F-1 Engine

The Smithsonian has a very interesting F-1 engine display: It has 1¼ F-1 engines mounted in a simulated S-IC aft end (complete with an engine fairing) with a wall of mirrors on the right and on the bottom. As one approaches the display, the mirrors "fill in" the missing engines, and it almost appears as if all five engines are present.

Note that the full engine is mounted incorrectly; its heat exchanger is mounted at the bottom of the engine. When actually mounted in an S-IC, the heat exchanger would point toward the inboard engine -- roughly at the 4:00 position -- as can be seen on S-IC-15.

This display is at the entrance to the Apollo to the Moon Gallery. The gallery itself is very dark (although the entrance is much brighter), and it is a high-traffic area. These circumstances conspired against me, and I was only able to take a small number of pictures.

The complete F-1 is NASM catalog ID #19700271000 and has been identified in Alan Lawrie's Saturn as F-1001. The 1/4 engine is NASM catalog ID #19751437000, but its serial number remains unknown.