The exhibition in Arched Hangar No. 1, depending on the chosen visiting route, serves as either an introduction or a summary of the outdoor display presenting aircraft from the Cold War era. This is an original metal aviation hangar from that period, specially brought to the Museum in 2004-2005. In a single exhibition space, visitors can see representative machines used by both the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact.
Estimated individual visit time – approximately 15-20 min.
Inside the arched hangar painted in camouflage colours is a collection of aircraft from the Cold War period, originating from both sides of the Iron Curtain. Right at the entrance, we see the two-seat American fighter-bomber McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II. It is one of the most important combat aircraft of that era. Developed in the late 1950s for the US Navy as a carrier-based fleet defence interceptor, it was also used for attacking ground targets.
The first users of the Phantom were the US Navy and US Marine Corps. Later, land-based versions were also developed for the US Air Force. The F-4E was the last of these, armed with a built-in 20 mm cannon. In addition, on nine external hardpoints under the fuselage and wings, it could carry over 8 tonnes of external ordnance, including conventional and nuclear bombs, air-to-air and air-to-ground guided missiles, unguided rocket pods, napalm canisters, reconnaissance and targeting pods, as well as external fuel tanks. The crew consisted of a pilot and a radar and weapons systems operator, known as the WSO (Weapon Systems Officer). Unarmed reconnaissance versions were also produced, along with specialised variants for suppression of enemy air defences (SEAD), modified from the F-4C and F-4E combat versions, known as Wild Weasel.
Phantoms were used in seven versions by the US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps throughout the Vietnam War. They engaged both air and ground targets, and US Air Force and US Navy Phantom crews earned the title of fighter ace, having each shot down five enemy aircraft. The last time the US Air Force used Phantoms in combat was during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq in 1991. Outside the United States, Phantoms served in the Israeli Air Force and were used in combat against Arab states during the so-called War of Attrition at the turn of the 1960s and 70s, the Yom Kippur War in 1973, and the Lebanon War in 1982. In the 1970s, still during the Shah’s reign, Iran purchased Phantoms, which were then used in combat during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988. Furthermore, Phantoms also served in the air forces of the United Kingdom, Australia, West Germany, Spain, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, South Korea, and Japan, where they were assembled under licence. They still remain in service with the air forces of Iran, Turkey, and Greece. A total of 5,195 examples of all versions were produced.
The example on display, serial number 67-0260, produced in 1967, served with US Air Force units stationed in the United States and Germany.
Opposite the Phantom stands its adversary – the Soviet twin-engine interceptor Mikoyan MiG-19PM. The MiG-19, developed in the early 1950s, was the first mass-produced supersonic fighter in the USSR capable of exceeding the speed of sound in level flight. In 1954, the interceptor version MiG-19P was developed, equipped with a radar linked to a gunsight and an IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) system, armed with two 30 mm cannons. In 1956, the next interceptor version, MiG-19PM, was created, armed with radar-guided RS-2US air-to-air missiles. Between 1958 and 1959, Poland purchased 24 MiG-19Ps and 12 MiG-19PMs. These were the first supersonic aircraft in Polish aviation. They were operated until 1974. The example on display, with tactical number 905, ended its service with the 28th Fighter Aviation Regiment in Slupsk. One of its pilots was Lt. Col. Alojzy Zgondek, whose signature can be seen beneath the cockpit.
In the Soviet Union, 2,172 examples were produced. Outside the USSR, MiG-19 fighters were manufactured under licence in Czechoslovakia under the designation Aero S-105, and in China under the designation Shenyang J-6 (F-6 for export). Chinese-built aircraft were delivered to the North Vietnamese Air Force and scored seven victories over American Phantoms.
Next to the MiG-19 stands another aircraft – a symbol of NATO aviation during the Cold War – the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. It was developed in the first half of the 1950s by designer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, based on the experience of American aviation during the Korean War, as a lightweight air superiority fighter designed to engage enemy fighters. It was an aircraft nicknamed the “manned missile” – fast but not very manoeuvrable, powered by a powerful engine but with wings of very small area and leading edges so sharp that protective covers had to be fitted on the ground. It was difficult to fly, technically complex, and unforgiving of errors, resulting in frequent accidents.
The first version, the F-104A, was however used as an air defence interceptor, tasked with defending the United States against Soviet strategic bombers. Later, the fighter-bomber version F-104C was developed, which was used in combat in Vietnam in 1965 and 1966-1967. In the late 1950s, the improved fighter-bomber version F-104G was developed, which became the primary combat aircraft of West Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Canada, and Japan. These aircraft were manufactured under licence in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Canada, and Japan. The F-104A version was also used by Pakistan and Jordan. These aircraft were used in combat during the Indo-Pakistani conflicts of 1965 and 1971, shooting down several Indian aircraft.
For Italy, the F-104S version was developed in 1965-66, adapted to carry radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles. In the 1980s and 1990s, Italian F-104S aircraft underwent avionics upgrades designated ASA-M, enhancing their combat capabilities. The example on display served with the 9o Stormo (9th Fighter Wing) “Francesco Baracca” based at Grazzanise near Naples. Italy was the country that operated Starfighter fighters the longest – from 1961 to 2004. A total of 2,578 examples of all Starfighter versions were produced.
The next two aircraft are rotorcraft. The first is the Bell OH-58A Kiowa, a military version of the Bell 206 JetRanger helicopter, developed in 1967 for the US Army. In August 1969, Kiowa helicopters entered action with American Air Cavalry units fighting in Vietnam. They were used primarily for observation missions. During combat, 45 helicopters were lost. The example on display belonged to the Canadian Army. In Canada, these helicopters, operated from 1970 to 1995, carried the designation CH-136.
The second rotorcraft is the multi-role, seven-seat Aerospatiale SA-3160 Alouette III helicopter, designed in the late 1950s in France. It was one of the most widely used helicopters in the world and one of the first turbine-powered helicopters to be mass-produced. The designer of the Turbomeca Artouste III engine was Polish-born Joseph Szydlowski. The example on display was manufactured under licence in Switzerland and was used by Swiss military aviation for transport, rescue, and training missions. The skis fitted to the wheels enabled landing on thick snow cover in high mountains. Alouette III helicopters were also manufactured under licence in India and Romania.
In addition to aircraft, visitors can also see an exhibit of an entirely different kind, but also from the Cold War era – an American Buick Riviera passenger car, donated by US Air Force General Donald Kutyna, an American of Polish descent and a Vietnam War veteran, whose Republic F-105D Thunderchief aircraft named “Polish Glider” stands on the outdoor display. The Buick Riviera was produced in eight generations, from 1963 to the late 1990s. This is the only example of the first generation in Poland, manufactured in 1964.
