Strategic Air and Space Museum
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
military aircraft and nuclear missiles located near Ashland, Nebraska
Ashland, Nebraska
Ashland is a city in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 2,262 at the 2000 census.- History :Ashland is located at the site of a low-water limestone ledge along the bottom of Salt Creek, an otherwise mud-bottomed stream that was a formidable obstacle for wagon trains on the...
, along Interstate 80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
southwest of Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. The objective of the museum is to preserve and display historic aircraft, missile, and space vehicles and provide educational resources. The museum is regarded as having one of the top collections of strategic aircraft. The museum is located near several other tourist attractions including the Platte River State Park
Platte River State Park
Platte River State Park is a state park of Nebraska, USA, situated on the southern bluffs above the Platte River. It is located west of Louisville, Nebraska, and midway between Omaha and Lincoln. The park has a relatively steep, rolling topography compared to the surrounding region. Combined...
, the Mahoney State Park, the Conservation Park and Wildlife Safari, several golf courses and a soon to be vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
.
History
The museum began with its first airplane in 1959 as the Strategic Aerospace Museum at Offutt Air Force BaseOffutt Air Force Base
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation near Omaha, and lies adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S...
. General Curtis LeMay
Curtis LeMay
Curtis Emerson LeMay was a general in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of American Independent Party candidate George Wallace in 1968....
's vision of a Museum that preserved historic aircraft had become a reality. Over the following years, the museum's name changed to the Strategic Air Command Museum or SAC Museum.
On May 16, 1998, after a 33 million-dollar grass roots capital campaign, the Museum moved to a location more accessible to the public.
On June 15, 2001 the name of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) Museum was changed to the Strategic Air & Space Museum. This change incorporated the Museum's rich past while attempting to reach a larger audience through dynamic programming and exciting educational programs that seek to captivate the interests and imaginations of everyone.
The Museum is a $29.5 million, 300000 square feet (27,870.9 m²) building that features a glass atrium, two aircraft display hangars, a traveling exhibit area, a children's interactive gallery, a 200-seat theater, a Museum store, an aircraft restoration gallery, and a snack bar. The glass atrium is constructed of 525 glass panels that encase a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. The two aircraft display hangars protect the aircraft collection and exhibits from harsh outdoor elements. The museum participates in an exhibit exchange program with other national museums and displays them in the traveling exhibit area. Three large missiles are displayed vertically outdoors in front of the museum.
Collection
The museum's collection includes examples of most aircraft operated by the Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
, including:
- Avro VulcanAvro VulcanThe Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...
, one of three on display in the United States - Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress
- Boeing B-29 Superfortress
- Boeing B-47 Stratojet
- Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
- Boeing KC-97G Stratofreighter
- Boeing EC-135 Looking GlassBoeing EC-135The Boeing EC-135 was a command & control version of the C-135 Stratolifter. Modified for the "Looking Glass" program, during the Cold War EC-135 were airborne 24 hours a day to serve as flying command platforms for the military in the event of nuclear war...
- Convair B-36J PeacemakerConvair B-36The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a strategic bomber built by Convair and operated solely by the United States Air Force from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 was the largest mass-produced piston engine aircraft ever made. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built , although there have...
, one of only four surviving - Convair B-58 Hustler
- McDonnell XF-85 Goblin, one of only two ever produced
- Lockheed U-2C Dragon LadyLockheed U-2The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
- Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird - 61-7964
- North American B-25 Mitchell (sectioned fuselage) 44-28738
- Apollo Block I Command ModuleApollo Command/Service ModuleThe Command/Service Module was one of two spacecraft, along with the Lunar Module, used for the United States Apollo program which landed astronauts on the Moon. It was built for NASA by North American Aviation...
, flown on AS-201AS-201AS-201 , flown February 26, 1966, was the first unmanned test flight of an entire production Block I Apollo Command/Service Module and the Saturn IB launch vehicle. The spacecraft consisted of the second Block I command module and the first Block I service module... - Rockwell B-1A Lancer, one of only two surviving
- General Dynamics FB-111A Aardvark S/N 68-0267
- Republic F-105D Thunderchief tail number 61-0069, mounted on a pedestal south of the museum near I-80
Traveling exhibits
The current traveling exhibit is an exhibit featuring Star Wars items. Most notably young Anakin Skywalker's pod racer.Other Air Force museums
- See: National Museum of the United States Air ForceNational Museum of the United States Air ForceThe National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
and National Museum of the USAF #Other Air Force museums