Air Force Armament Museum

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Coordinates: 30°27′59″N 86°33′42″W / 30.46625°N 86.56154°W / 30.46625; -86.56154
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Air Force Armament Museum
GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast weapon on display in front of the museum
Air Force Armament Museum is located in Florida
Air Force Armament Museum
Location within Florida
Established1975 (1975)
LocationEglin Air Force Base, Valparaiso, Florida
Coordinates30°27′59″N 86°33′42″W / 30.46625°N 86.56154°W / 30.46625; -86.56154
TypeMilitary aviation museum
Websitewww.afarmamentmuseum.com

The Air Force Armament Museum, adjacent to Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the only facility in the U.S. dedicated to the display of Air Force armament. Founded in 1975, it was originally located in a converted gymnasium on the northeastern edge of the Eglin main base, adjacent to Valparaiso, Florida.

A wide variety of bombs, missiles, and rockets are exhibited, including the newest air-to-air missile, the AMRAAM, and the GBU-28 bunker-buster developed for use during Operation Desert Storm. Other missiles include the Paveway series, Falcons, the Tomahawk, Mace, Hound Dog, radar-controlled, laser-controlled and several guided by a TV camera in the nose. Also on display is the GBU-43 MOAB, Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or by its nickname, "Mother of All Bombs", the world's largest conventional explosive weapon. A predecessor, the T-12 Cloudmaker 38,600 lb (17,500 kg) earthquake bomb, is displayed outside, while a Fat Man casing is indoors.[1]

A gun vault displays a variety of weapons ranging from a 1903 Springfield rifle to the GAU-8, which is capable of shooting 6,000 rounds per minute. Featured are the Sikes Antique Pistol Collection, with over 180 handguns, including flintlocks, duelling pistols, Western six-shooters, Civil War pistols, and a wide variety of early military weaponry.

History

The museum opened to the public on 22 June 1974.[2] Two years later, the Air Force Armament Museum Foundation was established with the goal of constructing a new building.[3] The foundation faced significant public opposition in its early years driven by a referendum to appropriate county funding for the new building.[4] After the referendum failed, original building was condemned and the museum was forced to close in 1981.[5]

A new 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) square foot building was eventually funded entirely through private donations.[6][7] The new museum building opened on 15 November 1985.[8]

Discussion of the founding of a facility dedicated to the history of the development of armaments began at Eglin Air Force Base in 1972 with manpower considerations being circulated in early fall, with a plan approved in 1974. A former World War II-era gymnasium turned Enlisted Club near the old main gate to Valparaiso was adapted in 1975–1976 for the initial collection. Exhibits included the CGM-13 Mace missile, the F-84F, the F-101B, the B-17 Flying Fortress, and the B-25 Mitchell that had been displayed in Valparaiso-Niceville since 1960. Also popular was a Ryan Model 47 Firebee painted as a shark. A SPAD S.XIII, one of six survivors of the type, marked as '1' as flown by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker of the 94th Aero Squadron, on loan from Dolph Overton's Wings and Wheels Museum, Santee, South Carolina, was displayed from 1976 until the original building was closed.[9] The museum occupied these wooden quarters until the structure was condemned in 1981, and the museum was closed in October.[10][failed verification]

The AFAM Foundation, incorporated in 1976 as an IRS 501(c)(3) philanthropic non-profit organization, began searching for a new site while raising funds for a new building. By mid-1985, $1.2 million in private and corporate donations had been raised, and construction of a new 28,000-square-foot (2,600 m2) museum was underway. In November of the same year, the new museum was deeded to the United States Air Force and opened to the public. The museum recorded more than one million visits by June 1995.[11] The foundation is currently trying to raise $1.5 million for a new educational annex.[12]

An African American Military Heritage Hall opened to the public in February 2022.[13][14]

The Air Force Armament Museum Foundation

The Air Force Armament Museum Foundation is a volunteer body that runs the fund generating programs of the Armament Museum and decides how funds donated to the museum are spent.

The Friends of the Museum is a membership program in which members' dues help fund the museum. Members receive discounts in the gift shop and notice of special events.

