air missiles, and eight 750-pound Mk 117 bombs.  The aircraft also carries two external fuel tanks on the outboard pylons and one ALQ-87 electronic countermeasures (ECM) pod on the right inboard pylon.

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (Serial No. 64-0763), SL, C/N 1059.  On loan to Air Heritage Inc, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (Serial No. 66-7554), "City of Fairborn I".

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (Serial No. 64-0683), C/N 917.  On display at the Newark AFB Museum.

McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (BuNo. 151424), painted as (Serial No. 66-7660).

(NMUSAF Photo)

McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II (Serial No. 64-1047), BH, C/N 943.

McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II (Serial No. 66-7626), DO, C/N 2195, “City of Dayton III”.

(NMUSAF Photo)

McDonnell Douglas YF-4E Phantom II (Serial No. 62-12200), C/N 266.

(NMUSAF Photo)

McDonnell Douglas F-4G Phantom II (Serial No. 69-7263), "Wild Weasel", WW, C/N 3947.  F-4G Wild Weasels were modified F-4E fighters with their cannon replaced by AN/APR-47 electronic warfare equipment.  Their mission was to attack enemy air defenses, including surface-to-air missile (SAM) air defense radars.  One hundred sixteen F-4Es were rebuilt as F-4Gs for this special purpose.  Carrying AGM-88A/B/C High Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARM), the F-4G worked in concert with other F-4Gs or as a hunter aircraft directing fighter-bombers, such as the F-16, against SAM sites.  The F-4G carried a pilot and an Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO), who navigated, assisted with communications and coordinated attacks on the SAM sites.  The F-4G Wild Weasel first flew in 1975 and was retired in 1996.  The NMUSAF's F-4G was placed on display in September 1996.

(USAF Photo)

McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle (Serial No. 72-0119), C/N 19/A017.

(NMUSAF Photos)

McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle (Serial No. 76-0027), FF, C/N 207/A179.

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Goshimini Photo)

(Martin McGuire Photo)

Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10/U4 Gustav (Wk Nr. 610824), 11/JG52, "Black 2".  This aircraft was captured at Neubiberg, near Munich, Germany in May 1945.  It was one of three Bf 109s taken to the US by Capt Fred McIntosh, in charge of collecting piston-engined aircraft for “Watson’s Whizzers”.  After test flying, it was found not to be airworthy and made its journey to Cherbourg by truck.  It was then shipped to the USA on HMS Reaper and landed at New York Harbor, from where it was then trucked to Newark, New Jersey, finally arriving at Freeman Field near Seymour, Indiana on 17 May 1946.  The aircraft was given a rather spurious paint scheme and coded USA FE-124, this was changed later to T2-124, when the Air Technical Service Command underwent re-organization and the Technical Data Laboratory Branch became part of T-2 Intelligence. 610824 was not used for research, but instead became a display aircraft in the early post war era touring various airbases.  In 1947, T2-124 was donated to the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.  It later passed through several private owners, with Reg. No. N109MS.  The NMUSAF's Bf 109G-10 is painted to represent an aircraft from Jagdgeschwader 300, a unit that defended Germany against Allied bombers.  JG 300 was originally formed as a Wilde Sau (or Wild Boar) night fighter unit in 1943 but converted to the day fighter role as US bomber attacks intensified.  In the many pitched battles with the U.S. Army Air Forces, the Bf 109G-10s of JG 300 often provided top cover for the more heavily armed Focke Wulf Fw 190s attacking the bomber formations.  This unit also had the distinction of being the last command of the war for Maj. Gunther Rall, who with 275 victories, was the third-highest scoring ace in history.  "Black 2" has been on display at the NMUSAF since 1 Apr 1999, painted as “Blue 4” of JG 300, “Wild Sau.”  

