Military - Overview
The Museum's superb military collections document the history of the men and women of the armed forces of the United States. The collections include ordnance, firearms, and swords; uniforms and insignia; national and military flags and banners; and many other objects.
The strength of the collections lies in their enormous depth. Some 3,000 military small arms and 2,400 civilian firearms document the mechanical and technological history of the infantryman's weapons from the beginning of the gunpowder era to the present. Among the 4,000 swords and knives in the collection are many spectacular presentation pieces. The collections also include Civil War era telegraph equipment, home front artifacts from both world wars, early computers such as ENIAC, Whirlwind, and Sage, and materials carried at antiwar demonstrations.
"Military - Overview" showing 279 items.
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Range Correction Chart, Felsenthal FAS-3
- Description
- This white plastic chart was designed for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. It is a nomogram for finding the range correction in yards of a weapon, by lining up the meteorological correction as a percentage of the range and the range.
- On the left is a scale marked “Range Correction in Yds.” On the right is a scale marked “Percentage Meteorological Correction” and on the diagonal between the two is a scale marked “Range in Yds.” According to a label received with the object and stored in the accession file, the object was made in 1945.
- The meteorological correction is found from the temperature and wind speed using a related chart called a “sound velocity corrector” (for an example, see 1977.1141.42) .
- A mark on the object reads: Range Correction Chart PT-63/TSS-1.
- For an explanation of the mathematical theory of this kind of nomogram, see Lipka. For a similar device used for another purpose, see 1985.0636.01.
- References:
- Joseph Lipka, Graphical and Mechanical Computation. Part I. Alignment Charts, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1921, pp. 65–
- 67.
- Accession file.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1945
- author
- G. Felsenthal & Sons
- ID Number
- 1977.1141.43
- catalog number
- 336427
- accession number
- 1977.1141
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
German Submarine Jacket
- Description
- General History
- German Navy foul-weather submarine bridge jacket that would have been worn by an enlisted man.
- associated date
- 1941-1945
- ID Number
- 1980.0806.03
- accession number
- 1980.0806
- catalog number
- 1980.0806.03
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Herringbone Twill Coveralls
- Description
- Physical Description
- Herringbone twill mechanic's coveralls.
- General History
- Wartime mobilization called for work and sacrifices at home. Rationing, scrap metal drives, and Victory Gardens became part of civilian life in the 1940s. One dramatic social change was the enlistment of women for military service and their essential work in war plants. Coveralls such as these were commonly worn in factories by all workers.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- associated date
- 1941-1945
- ID Number
- 1985.0611.0126
- accession number
- 1985.0611
- catalog number
- 1985.0611.0126
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
"We Caught Hell! - Someone Must Have Talked" Poster
- Description
- Physical Description
- Four-color print on paper.
- Specific History
- The national dread of spies and saboteurs in the early days of the war prompted many informant programs. In March 1942, J. Edgar Hoover reported that the FBI had 17,000 informants in the United States; 2,400 were in industrial plants. An extreme result of this fear was the forced internment of more than 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United States.
- Guarding against information leaks was something that the folks at home could do, and at least with the posters, they did it with vigor. This poster is part of the "loose lips" series and depicts anger and accusation in its message.
- General History
- Posters during World War II were designed to instill in people a positive outlook, a sense of patriotism, and confidence. They linked the war in trenches with the war at home. From a practical point, they were used to encourage all Americans to help with the war effort. The posters called on every man, woman, and child to endure personal sacrifice and domestic adjustments to further the national agenda. They encouraged rationing, conservation, and sacrifice. In addition, the posters were used for recruitment, productivity, and motivation as well as for financing the war effort. The stark, colorful graphic designs elicited strong emotions. The posters played to the fears, frustrations, and faith in freedoms that lingered in people's minds during the war.
