Here is this week’s challenge for “What is it Wednesday?” - a close up of something in the museum or our collection for you to guess what it is in the comments!![]()
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What is it?! We are looking for what it might be part of within the museum and, for more of a challenge, what the exact part is and what it does! ![]()
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Thanks to everyone who played last week… the answer for August 28 was a ballistic computing cam in the Kommandogarat 40 fire control computer… see the previous post for the full details!![]()
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Good luck on this week’s challenge! ![]()
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#americanheritagemuseum #historymuseum #visitma
The answer to the “What is it? Wednesday” question of August 28th is one of the ballistic cams used in the German Kommandogerät 40 that is part of the anti-aircraft battery exhibit in the Defense of the Reich gallery. The Kommandogerät (“command device”) is a fire control computer that used a combination of optics and mechanical computing to develop a firing solution that would be relayed to the anti-aircraft gun crews, like the 8.8 cm Flak 36 German 88 mm anti-aircraft cannon we have displayed. What is pictured is a solid computing cam that, when combined with precision gears connected to rollers on follower arms, could solve multivariate calculus problems in real-time to provide accurate fire to track bomber formations and time shells to detonate at precise altitudes. There are a number of these cams within the Kommandogerät 40 and combined they made a powerful mechanical analog computer that made Flak the most dangerous defensive weapon against daylight precision bombing. ![]()
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Stay tuned for the next “What is it? Wednesday” later today! ![]()
#americanheritagemuseum #whatisitwednesday
Join us for a great 5K run around the American Heritage Museum grounds this Saturday, September 7th in support of the Travis Manion Foundation. We invite you to run, walk, or ruck to honor our nation’s first responders who selflessly sacrificed on September 11th and service members who have served in the wars since. Join us to raise awareness and honor the fallen. Participants get a 50% admission discount to the American Heritage Museum. For more information and to register see: www.travismanion.org/events/911-heroes-run/2024-bostonnew-england-ma/
The American Heritage Museum not only honors those who served in the service of the United States, but we also honor those who served with our allies during all wars and conflicts. Because of this, we’d like to take a moment in honor of Polish Aviation Day on August 28th, to highlight the story of Stefania Wojtulanis-Karpińska, a female pilot of the Polish Air Force at the outbreak of WWII. After the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939, she evacuated to Romania with the Polish Air Force and made her way to France where she once again had to flee in 1940 as France fell. She made her way to England and was assigned to the Polish Air Force Headquarters in London until later in 1940. In January 1941, she and Anna Leska became the first two Polish women pilots to join the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which delivered aircraft to operational units from factories and ferry aircraft for maintenance. This role, very similar to that assigned to female WASP pilots in America, required pilots to learn and fly a wide variety of aircraft types in all sorts of weather and mecahnical conditions.![]()
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As it turns out, the American Heritage Museum’s Supermarine Spitfire IX, BR601 was one of the aircraft that Wojtulanis-Karpińska flew in her career with the ATA. On July 9, 1942, she ferried BR601 from Prestwick, Scotland to its first operational unit, 64 Squadron at Hornchurch, Essex, stopping in three places in poor weather before arriving on July 11th. The photo in this post is her in BR601 and her logbook entries of those flights!![]()
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74 years later, BR601 would fly once again after a full restoration by Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar and arrive shortly after in the United States to join the collection of the Collings Foundation. Though not currently on display at the American Heritage Museum, Spitfire BR601 is maintained in flying condition and is stored off site to fly at events. The next event it will be taking part in will be Green Mountain Aviation Field Days in Burlington, VT on September 14-15, 2024. Eventually, when our expansion is built, BR601 will be displayed at the AHM.![]()
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#polishaviation #wwii #spitfire #supermarinespitfire #worldwarii #femaleaviator
Here is this week’s challenge for “What is it Wednesday?” - a close up of something in the museum or our collection for you to guess what it is in the comments!![]()
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This one might be a little more challenging! What is it?! We are looking for what it might be part of inside the museum and what exactly it might be for even more challenge!![]()
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Thanks to everyone who played last week… the answer for August 21 was the crew compartment of the Daimler Mk.I Dingo scout car in the Pacific War Gallery. The Dingo was used in Burma by the 16th Light Calvary of the British Indian Army armored car regiment.![]()
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#americanheritagemuseum #historymuseum #visitma
- This event has passed.
Tanks, Wings & Wheels
June 15, 2019 @ 8:30 am, ending June 16, 2019 @ 4:30 pm
$15 – $25
Our first event of the year where we have the entire Collings Foundation grounds open to the public. This includes: The Classic Car Collection, featuring over 20 beauties from the early 1900s to 1940s. The Hangar, featuring an incredible display of over a dozen fully restored historic aircraft, a collection of over twenty classic sprint, midget and Indianapolis race cars and a great variety of historical artifacts. The American Heritage Museum, featuring an astounding collection of forty tanks, armored vehicles, cannons, aircraft, historical artifacts, uniforms, interactive exhibits like the WWI Trench Experience and more.
History Comes Alive!
At 12:00 PM noon on both Saturday and Sunday the Collings Foundation will present
American Elegance Wings & Wheels. This is a captivating and entertaining presentation of the Foundation’s most rare automobiles, aircraft and military equipment – all operating before your eyes!
8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Saturday and Sunday, June 15th &16th
Admission:
$25.00 for Adults / $15 for Children 12 and Under
Proceeds go to the ongoing restoration of rare artifacts and operation of the museums.
