US Air Force Museum WWII Air Power Gallery

To walk into the US Air Force Museum's WWII Air Power Gallery and see the Boeing B-29 Superfortress BOCKSCAR that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki that ended WWII looming above you is just jaw dropping. This was my favorite part of the US Air Force Museum. If you are interested in WWII aviation history, you MUST make a trip to this museum in Dayton, Ohio. It is absolutely fantastic! I had been to the US Air Force Museum 3 times previously but only had time to stay a few hours on each visit. On this trip I allotted myself 2 days, and midway though the second realized that it was not enough and added a third and STILL didn't see everything. As well as the planes, there are historical artifacts with informative placards throughout the museum. Really take the time to see what the staff had done with these exhibits. The staff has also done a bangup job with the WWII dioramas. The C-46 Commando diorama with bulldozer and runway repair crew is excellent and the A-20 Havoc display has a lot of thoughtful detail. Take some time to really examine the Doolittle Raiders's B-25 Mitchell exhibit. You can get a good look at the bomb bay and the equipment it takes to load the bombs up on board. What was especially poignant was the case with the cups engraved with the names of each of the Doolittle Raiders. As we lose one of the Raiders, his cup is turned upside down. At this point most are upside down. In the case along with the cups is a bottle of liquor. The surviving raiders made a pact that when there are only two upright cups left the last two survivors will open and finish that bottle.

If you want to shoot photos, bring a tripod and USE it. They are permitted in this museum and one member of the staff was very encouraging and pleased that I was using it. He said a lot of people use flash and go home and are very disappointed in their photos. He also mentioned that the staff have gotten a lot of complaints that the disposable cameras don't work in the US Air Force Museum. Of course that is only because the flash on the disposables has a reach of about 14' or so. Set up your tripod, be courteous to others, turn off your flash and you'll have great photos. Surprisingly enough, in the 3 full days I spent there, I saw only one other visitor using a tripod. The museum which is located just outside of the Wright Patterson Air Force Base has a very nice cafeteria on site so you don't have to leave to get a bite to eat. The food wasn't too bad either. One more thing, if you're driving in from outside the Dayton Ohio area, gas and lodging is very reasonable. Gas was $.50 less a gallon than it was in NJ and the Motel 6 was $33/night.