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Apr 19, 2013, 5:14 pm

#4

dat4life

Join Date: Oct 2009

Location: BTR/MSY

Programs: AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LTP, Hilton Gold

Posts: 1,258

The 8th Air Force Museum

In January, I was assigned to work on a client in Monroe, LA, which is located about 300 miles east of Dallas. While I was happy to be able to spend an extended period of time in my home state, I wish it was in a more exciting area, such as my hometown of New Orleans. But still, I had a few friends who live in the area, and visit a place I’ve been meaning to visit for years: The 8th Air Force Museum.

The museum is located at the Barksdale Air Force Base, just outside Shreveport, LA. The 8th Air Force became famous for their efforts in Europe during the World War II, and its commanders included the likes of Jimmy Doolittle. In the current day, the 8th Air Force still serves as the backbone of the U.S. heavy bomber fleet.

I had a meeting at my office the morning of the day I was scheduled to travel to Monroe, so I couldn’t leave my office until lunch. Speaking of lunch, I ended grabbing lunch at Burguesa Burger. If you’re ever in Dallas, go there. Ask for the # 1 Combo with spicy fries. Don’t ask what’s in it. Just eat. So much better than In-N-Out, and dare I say Whataburger. There, I managed to piss off two passionate fan bases in one sentence. But to mollify one fan group, and to save myself from being run out of town with pitchforks, I love me some Whataburger too. Anyways, Burguesa Burger for lunch was a mistake, as I was nodding off the entire drive to Shreveport. I arrived at the museum around 3, leaving me a little over 2 hours to enjoy the museum.

As I mentioned, the museum is located in Barksdale Air Force Base, so I had to leave my driver’s license with the guard at the base entrance to enter. The museum itself is rather small; though, its exhibits are quite impressive. The two exhibits I wanted to see most were the B-17 and the B-29. Both were heavy bombers produced by Boeing and were instrumental to the Allied Forces efforts in World War II. While examples of B-17 are quite common, heck I’ve even taken a ride in one, intact B-29 airframes are quite rare. In fact, I’ve never actually seen one in person before, and I was pretty excited about being able to see one for the first time. While both aircraft were built for military purposes, experience with mass producing those large aircraft proved to be valuable for Boeing as they ramped up the production of large civilian aircraft in the 1950s. Additionally, B-29 had then revolutionary features such as a pressurized cabin, which were incorporated into later civilian models. Before you fellow aviation geeks crucify me, I know the Boeing 307 was the first pressurized airliner, but the B-29 was Boeing’s first mass produced aircraft with that feature.

Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress

Boeing B-29 Super Fortress

Consolidated B-24 Liberator

B-24 Engine

Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter

Boeing B-47 Stratojet

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark

Boeing B-52G Stratofortress

Hmm…duly noted

In addition to the aircraft on exhibit, the 8th Air Force Museum also has other interesting items including the podium President Bush used on September 11, 2001. As you may recall, President Bush left Florida on that fateful day and headed to a then undisclosed location, which was later revealed to be Barksdale. He gave a short speech that afternoon. The podium he used for that speech is on display at the museum. Another interesting exhibit at the museum is the World War II era Norden bombsight. The U.S. Army Air Force brass considered the bombsight to be the key piece in their strategy of precision daylight bombing; “hitting a pickle barrel from 20,000 feet” as it was touted. Though in practice, it was not quite as effective as publically acknowledged due to variety of factors, including weather.

All in all, it was worth a visit. There’s certainly enough to see to keep even the most hard core of aviation geeks happy for a short while. It’s noteworthy to mention admission to the museum is free. As I exited museum, I caught a glimpse of an active duty B-52H of the 20th Bomb Squadron.

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