Air Force Armament Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Air Force Armament Museum

GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast weapon on display in front of the museum
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Established	1975 (1975)
Location	Eglin Air Force Base, Valparaiso, Florida
Type	Military aviation museum

The Air Force Armament Museum is a cool place to visit near Eglin Air Force Base in Valparaiso, Florida. It's a museum all about the weapons used by the Air Force. A special group, the Air Force Armament Museum Foundation, helps support it.

History of the Museum

The museum first opened its doors on June 22, 1974. It was in an old chapel from the 1940s. Two years later, a group was started to build a new, bigger museum.

At first, some people didn't want county money to be used for the new building. Because of this, the original building had to close in 1981.

But don't worry! A new, much larger building was eventually built. It was paid for completely by private donations. This new museum opened on November 15, 1985. Soon after, a special exhibit about prisoners of war was added.

Starting in 1990, many amazing aircraft arrived at the museum.

• An SR-71 Blackbird came in 1990.
• A huge B-52 Stratofortress arrived in 1991.
• A MiG-21 fighter jet joined the collection in 1992.

In 1996, an exhibit about Air Force Special Operations Command was also opened.

Later, in 2007, the museum started raising money for an education center. In 2019 and 2020, a P-51 Mustang and an F-86 Sabre were given cool new vinyl wraps. In February 2022, a special African American Military Heritage Hall opened. The B-52 plane on display was also repainted in April of that year.

What You Can See: Exhibits

The museum has a huge collection of bombs, missiles, and rockets. You can see the newest air-to-air missile, the AMRAAM. There's also the GBU-28 "bunker-buster" bomb. This bomb was made for use during Operation Desert Storm.

Other missiles on display include:

• The Paveway series
• Falcons
• The Tomahawk
• Mace
• Hound Dog

You can also see missiles guided by radar, lasers, or even a TV camera!

One of the most impressive items is the GBU-43 MOAB. People call it the "Mother of All Bombs." It's the biggest regular explosive weapon in the world! Outside, you can see an older, giant "earthquake bomb" called the T-12 Cloudmaker. Inside, there's a casing from a Fat Man bomb. In 2019, the museum also got a BLU-82B bomb.

The Gun Vault

The museum also has a special gun vault. It shows many different types of weapons. These range from an old 1903 Springfield rifle to the powerful GAU-8 gun. The GAU-8 can shoot 6,000 rounds every minute!

You can also see the Sikes Antique Pistol Collection. This collection has over 180 handguns. It includes:

• Old flintlock pistols
• Duelling pistols
• Western six-shooters
• Civil War pistols
• Many other early military weapons.

Educational Programs

The museum offers a program called "Engineers for America." This program lets school classrooms tour the museum. Teachers and volunteers lead fun, basic engineering experiments for the students.

Collection

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak

Aircraft on display

Missiles on display