Let's Learn About Interior Lights!![]()
![]()
#AmericanHeritageMuseum #visitma #militaryhistory #historymuseum #WWII
Did you know that our TBM-3E Avenger currently on display in our annex hangar during special event weekends operated as a fire bomber / sprayer in civilian service after WWII and before we restored it from 1984-1986? Here is a photo of it in 1978 courtesy of the Warbird Information Exchange (WIX) and Warbird Resource Group as taken by Martin Kyburz - it certainly looks a lot different today! See more photos of the TBM both before and after restoration at: www.warbirdregistry.org/avengerregistry/avenger-91733.html
Today we celebrate the birthday of Harriet Quimby, one of America’s great aviation pioneers. Born on May 11, 1875, Quimby became the first American woman to earn a pilot’s license in 1911 and quickly captured national attention with her skill, courage, and unmistakable purple flying suit.![]()
![]()
In 1912, she made history again as the first woman to fly solo across the English Channel, piloting a Blériot XI, the same type of early aircraft now on display in the American Heritage Museum’s annex hangar. Her achievement came just years after the dawn of powered flight and helped inspire generations of women in aviation.![]()
![]()
The included photo shows Connie Tobias, pilot and Harriet Quimby re-enactor, flying the AHM Blériot 20 years ago, bringing Quimby’s remarkable legacy back to life.![]()
![]()
#HarrietQuimby #AviationHistory #WomenInAviation #AmericanHeritageMuseum #BleriotXI #LivingHistory
On this day in 1940, Germany launched its invasion of Western Europe. Aircraft, tanks, motorized units, and communications helped change the pace of warfare in the opening phase of the Battle of France. The American Heritage Museum has several notable artifacts on display related to the Battle of France including the German Panzer 1 tank and the British Matilda Mk.II. Additionally, the museum is currently restoring an original German Junkers Ju 87D-5 Stuka in the Czech Republic and a German Heinkel He 111H-3 bomber in Florida for eventual display - both key aircraft used by Germany in its Blitzkrieg tactics. Learn more about the Battle of France by visiting us today!
On this day in 1945, Victory in Europe Day marked the end of World War II in Europe. For millions, it meant liberation, relief, grief, and the beginning of rebuilding after years of destruction. The American Heritage Museum has one of the largest collections of tanks, military vehicles, and artifacts from the European Campaign and we invite you to come and explore more!
Battle for Berlin
IS-2 Iosef Stalin – RUS | TANK
SU-100 – RUS | TANK DESTROYER
Messerschmitt ME-109G-10 – GER | AIRCRAFT – FIGHTER
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was one of the last major offensives of the European theater of World War II. On April 16th, 1945 massive Soviet forces attacked from the north, east and south. Over the course of the next week, the Red Army gradually took the entire city. The forces available for the city’s defense included roughly 45,000 soldiers in several severely depleted German Army and Waffen-SS divisions. These divisions were supplemented by the police force, boys in the compulsory Hitler Youth, WWI veterans and women’s auxiliary units. Knowing his inevitable fate, Hitler committed suicide on April 30th in an underground Berlin bunker. The city’s garrison surrendered on May 2nd, but fighting continued to the north-west, west, and south-west of the city until the end of the war in Europe with the German formal surrender to the Western Allies on May 8th and to the Soviet Union, in a separate ceremony, on May 9th.
