Air Mobility Command Museum
Building 1301 is the home of the Air Mobility Command Museum. From 1944 to 1946 it housed the headquarters and engineering facility for the 4146th Army Air Force Base Unit. It was that unit that developed the first successful combat proven air-launched rocket systems used by the United States Armed Forces.
History does not record the individual who first conceived of the idea of using an aircraft as a rocket launcher; however, experiments were being conducted in the United States during the early part of World War II with that concept in mind. Initial American efforts at developing air-launched rockets and missiles were located at a number of civilian and military installations across the country. The principal testing facility was the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland with some of the coordination for the development being done at Wright Field in Ohio.
The first efforts to place rockets on aircraft were tried by the Army Ordnance Department. They used an experimental 4.5” rocket that was attached onto the wing of a P-40 aircraft at Wright Field. This aircraft was flown to Aberdeen for test firing.
Admission and parking are both free!
We are open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
We are closed Mondays and Tuesdays and all Federal Holidays except Veterans Day.
Author: Joe Hummel
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