In 1987, the Bundeswehr's Luftwaffe Museum was founded using objects taken from a private collection in Appen near Hamburg. After 1990, the collection was expanded by items taken from the GDR's Nationale Volksarmee (National People's Army). In 1995, the museum moved to the former British military airfield at Berlin-Gatow, where airplanes involved in the Luftbrücke ("Air Bridge") took off and landed during the Berlin Blockade 1948/49.
The museum (Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr – Flugplatz Berlin-Gatow) has belonged to the Military History Museum of the Bundeswehr in Dresden since 2010 and is set to be revamped in the coming years. The new exhibition will focus more on cultural-historical themes and on air warfare as the most recent form of military force.
Today, the airplanes, helicopters, radar and air defence systems on the open-air airfield provide an overview of the development of military aviation and defence during the Cold War. In Hangar 3, aerial warfare in Germany since 1884 is explored; in Hangar 7 the focus is on the history of Germany's Luftwaffe, including pilot training and work(areas). The history of Gatow Airfield is presented in the tower building. There are also special exhibitions.