APPENDIX 9 



Report on the National Air Museum 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi- 

 ties of the National Air Museum for the fiscal year ended June 30, 



1953: 



GENERAL STATEMENT OF CONDITIONS 



Tlie care of the stored material in the national aeronautical collec- 

 tion continues to be the principal concern of the staff. Aircraft and 

 components that are awaiting provision of an adequate building for 

 the National Air Museum comprise more than two-thirds of the total 

 collection, and although there are several renowned aircraft among the 

 35 exhibited in the Smithsonian buildings in Washington, there are a 

 niunber that are regarded with near-equal esteem and are of great value 

 in depicting aeronautical progress among the 74 being preserved at 

 Park Eidge, 111., and those others being retained for the Museum at 

 naval bases and in scattered places. 



As stated in last, year's report, the Air Museum had been ordered 

 to vacate the storage facility at the Air Force Base at Park Eidge. 

 Therefore, at the begiiming of the fiscal year, efforts were made to 

 establish near Washington a storage base for the material to be moved. 

 The urgency of this move was somewhat relaxed as the result of an 

 inspection of the storage area by an official of the Budget Bureau who 

 was so impressed by the efforts of the Museum personnel to preserve 

 its material and at the same time comply with the requirements of 

 the Air Force that he directed that more consideration be given the 

 needs of the Museimi. The Air Force finally agreed that the Museum 

 could temporarily remain on the base. However, this does not solve 

 the problem because the space assigned to the Museum— 30,000 square 

 feet in Building T-6— is inadequate, and most of the aircraft will still 

 have to remain outdoors. A storage base was started at Suitland, 

 Md., about a mile beyond the District of Columbia line, but lack of 

 funds to complete the project still leaves the Museum with inadequate 

 storage space. 



In spite of these difficulties progress has been made at Park Eidge 

 in caring for the stored material there, and the facility at Suitland 

 has been developed sufficiently to take care of 20 loads of material 

 brought in from Park Eidge. Details of these operations are given 

 in later portions of this report. 

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