Purchase Tickets Online - The American Heritage Museum

How "Section T" Took Down a Nazi Superweapon and Helped Win the Battle of the BulgeAs you descend the American Heritage Museum's central staircase, be sure to look up to see our "Doodlebug" - one of the several nicknames (buzzbomb, Maybug) given to the V-1 rockets launched on England after the D-Day invasion. From June 1944 to March 1945, the Germans launched 6,725 V-1 rockets at Britain from launch pads in France and the Netherlands. Of those, 2.340 hit London causing 5,475 deaths with nearly 16,000 injured. While the RAF had some early success in downing Hitler's flying bombs, the superior speed of later V-1 models required new approaches to air defense. The most effective solution came from the top secret project of US engineers and scientists led by Johns Hopkins physicist Merle Tuve who comprised what was known as "Section T" of the US Army Research Laboratory. After three years of intensive research and testing, Tuve's team developed the VT (Variable Time) Proximity Fuse, a device that alerted an artillery shell when to explode. By August 1944, Allied forces were shooting nearly half of the V-1 rockets out of the sky, and by the end of the summer, their success rate neared 100%. The last V-1 launch site in the Netherlands was overrun on March 29, 1945.Allied artillery commanders in Europe were anxious to utilize their stockpile of new shells equipped with radio proximity fuses. But the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington and Allied leadership in Europe were reluctant to use the proximity shell against German ground forces. If the Nazis recovered a dud, which they would, they could reverse-engineer the invention and use it against the Allies - and share it with the Japanese. Dr. Vannevar Bush, chairman of the National Defense Research Council, convened a panel of scientists, including Tuve, that determined it would take the Germans at least 27 months to replicate and mass-produce their own proximity shell. Eisenhower then ordered that the shells could be used starting on December 25.However, on the morning a December 16, 1944, Colonel George Axelson, the commander of the 406th Artillery Group, had a difficult decision to make. The Germans had just launched an offensive along an 80-mile front in Belgium and Luxembourg that would become known as the Battle of the Bulge. Axelson decided that the emergency trumped Ike's restrictions and ordered his gunners to use the new shell. The German attack in his sector collapsed. Beginning on December 18, the U.S. First, Third and Ninth Armies unleashed the most devastating artillery fire German troops had ever encountered. Across the Ardennes, the VT fuse became the weapon of choice, particularly at night, in the open and through fog. Shells were showered on German troops crossing critical road junctions, bridges and highways.The development of the proximity fuse was one of the best-kept secrets of WWII and is regarded by many as the third most important technological achievement after the Atomic bomb and Radar. ... See MoreSee Less

Online Ticket Purchases

Purchase Your Tickets Online and Save Time!

The American Heritage Museum is open every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10:00am to 5:00pm daily. Though we will be taking admission by credit card or cash at the admissions desk, we highly recommend online ticket purchases.

1) – Click the link below for the ticket type you wish to purchase. Please enter the number of tickets for each type in your party. You do not need tickets for children under 2 and WWII and Korean War vets as they are free.

GENERAL ADMISSION

STANDARD ADMISSION TICKETS – Visit the American Heritage Museum any standard day – Wednesday through Sunday, 10am to 5pm. These tickets are not valid for special event weekend admissions.

UPCOMING SPECIAL EVENTS

December 4, 2021 – IHI / AHM SYMPOSIUM – PEARL HARBOR: INEVITABLE OR INFAMY?
Saturday All-Day Event – Museum Closed for General Admission – The American Heritage Museum will host an extraordinary symposium called “Pearl Harbor – Inevitable or Infamy.” During this exclusive day-long discussion two panels of esteemed historians and scholars will explore what lead up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the major battles that ensued and its aftermath.

This is a special event exclusive to symposium participants. Lunch will be served as well as coffee and refreshments and personal tours through the amazing American Heritage Museum are part of the event.

$40 per person
(advance purchase through November 5 – $45 after that date)
Capacity is limited to 300 persons for this event
Standard Admission Tickets cannot be used for this event day.

2) – Once you have completed your transaction with your credit card, please go to YOUR EMAIL that you submitted when you purchased the tickets and check your inbox.

3) – You will receive TWO emails – one is a confirmation email and the second will be an email with a LINK to print your tickets.

4) – You need to click on the link in the second email and at least view the tickets or print them. You may also screenshot the tickets on your smartphone for scanning at the admissions desk if you choose to not print.

5) – If you do not receive the second email with the link to the tickets, please check your spam folder as some email providers send this email there.

Questions or problems, please call 978-562-9182.

Online Ticket Purchases

Purchase Your Tickets Online and Save Time!

Friday, January 7 - Museum Open, but Exercise Caution Driving In