Joe Harlick and Don Caldwell of the 91st Bomb Group sit on the bonnet of a Jeep in front of a B-17 Flying Fortress IWM (FRE 5669)

American Air Museum

Welcome to the American Air Museum

We are a museum, a digital archive and a charity dedicated to telling stories of Britain and America's experience of war since 1914.

A young couple looking at the nose of the B-17 Flying Fortress in the American Air Museum at IWM Duxford ©IWM

Visit us

Visit us at IWM Duxford and meet the men and women whose lives were shaped by American aviation during a century of war
Sergeant L.F. Teetman, of the 379th Bomb Group enjoys a sandwich and coffee before interrogation Kimbolton, 1 January 1944. IWM (FRE 4796)

Explore our archive

Our archive records the experience of the US Army Air Forces in Britain and Europe during the Second World War.
Visitor looking at aircraft in AAM ©IWM

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We need sponsorship and donations to sustain our programmes. Help us continue to tell the stories that deserve to be heard.

Search

Search our interactive archive of images and information

Discover the experiences of the men and women of the US Army Air Forces and their impact on Britain and Europe. Search, or share your stories, photographs and memories to help us preserve their experience of the Second World War.

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Join us and share your story

Help us to improve our records by sharing information and photographs in the American Air Museum's archive. Your contribution helps drive the work we do and connects millions of people from around the world to the stories of American airmen during the Second World War.

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Stories

Explore our latest stories about the ways American air power affected peoples lives and played a key part in conflict in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Parachute IWM
STORY

The Pub and the Parachute: A Story of Anglo-American Friendship

As part of preparations for the D-Day invasion, members of the US Army's 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were deployed to Britain. While conducting drills, marches and rehearsal operations in the Spring of 1944, American airborne troops were stationed across counties in the East Midlands including Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire, often billeted in or around the major towns in these areas.

Tom Cruise in front of F-5 Tigers IWM
STORY

The Aggressors: Britain's Top Gun School

It’s 1980 and in a darkened operations room located deep in the Norfolk countryside, Fighter Controllers monitoring a bank of radar scopes issue precise instructions into the ears of four US F-5 Tiger pilots. Their mission is to intercept hostile fighters that have intruded into friendly airspace. Or so it appears...

Still from a barracks inspection in Six Triple Eight Netflix

Discover the true story

The Six Triple Eight

Dive deeper into the story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only predominantly Black, all-female unit to see overseas service during the Second World War, as depicted in the Netflix film The Six Triple Eight.

Discover the true story

A young couple looking at a display in the American Air Museum with the B-17 Flying Fortress in the backgroun ©IWM

Support us

Donate to the American Air Museum

Help us to continue to tell the stories that deserve to be heard.

Your support helps us to tell the stories of Americans who flew from Britain, preserve them for future generations and bring their powerful stories to today's audiences.

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