The Sikorsky S-51 helicopter was used by both the military and civilian companies. It represents Sikorsky's first venture into the civilian helicopter field. It was powered by a Pratt& Whitney R-985 engine. It could cruise at 93 MPH and had a ceiling of 14,600 feet.

The example on display was built in 1947 and served with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

One of the most successful helicopters of all time is the Sikorsky S-58. It was first flown in March 1954 and saw service with all branches of the U.S. military, many foreign military services, and was used extensively in civilian applications. The S-58 was originally powered by a Wright R-1820 engine providing 1525 horsepower. Some were later converted to S-58T turbine powered versions. In all, 1,820 S-58 aircraft were built.

The helicopter on display carried the military designation LH-34 Seabat. It served with the U.S. Navy as a rescue and utility aircraft in Antarctica. It is displayed with the front open to reveal the massive radial engine.

The Sikorsky H-52A Seaguard on display is one of 99 similar machines built for the U.S. Coast Guard. It is an amphibious search and rescue helicopter powered by a GE T-58-GE-8 turbine engine delivering 1250 horsepower. The unit on display was built in 1967 and was stationed at he Detroit Coast Guard Station until 1989.

This model also carried the military designations HH-52A, HU2S-1G. The civilian version was designated the S-62A and was the first turbine helicopter to be granted FAA approval for commercial use.

Another New England aerospace company based in Bloomfield, Connecticut is the Kaman Aerospace group. The K-225 on display served as a prototype for the HTK, the first Kaman helicopter to be evaluated by the Navy. Kaman was the only U.S. company to mass produce helicopters incorporating the intermeshing rotor system, a design which eliminated the need for an anti-torque tail rotor.

The unit on display is the fifth Kaman helicopter produced and the company's oldest surviving aircraft.

Utilizing their intermeshing rotor technology, Kaman produced this HH-43F "Huskie" helicopter. It was in production form 1958 till 1965, serving the Navy, Marines, Air Force, and several foreign countries.

The unit on display, equipped with fire suppression equipment and a rescue team, served as plane guard to Air Force One, escorting takeoffs and landings of Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, DC.

One of the things I like most about the Museum is the display of various aircraft components. Shown here is fire suppression system of the Kaman HH-43F. The spherical container was filled with a chemical fire suppressant. After takeoff, the helicopter hovered over the cart while the container was attached, then flew off to escort Air Force One during takeoffs and landings. In the event of a crash, the helicopter would place the container near the stricken aircraft, land nearby to unload the rescue crew, then hover over the scene, using the rotors to fan away the smoke.

One more Kaman product on display is the Rotochute, developed in 1951 by aeronautical engineer Igor Benson. It was used as a means of air-dropping a variety of objects gently to the ground. Carried by a rocket or an aircraft, the blades would unfold once dropped and auto-rotate at a relatively slow speed.

The Museum also features a large, interactive display featuring the Kaman Corporation.

This is something very unique. It is the control car form a Navy blimp otherwise know as a ZNP-K non-rigid airship. The blimp was 252 feet long, 63 feet wide, and filled with 425,000 cubic feet of helium. It was powered to a top speed of 68 MPH by two Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp engines.

The car on display served during WWII as an anti-submarine convoy escort. It was acquired in 1946 by the Goodyear Company and saw service as the "Puritan", one of the famous Goodyear Blimps. It was still undergoing restoration at the time this photo was taken. The restoration is not complete (yet).

This is an interior views of the ZNP-K Control Car.

The Electra (Lockheed 10A) was the first all-metal multiengine airplane produced by Lockheed. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-985 producing 450 horsepower each. It had a cruise speed of 190 MPH and a range of 810 miles. It carried 10 passengers. The unit on display is serial no. 1052 and sports Northwest Airlines livery. It was initially delivered to the U.S. Navy in February 1936 for use as a staff transport by the Secretary of the Navy.

A sister ship, serial no. 1055 was flown by Amelia Earhart when she disappeared over the Pacific in July, 1937.

Note the variety of information presented around the aircraft. This is a particular strong point of NEAM.

The Granville Brothers established their position in New England aviation history by building their famous Gee Bee racer in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Granvilles donated their original plans to the Museum and a group of volunteers built this replica using mostly the same type of materials and methods as was used for the original in 1932. The Gee Bee display includes many photos of the work while it was in progress.

