The U.S. Army Transportation Museum artifact collection numbers just under 7,000 items and 1,000 exhibit props.
The collection includes nearly 100 macro artifacts ranging from planes, helicopters, tugboats and landing craft to trucks, jeeps, hovercraft and trains.
Some of the unique items in the collection include the only surviving gun truck from the Vietnam War and the only surviving hovercraft to see combat in Vietnam. The museum also houses a unique collection of experimental aircraft and the first helicopter to fly at the South Pole.
Approximately 25% of the museum collection comes from general public donations, while the remainder comes through transfers, bequests, and other sources. The museum ranks as one of the largest museums in the Army Museum system and typically has about 25% of the collection on display at any given point in time.
To collect, preserve, educate and exhibit the history of transportation in the U.S. Army, beginning with the Continental Army in 1775 and continuing through the eras of conflict and peace to the formal establishment of the Transportation Regiment on 26 July 1986, and to the present date.
To promote transportation heritage to military and civilian visitors and to promote a source of pride and espirit de corps within the Transportation Regiment.
To communicate through exhibits and programs, the role of United States Army Transportation and its efforts and accomplishments in the development of our nation.
The Transportation Museum was originally located in an abandoned storage building and opened to the public in 1959 with displays left over from a recruiting event.
Within ten years, a foundation was organized to raise private funds and it moved to its present five-acre facility, funded by donations raised through the Army Transportation Museum Foundation, in 1976.
The foundation has also provided a large aircraft pavilion in 1984, which displays nearly twenty historic aircraft. A major addition was added to the museum in 2004 which included an additional 14,000 square feet of exhibit space, a new collection storage area and new offices for the foundation. The museum also maintains storage space in an off-site warehouse complex.