National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

About

The museum's origins trace back to 1923, when technical materials began being collected at McCook Field in Dayton. The collection moved to Wright Field in 1927 and was named the Army Aeronautical Museum in 1932; it first opened to the public in 1954. The current facility opened in 1971, and the museum took its present name, the National Museum of the United States Air Force, in October 2004. Located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, the museum spans four buildings totaling roughly 104,000 square meters of exhibit space. Described as the world's oldest and largest military aviation museum, it displays more than 360 aircraft and missiles. Among its holdings are the World War II bomber Memphis Belle (a B-17F), SAM 26000, a former presidential aircraft, the Apollo 15 command module, the experimental XB-70 Valkyrie, and Bockscar, the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Both admission and parking are free.