On the way back from my vacation in South Carolina, I stopped in Fayetteville, North Carolina, home of Fort Bragg and the XVIII Airborne Corps. Also in Fayetteville is the US Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum.
The museum traces the Airborne, Rangers, and Special Forces from their inception during WWII to the present day (including the First Special Service Force, OSS, SOE, and Jedburghs). Some of the highlights include a complete C-47 suspended from the ceiling with a paratrooper jumping out (unfortunately they went for a night effect, and the plane was too far away for the flash to reach, so I don't really have any good photos), a Waco glider, pack howitzers, a Sheridan tank, a UH-1 helicopter, too many WWII artifacts to list, etc.
I really like the way they display the 1/1 mannequins; many of them aren't behind glass or roped off, so you can touch them and handle the weapons. I would guess that they use reproduction uniforms and gear on these displays. Anyway, here are some shots:
And one I found particularly interesting:
An M42 jump jacket camouflaged by the wearer:
I took 158 photos in all, far too many to post. I took a photo of every behind-the-glass display, which included every US weapon from WWII to present day (and some used by allies and enemies), a display on the SOE & Jedburghs, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Deset Storm, Afganistan, and Iraq. Ask if you want to see anything specific (I probably took a picture of it), or I can e-mail any photos you want.
The museum traces the Airborne, Rangers, and Special Forces from their inception during WWII to the present day (including the First Special Service Force, OSS, SOE, and Jedburghs). Some of the highlights include a complete C-47 suspended from the ceiling with a paratrooper jumping out (unfortunately they went for a night effect, and the plane was too far away for the flash to reach, so I don't really have any good photos), a Waco glider, pack howitzers, a Sheridan tank, a UH-1 helicopter, too many WWII artifacts to list, etc.
I really like the way they display the 1/1 mannequins; many of them aren't behind glass or roped off, so you can touch them and handle the weapons. I would guess that they use reproduction uniforms and gear on these displays. Anyway, here are some shots:
And one I found particularly interesting:
An M42 jump jacket camouflaged by the wearer:
I took 158 photos in all, far too many to post. I took a photo of every behind-the-glass display, which included every US weapon from WWII to present day (and some used by allies and enemies), a display on the SOE & Jedburghs, Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Deset Storm, Afganistan, and Iraq. Ask if you want to see anything specific (I probably took a picture of it), or I can e-mail any photos you want.