- Date made
- 1944
- printer
- U.S. Government Printing Office
- ID Number
- 1987.0730.04
- catalog number
- 1987.0730.04
- accession number
- 1987.0730
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Order to Report for Induction
- Description
- Physical Description
- Order to Report for Induction
- Specific History
- The Order to Report for Induction for Benjamin Layton of Georgia.
- General History
- The United States government established a draft board during World War II. The purpose was to establish which men were or were not qualified for military duty. Males were required to register and complete a physical and a written exam as part of their screening. After testing was completed, men were placed into various “categories.” Category one was the best-qualified while Category four indicated a male disqualified for one of many reasons, such as too many children, flat feet, or poor education. The draft board issued notices to report for classification, medical exams, and induction.
- date of mailing
- 1941
- associated dates
- 1941-08-29
- recipient
- Layton, Benjamin T.
- sender
- Local Board Number 12
- ID Number
- 1993.3172.04
- catalog number
- 1993.3172.04
- nonaccession number
- 1993.3172
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Eisenhower Jacket
- Description
- Physical Description
- Wool jacket with insignia.
- Specific History
- This jacket was worn by donor William Lubar while a flight-training instructor.
- General History
- General Dwight Eisenhower considered the original World War II uniform to be poor for combat. He felt it fit badly and was restrictive. Eisenhower wanted a uniform that would be neater. He had his tailor take a Wool Field Jacket Model 1944 and modify it to his specifications. He wanted a style which could be worn by itself or over a shirt. According to an aide, Eisenhower wanted the jacket to be "very short, very comfortable, and very natty looking." The “Ike jacket” became standard issue for U.S. troops beginning in November 1944. While it was intended for wear in battle, most soldiers preferred to save the "Ike jacket" for non-combat situations.
- date made
- ca 1944
- ID Number
- 1994.0388.01
- accession number
- 1994.0388
- catalog number
- 1994.0388.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
German Field Marshal von Blomberg's Baton
- Description
- Physical Description
- Ceremonial baton, inscribed with "von Blomberg," decorated with Nazi swastikas and German national eagles, on blue velvet covering.
- Specific History
- Werner von Blomberg was born in Stargard, Germany, on September 2, 1878. He joined the German Army and served as a second lieutenant in the Seventy-third Fusilier Regiment. He attended the War Academy (1904-07) before joining the General Staff in 1908. On the outbreak of the World War I, Blomberg was General Staff officer with the Nineteenth Reserve Division. He served on the Western Front where he won the Pour le Mérite. By the end of the war he had reached the rank of major. Blomberg's two brothers were killed in the conflict. Blomberg remained in the army and in 1920 was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed chief of staff of the Doeberitz Brigade.
- Four years later General Hans von Seeckt appointed him as chief of army training. In 1927 Blomberg was promoted to major general and appointed chief of the Troop Office. In this position he clashed with Kurt von Schleicher and in 1929 was sent to East Prussia to serve under Walther von Reichenau. In 1932 Blomberg was head of the German delegation at the Geneva Disarmament Conference. The following year Adolf Hitler appointed him minister of defense and in 1935 minister of war and commander-in-chief of the German Army. It was Blomberg's idea to get all soldiers to pledge an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler.
- In April 1936 Blomberg became Hitler's first field marshal. He was outmaneuvered, however, by Hermann Goering, who was jealous of Blomberg's power and used the Gestapo to obtain embarrassing information about his pretty young second wife, who turned out to have been a prostitute with a criminal record. In January 1938, Blomberg resigned when he discovered Goering was planning make this information public. Blomberg and his wife were ordered to spend a year in exile on Capri. The scandal allowed Hitler to take direct control of the army. After the war Blomberg was captured by Allied troops and gave evidence at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial. Werner von Blomberg died while being held in detention on March 14, 1946.
