The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum -- both the main branch in America's capital city of Washington, DC, and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia (a short distance from Washington Dulles International Airport -- is an absolute must-see for aviation history buffs. I can personally vouch for both branches, having been to the former once: .
..and the latter twice: Learn more about the history of Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) .
The Smithsonian has many iconic American WWII aircraft on display from massive strategic bombers to humble biplane trainers. As impressive as the NASM already is, it's about to become even better, thanks to their upcoming WWII In The Air Gallery. Simple Flying now examines what to expect from this soon-to-be display once it's up and running.
Background As noted by Moreno Aguiari in a June 2021 article for Vintage Aviation News , the main branch's original WWII Gallery, which first opened back in 1976 (America's bicentennial year, when the majority of WWII veterans, AKA "The Greatest Generation," were still alive to tell the tale), closed in 2019, and it was rather limited in scope and detail, relying on both the artifacts and familiarity of most viewers to the history of WWII, to deliver its impact: "However, with our proximity to WWII and members of the Greatest Generation fast fading away, NASM felt they needed a new approach to telling the story. As such, the new Jay I. Kislak WWII in the Air Gallery, set to .