(NMUSAF Photos)

Messerschmitt Me 163B-1a Komet, (Wk. Nr. 191095), was flown by JG 400.  It was surrendered at Husum in Germany and shipped to the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), in the UK, where it was designated RAF AM 211.  It was despatched from Farnborough to No. 6 MU, Brize Norton, on 25 July 1945.  AM 211 was sent to No. 47 MU, Sealand on 26 June and prepared for shipment to Canada, leaving Salford Docks on board the SS Manchester Commerce on 28 August, and arriving at Montréal on 9 September 1945.  Subsequently, it was used as a gate guardian at RCAF Station St Jean, Québec, until it was taken over by the Canadian War Museum (CWM) in Ottawa.  This aircraft passed to the Canadian National Aeronautical Collection (CNAC), now the Canada Air and Space Museum (CA&SM), at Rockcliffe, near Ottawa, Ontario, in 1964.  AM 211 was restored to display standard in the CNAC workshops and loaned to the NMUSAF from 1978-1985.  It was made a gift from the CA&SM to the NMUSAF in 1999.  During the aircraft's restoration in Canada it was discovered that the aircraft had been assembled by French “forced labourers” who had deliberately sabotaged it by placing stones between the rocket's fuel tanks and its supporting straps.  There are also indications that the wing was assembled with contaminated glue.  Patriotic French writing was found inside the fuselage.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a "Schwalbe" (Wk. Nr. 501232), "Yellow 5", 3./KG(J)6.  This aircraft was designated Watson's Whizzers No. 111, and was painted as "Beverly Anne", later "Screamin Meemie".  "Yellow 5" was shipped to the USA on HMS Reaper,  with inventory control No. 20.  This aircraft was sent to the USN Armament Test Division at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland in Dec 1945 where it was designated USN (BuNo. 121442) and test flown, before coming to the NMUSAF.

(NMUSAF Photo)

Messerschmitt Me 262, Junkers Jumo 004 jet engine.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 Fagot (Serial No. 2015357).  The MiG-15 on display in the NMUSAF was flown by a defecting North Korean pilot to Kimpo Air Base in South Korea on 21 Sep 1953.  The airplane provided important intelligence data, especially since it was the advanced version of the MiG-15.  After considerable flight-testing, the USA offered to return the airplane to its "rightful owners."  The offer was ignored, and in November 1957 it was transferred to the museum for public exhibition.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F Fresco C (Serial N. 3020), C/N 799.  Egyptian Air Force.  The aircraft on display in the NMUSAF was presented to the museum by the Egyptian Air Force in 1986 as a symbol of friendship and cooperation between the two nations.  It is painted to represent a North Vietnamese Air Force (VPAF) MiG-17.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19S Farmer C (Serial No. 0138), Vietnam Air Force.  The first Soviet production fighter capable of supersonic speeds in level flight, the prototype MiG-19 (NATO code-name "Farmer") made its first flight in September 1953.  Entering production in 1955, it became the Soviet Union's primary fighter during the last half of the 1950s.  Possibly as many as 10,000 MiG-19s, in various versions, were built by the Soviet Union, China, Poland and Czechoslovakia.  Many other countries used the MiG-19, including Cuba, North Vietnam, North Korea, Iraq and most of the Warsaw Pact nations.  The Soviet Union phased out the MiG-19 in the early 1960s in favor of the more advanced MiG-21, but other nations continued to use the MiG-19 for many more years.  The NMUSAF's MiG-19S came from the 457th Technical Evaluation Squadron based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.  It went on display in October 1994.

(NMUSAF Photo)

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21F-13 Fishbed (Serial No. 5063), C/N 506301, 60, 4128, Vietnam Air Force.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21D (MiG-21PF Fishbed (Serial No. 4128).  In the Southeast Asia War, the MiG-21 was a dangerous adversary. Fast as US jets, it was more agile than the F-4 Phantom, its main opponent.  Although American forces lost about 50 aircraft to North Vietnamese MiG-21s, the USAF shot down 68 MiG-21s in air combat.  North Vietnam had more than 200 MiG-21s.  The aircraft on display, a MiG-21PF, carried air-to-air missiles but no guns . It is painted to represent a plane from North Vietnam's elite 921st Fighter Regiment.

