Warplanes of the USA: Ohio, Dayton, National Museum of the USAF: Aero to Culver

‍Dayton, National Museum of the United States Air Force (NMUSAF), 1100 Spaatz St., Wright-Patterson AFB, 45433-7102.

Aero

(NMUSAF Photo)

Aero Commander U-4B (Serial No. 58-4647), C/N 680-315-10.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Aeronca L-3B Grasshopper (Serial No. 42-36200).  Built during the Second World War, the L-3B on display in the NMUSAF found its way into private hands as surplus after the war.  Completely restored by its previous owner, Paul Grice of Waynesville, Ohio, the airplane was flown to the museum in 1984.

(NMUSAF Photos)

American Helicopter Co. XH-26 Jet Jeep (Serial No. 01841).  The XH-26 is a one-man, pulsejet-driven helicopter powered by two pulsejets on the end of each rotor blade tip.  American Helicopter chose the name "Jet Jeep" because the XH-26 would be used like an aerial Jeep.  When collapsed, its storage container fit on a trailer towed by the one-quarter ton Jeep.  If stripped for air drop, the Jet Jeep weighed less than 300 pounds, and it could be assembled by two men in just 20 minutes.  It could also burn the same fuel as a Jeep.  The Army and USAF evaluated five prototype Jet Jeeps, and they performed well.  Unfortunately, the pulsejets were so loud that the Army found the aircraft unsuitable, and cost considerations forced the cancellation of the program.

(Pi3.124 Photo)

Apollo 15 Command Module Endeavour.  Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the United States' Apollo program, the fourth to land on the Moon, and the eighth successful manned mission.  It was the first of what were termed "J missions", long stays on the Moon, with a greater focus on science than had been possible on previous missions.  It was also the first mission on which the Lunar Roving Vehicle was used.  The mission began on 26 July1971, and ended on 7 August.  At the time, NASA called it the most successful manned flight ever achieved.  Apollo 15 used Command/Service Module CSM-112, which was given the call sign Endeavour, named after the HMS Endeavour, and Lunar Module LM-10, call sign Falcon, named after the USAF Academy mascot.

(USAF Photo)

(NMUSAF Photos)

Bensen X-25A Gyrocopter (Serial No. 68-10770).  In early 1968, the U.S. Air Force ordered three X-25 type aircraft to test methods of improving the odds of a downed flyer’s escape.  At the time, the USAF was suffering heavy losses in the Rolling Thunder air campaign over North Vietnam.  The unpowered Bensen X-25 Discretionary Descent Vehicle (also called a “Gyroglider”) theoretically could be stowed in an aircraft, ejected with the pilot and deployed during descent.  Its rotary wings would be brought up to speed as it fell, and the pilot would fly it as an autogyro to a safer landing area.  The X-25A Gyrocopter on display in the NMUSAF represented a more advanced concept with a limited "fly-away" capability.  Though similar to the X-25, the X-25A had a more robust structure, and it was powered by a small engine.  The two-seat X-25B was originally used as an unpowered, towed trainer, but it was later fitted with an engine.  Tests proved that pilots could be quickly and easily trained to fly the X-25.  Even so, with the air war in Vietnam winding down, and doubts about its operational feasibility, the X-25 program ended.  The X-25A was delivered to the museum in 1969.

(NMUSAF Photo)

Blériot, 1909.  Mr. Ernest C. Hall of Warren, Ohio, built the Bleriot on display in 1911 from factory drawings.  With it, he taught himself to fly.  Mr. Hall donated the aircraft to the museum in 1969.

(Senior Master Sgt. David H. Lipp, USAF Photo)

Bombardier Aerospace Learjet C-21A , North Dakota Air National Guard (NDANG), 119th Fighter Wing (Happy Hooligans), 19 March 2007.  

Bombardier Aerospace Learjet C-21A (Serial No. 84-0064).  This aircraft arrived at the NMUSAF on 28 Aug 2013.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Caproni Ca.36 (Serial No.).  This aircraft was restored by museum specialists.  The NMUSAFobtained the Ca. 36 on display from the Museo Aeronautica Caproni di Taliedo in Italy in 1987.

(NMUSAF Photos)

(Dsdugan Photo)

Caquot Type R Observation Balloon.  Caquot balloons were manufactured in great numbers during the First World War; nearly 1,000 were made in the United States in 1918-1919.  During the Second World War, the British produced Caquots once again, but in limited numbers.  The balloon displayed at the museum was manufactured in 1944 in England, and is believed to be the only survivor.  The British used it for parachute testing and noncombat aerial observation and photography until 1960.  The British Ministry of Defense, Royal Aircraft Establishment, presented the Caquot to the museum after it was located with the aid of American and British First World War balloon veterans in 1975.  Assisted by the Goodyear Aerospace Corp. of Akron, Ohio, which had produced these balloons during the First World War, NMUSAF personnel mended and sealed the balloon fabric and prepared it for inflation.  It was placed on display in May 1979.

(NMUSAF Photos)

Chance-Vought/LTV XC-142A (Serial No. 62-5924).  Five tilt-wing XC-142As were built in the 1960s to explore the suitability of Vertical/Short TakeOff and Landing (VSTOL) transports.  VSTOL transports permit rapid movement of troops and supplies into and out of unprepared areas.  XC-142As were tested extensively by the US Army, US Navy, USAF and NASA.  An XC-142A first flew conventionally in September 1964 and performed its first transitional flight (vertical takeoff, changing to forward flight, and landing vertically) in January 1965 . In tests, XC-142As were flown from airspeeds of 35 mph backwards to 400 mph forward.  Although the XC-142A did not go into production, it foreshadowed future operational VSTOL transports like the V-22 Osprey.  The aircraft on display in the NMUSAF, the only remaining XC-142A, was flown to the museum in 1970.

(NMUSAF Photo)

(Valder137 Photos)

Culver PQ-14B Manned Aerial Target (Serial No. 44-68462).  The PQ-14B on display in the NMUSAF was donated in 1983 by Mr. Robert E. Parcell of Fort Worth, Texas.  It is painted and marked in a typical Second World War paint scheme, although some PQ-14s remained in service for several years after the war.

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