NASA History Listserv Readers:
Please see the information below regarding the upcoming
Seminar on Contemporary Science, Technology, and Culture event scheduled for Thursday, April 22, 4:00 pm ET.
Best,
Brian
Brian C. Odom, PhD, MLIS (He/Him)
Acting NASA Chief Historian
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC
256-541-8974 (cell)
From: "Shindell, Matt" <ShindellM@si.edu>
Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at 8:55 AM
To: "Shindell, Matt" <ShindellM@si.edu>, "Burke, Larry" <BurkeL@si.edu>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Thursday April 22 - "To Fly, Fight, and Sell" with Michael Hankins
Seminar on Contemporary Science, Technology, and Culture
Thursday, April 22, 4:00 pm ET
The 2020-2021 Contemporary History Seminar continues on
Thursday, April 22 on Zoom. Register
in advance. The speaker will be:
Michael W. Hankins
Curator of US Air Force History
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
To Fly, Fight, and Sell:
Marketing the F-15 and F-16
As the Vietnam War drew to a close, the US Air Force unveiled two new fighter aircraft: The F-15 Eagle and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Unlike most other Air Force aircraft of the early Cold War, these planes were
designed to excel in close air-to-air “dogfights.” Yet optimizing those planes for that role was fiercely contested from others both inside and outside the service who sought to make both planes versatile multi-role platforms capable of bombing and ground
attack missions. The public relations and marketing campaigns for both aircraft were equally torn, as promotional material drifted from emphasizing single-role optimization to multi-role versatility. This talk examines the promotional campaigns for both aircraft
to discover how debates during the development process could be used to the contractors’ and the Air Force’s advantage. In a broader sense, the debates about the F-15’s and F-16’s ideal missions and capabilities pointed to a new era of technology maturation
in which the lines between military aviation roles became blurred.
For further information, please contact: Matt Shindell at 202-633-5897; ShindellM@si.edu
Please register
in advance for this talk.
Before the talk, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. The link you receive should not be shared with others; it is unique to you.
Matthew Shindell, Ph.D.
(he/him) | Space History Curator
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
P.O. Box 37012, MRC 311 | Washington, D.C. 20014-7012 | 202-633-5897