(NMUSAF Photo)

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MLD Flogger K (Serial No. 44), ex-Soviet Air Force.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23MS Flogger E (Serial No. 39).  The MiG-23MS was designed for foreign export and was less capable than domestic Soviet versions.  It was equipped with a less sophisticated radar housed in a smaller radome.  First delivered in 1973, it was given the NATO code-name “Flogger-E.”  More than 5,000 MiG-23s of all types were built.  The US Air Force’s 4477th Test Squadron, the “Red Eagles,” flew this aircraft during Project Constant Peg.  This highly classified program provided USAF, Navy, and Marine Corps fighter pilots with realistic combat training against then state-of-the-art Soviet technology.  The MiG-23MS “Flogger-E” on display was declassified and transferred to the Museum in February 2017.

(Valder137 Photo)

(NMUSAF Photo)

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25RB Foxbat (Serial No. 25108), ex-Iraqi Air Force.

(Ken LaRock, USAF Photos)

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29A Fulcrum (Serial No. 2960516761), "Blue 08".  The MiG-29 presented a formidable threat to Western pilots.  The radars used on earlier Soviet fighters had been unable to distinguish aircraft flying below them from ground clutter, and low-flying aircraft could avoid detection.  With the Phazotron NIIR N019 Doppler radar (NATO designation "Slot Back") capable of detecting a target more than 60 miles away, infrared tracking sensors, and a laser rangefinder carried on the MiG-29, a pilot could track and shoot at aircraft flying below him.  Also, the pilot's Shchel-3UM-1 helmet-mounted aiming device turned the MiG-29 into a very dangerous threat once opponents came within visual range.  No longer did a pilot have to turn his aircraft toward a target and wait for his missiles' sensors to "lock-on" before firing.  Now, the pilot simply turned his head toward a target, and the helmet aimed the missile's sensors toward the target.  This "off boresight" procedure gave the MiG-29 pilot a great advantage at close range.  The aircraft on display  in the NMUSAF is an early model Soviet Air Force MiG-29A that had been assigned to the 234th Gvardeiskii Istrebitelnii Aviatsionnii Polk (234th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment) stationed at Kubinka Air Base near Moscow.   It was one of the six MiG-29s that made a good will visit to Kuopio-Rissala, Finland, in July 1986.  This event marked the first public display of the MiG-29.

(IJN Photo)

Mitsubishi A6M3 Model 22, flown by Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa over the Solomon Islands, 1943.

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Martin McGuire Photo)

Mitsubishi A6M2 Reisen (Zero), (Serial No. 11593).  This Nakajima-built A6M2 was found in Papua New Guinea, near the city of Kavieng on New Ireland, and was probably one of the aircraft delivered to Rabaul and operated at Kavieng by the 6th Kokutai (Squadron) and later by the 253rd Kokutai. It is painted to represent a section leader's aircraft from the aircraft carrier Zuiho during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, March 1943.  It was placed on display in the NMUSAF in 2004.

(Valder137 Photos)

Nieuport 27 replica, Reg. No. NX27XZ.

Nieuport 28C-1, replica (Serial No. 1), Reg. No. N6301.  Constructed from original parts, 95th Aero Squadron.  This reproduction was rebuilt by museum personnel.  It contains wood and hardware from an original Nieuport 28.  The aircraft is painted and marked to represent a Nieuport of the 95th Aero Squadron, Third Flight, as it appeared in July 1918.  It was placed on display in May 1994.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman (Serial No. 44-70296), painted as (Serial No. 44-70534), C/N 561.  The Norseman on display in the NMUSAF was acquired by the museum in March 1981. It is marked as a Norseman based in Alaska late in the Second World War.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American O-47B (Serial No. 39-112).  The NMUSAF acquired the O-47B on display in 1978 from Loren L. Florey Jr., of Eden Prairie, Minnisota.  The 179th Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Ohio Air National Guard, Mansfield, Ohio, restored the aircraft in the markings of an O-47A of the 112th Observation Squadron of the Ohio National Guard.