The Granvilles were not the only New Englanders interested in air racing in the 1930s. This airplane is called Laird "Solution." It was designer E.M. Laird's challenge to design and build an airplane in one month to compete in the first Thompson Trophy Race in 1930. Completed only one hour before the race, it won the event. It was piloted by "Speed" Holman, setting a closed-course, non-military speed record of 201.9 MPH. It was powered by a 300 horsepower Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. This was the only Solution built as well as the only biplane ever to win the Thompson Trophy.

The Viking Flying Boat Company of New Haven, Connecticut and the Bourdon Aircraft Corporation of Rhode Island are two all-but-forgotten New England aviation companies. The two companies merged in the early 1930s and Viking took over production of the Kitty Hawk Model B-8 from Bourdon.

The Kitty Hawk was powered by a 125 horsepower Kinner B-5 engine. It cruised at 95 MPH, could carry three people and reach a maximum altitude of 13,000 feet. It could be equipped with floats for water operation and had a range of 425 miles. The aircraft on display is #30 of 31 built.

Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines have powered many historic aircraft and continue to propel many modern jet and turboprop aircraft. It is then only fitting that this New England aviation icon has a large display at NEAM.

This is a Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet engine. When it was introduced in 1926, it produced 525 horsepower but it grew to about 875 horsepower by the end of the 1930s. This particular engine was delivered in 1934 to Sikorsky for its four engine S-42 flying boat.

This is a real piece of history. It is one of twelve prototypes built by Pratt & Whitney for their famous Wasp A engine. The Wasp was the most advanced air-cooled radial engine of its time. It was designed by George J. Mead and Andrew V.D. Willgoos to meet U.S. Navy requirements for carrier-based combat aircraft. The engine produced 410 horsepower at 1,900 RPM.

In 1932, Pratt & Whitney began production of the Twin Wasp engine which became one of the most widely used aircraft engines in history. It incorporated two rows of seven cylinders each in a radial arrangement to provide a displacement of 1830 cubic inches, thus the designation R-1830. Various models ranging in horsepower from 750 to 1350 were produced from 1932 until 1951. Total production, including license-built engines was 173,618. The Twin Wasps powered fifty different fighter, bomber, transport, and attack aircraft.

The unit on display is an 1100 horsepower model with a two-stage, two-speed supercharger.

Pratt & Whitney was also a leader in jet engine development. This J57 engine, built in 1950, was the most powerful jet engine at the time delivering 10,000 pounds of thrust. The innovative design delivered an overall pressure ratio of 12:1 which was about twice the state-of-the-art.

The B-52 was powered by eight J57 engines when it was introduced in 1952. The same engine was also used in the KC-135 tanker, the U-2 and the SM-62 missile. Adding an afterburner produced a 50% gain in thrust so the engine went on to power the F-100, F-101, and F-102. The civilian version was used to introduce jet airline travel in the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.

The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop engine has been in continuous production since 1964 and is certified in more than 75 aircraft models. Different models provide a power range between 475 and 1400 shaft horsepower. One model was even used as an auxiliary power unit on the Lockheed L-1011.

The unit on display is a cutaway donated by Hamilton Standard.

Aircraft engines other than those produced by Pratt & Whitney are also on display. This is a beautiful example of a Curtiss OX-5 engine from 1917. These engines powered the venerable Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" as well as the Waco Travel Air.

The unit on display is a license-built model from the Willys-Morrow Company of Elmira, New York.

This is the engine used power the Bell UH-1 "Huey" series helicopters as well as the Kaman H-43B helicopters. It is a Lycoming T-53-L-11B producing 1100 shaft horsepower. The development of this engine was directed by Anselm Franz, designer of the famous Junker Jumo 004 jet engine which powered several WWII German aircraft.

This is the engine that inaugurated the jet age. The Junkers Jumo powered the world's first jet fighter, the German Messerschmitt Me-262. It was the first mass-produced jet engine. Lack of high-temperature metals limited its thrust to less than 2,000 pounds, but its axial flow design was very successful and served as the forerunner of today's high-performance jet engines.

