Although the C-142 did not go into production, it foreshadowed future operational V/STOL transports such as the V-22 Osprey. Tested extensively by the US Army, Navy, Air Force and NASA, the XC-142A first transitioned from vertical take-off to level flight and back to vertical landing in January 1965 and could be flown from airspeeds of 35 mph backwards to 400 mph forwards.The aircraft seen here, the only example remaining out of five, was flown to the museum in 1970 and was one of many types kept outside until indoor accommodation was expanded sufficiently - my 1973 photo here

A rarity indeed, displayed in the Research & Development Gallery. The Fisher Body Division of General Motors developed the P-75 Eagle to fill an urgent need for an interceptor early in WWII. The original P-75 design incorporated the most powerful inline engine available and components from other aircraft as a way to expedite production. Only eight XP-75s and six P-75As were built, the type's mission being changed to long-range escort after shortcomings in performance were found - an order for 2,500 was cancelled in favour of P-47s and P-51s.

Who said flying saucers don't exist? The Avrocar was the result of a Canadian effort to develop a supersonic, VTOL fighter-bomber in the early 1950s. This is one of two scaled down test vehicles using the exhaust from turbojet engines to drive a circular "turborotor" which produced downward thrust for takeoff and landing, directed rearward for level flight. Severe instability above three feet high dogged the program at NASA's Ames Research Center and a speed of only 35 mph was attained before the project was abandoned in 1961. After storage at Silver Hill, MD it went on show at NMUSAF in 2008

Seen some 51 years after my first photo here, this Kestrel was flown for two years from 1964 as XS688 by pilots from the UK, USA and West Germany in the Tripartite Evaluation Squadron (TES) at RAF West Raynham. Six of these trial aircraft then came to the US where the US armed forces conducted additional testing designated as XV-6As. Although the USAF did not order it, the US Marine Corps and RAF did of course operate the follow-on Harrier for several decades. In 1970 64-18262 became the first aircraft to be airlifted in a C-5 Galaxy when it was flown from Edwards to the USAFM

Not for nothing was this extraordinary offspring from the jet F-84F design known as the Thunderscreech, by some reckoning the loudest aircraft ever, apparently audible on startup 25 miles away! Intended to combine the speed of jets with the long range, low fuel consumption and low landing speed of propeller-driven aircraft, of the 12 flights made by the two XF-84Hs in 1955/56, 11 ended in emergency landings. Around 1958 this first one was pole-mounted at Bakersfield, CA with an electric motor to turn the prop. After restoration by the Ohio ANG it moved to the USAFM in 1999

The T-41 was a standard Cessna 172 and over 200 were procured for preliminary flight screening of Air Force pilot candidates. Although originally allocated USAF serial 65-5251, as this one like many was operated by a civilian flight school under contract to Air Training Command in Texas it was given an N registration derived from the serial. It was ferried to the USAFM in April 1993

Registered N231YF to Northrop-McDonnell Douglas in 1989, in mid-1990 this aircraft was transferred to the 6511th Test Squadron at Edwards AFB to compete in the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program against the Lockheed YF-22A, the latter winning in 1991 and developing into the F-22 Raptor. In 2000 the YF-23A, unofficially named the Black Widow II, was moved from the Flight Test Center Museum at Edwards to the USAFM where it was restored and placed on display in 2009

This U-4B was used by President Dwight D Eisenhower from 1956 to 1960 for short trips. A pilot himself, he would often take the controls during trips between Washington DC and his farm in Gettysburg, PA. Removed fro presidential service in 1961 and redesignated from L-26B in 1962, it was used to transport high-ranking government officials till 1969 after which cadet parachute training became the aircraft's role. Retired in 1977, it was registered N5379G for the Civil Air Patrol, eventually coming to the USAFM in 1996

By the time production was completed in 1942, the US Army Air Corps had accepted some 1,023 PT-22s as primary trainers. This one was donated to the USAFM in 1969, at the time registered N51713

Built as a F-4E-44-MC by McDonnell Douglas at Saint Louis in 1970, 69-7263 was first assigned to the 4th TFW, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC. In 1972/73 it was deployed to Ubon RTAFB and in 1977 it was one of 116 undergoing conversion to F-4G Wild Weasel configuration with electronics to seek out SAM air defence radars. It then served various units at Nellis AFB, George AFB and Spangdahlem in Germany. Deployed to Bahrain with the 35th TFW in early 1991, it launched over 40 missiles during Desert Storm before transfer in 1992 to the 190th TFS/124th FG Idaho ANG at Boise. It joined the USAFM in 1996

