Flight Lines

On a bet, Richard Macon, a Birmingham native andgraduate of Miles College in Fairfield, AL with abachelor’s degree in mathematics, took the entranceexams for the U. […]

n January 5, 1967, a sister-ship of our museum’sLockheed A-12 (Article 131) was returning from atraining flight to the now well-known CIA’s advancedaviation research facility base […]

Wright Brothers Day commemorates the first successful flight of the Wright Flyer I, heavier-thanair powered aircraft built by Orville and Wilbur Wright. It took place on […]

As heavier-than-air aircraft developed in the early 20th century, various navies began to take aninterest in their potential use as scouts for their big gun warships. […]

In 1964, Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) won the Navy design competition for a new, light attackaircraft to replace the Douglas A-4 “Skyhawk”. The first A-7 “Corsair II” flew […]

Brig. General Asa North Duncan (1892-1942) was born in Leighton, Alabama. His military service began as an enlisted man in the Alabama National Guard on duty […]

A futuristic-appearing craft took to the air in 1983, a radical departure from the traditional conservative designs of Beech Aircraft. It was a bold innovation in […]

As an icon of the Vietnam War and an angel of mercy for American troops who fought there, the Bell UH-1 Iroquois, affectionately known as the […]

Approximately 300,000 Alabamians donned service uniforms during the war, and tens of thousands trained in the state. Many women volunteered for one of the military auxiliaries, […]

In March 1960, President Eisenhower directed the CIA to develop a plan for the invasion of Cuba and overthrow of the Castro regime. The CIA organized […]

As WAI continues to monitor and follow guidelines for COVID-19 worldwide, WAI made the decision to replace their in-person annual gathering of the 32nd Annual International […]

In 1940, Charles A. Anderson was recruited by the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, to serve as the Chief Civilian Flight Instructor for its new program to […]

Aerial reconnaissance began using balloons in 1794 by the French. After the invention of photography, primitive aerial photographs were made from balloons.

After several unsuccessful attempts, on December 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, Orville Wright completed the first powered flight of a heavierthan-air aircraft known […]

A perpetual National Veterans Award was created in Birmingham for America’s first official NationalVeterans Day observance November 11, 1954 as authorized by Congress. Its purpose is […]

In October 1, 1942, the first flight of the Bell XP-59 “Airacomet”, American’s effort to produce their own jet-powered fighter early in World War II,

In November 1950, the communists introduced the Soviet-built MiG-15 into battle. Its advanced design and exceptional performance startled United Nations forces. The US hoped one of […]

On May 8, 1945, Winston Churchill announced that the Allies had secured Victory in Europe (V-E Day). Later that year, Japan would finally surrender (V-J Day), […]

During the Korean War and to a lesser extent during the Vietnam War, airborne forward air controllers (FACs) chose the North American T-6 aircraft as the […]

Joseph Christopher McConnell, Jr. (1922–1954) was a USAF fighter pilot who was the top American flying Ace during the Korean War. A native of Dover, New […]

The Lake Murray B-25C on display was completed on March 24, 1942 at a cost of $116,346 and was the 200th B-25C of the total 1,625 […]

The announcement that diplomatic relations were recently restored with Cuba brings to mind the epic battle of the Bay of Pigs.

In 1975, the USAF chief of staff announced the establishment of a test program for female pilots and navigators. Although women had already proven their ability […]

In the summer of 2008, the Southern Museum of Flight proudly unveiled its Tuskegee Airmen Exhibit, a tribute to the accomplishments of the first AfricanAmerican military […]

The “Pink” team diorama at the Southern Museum of Flight honors the veterans of Vietnam and presents a downed “killer” gunship (Bell AH-1F “Cobra”) with a […]

By early 1910, the monopoly the Wright Brothers held on the flying market was being seriously challenged by other inventors of flying machines. To deal with […]

It started as an observation platform and rapidly evolved into a weapon. By the end of the war it was realized that if you control the […]

During WW2, Lindbergh was a key figure in improving the performance of the P-38 aircraft. Working as a civilian contractor in the South Pacific during 1944, […]

The Mini-Mac was an original design homebuilt aircraft of Charles E. McCarley of Bessemer, Alabama. Of all-metal construction, the tri-gear, single-seat aircraft was powered by a […]

Longtime SMF volunteer, Norman Ponder, a true representative of the thousands of WW II veterans of the Greatest Generation, was born in 1922 and grew up […]

During the early 1960s, it became apparent to the Soviets that the trend towards battlefield mobility would result in the creation of flying infantry fighting vehicles, […]

During June and July, the beginning and the end of the Korean War (1950-1953) is remembered at the Southern Museum of Flight. On exhibit in the […]

In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, some 800 planes dropped thousands of paratroopers onto the beaches of occupied France, launching Mission Albany, part […]

Shortly before midnight on 16 April 1961, members of the Alabama Air National Guard secretly took part in the failed invasion of Cuba known as the […]