Hankins, Michael
Curator for US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps post-World War II Aviation
0000-0002-4777-7285
Hankins, Michael
Curator for US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps post-World War II Aviation
History of military aviation; air power history; fighter aircraft development; fighter pilot culture; the history of technology and military aircraft technology; air power theory and operations post-1945; air-to-air combat history; representations of the military and air power in popular culture; Russian military aircraft and MiG fighters; tactical airlift and air transportation; fighter pilots and aircraft in World War I; 20th Century United States.
Positions
- Curator, National Air & Space Museum 2019 -
Geographic Focus
- United States Country
Background And Education
Education And Training
- B.A., University of North Texas
- M.S. in History, University of North Texas
- Ph.D. in History, Kansas State University
Professional Biography
- Dr. Michael Hankins is the Curator of US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps post-World War II Aviation at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the author of Flying Camelot: The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia (Cornell University Press, 2021). He is a former Professor of Strategy at the USAF Air Command and Staff College eSchool, and former Instructor of Military History at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He earned his PhD in history from Kansas State University in 2018 and his master’s in history from the University of North Texas in 2013.
Public Biography
- Dr. Michael Hankins is the Curator of US Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps post-World War II Aviation at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and the author of Flying Camelot: The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia (Cornell University Press, 2021). He is a former Professor of Strategy at the USAF Air Command and Staff College eSchool, and former Instructor of Military History at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He earned his PhD in history from Kansas State University in 2018 and his master’s in history from the University of North Texas in 2013.
Publications
Selected Publications
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Article
- Hankins, Michael W. 2024. "Just Doing Their Jobs." Air and Space Quarterly, Dec 21, 2023, 3, (1), 38–45. 2024
- Hankins, Michael W. 2016. "The Teaball Solution: The Evolution of Air Combat Technology in Vietnam, 1968-1972." Air Power History, 63, (3) 7–24. 2016
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Blog Posting
- Hankins, Michael W. 2021. "A Pattern of Resistance: The Tuskegee Airmen on Trial, Part 1." National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Jun 9, 2020. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/pattern-resistance-tuskegee-airmen-trial-part-1. 2021
- Hankins, Michael W. 2020. "Mutiny at Freeman Field: The Tuskegee Airmen on Trial, Part 2." National Air and Space Museum Washington, DC: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Jun 9, 2020. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/mutiny-freeman-field-tuskegee-airmen-trial-part-2. 2020
- Hankins, Michael W. 2019. "Contested Skies: A Brief Guide to the Historiography of the Air War in Vietnam." From Balloons to Drones: Air Power Throughout the Ages May 1, 2019. https://balloonstodrones.com/2019/05/01/airwarvietnam-contested-skies-a-brief-guide-to-the-historiography-of-the-air-war-in-vietnam/. 2019
- Hankins, Michael W. 2018. "A Discourse on John Boyd: A Brief Summary of the US Air Force's Most Controversial Pilot and Thinker." From Balloons to Drones: Air Power Throughout the Ages Aug 22, 2018. https://balloonstodrones.com/2018/08/22/a-discourse-on-john-boyd-a-brief-summary-of-the-us-air-forces-most-controversial-pilot-and-thinker/. 2018
- Hankins, Michael W. 2018. "Inventing the Enemy: Colonel Toon and the Memory of Fighter Combat in Vietnam." From Balloons to Drones: Air Power Throughout the Ages May 30, 2018. https://balloonstodrones.com/2018/05/30/inventing-the-enemy-colonel-toon-and-the-memory-of-fighter-combat-in-vietnam. 2018
- Hankins, Michael W. 2018. "Tiger Check: Automating the US Air Force Fighter Pilot in Air-to-Air Combat, 1950-1980, by Steven A. Fino." From Balloons to Drones: Air Power Throughout the Ages https://balloonstodrones.com/2018/01/08/book-review-tiger-check-automating-the-us-air-force-fighter-pilot-in-air-to-air-combat-1950-1980. 2018
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Book
- Hankins, Michael W. 2021. Flying Camelot: The F-15, the F-16, and the Weaponization of Fighter Pilot Nostalgia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. 2021
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Review
- Hankins, Michael W. 2019. [Book review] "Review of Peter Fey. Bloody Sixteen: The USS Oriskany and Air Wing 16 during the Vietnam War. Lincoln, NB: Potomac Books, 2018." Michigan War Studies Review, 2019
- Hankins, Michael W. 2018. [Book review] "Review of Laslie, Brian D. Architect of Air Power General Laurence S. Kuter and the Birth of the US Air Force. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2017." The Strategy Bridge, 2018
- Hankins, Michael W. 2018. [Book review] "Review of Melvin G. Deaile. Always at War: Organizational Culture in Strategic Air Command, 1946-62. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2018." The Strategy Bridge, 2018
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Thesis
Presentations
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Presentation
- Hankins, Michael W. 2021. Selling the Fighter Pilot's Dream Machines: The F-15 and F-16 in the Public Eye [presentation]. University Of Texas--Arlington.
Contact
Location
- National Air & Space Museum Academic Department
