Barksdale Global Power Museum

Two airmen rabbit hunting in 1980 found the wreckage of a Keystone B-6A bomber in the woods near Barksdale Air Force Base. The wreck went into the museum collection, which had opened the year before through the efforts of Buck Rigg, a volunteer curator. By 1985, the museum held a B-52, KC-97, C-47, and F-84. A B-29 arrived in 1992. An Avro Vulcan came in 1982, the same year the museum announced plans to recreate a World War II 8th Air Force base. The National Museum of the United States Air Force inspected in 2008 and found collections management procedures insufficient. The museum faced closure. In 2012, it changed its name to Barksdale Global Power Museum—an expanded mission, and a way to avoid confusion with the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah, Georgia. A three-year renovation followed, finishing in 2015. All rooms were rebuilt. Many airplanes were repainted. A B-1 arrived in 2022. A new exhibit about women in the Air Force opened in June 2024. Hosted by the 2nd Bomb Wing, the museum maintains military aircraft and historical artifacts that illuminate early United States military aviation, the Barksdale base, and the formations of the 2nd Bomb Wing and the 8th Air Force. The 2nd Bomb Wing history timeline runs 1918 to present. A September 11, 2001, exhibit includes the podium and furniture from Eighth Air Force Headquarters when President George W. Bush made the first speech during the terrorist attacks. The museum is free and open to the public. Photo ID required at the gate.