UH-1B Iroquois “Huey”
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a U.S. Army utility helicopter powered by a single turboshaft engine, with two-blade main and tail rotors. Developed by Bell Helicopter to meet a United States Army’s 1952 requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter the UH-1 was the first turbine-powered helicopter produced for the United States military. The […]
OH-58 Kiowa
The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine, single-rotor, military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. Bell Helicopter manufactured the OH-58 for the United States Army based on its Model 206A Jet Ranger helicopter. First introduced in 1969, over the decades it has been modified and upgraded with more powerful engines […]
OH-6A Cayuse
The Hughes OH-6A was designed for use as a military scout during the Vietnam war to meet the U.S. Army’s need for an extremely maneuverable light observation helicopter (LOH program). Initially fielded in Vietnam in early 1968, the Hughes OH-6A was used for command and control, observation, target acquisition, and reconnaissance. The Cayuse was organic […]
HH-34J Choctaw
Originally designed as an anti-submarine helicopter the large piston-engine helicopter was modified for service in several roles. The museum’s aircraft HH-34J, S/N 148943, was originally manufactured as an SH-34J by Sikorsky Aircraft in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and delivered to the U.S. Navy in the 1960s. It was one of 14 aircraft later transferred from Navy storage […]
UH-21 Workhorse
The H-21B was developed in 1955 from the Piasecki HRP-1, the world’s first practical tandem-rotor helicopter. The first H-21 flew in 1949; five were delivered to the Marine Corps to test as utility aircraft. It quickly earned the nickname “Flying Banana” due to its odd shape, which prevents the rotors from interfering with one another. […]
B-8M Gyrocopter
The Benson B-8M gyrocopter is motorized version of the Benson B-7, a small single-seat gyro-glider developed in the mid-1950s by aviation pioneer Igor Benson. A Russian immigrant to the United States, Benson designed the B-8M as a light, safe rotary-wing aircraft for private use. Little more than a rotor, seat, tailfin and motor the B-8M’s […]
AH-1F Cobra
In the early stages of the war in Vietnam, the United States faced a committed enemy skilled in the tactics of irregular warfare. Trained to avoid the overwhelming power of conventional forces, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army melted into the countryside, mountains and jungles of the south whenever significant opposition threatened. U.S. tacticians […]
VC-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a low-wing, twin-engine, all metal, military transport aircraft developed directly from the Douglas DC-3 civilian airliner. Engineered by a Douglas Aviation team, led by chief engineer Arthur E. Raymond, its simple, reliable design revolutionized air transport making it one of the most significant airliners in aviation history. First […]
R50-5 Lodestar
This venerable Lockheed workhorse was built originally as a Lockheed Model 18, a 17-passenger civilian airliner. In late 1941, when America entered the war, all “Lodestars” flying with the United States military were former airliners conscripted into service. These aircraft received different numerical designations depending on engine type. In mid-1942, Lockheed introduced the C-60 variant […]
KC-97L Stratofreighter
The KC-97, a first-generation aerial refueling tanker, was designed from the transport version of the B-50 Superfortress, itself a derivative of the B-29. The C-97 was modified to have twice the internal volume of the B-50 by adding an extra underside fuselage section making the aircraft resemble an inverted “8”. The entire cabin was pressurized […]