(BT-9A at Langley, NASA Photo)

North American BT-9B Yale (Serial No. TBC).

(USAF Photo)

(NMUSAF Photo)

North American BT-14 (Serial No. 737).  Ex-RCAF North American NA-64 Yale painted to represent a USAAC BT-14, in a diorama.  Very similar to the BT-14, this North American NA-64 is one of a group of aircraft originally built for the French. When Germany defeated France in 1940, undelivered NA-64s were diverted to the Royal Canadian Air Force where they served as Yale I flight and radio operator trainers.  In 1974 the aircraft on display was extensively restored, after which it flew in air shows and conducted aerial photography.  In 1978 Challenge Publications Inc. (Air Classics, Air Combat, Air Progress), Mr. Edwin Schnepf, president, donated it to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American T-6D Mosquito (Serial No. 42-84216), TA-216, C/N 88-15997.  The T-6D on display in the NMUSAF flew as an early Mosquito with the 6147th Tactical Air Control Group during the first two years of the Korean War.  Ironically, it was converted to a mosquito spraying aircraft in 1952.  Two years later, the USAF transferred it to the fledgling Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF).  After retiring this aircraft, the ROKAF placed it on display outside for several years.  The National Museum of the United States Air Force acquired it in 1995, and after restoration it went on display in 2001.

North American T-6G Texan (Serial No. 50-1279), painted as (Serial No. 41279).

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American B-25B Mitchell (Serial No. 43-3374).  The airplane on display was built as an RB-25D.  It was removed from storage at Tucson, Arizona, and rebuilt by North American Aviation at Inglewood, California, to the configuration of the lead B-25B flown by Lt. Col. Doolittle on the Tokyo Raid.  It was then flown to the museum, arriving in April 1958.

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Valder137 Photo)

(Goshimini Photo)

(Martin McGuire Photo)

North American A-36A Apache (Serial No. 42-83665), C/N 97-15883.  The NMUSAF’s A-36A was donated by Charles P. Doyle of Rosemount, Minnesota and was restored by members of the Minnesota Air National Guard.  It is marked to represent the A-36A flown by Capt Lawrence Dye, a pilot of the 522nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron, during combat in North Africa and Italy.

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Valder137 Photo)

(Goshimini Photo)

North American P-51D Mustang (Serial No. 44-74936), 52, C/N 122-41476, "Shimmy IV".  The NMUSAF P-51D on display was the last Mustang assigned to a USAF tactical unit.  It is painted as P-51D (Serial No.44-15174), as flown by Col C.L. Sluder, Commander of the 325th Fighter Group, 15th Air Force in North Africa and Italy in 1944.  The name of this aircraft, Shimmy IV, is derived from the names of his daughter, Sharon, and his wife, Zimmy.

On 27 January 1957, this was the final P-51D retired from USAF service.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American F-82B Twin Mustang (Serial No. 44-65168), C/N 123-43754.  “Betty Joe”.  The F-82 was the last propeller-driven fighter acquired in quantity by the USAF.  The Twin Mustang carried a pilot and co-pilot/navigator to reduce fatigue on long-range bomber escort missions.  It was produced in time to take part in the Second World War, but after the war, Air Defense Command flew radar-equipped F-82Gs as replacements for the P-61 night fighter.  During the Korean War, Japan-based F-82Gs were among the first USAF aircraft to operate over Korea.   On 27 June 1950, all-weather F-82Gs shot down the first three North Korean airplanes destroyed by U.S. forces.  Of a total of 273 F-82s produced, 20 were F-82Bs.  The F-82B on display, Betty-Jo, flew from Hawaii to New York on 27-28 Feb 1947, a distance of 5,051 miles, the longest non-stop flight ever made by a propeller-driven fighter.  Betty-Jo came to the NMUSAF in 1957.

