This Starfire flew with the US Air Force and Minnesota Air National Guard before retirement in 1959. Marked for preservation, the aircraft is pictured languishing at Tucson before transfer to the Pima Air and Space Museum and refurbished for display.

31 Jan '51: TOS USAF; to 3rd Strategic Support Squadron, Hunter AFB, GA. Apr '61: 305th Troop Carrier Squadron, Tinker AFB, OK. Mar'62: 442nd Troop Carrier Wing, Tinker AFB. Jul '62: 1502nd Air Transport Wing, Hickam AFB, HI. Mar '63: 1503rd Air Transport Wing, Tachikawa AB, Japan. Jul '64: Returned to 1502nd ATW. Aug '65: 916th Troop Carrier Group, Carswell AFB, TX. Jul '69: Ferry flight to 3902nd Air Base Wing (SAC), Offutt AFB, NE for transfer to SAC Museum. The only C-124A extant, oldest C-124. 1997: 2003: Flown in sections by C-5A to Dover AFB, DE for Air Mobility Museum.

Looking absolutely superb, this is a genuine Thunderbirds Super Sabre which (after operating with various TAC units from 1957) flew in the number six position for the 1968 display season. It was restored to its former glory in 1977 by team maintenance personnel at their Nellis AFB, NV home. Having last served the 175th TFS/114th TFG South Dakota ANG at Sioux Falls from 1970 to 1977, it was flown to the USAFM in July 1977 by the ANG and presented by Thunderbirds team staff

In 1965 the USAF sent its first F-4Cs to Southeast Asia, 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 there was Col. Robin Olds, a WWII ace. This aircraft is the one in which he and his backseat co-pilot destroyed two MiG-17s in a single day in May 1967. Last serving the 149th TFG (TX ANG) at Kelly AFB from 1983 (and briefly the CA ANG), it was ferried to the USAFM in April 1986

This Thunderchief began operational service in 1964 as a standard F-105F. In 1967 it joined the 355th TFW in Thailand, where it flew combat missions for nearly three years. During this time, it became one of a select few USAF aircraft to claim three MiG kills. In 1970 it was fitted with ECM gear and joined the 388th TFW for "Wild Weasel" duty, attacking enemy surface-to-air missile sites. Converted to full F-105G spec in 1972, it spent a further year in SE Asia before going the 35th TFW at George AFB, CA (my 1979 photo here). Ferried to the USAFM in 1980

Seen at George AFB during its last few months of service, in February 1980 this Wild Weasel "Thud' was ferried to the National Museum of the USAF, where it is now preserved (per my December 2024 photo)

The 156 Douglas O-38s made ended a series of biplane observation aircraft begun in the early 1920s. While operating out of Ladd Field near Fairbanks. AK in June 1941, this one crashed due to engine failure at Salcha River. Uninjured, the pilot and his mechanic hiked to safety after supplies were dropped to them. The abandoned aircraft remained in the Alaskan wilderness until recovered in surprisingly good condition some 27 years later using a CH-47 helicopter. It was then flown to the USAFM aboard a C-130, undergoing restoration over the next six years, only the wings needing extensive work

The A-17 series was a direct descendent of the pace setting Northrop Gamma, made famous by the aerial explorer Lincoln Ellsworth. It replaced the Curtiss A-8 and A-12 Shrike and was the last of the pre-WWII single-engine attack aircraft ordered into production by the Army Air Corps. The 'A' model seen here introduced a more powerful engine and fully retractable undercarriage. Arriving at the museum in 1971, it is displayed in the 1938 marks of the 90th Attack Squadron, 3rd Attack Group