SCFD Free Day

The Soviet aircraft company Mikoyan-Gurevich began work on the MiG-23 in the early 1960s. The engineers at Mikoyan-Gurevich studied the American McDonnell F-4 Phantom II and General Dynamics F-111, and it isn’t difficult to see how those airplanes influenced the design of the MiG-23. It was the first Soviet jet with swing-wings to enable high speed flight as well as manageable takeoff and landing speeds. The first MiG-23 flew in 1967, and production aircraft entered service in 1970. The Soviet Union produced more than 5,000 of them over the next 18 years, and exported hundreds to their allies and client states.

The Harrier II first flew in 1981 and joined the Marine Corps in 1985. With four exhaust nozzles that can rotate from horizontal to vertical, the Harrier can “jump” off the ground in a short take off run or can even take off and land vertically. It can carry a wide array of bombs, rockets and missiles on six underwing hard points, plus a 25mm rotary cannon with up to 300 rounds of ammunition. Fully loaded, a Harrier carries more firepower than a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress bomber!

This Harrier on display at the Air & Space Museum has seen combat in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and the Red Sea, and has the 3rd highest number of combat hours of any Harrier. It is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum.

One of the most iconic symbols of the Vietnam War is the Bell UH-1 “Huey” helicopter. Hueys served throughout the conflict as troop and cargo carriers, air ambulances, and gunships with the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.