National Museum of the U.S. Air Force — Early Years

We visited Dayton to see the National Park sites commemorating the Wright Brothers, but in spite of what the web page said, they were closed. This museum was right across the road from our hotel, so we went for Plan B — and were glad we did.

The place was huge and fascinating. It would have taken us two or three days to see everything. We were there for three hours. The museum fills four huge hangers, two other large rooms and a large outdoor space.

Bicycle from the Wright Bicycle Co.

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Pieces from the original Wright Brothers plane that flew for the first time in 1903.

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Wright 1909 Military Flyer — This is an exact replica of the first military airplane, although the engine and other hardware were made by the Wrights. The original is in the Smithsonian

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Spad VII — Used by the Lafayette Escadrille beginning in 1916.

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Avro 504K — Used by British and American pilots as a trainer during WWI.

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The cross from Quentin Roosevelt’s grave, placed by German troops after they shot down his plane.

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Fokker Dr. 1 — A replica of the German dogfighter, the type used by Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron.

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Sopwith Camel F.1 — A replica of the premiere British fighter during WWI, built from original plans.

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Caquot Type R Observation Balloon — Used throughout WWI for combat observation and into WWII in non-combat situations. This one, built in 1944, is believed to be the only original balloon still in existence.

Packard LePere LUSAC 11 — An American-built fighter that didn’t make it into combat during WWI. This is the only original one still in existence.

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Fokker D.VII — Replica of a German fighter

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Caproni Ca. 36 — WWI heavy bomber. This plane served in the Italian Air Force.

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Martin MB-2 — Replica of the first American-built bomber from 1920.

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Boeing P-12E — U.S. fighter used between the wars. This particular plane served with the 6th Pursuit Squadron in Hawaii during the 1930s.

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Kellet K-2/K-3 Autogiro — Built for short take-offs and landings and slow-moving military observation. This one was built in 1931 and tested at Wright Field.

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Curtiss O-52 Owl — Built as an observation plane just before WWII but used only for coastal submarine patrols.

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Hawker Hurricane MKIIA — WWII British fighter used most famously during the Battle of Britain. This one was built in Canada between 1940 and 1942.

The “crashed” plane in the background is a North American BT-14, used during WWII as a trainer. The diorama demonstrates what happens when a pilot braked too hard with a tail wind.

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North American O-47B (on the right) — Observation plane with windows in the belly, decorated in the colors of the 112th Observation Squadron of the Ohio National Guard.

Fairchild PT-19A Cornell (on the left with the yellow “47”) — Trainer used during WWII.

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