South Dakota Air and Space Museum

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South Dakota Air and Space Museum

Ellsworth AFB Location within South Dakota
Established	1983
Location	Adjacent to Ellsworth Air Force Base, Box Elder, South Dakota, United States
Coordinates	44°08′0.82″N 103°04′23.31″W / 44.1335611°N 103.0731417°W / 44.1335611; -103.0731417
Type	Aviation museum
Collection size	25+ aircraft
Founder	Gerald E. Teachout
Nearest car park	On site
Website	sdairandspacemuseum.com

The South Dakota Air and Space Museum, part of the museum system of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, is located in Box Elder, South Dakota, just outside the main gate of Ellsworth AFB. The South Dakota Air and Space Museum serves to educate and entertain the public. Not only does it give information about the history of U.S. Air Force aviation, it promotes South Dakota aviation history. Major exhibits include the B-1B Lancer and the B-29 Superfortress.

During the summer months, visitors can take a base bus tour for a nominal fee.^[1] This includes touring a Minuteman missile Training Launch Facility as well as seeing a number of sites on the base.

History[]

The museum was co-founded by Gerald E. Teachout in 1983.^[2]

Exhibits[]

The museum contains a number of interior and exterior exhibits including:

• Over 30 static display aircraft ranging from World War II to current active-duty bombers including the B-1B Lancer^[3]
  • Beechcraft C-45H 'Expeditor', s/n 52-10866 (outdoors)
  • Beechcraft U-8D "Seminole", s/n 56-3708 (outdoors)
  • Bell UH-1F Iroquois, "Huey", s/n 65-7951 (outdoors)
  • Boeing B-29 Superfortress, s/n 44-87779 (outdoors)
  • Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, s/n 56-0657 (outdoors)
  • Boeing EC-135A "Looking Glass", s/n 61-0262 (outdoors)
  • Cessna O-2A Bird Dog, s/n 67-21422 (outdoors)
  • Cessna U-3A Canoe, s/n 53-5872 (outdoors)
  • Convair C-131D Samaritan, s/n 55-0292 (outdoors)
  • Convair F-102A Delta Dagger, s/n 56-1017 (outdoors)
  • Douglas A-26K Invader, s/n 64-17640 (outdoors)
  • Douglas C-47 A/H Skytrain, s/n 42-93127 (outdoors)
  • Douglas C-54 D/Q Skymaster, s/n 42-72592 (outdoors)
  • General Dynamics FB-111A s/n 68-0248 (outdoors)
  • Lockheed T-33A "Shooting Star", s/n 57-0590 (outdoors)
  • Martin EB-57B Canberra, s/n 52-1548 (outdoors)
  • McDonnell F-101B Voodoo, s/n 59-0426 (outdoors)
  • North American B-25J Mitchell s/n 43-4030 (outdoors)
  • North American F-100A Super Sabre s/n 53-1533 (outdoors)
  • North American F-86H Sabre s/n 53-1302 (outdoors)
  • North American/Rockwell B-1B Lancer s/n 83-0067 (outdoors)
  • Northrop T-38 Talon s/n 58-1192 (outdoors)
  • Republic F-105B Thunderchief, s/n 57-5839 (outdoors)
  • Republic F-84F Thunderjet, s/n 52-8886 (outdoors)
  • Vought A-7D Corsair, II s/n 74-1739 (outdoors)

• 4 different missiles, including a LGM-30 Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, and a brand-new Titan I ICBM static display that opened in 2017.
  • North American AGM-28 Hound Dog s/n 59-2791 (indoors)
  • Bell Labs Nike Ajax MIM-3 (outdoors)
  • Boeing LGM-30F Minuteman II (outdoors)
  • Martin Titan I LGM-25C s/n 61-4523 (outdoors)

• The museum's four indoor galleries showcase AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY, COLD WAR history, Aviation PIONEERS and Ellsworth Air Force Base history
• The South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame
• A Minuteman Missile crew Mission Procedures Trainer exhibit
• An F-106 interactive aircraft cockpit
• An F-16 interactive aircraft cockpit
• A B-1B bomber cockpit and Offensive/Defensive System Operators Simulator exhibit
• A comprehensive space gallery that showcases the history of U.S. space flight and rocketry, from the Titan through to the Saturn V.
• An exhibit describing the Stratobowl Balloon Launches from South Dakota in the 1930s
• 61-0262 Rollin' Thunder – (originally built as a KC-135A)

See also[]

• List of aerospace museums
• List of museums in South Dakota
• List of United States Air Force museums
• North American aviation halls of fame

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to South Dakota Air and Space Museum.

• Official website
• Aeroweb.com: List of aircraft displayed along with their serial numbers.