Here's an engine with a story. The J-1 was designed in 1921 by Charles E. Lawrance in response to a request by the U.S. Navy for an air-cooled 200 horsepower engine for its new shipboard aircraft. Approximately 250 J-1 engines were produced and used primarily on the Navy-Curtiss TS-1 fighter. This was the first successful fixed radial air-cooled engine to be produced in the U.S. Lawrance Aero Engineering's limited production capacity motivated a merger with the Wright Aeronautical Corporation to expedite the completion of the J-1 production orders. Wright's top team of George Meade and Andrew Willgoos initiated design refinements which then brought about the development of the famous Wright Whirlwind J-3B through J-6 engines. Meade and Willgoos left Wright in 1924 to design the first Wasp engine and help establish Pratt & Whitney Aircraft.

This is a very early jet engine. The Rolls Royce Nene II was derived from the Whittle W.2 design. It was strangely the propulsion basis for the Grumman F9F and the MiG 15. It used a centrifugal flow design and generated 5,400 pounds of thrust. It was manufactured in the U.S. as the Pratt & Whitney J42.

The unit on display was used to power a Navy prototype aircraft and was then made into an instructional cut-away.

Some of the most prolific engines to power early general aviation airplanes were made by Franklin Aircraft Engines of Syracuse, New York.

This is a Franklin 4-AC 150 designed and built in 1938. It uses four cylinders to produce 50 horsepower. It was used in early airplanes produced by Aeronca, Piper, and Taylorcraft.

The A-65 engine was introduced in 1939 by Continental Motors Corporation of Muskegon, Michigan. More than 8,000 engines were built during the first two years of production. Thousands more were built for the U.S. military as the country entered World War II. It carried the military designation O-170 indicating that the cylinders were arranged in a horizontally opposed manner and that it had 170 cubic inches of displacement. The original A-65 designation indicated that it was for aircraft and produced 65 horsepower. It became widely used in civilian aircraft such as the Piper Cub, Aeronca, Taylorcraft, and others.

Shown here is the Museum's Piper J-3 Cub. Note the Continental A-65 engine protruding from the cowl.

This is an example of the famous DeHavilland DHC-2 Beaver. Displayed is the military version designated U-6A. The Beaver is a popular bush airplane still widely used in Alaska and other remote areas. It is powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. R-985 engine and can be equipped with wheels, floats, or skis. The aircraft on display last served with the New Hampshire Army National Guard.

This is the venerable North American B-25 Mitchell bomber. This is the type aircraft used by Jimmy Doolittle on the first bombing raid on Japan during WWII. More than 11,000 B-25 bombers in their variations from "A" to "J" were built between 1938 and 1946. Power was provided by a pair of Wright R-2600 1700 horsepower engines. See below for information on the B-25 armament.

The B-25 was produced in larger numbers than any other American medium bomber during WWII. One reason was the versatility of its armament. Early versions such as used in Doolittle's famous raid carried 7 machine guns and up to 3,000 pounds of bombs. The B-25 "G" and "H" models had a solid nose and carried an Army 75mm cannon plus 50 caliber machine guns. The 75mm was loaded by the navigator and fired by the pilot. Because of the heavy concussion when it was fired, these airplanes were usually stripped of many instruments and their autopilot. The more numerous B-25J models reverted to the familiar glass nose and could carry from one, two, or up to thirteen 50 caliber guns and as much as 4,000 pounds of bombs or depth charges depending on their missions.

Shown here is one of the 75mm canons from the B-25.

One of the high points of my visit to NEAM was the 58th Bombardment Wing Memorial Hangar which includes a beautifully restored B-29 Superfortress. The 58th Bomb Wing Memorial pays tribute to the first unit to take the  B-29 Superfortress into combat in WWII. Wall maps, photographs and artifacts retell the history of the 58th Bomb Wing from its beginning days in Kansas, to the bases in India, “flying the hump” to forward bases in China, and the final days of the War on the island of Tinian.  Banners, tribute panels and armament surround the restored Superfortress in the dedicated 18,000 sq. ft. hangar.

