SEATTLE, April 26, 2018--On May 26 the Museum opens "Vietnam Divided: War Above Southeast Asia," a permanent addition to the Museum's glass-walled main gallery that focuses on the air war over Southeast Asia from 1955-1975. Using displays based upon the design of military airbase protective barriers, the exhibit is not meant to be a comprehensive history of the War, instead offering new perspectives to the gallery's Vietnam War aircraft, and highlighting the tactics and technology behind their use in combat.


Personal experiences of the War are shared with filmed stories told by aircrew members from all branches of the U.S. services. The exhibit spreads in smaller ways throughout the Museum's campus in Seattle and the Restoration Center in Everett, Wash., linking all of the aircraft types--both military and civilian--that were used in the war above Southeast Asia.


Aircraft in the Exhibit

The Vietnam air combat exhibit centers on four aircraft in the T. A. Wilson Great Gallery--a stealthy Lockheed YO-3A, a Bell UH-1 "Huey" helicopter and the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom and Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 jet fighters. Flanking them are the Vought F-8 Crusader fighter and Lockheed M/D-21 Blackbird spyplane. Also included in the exhibit are planes that can be found in other galleries--Grumman A-6 Intruder, Douglas A-4 Skyhawk and the MiG-17.


"There are aircraft across our campus, including the Restoration Center, with stories that align with this exhibit," explained Museum exhibit developer Peder Nelson. "The military version of the DC-3 that's hanging in the Great Gallery was the C-47, which was used for transport and turned into a gunship. The Super Constellation airliner was used in early warning communications at the time."


In November, "Vietnam Divided" will extend to an entirely new outdoor exhibit, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park, opening west of the Museum's spacious Aviation Pavilion. The centerpiece of the Park will be the largest plane flown in the War, a Boeing B-52 bomber.

Image: "Huey" helicopters on patrol during the Vietnam War. Museum of Flight.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Ted Huetter/Senior Public Relations Manager
T: 206.768.7105 C: 206.455.5360 Email: thuetter@museumofflight.org


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About The Museum of Flight:
Founded in 1965, the independent, nonprofit Museum of Flight is one of the largest air and space museums in the world, serving 600,000 visitors annually. The Museum's collection includes more than 160 historically significant airplanes and spacecraft, from the first fighter plane (1914) to today's 787 Dreamliner. Attractions at the 20-acre, 5-building Seattle campus include the original Boeing Company factory, the NASA Space Shuttle Trainer and the only exhibit of the rocket engines used to launch Apollo astronauts to the Moon. With a foundation of aviation history, the Museum is also a hub of news and dialogue with leaders in the emerging field of private spaceflight ventures. The Museum's aviation and space library and archives are the largest on the West Coast. More than 150,000 individuals are served annually by the Museum's onsite and outreach educational programs. The Museum of Flight is accredited by the American Association of Museums, and is an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Museum of Flight is located at 9404 E. Marginal Way S., Seattle, Exit 158 off Interstate 5 on Boeing Field halfway between downtown Seattle and Sea-Tac Airport. The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Museum admission for adults is $24.00 on-site and $22.00 online. Youth 5 through 17 are $15.00 on-site and $14 online, youth 4 and under are free. Seniors 65 and over $20 on-site and $19 online. Groups of ten or more: $22.00 per adult, $14.00 per youth, Thanks to Wells Fargo, on the first Thursday of every month, admission is free from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. And parking is always free. There is a full lunch menu café in the Museum and a limited menu café in the Aviation Pavilion, both operated by McCormick & Schmick's. For general Museum information, please call 206-764-5720 or visit www.museumofflight.org.