Naval Aviation Before World War I and Willard Park

There are two things to keep in mind about the National Museum of the U.S. Navy. First, the Park is right outside the museum. Besides being a park by the water and near the display ship, which is already enough reason to go there, there are a bunch of artifacts displayed there for you to look at. There are a lot of little places like this throughout D.C., and I'm hoping as I find them to provide nice, short posts with some pictures. Probably the items most people will recognize the historical importance of are the artifacts from the Maine.

Bathyscaphe from the Alvin (not from BioShock). (Photos by Matt Sablan)

Display ship Barry.

"To Hell with Spain, remember the Maine."

Also from Maine.

Back inside, the temporary exhibit space is currently filled with models and displays that show the history of Naval Aviation before World War I. Like all the models at the museum, these are incredibly detailed. The model I was most impressed with was the Pennsylvania, which reflects the ship as she looked during Eugene Ely's landing in 1911. The museum updates its temporary exhibit every few months, and new exhibits rotate in. Coming later this year is a Pearl Harbor exhibit for this space, which should be built in time for the anniversary.

Zoomed in on Ely's plane.

A panorama of Pennsylvania.

Another view of the model of Pennsylvania.