Designed and built by Bell at Buffalo, NY in great secrecy during WWII, the P-59 was America's first jet aircraft. After use by the NACA Laboratory at Cleveland, in 1947 it was transferred to Kirtland AFB, NM for further testing. By 1951 it had been placed on display there and after use as a ground instructional airframe, was flown to the USAFM aboard a C-124 in 1956. The 66 P-59s built were powered by two GE turbojets developed from the British Whittle engine. but low thrust and a heavy airframe design resulted in poor performance but did provide valuable development cues. Six now survive

Assigned to the 495th TFS, 48th TFW at RAF Lakenheath in 1977, in April 1986 this 'Swinger' led an attack on barracks in Libya during Operation El Dorado Canyon. Then in August 1990 it was deployed to Taif in Saudi Arabia, flying 29 combat sorties in Desert Storm and destroying 58 targets. From 1992 it served the 27th FW at Cnnon AFB, NM till ferried to the USAFM in May 1996 where it is now exhibited with the badges of the 492nd, 493rd, 494th and 495th Tactical Fighter Squadrons as operated during Desert Storm

Officially commissioned as presidential aircraft in July 1947, "The Independence" carried President Truman to Wake Island in October 1950 to discuss the Korean situation with General MacArthur. In May 1953 it was taken out of presidential service and was transferred to the MATS at Bolling AFB, Washington DC, later moving to Andrews AFB and McDill AFB. In 1964 it was transferred to TAC as a command support aircraft and in July 1966 was flown to Wright Field for storage pending museum construction. My 1973 photo shows it displayed outside in final service markings

This is the only X-3, first flown from Edwards AFB in 1952 and designed to test sustained flight at twice the speed of sound. It also explored the use of very short wings and titanium airframe construction.. Because it was underpowered with an interim J34 engine, it failed to achieve the high speeds for which it was designed. By 1956 it had been transferred to the USAFM

Modified from the civilian Beech 36 Bonanza under the Pave Eagle II program, the 27 QU-22Bs delivered to the USAF were intended as airborne relays for the Igloo White operation during the Southeast Asia War, monitoring ground sensors to detect traffic along the main enemy supply line, the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Remote control equipment allowed the QU-22B to be flown directly by an onboard pilot or as an unmanned drone. In practice flights were all manned and after the loss of several aircraft, in 1972 the program ended. Registered N90637 to a tech college in 1974, this one joined the USAFM in 2001

In September 1948, the XF-92A became the world's first jet aircraft to fly with the radical delta-wing configuration, pioneered by Germany's Dr Alexander Lippisch. Convair used the knowledge learned from the XF-92 to design the delta-wing F-102, the USAF's first operational supersonic interceptor. Operated by NACA, it made its last flight in October 1953, the nose gear collapsing on landing. It then became a travelling exhibit with the USAF's Recruiting Service, next going on display at Franklin County Airport, TN in 1965. In vandalised condition, it was recovered by the USAFM in 1969

During the 1960s, this U-2A, the last one built, made 285 flights to gather data on high-altitude clear-air turbulence. It went on the following decade to flight test reconnaissance systems and was delivered to the USAFM in May 1980

This C-20 served the 89th AW at Andrews AFB from July 1987 till September 2015 when delivered to the NMUSAF

As a kid in the 1960s I can well remember being inspired by this extraordinary rocket-powered machine built to investigate the effects of hypersonic flight. In June 1962 this, the second of three X-15s, became the first aircraft to exceed Mach 5 after being air-dropped form its NB-52A mothership over Mud Lake, NV. In October 1967, after a fuselage stretch and addition of the large propellant tanks, it reached Mach 6.7, fastest of the three X-15s. In December 1968 the 200th X-15 flight was cancelled and 56-6671 went into storage till moved to the USAFM the following year

Built as a T-37A, this basic jet trainer was upgraded to T-37B around 1961 with improved engines, navigation and communications equipment. By the mid-1980s it was operating with the 8th FTS/71st FTW at Vance AFB, OK and is now displayed with their 'OK' code having been delivered to the museum in October 1991