- associated date
- 1935
- user
- Blomberg, Werner von
- ID Number
- AF*319919.01
- catalog number
- 319919.01
- 79374M
- accession number
- 319919
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Army Nurse Corps Cap
- Description
- Physical Description
- Olive-drab material with a close-fitting body, a stitched, semi-rigid visor, and a narrow front strap. The cap is peaked in front and reinforced with haircloth to support the weight of the full-sized officer's hat insignia depicting the Great Seal of the United States. The cap was also made of other materials to match the summer beige or white dress uniforms.
- Specific History
- This service cap was specifically designed for the Army Nurse Corps in 1942. Known at the time as the "new service cap," it was made of different types of materials to match either the winter olive drab, summer beige or dress white uniforms. This cap was worn with the winter uniform. The Army Nurse Corps cap is a distinctive item for nurses only; a different hat was worn by members of the Women's Army Corps (WAC). The uniforms of WACs and nurses were later standardized, and the nurses and WACs then wore the same cap.
- General History
- While the Nurse Corps was founded in 1901 as a component of the army, women have served as nurses and caregivers in American conflicts from the colonial period on. By World War II, the Army Nurse Corps was poised to take on increasing responsibilities. With fewer than 1,000 nurses on December 7, 1941, more than 59,000 nurses would serve before the war ended. Because of an acute shortage of nurses, a plan was developed to meet the demand through a draft. However, the war ended before this plan was implemented. Nurses served throughout the world, in all theaters, on land, sea, and air, and under combat conditions. Among those captured when US forces surrendered in the Philippines were sixty-seven nurses. They were liberated in February 1945. Sixteen nurses died as a result of hostile fire. Four nurses were awarded the Silver Star Medal for gallantry under fire at Anzio; one award was posthumous. During World War II only females could serve in the Army Nurse Corps. An early quota limiting the number of African American women who could serve as nurses was eliminated, but these nurses faced discrimination until segregation in the military services was ended by President Harry Truman's Executive Order in 1948. Although nurses were in the army, their status was not equal to those of male officers. The inequities of rank remaining were removed with the passage of the Army-Navy Nurses' Act of 1947 (Public Law 36) allowing nurses to become part of the regular army.
- date made
- ca 1942
- associated date
- 1941 - 1945
- ID Number
- AF*43934 [dup1]
- catalog number
- 43934
- designer number
- PQD 326
- 73-C-33025
- accession number
- 167648
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
German Binoculars
- Description
- Physical Description
- Green-and-black painted metal with a leather strap.
- General History
- Dragon German binoculars like those worn by German soldiers.
- ID Number
- AF*58746-N
- catalog number
- 58746-N
- accession number
- 236599
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
"For Your Country's Sake Today--For Your Own Sake Tomorrow" Poster
- Description
- Physical Description
- Four-color print on paper.
- Specific History
- The Division of Military History and Diplomacy has been collecting recruiting posters for more than fifty years. Recruiting as an activity of the military is important to the understanding of who serves in uniform, during both war and peace, and the visual materials used to market military service. The collection contains examples of early Civil War broadsides, World War I posters, including the original artwork for Uncle Sam as drawn by Montgomery Flagg; and World War II posters, which show the recruiting of men and women for all services and auxiliary organizations. The collection contains primarily Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II recruiting posters for the army, navy and some marines. More modern day recruiting materials are also contained in the collections, and cover a broad range of army recruiting slogans.
- General History
- Posters during World War II were designed to instill in people a positive outlook, a sense of patriotism, and confidence. They linked the war in trenches with the war at home. From a practical point, they were used to encourage all Americans to help with the war effort. The posters called on every man, woman, and child to endure the personal sacrifice and domestic adjustments to further the national agenda. They encouraged rationing, conservation, and sacrifice. In addition, the posters were used for recruitment, productivity, and motivation as well as for financing the war effort. The stark, colorful graphic designs elicited strong emotions. The posters played to the fears, frustrations, and faith in freedoms that lingered in people's minds during the war.
- date made
- 1944
- associated date
- 1941 - 1945
- ID Number
- AF*59413-M
- catalog number
- 59413-M
- accession number
- 167949
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center