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The Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center (NAEC) is an aviation museum operated by the American Airpower Heritage Museum (AAHM), an affiliate organization of the
Commemorative Air Force The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada. The CAF h ...
(CAF), headquartered at
Dallas Executive Airport Dallas Executive Airport , formerly Redbird Airport, is six miles (10 km) southwest of Downtown Dallas, in Dallas County, Texas, United States. The airport is used for general aviation and is a reliever airport for Dallas Love Field. In 201 ...
in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
, United States.


History

The museum opened in its first building in
Mercedes, Texas Mercedes is a U.S. city in Hidalgo County, Texas. The population was 15,570 at the 2010 census. It is part of the McAllen–Edinburg–Mission and Reynosa–McAllen metropolitan areas. Geography Mercedes is located in southeastern Hidalgo Cou ...
, in 1965 as a location to house and display
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
artifacts as they began to be donated to the
Commemorative Air Force The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada. The CAF h ...
(CAF), then known as the Confederate Air Force. In 1968, both the CAF and AAHM moved to Harlingen, Texas. In 1990, the AAHM became a separate non-profit organization, along with another legal entity, the American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum, created to hold
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
to the organization's aircraft. In 1991, both the AAHM and CAF moved to Midland, Texas, where the museum operated as the CAF Air Power Museum. In 2015, the museum's collection was moved to Dallas in anticipation of the creation of the CAF National Airbase. At that location, the CAF and AAHM now operate the Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center (NAEC), a facility to provide "hands-on learning opportunities, an immersive history experience and activities for all ages." The facility is named in honor of Henry Tippie (1927–2022), a World War II veteran and longtime CAF member.


Collections

The museum's collection, which numbers nearly 400,000 artifacts, focuses on the history of World War II military aviation culture and other material culture of this era. It has one of the most complete collections of World War II aviation culture in the United States with items that represent all of the axis and allies that participated in the air wars of World War II. The AAHM collects items, artifacts, and historical information of inherent value to World War II aviation and related culture, focusing on the period of 1939–1945. Featured collections in the museum include: *More than 4,900
oral histories Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people wh ...
collected from World War II Veterans of aviation * The largest collection of original World War II
nose art Nose art is a decorative painting or design on the fuselage of an aircraft, usually on the front fuselage. While begun for practical reasons of identifying friendly units, the practice evolved to express the individuality often constrained by ...
panels in the world * A library of more than 6,000 books, 13,000 periodicals, as well as newspapers, microfilm, and numerous technical and field manuals related to military aviation


See also

*
List of aerospace museums This is a list of aviation museums and museums that contain significant aerospace-related exhibits throughout the world. The aviation museums are listed alphabetically by country and their article name. Afghanistan * OMAR Mine Museum, Kabul - inc ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{authority control Aerospace museums in Texas Technology museums in Texas Military aviation Military and war museums in Texas World War II museums in the United States Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums Smithsonian Institution affiliates Museums established in 2015 2015 establishments in Texas