Michael W. Hankins
Nov-2022
Michael W. Hankins
Dr. Michael W. Hankins is the Curator for US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps post-World War II Aviation at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum.
Mike is the author of Flying Camelot: The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia, from Cornell University Press, available now in print and audiobook!
“In this lively, absorbing account, Hankins demonstrates the influence of a specific culture that celebrated the fighter pilot as a “knight of the air” who thrilled to aerial combat.”
-Lawrence Freedman, Foreign Affairs
“Forget ‘The Right Stuff,’ this is the Real Stuff. Equal parts cultural, technological, societal, and military history, Flying Camelot is a brilliant and illuminating account of fighter pilot culture and the development of governmental weapons systems.”
-Brian Laslie, NORAD and USNORTHCOM,
author of Air Power’s Lost Cause
“[Dr. Hankins] writes in an engaging and accessible way that makes some occasionally highly-technical discussions quite lucid and illuminating.”
-Sir Richard Williams Foundation
News:
- New Podcast: Women in Military Aviation with Eileen Bjorkman
The new ‘From Balloons to Drones’ podcast is out! Eileen Bjorkman (Col., USAF, ret.) joins us to talk about the history of women in military aviation. She takes us from the women flying in World War II, and through the long road to get to women in combat aviation in the 1990s and beyond.
She is a former flight test engineer who has flown in aircraft like the F-4 Phantom and the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and she is author of: Fly Girls Revolt: The Story of the Women who Kicked Open the Door to Fly in Combat, from Knox Press.
Listen on Soundcloud here, or on Spotify here.
- Dec. 2, Celebrate at the Udvar-Hazy Center
This Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, the National Air and Space Museum is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Udvar-Hazy Center! Come out and enjoy a ton of cool events, including a behind-the-scenes, up-close look at our restoration hangar, curator talks and Q&A’s, and tons of other fun events.
I’ll be there! At 12-noon I’ll be giving a talk about our Blue Angels F/A-18C Hornet and answering your questions about the airplane — then, until 2:00pm I’ll be signing copies of Flying Camelot. Several other curators will be talking about our artifacts and signing their books as well. Come out and say hi and hang out with us!
You can find out more details about the event here.
- New Article: The Cuban Missile Crisis
A few weeks ago was the 61st anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis — often considered the time where we got closest to a nuclear war (although that is debated). I’ve written a new article summarizing the Cuban Missile Crisis over at the National Air and Space Museum’s website, check it out here.
It was very cool to get to write this for the museum, and got me thinking a lot about how military aviation has had (and continues to have) such a dramatic effect in shaping the world we all find ourselves in. The museum also has a lot of interesting artifacts related to the Crisis in its collection, some of which you can see on display (and some that are planned to be put on display soon).
(From left to right) Photo evaluator Col. Ralph Steakley, U-2 pilot Lt. Col. Joe O’Grady, U-2 pilot Maj. Richard Heyser, and CSAF Gen. Curtis LeMay meet with President Kennedy in October 1962.
- World War I Museum Guest Lecture: Myth and Memory of the Lafayette Escadrille
Come join me in Kansas City this weekend at the National World War I Museum and Memorial Symposia! I’ll be there on Friday afternoon to give a talk about the Lafayette Escadrille, the group of American volunteers who flew for France before the United States entered World War I.
There’s plenty of other great speakers that will be there as well, with a ton of fascinating topics.
You can be there in person, or watch an online live stream. Check out the options for registering here.
See you there!
- NASM Fellowships Seeking Applications
The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is excited to announce several fellowship opportunities opening for applications on October 15, 2023. This includes the Guggenheim Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships and the Verville Fellowship for 2024-2025, as well as the Lindbergh Chair for 2025-2026. If you’re working on scholarly history in the fields of aviation history or space history, these are great opportunities.
The deadline to apply is December 1, 2023. Announcement of the selected candidates will happen in mid-March 2024.
For more information please see https://airandspace.si.edu/get-involved/fellowships.
