This may be of interest to aviation &/or military historian types...

[RckyRaCoCo]

Great pics. Thanks.

[Racehorse]

I think that what impressed me most about the SR-71 Blackbird, the first time that I saw one at Wright Patterson, was just how small they are . . .

I was most impressed the first time an A-12 flew into Kadena AB, even though I did not see it.  I did observe the excitement in the Officer's Club stag bar.  :-)

A casual observer would be hard put to tell the difference between an A-12 and an SR-71, but there are plenty of folks who believe the A-12 was the better plane and should have been kept.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

There is an A-12 (or similar early SR-71) at the Seattle Museum of Flight. You can walk right under it and touch the titanium skin.

[Drew68]

Great photos. Reminds me of the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, FL. Beautiful place. I heard it got hit pretty hard during Hurrican Ivan. Hope they didn't lose too many aircraft.

[RicocheT]

Looks to be a great collection of aircraft.

The USAF museum in Dayton Ohio is a treasure also and well worth a visit. Please drop some cash in the box there for gifts as it is not taxpayer funded.

[jimtorr]

Thanks very much for the pictures. I visited Duxfore twice in 1992, and they didn't have all of those aircraft then, such as the SR-71.

I know they keep as many of the aircraft in flight condition as possible, but I doubt even the Imperial War Museum has the funds to keep an SR-71 or a B-52 flyable.

[Tuba Guy]

Thanks for the great photos! My Dad was a C-47 pilot.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

My dad flew C-46s over the Hump.

[tiger-one]

I was there 9 years ago, great place. Visit the Eagle Pub in Cambridge, a typical pub of WW2, with many Veteran's unit designations burnt into the metal ceiling of pub.

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

You know, I am really starting to feel old, seeing F-111s, SR-71s, F-4s etc in a museum. I guess this is about a sure sign as any that time marches on. I remember so clearly when the F-4 was just entering production, and who could forget their first photos of the SR-71. Man, time marches on.

[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

The USAF museum in Dayton Ohio is a treasure also and well worth a visit. Please drop some cash in the box there for gifts as it is not taxpayer funded.

I think at one time Wright-Patterson had an XB-70 there. Is it still there?

[DollarBill]

Great Pictures! If anyone has an interest in the SR-71 or Stealth fighter, I highly recommend "Skunk Works" by Ben Rich (just finished reading it). Rich worked at Skunk Works for most of his career and was in charge of it for over 20 years. It is an amazing read. I never realized how "old" the stealth fighter & SR-71 really are and that stealth technology actually came from a Russian scientist!

[csvset]

Naval Aviation Museum

[Chode]

welcome to FreeRepublic!!! that is most awesome collection of US aircraft and firepower i have ever seen under one roof!!!

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I'm told we had Stealth flying a full ten years before Jimmah Cahtah blurted it out.

[Lockbar]

I went to Duxford two years ago, its a great museum. Take the train from from London to Cambridge, a very pleasant one hour ride, and then take the free shuttle bus from the train station to the museum. Shuttle bus stops off the station approx. every 30 minutes.

Even though Duxford is mostly a aircraft museum, there is also a large building containing lots of British WW2 trucks, tanks, and artillery. Its was very much like all our English made "Dinky Toys" from the 1950's and 60's had come to life.

[strongbow]

The Brits have a huge interest in military aircraft. When I was at RAF Lakenheath there was a roadside pull off directly underneath the flight path of incoming planes. We had F-111's at that time and later transistioned to F-15's. The "Spotters" as they were called frequently congregated outside the gates to watch the approaches and launches. It was the same when I was at RAF Fairford during desert storm when the B-52's were leaving for Iraq. I never made it to Duxford, after seeing these pics wish I had now.

[tomkat]

Great photo show, B !
Thanks for sharing it, and welcome to FR

(DD, thought you might wanna see this)

[B4Ranch]

Sincerely, Thank you

[IronJack]

Beautiful facility! My thanks to the Brits for recognizing the tremendous contribution of American fliers to the war effort. And a moment of silent tribute to the thousands of Brits who took to the skies to defend their island, our troops, and liberty during those dark days.