Built in 1942, this L-3B found its way into private hands as surplus after the war. Completely restored by its previous owner in Ohio, the aircraft was flown to the museum in 1984. A total of 1,400 L-3s were supplied to the USAAF for liaison and observation duties

This Liberator flew combat missions from North Africa in 1943-1944 over Italy, Greece and Austria with the 512th Bomb Squadron. It was flown to the museum in May 1959

This AT-11 is one of 1,582 ordered by the USAAF between 1941 and 1945, 36 of which were modified as AT-11A navigation trainers. It was operated during the last years of WWII by the Bombardier Training School, Roswell Army Air Field, NM. Operated postwar by the Abrams Aerial Survey Corp, Lansing, MI as N64044 and later N341X, in 1969 they donated it to the USAFM

This Me-163 was sabotaged while under construction by the forced labourers building it in Germany. A stone was found wedged next to the fuselage fuel tank and there was contaminated glue in the wing structure. Taken into service by JG 400 at Brandis around Aug 1944, it was captured by the British at Husum and shipped to Farnborough, then onwards to Canada. Loaned to the USAFM by the CNAM, Rockcliffe 1978-95 and to USAFM permanently in 1999. During restoration in Canada the inscriptions "Manufacture Ferme" (Plant closed) and "Mon coeur est en chomage" (My heart is not occupied) were discovered

The famed B-17F "Memphis Belle" became the first heavy bomber to return to the US after flying 25 missions over Europe in WWII. It had been on loan from the Air Force to the city of Memphis and was relocated to the museum in 2005. After years of meticulous restoration, it was placed on public display in the World War II Gallery in May 2018

Out of the 116 B-58 supersonic bombers built, eight survive. The type had a high accident rate and relatively short service life from 1960, ending in 1970 when it was determined that the cost of maintaining the fleet was too great. This example was operated by the 43rd BW from Carswell AFB, TX and in March 1962 set a transcontinental speed record averaging 1,214 mph while flying non-stop from Los Angeles to New York (in 2:00 hours) and back, winning the crew the Bendix and Mackay Trophies. It was ferried to the museum in December 1969 - my 1973 photo here shows it outside

Initially used by the Flight Test Division here at Wright-Patterson as an EF-94A then JF-94A, this early Starfire flew with the 101st FIS MA ANG from Boston-Logan from 1954 till ferried to the UASFM as long ago as May 1957, although it didn't undergo preparation for display until the 1970s

You can't beat the old metallic and dayglo combination! This rarity is one of 15 Cessna Model 195s obtained by the USAF in 1949 to meet a need for a rugged aircraft with excellent performance for the Arctic rescue service. The floats were interchangeable with skis. The paint scheme shows the aircraft as operated by the 10th ARS at Elmendorf AFB, AK

From 1953 the USAF began replacing its WB-29 weather reconnaissance aircraft with modified B-50Ds. Stripped of defensive armament, 36 became WB-50Ds for long-range weather recon missions with high-altitude atmospheric samplers, Doppler & weather radar and a bomb-bay fuel tank for longer range. While with the 97th BW, 49-0310 was used to sample for radioactive particles in case the Soviet Union had detonated a nuclear weapon. Transferred to the Air Weather Service in 1955, from 1965-67 it flew as a JB-50D test machine here at Wright Patt; to the USAFM in 1968. My 1973 pic here

The F-80C on display at the NMUSAF is one of the few remaining Shooting Stars that flew combat missions during the Korean War. Restored and painted as it was in 1950 while assigned to the 8th FBG, it was placed on display in 1979 having been returned to the US from Uruguay in 1970, where it had flown with the FAU since acquisition in 1958 with serial 221

This Osprey was originally built as a pre-production MV-22B for the USN with BuNo 165839. In 2005 it was modified into a CV-22B and flew more than 200 developmental test missions at Edwards AFB. On transfer to the USAF's 413th Flight Test Squadron, Hurlburt Field, FL it flew a further 400 tests before ferrying to Wright Field for the museum in December 2013