The New England Air Museum's Boeing B-29A Superfortress is a product of the Boeing Plant in Renton, Washington and was assigned the AAF serial number 44-61975. Although delivered too late to be assigned to an overseas unit during World War II, it did serve with training units until 1949. During the early 1950s, it flew out of the United Kingdom and Libya. It was then put into storage until 1956. Visit the Museum's web site for more information on the restoration of "Jack's Hack."

This is a Wright R-3350 2200 horsepower engine like the ones that powered the Enola Gay on its mission to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August of 1945. This engine differs from earlier models in that it uses fuel injection. Each of the two rows of nine cylinders each has its own fuel injection pump. The front and back rows of cylinders exhaust into separate turbochargers mounted in the nacelle to drive turbo-compressors that push air through an intercooler before entering the intake manifolds.

This is an example of an earlier engine used to power the B-29. It is designated Wright R-3350 indicating the same displacement as later engines, but it is less technologically advanced and is called the Wright Cyclone 18. Like later models, it had two turbochargers, but it was not fuel injected. More than 32,000 Wright R-3350s were built during WWII.

As an example of the meticulous restoration of this airplane, the cockpit is shown here.

Here is the flight engineer's station.

This is the navigator's station.

Shown here is the tunnel used for crew movement between pressurized sections of the airplane.

Upper rear gun turret removed.

Top turret removed.

Radar antenna removed.

The venerable Douglas DC-3 is represented at NEAM by this example built in 1942 as a military C-49. Most DC-3s began their career as military C-47s. What's the difference between a C-47 and C-49? The most visible difference is the location of the passenger door. C-47s have the door on the left while C-49s have the door on the right. The airplane on exhibit saw service with Eastern Airlines, Purdue University, Basler Flight Services, and Taino Airways in addition to it's time with the military. This airplane has accumulated more than 53,400 hours of flight time which is relatively low for a DC-3.

The North American F-86 Sabre earned fame as a MiG-Killer during the Korean War. The F-86F on display was first introduced in 1951 and was the ultimate day fighter variant of the Sabre. It was powered by a General Electric J47 5,910 pound thrust turbojet engine. Maximum speed was 695 MPH, service ceiling was 48,000 feet, and range was over 1,300 miles. Armament consisted of six, 50 caliber machine guns and the aircraft could carry up to 2,000 pounds of stores.

The aircraft on display is painted in the marking of the one flown by fighter ace Major Frederick " Boots" Blesse who was credited wit ten kills during the Korean War.

The first of America's "Century Series" fighters and the world's first production supersonic fighter was the North American F-100 Super Sabre. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney J57 engine, it was designed as an air superiority fighter but was later modified for close-support fighter-bomber missions. For more than twenty-five years including extensive use in the Vietnam conflict.

The unit on display is an "A" model and was the sixth production aircraft. It last served as with the Connecticut Air National Guard, based at Bradley International Airport, home of NEAM. In keeping with the NEAM tradition of showing components in addition to the aircraft, the J57 engine is removed and on display next to the airplane.

It seems hard to imagine that the Grumman F-14 Tomcat is now completely retired from military service. NEAM has a "B" model on display. The F-14B first entered service in 1974. It incorporated a "swing-wing" design. It could climb to 60,000 feet in a bit over two minutes and had a top speed of 1545 MPH. It was armed with a 20mm cannon and could also carry Sparrow, Sidewinder, and Phoenix missiles.

The staff at NEAM has done a great job of displaying not just aircraft, but components as well. Here are the Martin-Baker ejection seats from the F-14.

Displayed outside is this deHavilland Caribou C-7A. This Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) airplane was a cargo or troop carrier. It was powered by two Pratt & Whitney 1450 horsepower R-2000 engines. Cruising speed is 181 MPH for 1,280 miles carrying 6,000 pounds of cargo or 32 troops.

Also outside is this Grumman E-1B Tracer. This is an airborne early-warning aircraft built in 1957. It carried a crew of four and could operate from any Navy carrier. The large dish houses long-range search radar to detect targets beyond the line of sight of surface vessels. It was powered by two Wright R-1820 engines.

Also outside is this MiG-15. This Korean War adversary of the F-86 Saber first flew in 1947. It was very maneuverable and had a top speed in excess of 650 MPH. The MiG will be moved inside this fall to be displayed next to the F-86.

The airplane on display was built under license from the Soviet Union by the People's Republic of China.