(USAF Photo)

(NMUSAF Photo)

North American F-82B Twin Mustang (Serial No. 44-65162), C/N 123-43748.  The aircraft on display in the NMUSAF is an F-82B, modified and marked as the F-82G crewed by Lts. Charles Moran, pilot, and Fred Larkins, radar observer, 68th F(AW)S, when they shot down a North Korean La-7 on 27 June 1950, near Kimpo Air Base, South Korea.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American/Ryan L-17A Navion (Serial No. 47-1347), painted as 8928.  All L-17s were re-designated U-18s in 1962.  The L-17A on display was flown to the museum on 7 April 1986.  It is marked as a Ryan-built L-17B used by the Air Force ROTC program at Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, in the spring of 1959.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American F-86A Sabre (Serial No. 49-1067), C/N 161-61, painted as (Serial No. 49-1236).  The F-86A on display in the NMUSAF was flown to the museum in 1961.  It is marked as the 4th Fighter Group F-86A flown by LCol Bruce Hinton on 17 Dec 1950, when he became the first F-86 pilot to shoot down a MiG.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American RF-86F Sabre (Serial No. 52-4492), previously located at Bergstrom AFB, Texas.   The Sabre, originally built as a day fighter, was first modified for reconnaissance during the Korean War.  USAF personnel custom-fitted cameras to about a dozen F-86 fighters (known as "Honeybuckets" or "Ashtrays") to replace the slower RF-80 for missions in northwestern North Korea, "MiG Alley", and into Manchuria.  After the Korean War, a handful of F-86Fs received more capable cameras under Project Haymaker.  In order to fit the film magazines for the vertically mounted cameras, the aircraft acquired a distinctive bulge on both sides of the forward fuselage.  The armament was removed to allow for the cameras, and the RF-86F "Haymakers" had painted-on gun ports to appear as if they were armed.  In March 1954 the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron deployed to Komaki Air Base, Japan, receiving eight newly-modified "Haymakers."  With these aircraft, they secretly overflew Soviet, North Korean and communist Chinese territory in the mid-1950s.  The RF-86F "Haymaker" on display in the NMUSAF participated in these critical overflight missions.  It was transferred to the South Korean air force (ROKAF) in 1958, which flew it into the 1980s.  Arriving at the museum in 1998 for restoration, it was placed on display in 2005.  It is marked as it appeared while assigned to the 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron.

(NMUSAF Photo)

(Clemens Vasters Photo)

North American F-86D Sabre Dog (Serial No. 50-0477), FU-863, C/N 165-23, painted as (Serial No. 52-3863).  The aircraft on display in the NMUSAF came to the museum in August 1957.  It is marked as an F-86D assigned to the 97th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, during the mid-1950s.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American F-86H Sabre (Serial No. 53-1352), C/N 203-124.  Cutaway.  The NMUSAF obtained the F-86H on display from the New Jersey Air National Guard in November 1964.  It is exhibited with part of its stressed skin removed to show the internal structure and placement of equipment.

North American F-100C Super Sabre (Serial No. 54-1753)

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American F-100D Super Sabre (Serial No. 55-3754), 6, C/N 223-436, Thunderbirds markings.  The aircraft on display in the NMUSAF was used by the Thunderbirds, the official USAF Flight Demonstration Team, from 1964 until 1968.  During that period, the team toured the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and nearly every state in the United States.  This F-100D was retired from service with the 114th Tactical Fighter Group, South Dakota Air National Guard, in 1977.  It was restored by Thunderbird maintenance personnel at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, to its original appearance as a team aircraft.  It was flown to the museum by the Air National Guard, and the Thunderbirds presented the aircraft to the museum on 22 July 1977.

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Dsdugan Photo)

North American F-100F Super Sabre (Serial No. 56-3837), HE, C/N 243-113.  When F-100 units deployed to Southeast Asia, they included a mix of one- and two-seat F-100s, and both types participated in traditional bombing missions in support of ground forces.  As tactics developed, the two-seat F-100F became an important aircraft for two new missions, surface to air missile (SAM) suppression, known as "Iron Hand," and high-speed forward air control (FAC), known as "Misty FAC."  The aircraft on display in the NMUSAF was a Misty FAC aircraft assigned to the 37th Tactical Fighter Wing at Phu Cat Air Base, Vietnam.  It was flown in combat by several notable USAF figures, including Gen Merrill McPeak and Gen Ronald Fogleman (former USAF chiefs of staff), and Col Richard Rutan (the chief pilot of the first around-the-world unrefueled flight).  It is painted as it appeared in March 1968, and went on display in 2003.

