Barksdale Global Power Museum

The Global Power Museum is located at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, Louisiana, and is a major national repository of historic Air Force airplanes. It is free and open to the public, accessible via the Barksdale AFB north gate. It was formerly known as the 8th Air Force Museum until 2012.

The facility features a series of indoor exhibits and displays, and an outdoor airpark of restored, historic aircraft and related equipment. The airpark also includes numerous sculptures and monuments to various individuals and groups of the Eighth Air Force.

It is one of nearly twenty official field units of the Museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.

The Barksdale Global Power Association operates independently of Barksdale AFB and supports the facility thru a variety of projects, events and services.

Aircraft on Display at the Global Power Museum Airpark

The airpark at Barksdale AFB in Bossier City, Louisiana (Staff photo)

All aircraft are located outdoors, and are accessible via a flat, paved sidewalk. It features several famous, and rare, airplanes.

Of the 18,493 B-24 Liberators that were built, there are only eight B-24 surviving aircraft today. In the United States, only two aircraft are airworthy, and six complete airframes are on static display, including "Rupert the Roo II" at Barksdale.

A total of 3,970 B-29 Superfortress aircraft were built during production at four assembly plants during World War II. Yet only about 22 complete B-29 airframes have survived and are on display in the United States, including the B-29 at Barksdale.

Nearly 13,000 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers were produced as part of the massive World War II military build-up. It became one of the most famous, and successful, airplanes ever built.

Today, a total of only 39 surviving B-17 airframes are located in the U.S., including the B-17G "Miss Liberty" restored and on display in Bossier City.

Among the aircraft on display are the following:

B-17G Flying Fortress
B-24J Liberator

Sculpture of General Ira C. Eaker, part of the Mall of Memories (Staff Photo)

B-29 Superfortress

B-47E Stratojet
B-52D Stratofortress
B-52G Stratofortress
KC-97L Stratotanker
KC-135A Stratotanker
B-1B Lancer (s/n 85-0080) - new museum addition in 2022
P-51D Mustang
F-84F Thunderstreak
FB-111A Aardvark
Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird
T-33 Shooting Star
C-45F Expeditor
C-47A Skytrain
AT-11 Kansan
Avro Vulcan
other aircraft and related equipment

Visiting the Global Power Museum

Dedicated in 1979, the Barksdale Global Power Museum hosts 30,000 visitors annually. We have visited the facility on multiple occasions, and highly recommended it to everyone with an interest in the Air Force, Barksdale AFB, and aviation history.

It is located at 88 Shreveport Road, in Bossier City, accessible via the North Gate Road.

The museum is located on Barksdale Air Force Base, which is an Active Duty military installation. Procedures for visitors have recently changed. Guests will need to complete a
Barksdale AFB Museum Access Pass (PDF)
30 days prior to their visit to the museum and email it to 2SFS.Museum.Pass@us.af.mil for approval.

Guests who have a Common Access Card or a military sponsor do not have to complete the Visitor Request Form.

**Beginning December 15, 2019, guests who do not have a Common Access Card or a military sponsor will not be given access to the Global Power Museum without an approved Visitor Request Form.

After you receive confirmation that your pass is ready, you may proceed to the Museum at your requested date and time. You must enter the North Gate (Bossier Gate), where you will be given a paper copy of your pass to hold onto during the duration of your visit.

When entering the North Gate all visitors (16 and older) will be asked to provide their Driver’s License or State Identification, the gate guard will hold onto these IDs for the duration of your visit. The gate guard will then guide you to the Museum. Once you are departing you will stop in the outbound lane to pick up your IDs prior to leaving the installation.

For questions or more information, visit the
Barksdale Global Power Museum official website
or phone the museum at (318) 456-4270 or (318) 456-3219

Rows of historic, restored aircraft at the Barksdale outdoor airpark
(Photo by Airplanes Online)

Normal opening hours are 9:30am to 4:00pm Monday through Saturday, except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Years Day and all other Federal holidays.

Once inside, visitors can view a 20-minute video about the history of Barksdale AFB, as well as six different exhibit galleries that tell the story of the base. The displays include the items used by former President George W. Bush when he briefed the media from Barksdale on September 11, 2001 after the terrorist attacks that morning. Another new exhibit recreates the home of U.S. Army Air Corps Lt. Eugene Hoy Barksdale, for whom the base is named.

All aircraft exhibits are located outdoors in a linear airpark along a paved sidewalk that runs from the building parking lot to the north. The distance from the parking lot to the northernmost aircraft, the KC-135, is about 2,000 feet. On hot days, be sure to bring bottled water, and use sunscreen.

Also located on the premises is a gift shop, featuring shirts, caps, airplane models, patches, photographs and many other items related to the Air Force, the Strategic Air Command, Barksdale AFB, and the Eighth Air Force.

Admission is free, but donations are accepted. The facility is staffed by volunteers, who do a great job of keeping it operating, with only limited funding. The operating budget provided by the Air Force is earmarked for standard administrative costs, such as printer paper, ink, computer equipment, office equipment, etc.

All other work is supported by funds raised by the Association's efforts or by donations at the entrance.

For more information, phone 318.456.4270 or 318.456.3219.

Aerial View and Map of the Barksdale North Gate, Parking, and the Barksdale airpark

Aerial View and Map of the Barksdale Global Force Museum

Barksdale Air Force Base History and the Base Today

B-52 Stratofortress on display at Barksdale AFB
(Staff Photo)

Barksdale Air Force Base is named in honor of Lt. Eugene Hoy Barksdale, Air Corps, U.S. Army, who lost his life in August 1926. During World War II, the base supported B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, B-29 Superfortress, B-26 Marauders, and other aircraft.

The Boeing Boeing B-47 Stratojet bomber and Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter aerial tanker were assigned to the base during the 1950s under the 301st and 376th Bomb Wings.

The first B-52 Stratofortress arrived at Barksdale in August of 1958, followed by the first KC-135 Stratotanker shortly afterwards.

Today, Barksdale AFB continues to be a major active military facility and a major contributor to the economy of the Shreveport area.

The 2nd Bomb Wing conducts the primary mission of Barksdale Air Force Base, with three squadrons of B-52H Stratofortress bombers - the 11th Bomb Squadron, which is the training squadron, the 20th Bomb Squadron and the 96th Bomb Squadron.