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

First flown in 1948, over 6,500 of this two-seat trainer derived from Lockheed's P-80 jet fighter were built, serving over 30 nations including Bolivia, which was the last to retire the type, as recently as 2017. This one was flown to the museum in 1962

In the late 1930s Douglas developed the B-18 to replace the Martin B-10 as the US Army Air Corps' standard bomber, but by 1942 superior designs such as Boeing's B-17 had supplanted it, many being relegated to transport or anti-submarine work. This example was redesignated as an RB-18A in 1942 and after being used for utility duties, was operated post-war as a crop duster registered N56847. It was ferried to the USAFM in 1971

From looking at earlier images of some aircraft in the museum, it is apparent that their current positioning is less favourable for photography than it once was - this is an example. In the Lead-In-Fighter Trainer (LIFT) program, from 1975 new pilots went directly from T-38s to advanced fighters of an operational squadron. The LIFT program saved costs and reduced the training load on new pilots because they could learn fighter basics in a familiar aircraft. Modified with weapons pylon and gunsight, this Talon became one of the AT-38Bs so used by the 479th TTW (Holloman AFB, NM) till 1991

Derived originally from the Beechcraft Bonanza, the 350 T-34s eventually built for the USAF's Training Command served from first deliveries in 1954 through till replacement by Cessna T-37 jets from the end of that decade. A further 100 were built in Canada under licence. This one was registered N6485C between 1962 and 1979