The Museum's collection holds a variety of different airplanes which help tell the story of flight. Our collection of commercial aircraft, such as the well-known Boeing 747, help tell the history of America by air.

With airplanes becoming faster and passenger numbers increasing, airlines discontinued their plush sleeper service by the 1950s. Expensive to operate, sleeper service gave way to low-fare night coach service.

The Wright brothers—you may have heard of them. But who exactly were they and what did they do? The invention of the airplane by Wilbur and Orville Wright is one of the great stories in American history. The Wright brothers’ invention not only solved a long-studied technical problem, but helped create an entirely new world.

National Air and Space Museum

This collection contains digital images of a Bristol Fighter F.2B, a de Havilland DH-4, and a captured Fokker D.VII in service of the Royal Air Force during World War I as well as contemporary photographs of a gunsight and altimeter of a DH-4.

While reconnaissance often refers to the collection of information as it relates to military operations, the National Air and Space Museum also offers a large collection of objects and stories connected to aerial observation and observation from space—military or otherwise.

Military reconnaissance is an operation to obtain information relating to the activities, resources, or military forces of a foreign nation or armed group. It uses balloons, aviation, and space technology and has played an important role in our history.

Requesting Research Services: Send written requests to the Archives Reference Desk via the Research Request form. Make your request as specific as possible by listing specific aircraft types, spacecraft types, people, places or dates. Broad subject areas, like "WW1," "WWII," "early airplanes," or "space" do not usually produce good results.

Home Explore Stories The Airplane In Early 20th Century Culture The Wright brothers’ invention of the airplane truly changed the world. Imagining what this new world would be like began as soon as the first airplanes took to the air in the early 1900s.

Hand colored drypoint print on paper depicting an airborne French World War I aircraft with a front-mounted machine gun and military roundels; a partially-draped female figure scatters sprigs / leaves in the aircraft's