The A-36A dive bomber was the first US Army Air Forces version of North American's famous Mustang, the latter originally developed for the RAF in 1940. It was used in the Mediterranean and Italian campaigns in 1943 but by 1944 it had been found that the high-altitude P-47 and P-51 fighters were more suitable for low-level missions when fitted with bomb racks than the A-36As. The museum's example was raced by the Essex Wire Corp as NX39502 '44' between 1946 and 1949, eventually being donated in 1971. It is painted as an A-36A flown by the 522nd FBS in combat over North Africa and Italy

The Bronco on display in the Southeast Asia War Gallery came to the museum in October 1991 and is painted as it appeared when it served in that theatre. From entry into service in 1969 it was based at a wide range of locations - Bien Hoa AB and Da Nang AB, South Vietnam, Nakhon Phanom R Thai AB, Bergstrom AFB, TX, Osan AB, Republic of Korea, Wheeler AFB, HI, George AFB, CA and lastly Shaw AFB, SC with the 507th TACW

The Blue Canoe was of course the military version of Cessna's highly successful 310 series, selected in 1957 by the USAF for service as a light administrative liaison, cargo and utility transport. The aircraft on display here (backed by the U-6A that can be seen here) is one of several USAF U-3As that were transferred to the US Army and in this case operated by the Georgia Army National Guard from 1974. It was flown to the museum in September 1984

Operated by the 353rd Tactical Fighter Squadron/354th Tactical Fighter Wing (Myrtle Beach AFB, SC) this A-10 flew 57 missions in Operation Desert Storm out of King Fahd Airport at Dammam in Saudi Arabia

Built as a Raytheon 350ER in 2000 and registered N3253Q, in 2009 this aircraft was taken into USAF service after modification to MC-12W as an ISR platform, collecting information using a variety of sensors. Assigned to 362nd Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron/332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Joint Base Balad, Iraq, it operated until 2016 when the MC-12 mission moved to the US Army. It was ferried to the museum in October that year

The B-45 was the first American production jet bomber, making its maiden flight in March 1947 with a total of 143 built. Flown to the museum in 1971, this example spent its active days on loan to Pratt and Whitney as an engine test bed. Initially displayed as seen in my 1973 photo here, by the early 1980s it had been painted in the markings of the 47th BW (Light), based at RAF Sculthorpe from 1952 to 1958 as a key nuclear deterrent. Also flying from Sculthorpe were USAF RB-45Cs clandestinely operated on reconnaissance missions by RAF crews deep into the Soviet Union

At the start of Operation Rolling Thunder in 1965, the USAF did not have an all-weather precision fighter-bomber but the swing-wing F-111A provided this capability. Introduced to combat prematurely in 1968, the type later returned to play a key role in Linebacker operations over North Vietnam in 1972. This one was delivered to the 429th TFS, 474th TFW at Nellis AFB in 1969, deploying to Tahkli R Thai AB in October 1972. In 1996 it was transferred to the 389th TFS/366th TFW at Mountain AFB, ID with tail code "MO" and was ferried to the museum by mid-1992

With high accident rates when the single-seat F-100 was introduced from 1954, the F-100F two-seater evolved allowing instructor training, while retaining basic combat capabilities. As tactics developed in SE Asia, the F-100F was used for SAM suppression and high-speed Forward Air Control, known as "Misty FAC". Displayed in its 1968 colours, this one was a Misty aircraft assigned to the 37th TFW at Phu Cat AB, Vietnam, serving many Tactical Fighter and Crew Training Wings before and after. To MASDC Sep 1979, selected for QF-100 drone conversion but cancelled and to USAFM 2002

56-4362 was accepted by the USAF in 1957 as a C-123B and went to Vietnam in 1961 to fly as a low-level defoliant sprayer. In 1965, it was redesignated to UC-123B. At about the same time, it became a dedicated insecticide sprayer to control malaria-carrying mosquitoes, and in 1968 Fairchild converted it to a UC-123K. By then named "Patches" in view of almost 600 bullet hits in theatre, it returned to the US in 1972 via Afghanistan and Iran where it helped combat locust plagues. Lastly operated for AFRes as a C-123K until retirement to the museum in 1980