A U.S. Air Force summer service dress uniform donated by Clayann Almquist, Fargo, formerly of Minot, is shown in the museum.

There’s also a flight suit belonging to Roger Disrud, originally from Rolla, who was a fighter pilot and flew 185 combat mission in Vietnam. Disrud was the recipient of the Top Gun award for being the best in his business.

Other clothing, aircraft ejection seats, helmets, a missile from an F-106 are among the memorabilia.

A model of a B-47 made by Mike Hill of Minot hangs from the ceiling of the air museum.

Eloise Ogden/MDN Glenn Blackaby, curator of the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot, is shown with a U.S. Air Force summer service dress uniform donated to the museum by Clayann Almquist, Fargo, formerly of Minot.

“The B-47 came out the year the U.S. Air Force was born and was the first jet bomber,” said Glenn Blackaby, air museum curator. The prototype, XB-47 rolled off the assembly line on Sept. 12, 1947, a few days before the Air Force became a separate service on Sept. 18, 1947.

A T-33 plane in an outdoor display on the air museum’s grounds was one of the first aircraft assigned to Minot Air Force Base. Blackaby said the design of the F-80 became the basis of the T-33 trainer design. The F-80 made its first flight in 1944 and continued to be used well into the 1980s. It was also used in the Korean War.

The U.S. Air Force’s predecessor, the Army Air Forces, was formed in 1941 from the Army Air Corps. On Sept. 18, 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act which established the U.S. Air Force as a separate service.

Several years later, on July 12, 1955, the official ground breaking for Minot Air Force Base was held at the base. Two years later on Feb. 15, 1957, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers turned over the “key” of the base to Maj. Joe Roberts, the first base commander, according to Minot Daily News files.

On Saturday, Sept. 9, Minot AFB observed the Air Force’s birthday during the Air Force Ball held at the Gantzer Maintenance Facility on base.

This B-47 model suspended from the ceiling of the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot was assembled by Mike Hill of Minot. The B-47 was the first jet bomber and its prototype came out in 1947, a few days before the Air Force became a separate service on Sept. 18, 1947. Eloise Ogden/MDN

The air museum is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. It will close for the season after Oct. 15 and then open by appointments only.