F-1 Engine

The Smithsonian had a very interesting F-1 engine display: It had 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 approached the display, the mirrors "filled in" the missing engines, and it almost appeared as if all five engines were present.

Note that the engine is mounted incorrectly, with the heat exchanger at the bottom of the engine. When mounted in an actual S-IC stage, the heat exchanger would point toward the inboard engine -- roughly at the 4:00 position.

This display was at the entrance to the Apollo to the Moon Gallery. The gallery itself was very dark (although the entrance was much brighter), and it was 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 first production F-1 engine). The 1/4 engine is NASM catalog ID #19751437000, but its serial number remains unknown.

The Smithsonian has since renovated this gallery and now displays the F-1s vertically in a rig similar to that at the Air Zoo and with vertical mirrored walls to provide the same effect. It's hard to tell from the photos I've seen online (I have not visited the renovated exhibit), but it looks like the engine is still incorrectly positioned.

I have many many F-1 related resources.