A memorial sculpture for the American Air Museum.

Click for larger image

Counting the Cost is a memorial sculpture in glass designed by Renato Niemis.  It lines the route to the entrance of the Museum, creating a striking and symbolic approach and a contemplative counterpoint to the interior of the American Air Museum.

The sculpture comprises 52 toughened clear float glass panels, each etched with the outlines of aircraft missing in action in operations flown by American air forces from Britain during the Second World War.  7,031 aircraft are depicted and represent losses incurred by the 8th United States Army Air Force (USAAF), 9th USAAF, and US Navy.  Each panel is 4 feet wide by 6.5 feet high by three quarters of an inch thick and bears a number of aircraft corresponding to a particular Air Force or Navy Group or Groups.  The engraved images take the form of the individual aircraft types at a scale of 1:240.  Bomber, Fighter, Reconnaissance, Photographic and Transport Carrier Groups, Emergency Rescue Services, the Night Leaflet Squadron and the Radio Counter Measures Group all have their place; no Groups that suffered losses are forgotten.

Counting the Cost contrasts the power of the aircraft inside the Museum with the cost of their use.  As visitors approach the sculpture they are struck by the scale of the losses: first in line are the most densely engraved panels, remembering the 91st and 96th Bomber Groups of the 8th Air Force which together lost almost 400 B-17s, each with an average crew of ten men.  The bombers are followed by panels commemorating the fighters lost by the 8th.  On the far side of the entrance are the panels commemorating the 9th Air Force, the support groups of the 8th and the Navy.