Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
Polaris was a deterrent and retaliatory missile specifically designed for launch from a ballistic missile submarine while submerged (or surfaced) to strike a target some 1,500 miles away. A typical submarine carried 16 of these missiles which . . . — — Map (db m103955) HM
Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
The A-7E Corsair II was first flown by on November 25, 1969, after the Navy decided that the A7-A & B needed more power and improved avionics. The A-7E was powered by a naval version of the 15,000 lbs Allison/Rolls-Royce TF41-A-2 turbofan . . . — — Map (db m103948) HM
Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
Beginning from the early 1950s into the 1960s, during the Cold War era, concerns created the need for basing surface-to-air missiles near U.S. military installations. Built for the U.S. Army by Western Electric and initially deployed in . . . — — Map (db m103957) HM
Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
Designed as a penetrator and long-range escort fighter, the F-101 Voodoo first appeared in 1954. The design was based on the earlier prototype XF-88, and no actual prototype F-101 was built. Later versions were used as long-range interceptors . . . — — Map (db m103949) HM
Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
The F-105 Thunderchief was the last airplane produced by Republic Aviation before it became part of Fairchild Hiller. The Thunder chief was originally a private-venture study as a follow-on to the F-84F. Intended as a fighter bomber, . . . — — Map (db m103952) HM
Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
First proposed in December of 1945, the F-89 Scorpion was designed as a replacement for the P-61 Black Widow. The first flight was on August 16, 1948. A novel design of the aircraft was the use of “decelerons,” split . . . — — Map (db m103950) HM
On West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
Hampton is home to one of the earliest military bases in America specifically built for air power. Langley Flying Field, as it was then called, witnessed and nurtured the growth of the United States Air Force.
The story of the land embraced by . . . — — Map (db m103906) HM
Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
The Army's Corporal was the first U.S. ballistic missile originally developed by the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. It was powered by a liquid-fuel rocket engine and carried either a high explosive or nuclear warhead. A . . . — — Map (db m103956) HM
Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
This is a test capsule of America's first manned spacecraft for Project Mercury. Engineer's had to devise a vehicle that would protect the human being from the temperature extremes, vacuum, the newly discovered radiation of space and . . . — — Map (db m103947) HM
On West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
In the early decades of the twentieth century, it took visionaries to imagine that airplanes might be useful in war and peace. Congress established the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1915 “to supervise and direct the . . . — — Map (db m103905) HM
On West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
Americas space program got off the ground near here at NASA Langley Research Center. In 1958, spacecraft, procedures, and communication systems were designed and tested at the center, and the follow year the first astronauts . . . — — Map (db m103904) HM
Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
Nike-Ajax is the first U.S. surface-to-air missile. The original Nike program was begun in 1945 and over 10,000 Nike-Ajax missiles serviced over 100 sites in 15 defense areas within the U.S. including the Hampton Roads area. . . . — — Map (db m103954) HM
Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
The Phantom II is one of the most successful modern aircraft designs, with over 5,000 built. Developed for the U.S. Navy, it was also flown by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps, and was also sold too many foreign countries. Capable of . . . — — Map (db m103951) HM
Near West Mercury Boulevard (U.S. 258) west of LaSalle Avenue (Virginia Route 167), on the right when traveling east.
Beginning in June 1943, after development of the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, the need for a high-performance trainer aircraft with seen. The resulting T-33 T-Bird was basically an F-80 as shown here with an extended fuselage to allow . . . — — Map (db m103953) HM