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Apollo Milton Olin (A. M. O.) Smith Papers

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Catalog Data

Creator:
Smith, Apollo Milton Olin (A. M. O.), 1911-1997  Search this
Names:
Smith, Apollo Milton Olin (A. M. O.), 1911-1997  Search this
Extent:
1.09 Cubic feet ((1 records center box))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Drawings
Photographs
Publications
Date:
1935-1981
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of the significant writings of Smith, including writings relating to his contributions to boundary layer theory. The collection also includes Smith's notebooks and related photographs of his post-World War II on-site appraisal of Nazi aeronautical developments.
Biographical / Historical:
Apollo Milton Olin Smith (1911-1997), an aircraft designer and engineer known as 'AMO' for most of his life, was born in Columbia, Missouri. He began constructing gliders in high school and earned Masters Degrees in both Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Caltech in 1938. After graduation, he began work for Douglas Aircraft, where he was to be employed until his retirement in 1975. His work for Douglas included wind tunnel testing of the A-20 bomber, performance analysis of the DC-5 and aerodynamic design of the A-26 light bomber. During a leave of absence from Douglas, he served as first chief engineer of the Aerojet Co. Smith's work in aerodynamics led to his participation in an important post-World War II mission to Germany, which revealed that country's developments in swept-wing design. AMO Smith's subsequent research would make him a leader in aerodynamics, especially regarding his contributions to boundary layer theory. He was the recipient of many honors and awards during his lifetime and was responsible for advances in research involving the use of rocket motors to assist takeoff (JATO) and the design of the D-558 Phase 1 airplane and the F4D Skyray.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Elisazbeth Krost Smith, Gift, 2000, 2000-0014, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Topic:
Aerodynamics  Search this
Airplanes -- Wings, Swept-back  Search this
Airplanes -- Jet propulsion  Search this
Airplanes -- Assisted take-off  Search this
Boundary layer  Search this
Airplanes -- Motors  Search this
Aeronautics, Military  Search this
World War, 1939-1945  Search this
Aeronautics  Search this
Airplanes -- Germany  Search this
Douglas F4D (F-6) Skyray Family  Search this
Douglas D-558 Family  Search this
Genre/Form:
Manuscripts
Drawings
Photographs
Publications
Identifier:
NASM.2000.0014
Archival Repository:
National Air and Space Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg24da02cce-3a59-498d-9e10-caa3ee2f9796
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nasm-2000-0014