The Grissom Air Museum is located at the edge of Grissom Air Reserve Base, formerly Grissom Air Force Base and, prior to May 12, 1968, Bunker Hill Air Force Base.  Bunker Hill was renamed Grissom AFB in honour of Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Indiana native and the second American astronaut into space, who had perished in the Apollo I launch pad fire on January 27, 1967.  This museum has approximately 20 aircraft on outdoor display that reflect both the base's rich history and that of the USAF in general.  The indoor museum contains a number of artifacts related to the 305th Bomb Group and the AVG, among other subjects, and has some interesting artifacts, including a Phantom cockpit that you can sit in.

The base itself is still home to the 305th Aerial Refueling Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit flying KC-135Rs.

Grissom's draw for me can be summed up in one word: Hustler.  In its heyday in the 1960s, the 305th was one of only two supersonic bomber units in the world, flying the Convair B-58A Hustler.  The Hustler on display at the museum, a rare TB-58A trainer, is the oldest Hustler in existence, and one of the most significant.  As part of the testing for the B-58 program, this plane, the fourth prototype, became the first bomber in history to release weapons at Mach 1 and then Mach 2.  I would have loved to have visited this base back when B-58s were flying out of it.

The museum's aircraft are mostly USAAF or USAF types, with a few exceptions (perhaps the most unusual is a NAMC YS-11 Japanese-built turboprop commuter plane, which visitors can go into).  The planes run the gamut from World War II types such as the B-17 and B-25 through to such Cold War classics as the B-47 and KC-97 to several Century Series planes (including an F-100, F-101B, and F-105D) and some more recent planes, including an A-10A and an O-2A.  Although all of the museum's aircraft are on outdoor display, they are in remarkably good condition.  The relatively benign climate (at least to a Canadian!), coupled with a program whereby local groups sponsor and take care of aircraft, seems to account for this.

One unique feature at the Grissom Air Park is an alert tower which formerly stood near the base flightline.  For a small fee, visitors can climb up the 60-foot tall tower, thereby getting a unique view of the aircraft on display.  Right at the foot of the tower are the TB-58A and an EC-135L Stratotanker.  This is a rather ominous version of the famous tanker: it was kept on constant alert during the SAC days, and was designed to operate as a command and control aircraft in a post-nuclear attack environment.  It is all too easy to forget how serious the Cold War was.

If you find yourself anywhere near central Indiana, I would recommend going to the Grissom Air Museum.  The museum's diverse collection of aircraft is well worth the visit, and the base itself is an interesting and significant facility in American military aviation history.