The Foundation sponsors the education program Engineers for America, which involves a school classroom tour of the museum with basic engineering experiments led by teachers and volunteers. The goal of the program is to stimulate in young people a desire to pursue a career in engineering.[15]

Collection

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak

Aircraft on display

Missiles on display

References

  1. ^ Doman, Joan, compiler; Savoir, Timothy; and Jones, George, eds., Air Force Armament Museum, Air Force Armament Museum Foundation, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Reprint rights 2010 by The Creative Company, Lawrenceburg, Indiana, 47025, p. 9.
  2. ^ "Mission Reflected in Armament Museum". Pensacola News Journal. 23 June 1974. p. 1C. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  3. ^ Tennis, Bill (31 July 1976). "Sikes: Reprimand 'Public Hanging'". Pensacola Journal. p. B1. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  4. ^ Newell, Jeff (11 March 1980). "Both Sides of Armament Museum Debate Predict Victory". Pensacola Journal. pp. 1C, 3C. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  5. ^ "West Florida Briefs". Pensacola Journal. 13 May 1981. p. 1C. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Air Force Foundation Sets Museum Plans". Pensacola News. 23 December 1982. p. 1D. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  7. ^ Fifield, Margaret (3 November 1983). "Work on New Armaments Museum May Start in Spring". Pensacola Journal. pp. 1C–2C. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  8. ^ Fifield, Margaret (16 November 1985). "Armament Museum Opens Its Doors". Pensacola News Journal. p. 1B. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  9. ^ Museum News, "SPAD-13 and Air Force Armament Museum", Aerospace Historian, Air Force Historical Foundation, Manhattan, Kansas, Spring/March 1976, Vol. 23, no. 1, p. 50.
  10. ^ "West Florida Briefs". Pensacola Journal. 13 May 1981. p. 1C. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Today in Local History", Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, 19 June 2015, Vol. 69, no. 137, p. A7.
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-13. Retrieved 2011-01-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "African American Military Heritage Hall". African American Military Heritage Society. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  14. ^ Collins, Kimber (23 February 2022). "African American Heritage Hall opening at Air Force museum for BHM". News 5 WKRG. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  15. ^ Doman, Joan, compiler, Savoir, Timothy and Jones, George, editors, Air Force Armament Museum, Air Force Armament Museum Foundation, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Reprint rights 2010 by The Creative Company, Lawrenceburg, Indiana, 47025, inside back cover.
  16. ^ "Bell UH-1M Iroquois". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Boeing B-17 G Model Flying Fortress". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Boeing B-52 G Model Stratofortress". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  19. ^ Forst, Lee, "B-52G comes home to Eglin", Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Wednesday 17 July 1991.
  20. ^ "Boeing B-47 Stratojet". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  21. ^ "North American P-51 Mustang". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  22. ^ "Cessna O-2A Skymaster". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Douglas AC-47 Spooky". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  24. ^ "A-10A Thunderbolt II". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  25. ^ "General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  26. ^ "General Dynamics F-111E Aardvark". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  27. ^ "Lockheed AC-130 Gunship". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  28. ^ "Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  29. ^ "Lockheed F-104D Starfighter". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  30. ^ "Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  31. ^ "Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  32. ^ "Martin EB-57B Canberra". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  33. ^ "McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  34. ^ "McDonnell F-101B Voodoo". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  35. ^ "Airframe Dossier - McDonnell RF-4C-34-MC Phantom II, s/n 67-0452 USAF, c/n 3003". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  36. ^ "McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  37. ^ "Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 Fishbed". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  38. ^ "North American F-86F Sabre". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  39. ^ "North American F-100C Super Sabre". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  40. ^ "North American B-25 Mitchell". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  41. ^ "Northrop F-89 D Model Scorpion". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  42. ^ "Republic F-84F Thunderstreak". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  43. ^ "Republic F-105 Thunderchief". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  44. ^ "Republic P-47 Thunderbolt". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  45. ^ "Sikorsky MH-53M Pave Low IV". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  46. ^ Getlin, Noel (5 September 2008). "Hurlburt MH-53 flies last mission to where it is displayed at the Air Force Armament Museum" (PDF). Eglin Dispatch. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  47. ^ Johnson, Lauren (10 September 2008). "PAVE LOW dedicated into AF Armament Museum". Hurlburt Field. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  48. ^ "BGM-109A Missile". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  49. ^ "CGM-13B Missle B Series". Air Force Armament Museum Foundation. Retrieved 13 June 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Air Force Armament Museum.
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