According to General George Kenney, McArthur’s air commander in the Southwest Pacific, “Pappy” Gunn played a key role in the success of the 5th Air Force during WWII. Kenney said of Gunn, “He was a gadgeteer par excellence”.

Of the 151 aircraft carriers built in the U.S. during World War II, 122 were escort carriers. The escort carrier, carrying the U.S. Navy hull designator CVE, was a small and slower type of aircraft carrier used by the

One of the final missions of the air war over Europe was the April 25th, 1945, bombing of Linz, Austria by elements of the 15th Air Force flying from bases in southern Italy.

History Presentation Davey “Tokyo” Jones—The Doolittle Raid and the “Great Escape” Prison Camp Saturday, February 22, 2025 Doors Open at 9:00am    Presentation Starts at 10:00am   In response to the Japanese December 7, 1941, attack on Hawaii and the Philippines, President Franklin Roosevelt directed that

Doors Open at 9am         Presentation Begins at 10am The China-Burma-India Theater (CBI) was “the forgotten war” of WWII, but Burma was the linchpin of the war in the Far East.  The invasion of Burma gave Japan a launching point for its

On Saturday, December 14th, at 10:00 a.m., Lead Docent Les Doggrell will present the story of “The Arsenal of Democracy” – how U.S. industry in cooperation with the federal government armed and supplied both the U.S. and its Allies

Operation Dragoon, the highly successful August 1944 invasion of southern France, was one of the largest amphibious landings of WWII. But it was overshadowed by Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, which was launched two months earlier in June

VMF-214 – Greg Boyington and The Black Sheep Squadron in the Pacific Saturday, October 12th Doors Open at 8am - Presentation Begins at 9am

Thursday, July 4th—All Day Museum Open 10am to 5pm The National Museum of World War II Aviation will celebrate Independence Day with an all-day event at the museum on July 4th.

Thursday, July 4th—All Day Museum Open 10am to 5pm The National Museum of World War II Aviation will celebrate Independence Day with an all-day event at the museum on July 4th.

Saturday, July 13, 2024 Doors Open at 8am Presentation Starts at 9am After December 7th, 1941, the U.S. was on the defensive everywhere in the Southwest Pacific. The Allies were desperate to hold the

History Presentation and P-47 Flight Demonstration The 56th Fighter Group in Europe Saturday, June 15, 2024

History Presentation and Flight Demonstration Women Airforce Service Pilots Forerunners of Today’s Women Military Pilots Saturday, May 18th Doors Open at 8am—Presentation Begins at 9am

On Saturday, April 20th, at 9:00 a.m., retired Army infantry officer and lead docent Ted Severn will present the story of the L birds in World War II

Victory in WWII could not have been achieved without decisive victories at sea. As the war progressed, aircraft carriers played an ever-increasing role in keeping shipping lanes open, supporting amphibious landings, opposing Axis naval attacks, and attacking enemy bases.

The island of Malta in the Mediterranean lays south of Sicily and is astride the air and sea lanes between Europe and North Africa. In June 1940, Italian forces, joined by German forces in 1941, initiated a campaign to

The Douglas A-1 Skyraider, originally designated as the AD-1, was a single-seat attack aircraft that was in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. Designed in 1944 and first flown in early 1945, the Skyraider saw action in the

During the dark days of the summer of 1940, Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) confronted an air onslaught by the German Luftwaffe in what became known as the Battle of Britain. The German air attacks were aimed at eliminating

The B-17 is an iconic part of American World War II history.  Author and speaker Fred Martin provides a collective history of one B-17—April Girl II—from manufacture to delivery across the North Atlantic, and her 111 combat missions over Europe. 

The Battle for Guadalcanal History Presentation and SBD Flight Demonstration Saturday, October 21, 2023 Doors Open at 8:00am Presentation Begins at 9:00am

Today, the National Museum of World War II Aviation announced the return of its highly successful K-12 Education Program. As in the past, this one-of a kind education program will be offered by the Museum at no cost to

History Presentation and P-47 Flight Demonstration  Kearby’s Thunderbolts—The 348th Fighter Group Saturday, September 16 Doors Open at 8:00am        Presentation at 9:00am   At the outbreak of WWII Captain Neel Kearby was an experienced fighter pilot.  He was soon promoted and given command of the 348th Fighter Group.  The

Avengers at Midway Saturday, August 19 Doors Open—0800 am      Presentation Starts—0900 am   The Battle of Midway was the first combat mission for the TBF/TBM Avenger torpedo bomber.  After that, the Avenger was highly successful in every major air-sea battle of WW II. 

