In honor of the opening of the fourth building at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in a few weeks, please enjoy these photographs and news clippings from the Dayton Daily News Archive from the museum’s early days.
The origins of the museum came from a collection started at Dayton’s McCook Field. The artifacts were later moved to Wright Field in 1927. In 1954, the museum was first opened to the public in Building 89 of Patterson Field. The museum’s current location opened in September 1971 with one hangar. A second hangar opened in 1988 and the third in 2003.
Groundbreaking, June 1970
Jan. 1978
Click on the images in the gallery below to enlarge the image and see more detailed captions. Click the image again on its caption page to view it at its largest available size.
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- Nov. 1964
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- Nov. 1964
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- May 1965
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- Feb. 1966
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- Jan. 1970
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- March 1970
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- March 1970
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- Groundbreaking, June 1970
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- Groundbreaking, June 1970
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- June 30, 1970
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- June 1970
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- June 1970
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- Nov. 1970
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- Dedication events, Sept. 1971
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- 10th Anniversary (1981)
These items and many more like them can be found in the Dayton Daily News Archive in the series Journal Herald alphanumeric photos clippings under 96n: Air Force Museum.