A variant of the “Jolly Green Giant” employed by the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam for combat search and rescue, the HH-3F Pelican differed in its nose-mounted radar and watertight fuselage that allowed for water landings. The aircraft on display outside Hangar Bay One as part of the Coast Guard Aviation exhibit was the last … HH-3F Pelican
One of the last operational CH-53Ds in the Marine Corps, the helicopter on display flew its last combat missions in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2012 while assigned to the Ugly Angels of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 362. Cargo was the name of the game for the CH-53D, which could either carry 37 combat-equipped Marines, … CH-53D Sea Stallion
From 1977 until the airplane’s last instructional flight in 2012, Student Naval Aviators completed primary, the first stage of flight training, in the T-34C. Thousands of individuals received their first Navy flight time learning the basics of flying in the T-34C, their nearly 70 hours in the cockpit including the first solo. Top speed of … T-34C Turbo Mentor
A strike fighter equally adept at delivering ordnance against targets on the ground and engaging the enemy in air-to-air combat, the F/A-18 Hornet entered service in 1980. Both Navy and Marine Corps aircraft figured prominently in Operation Desert Storm, where they delivered over 17,500 tons of ordnance and scored the Navy’s only MiG kills. Hornets … F/A-18A Hornet
The Navy Fighter Weapons School, famously known as TOPGUN, began operations in 1969 to improve the air-to-air warfighting skills of fighter aircrew. The museum displays a T-38A Talon that flew with TOPGUN during the 1970s. Lieutenant Commanders Mugs McKeown and Jack Ensch, who in Vietnam teamed up to shoot down two enemy MiG-17 fighters and … TOPGUN Legacy Aircraft
Located behind the museum’s aircraft maintenance and restoration hangar, the flight line is home to an array of aircraft that are part of the museum’s collection. These include two historic examples of the C-130 Hercules in the form of the Blue Angels’ famous Fat Albert and the airplane that made a series of landmark carrier … The Flight Line