(NMUSAF Photo)

(Martin McGuire Photo)

North American B-45C Tornado (Serial No. 48-0010), 10, C/N 153-38486.  The aircraft on display in the NMUSAF was returned to the USAF by Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division, where it had been on loan for engine testing.  It was flown to the museum in 1971, and is painted in the markings of the 47th Bomb Wing (Light).

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American YF-107A (Serial No. 55-5119), C/N 212-2.  The F-107A was a mid-1950s development of the successful F-100 Super Sabre . Special features of the F-107A included an engine air intake above the cockpit, an all-moving vertical fin, and a system (called a Variable Area Inlet Duct) that automatically controlled the amount of air fed to the jet engine.  The first of three prototype F-107As flew in September 1956, attaining Mach 1 (Mach 1 is the speed of sound).  A few months later, an F-107 flew at Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound).  The following year, after seriously considering the production of the F-107, the USAF instead chose to buy the F-105 Thunderchief.  The first and third F-107A prototypes were then leased to the NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), predecessor to NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), for high-speed flight research.  The F-107A on display in the NMUSAF is the second prototype, which was used for weapons testing with both conventional and atomic bombs.  It was flown to the museum when the program ended in 1957.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American X-10 (Serial No. 51-9307), C/N GM19307.

 (USAF Photo)

 (USAF Photo)

X-15 attached to its B-52 mother ship with a T-38 Talon escort.

(USAF Photo)

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Dsdugan Photo)

North American X-15A-2 (Serial No. 56-6671), C/N 240-2.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American XB-70A Valkyrie (Serial No. 62-0001), C/N 278-1.  The futuristic XB-70A was originally conceived in the 1950s as a high-altitude, nuclear strike bomber that could fly at Mach 3 (three times the speed of sound).  At that time, any potential enemy would have been unable to defend against such a bomber.  By the early 1960s, however, new Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) threatened the survivability of high-speed, high-altitude bombers.  Less costly, nuclear-armed ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) were also entering service.  As a result, in 1961, the expensive B-70 bomber program was canceled before any Valkyries had been completed or flown.  Even so, the USAF bought two XB-70As to test aerodynamics, propulsion and other characteristics of large supersonic aircraft.  The first XB-70A, on display in the NMUSAF, flew in September 1964, and it achieved Mach 3 flight in October 1965.  The second Valkyrie first flew in July 1965, but in June 1966, it was destroyed following an accidental mid-air collision.  The third Valkyrie was not completed.  The first XB-70A airplane continued to fly and generate valuable test data in the research program until it came to the museum in 1969.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American T-28A Trojan (Serial No. 49-1494).  The T-28A on display in the NMUSAF is painted as a typical Air Training Command T-28A in the mid-1950s and was transferred to the museum in September 1965.

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American T-28B Trojan (BuNo. 140048), painted as 38365.  The T-28B on display in the NMUSAF is painted as a VNAF T-28B assigned to Bien Hoa Air Base in 1962, where USAF pilots trained and flew combat missions with VNAF crews in Operation Farm Gate.  It was flown to the museum in March 1987.

(NMUSAF Photo)

North American T-39A Sabreliner (Serial No. 62-4478), C/N 276-31.

(Valder137 Photo)

(NMUSAF Photos)

North American Rockwell OV-10A Bronco (Serial No. 68-3787), C/N 321-113.  The first USAF OV-10As destined for combat arrived in Vietnam in July 1968.  A total of 157 OV-10As were delivered to the USAF before production ended in April 1969.  The aircraft on display in the NMUSAF came to the museum in October 1991 and is painted as it appeared when it served in Southeast Asia.

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