The 345th Bomb Group in the Pacific - B-25 Mitchell Low Level Attackers Saturday, July 22nd Doors Open at 8am - Presentation Starts at 9am   In the early days of WWII General George Kenney’s 5th Air Force employed extraordinary tactics to blunt the Japanese advance

In mid-1942 the continental territory of the U.S. was invaded by the Empire of Japan. Beginning with air attacks on June 3rd, a small Japanese force occupied the islands of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Islands chain in

The Battle of the Philippine Sea on June 19th and 20th, 1944, was the last of the great carrier battles of the Pacific War.  It eliminated the Japanese Navy’s ability to conduct large-scale offensive carrier actions.

Sponsored By April 22, 2023 Doors Open at 8am   Presentation at 9am Running continuously from 1939 to 1945, the Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous campaign of WWII.  It pitted German submarines, warships and aircraft against Allied navies, air forces, and merchant shipping.

The U.S. was thrust into WWII on December 7, 1941 with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Following this successful attack, the Japanese High Command began searching for their next step against the United States.

The Battle of Wake Island pitted a small American force against a large Japanese force. The Japanese attacked the remote Pacific island outpost just hours after their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Sixteen days later, Japanese

The first American air strike against German targets in Europe in World War II took place on July 4, 1942. Flying six twin-engine A-20 light bombers, and joined by six other planes of the same type flown by British Royal

The daughter of one of the pilots who flew in the Battle of Midway attended our June 5 presentation about the battle, which included a flight of our Douglas SBD Dauntless. Dona Sorenson is a daughter Don D. Adams (U.S, Navy,

U.S. forces defeated a major attack by the Japanese Imperial Navy in the historic June 4-7, 1942, Battle of Midway, even though the Japanese fleet seemed to have every advantage. As docent John Lynch said in a presentation at the Museum

Fleet Problem XXI was a U.S. Navy exercise conducted in the Pacific near the Hawaiian Islands in April and May of 1940. Like similar exercises going back to 1923, it tested ideas of offensive and defensive naval warfare. Several earlier

When our rare Douglas SBD-4 Dauntless flew for the public Saturday during a presentation at the museum about the historic World War II Battle of Midway, Alan Wojciak was at the controls. The Dauntless, which played a significant role in the

By Colonel Gene Pfeffer, USAF (Ret) This is the story of an American Army Air Forces pilot flying from England named Elwood Starkey and his role in Operation Overlord, the invasion of France in June, 1944.  Starkey flew 36 B-24 combat

The Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) were a brave and dedicated group of aviators who helped the U.S. win the WWII battles in the air.  They did not participate in combat directly.  But they did take the place of

A group of World War II veterans told their stories to Museum visitors on Saturday in an event sponsored by the Southern Colorado Honor Flight. One vet donated what has become a rarity -- a 48-star American flag. Ted Langowski, 97,

Close air support, like air power itself, came of age in World War II. Before the war, air power theorists generally focused on bombers, whose long range and heavy payloads could threaten distant enemy industrial centers. They might even win

              A key component of the Royal Air Force's success in the Battle of Britain during World War II was the Chain Home system of coastal radars, which gave early warning of German air attacks. The concept of operations of today's

The American Volunteer Group (AVG), known as “The Flying Tigers”, was a group of American pilots and ground crew who served China in its war against Japan.  Their entire combat history covers the seven months from December, 1941 through July,

  One of the many factors in the Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic during WWII was the development of small aircraft carriers, termed escort carriers. Initially they accompanied large convoys of merchant vessels across the Atlantic, providing protection

On Saturday, March 20th, the National Museum of World War II Aviation hosted the first in a series of history seminars that will be presented at the museum over the coming year.  Some of these events will include flight demonstrations

The Battle of Midway has been described as the turning point of World War II in the Pacific. Sources differ, but Gordon Prange’s “Miracle at Midway” says Japanese losses were about 2,500 casualties, 4 carriers (Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiryu), 1

February 10, 2021 Colorado Springs—Dan Massett, Champion Aerospace Business Development Manager—Piston and Power, visited the National Museum of World War II Aviation on Tuesday, February 9th.  This was the Dan’s first visit since joining the Champion Aerospace team in November 2020.  Champion

  Two individuals connected to the National Museum of World War II Aviation are featured in a new documentary honoring the Tuskegee Airmen that premiers on The History® Channel February 10, 6 p.m. MST. The late Frank Macon, Tuskegee Airman, lifelong aviator

February 2, 2021—Last week, museum volunteers completed work on a replica of a Northwest Airlines hangar facing.  The new display was built by an all-volunteer team to provide context for one of the museum’s oldest and rarest aircraft, a Waco

The Museum has received a donation from the Soaring Eagles Foundation of a CG-4A Glider project. Randy & Pam Rothe of Colorado Springs not only made this great project available to the Museum, but delivered it from California with the