National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry Search this
Extent:
4 Cubic feet (14 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Reports
Photographs
Logs (records)
Correspondence
Blueprints
Architectural drawings
Articles
Date:
1920 - 1961
Summary:
The Emmet Mercury Boiler Records contains information about General Electric Company and Hartford Electric Light Company's development, installation, and use of William Le Roy Emmet's mercury boiler units. The mercury boiler units used mercury fluid along with steam power to improve cycle efficiency in converting coal or oil to electric power. The collection contains articles, news clippings, reports, instruction manuals, log books, data sheets, photographs, and drawings related to the experimental unit installed at Dutch Point, Connecticut, and the first commercial use of a mercury boiler at the South Meadow Station in Hartford, Connecticut.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents the construction, operation, and demolition of mercury boiler generating units developed by William Le Roy Emmet and installed by the Hartford Electric Light Company in Hartford, Connecticut. The collection contains articles and research about the use of mercury and the development and implementation of mercury boilers. Also included is general correspondence between Hartford Electric Light Company and General Electric Company, operational logs, collected data, instructional guides, inspection reports, and photographs and drawings for the Dutch Point Mercury Boiler and the South Meadow Station.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into four series.
Series 1: Background and Research on Mercury Boilers, 1920-1961
Series 2: Correspondence, 1921-1950
Series 3: Dutch Point Mercury Boiler Operational Records, 1923-1949
Subseries 3.1: Data Sheets and Reports, 1923-1927
Subseries 3.2: Log Books and Instructions, 1924-1949
Subseries 3.3: Photographs and Drawings, 1923-1927
Series 4: South Meadow Station Operational Records, 1928-1961
Subseries 4.1: Data Sheets and Reports, 1928-1961
Subseries 4.2: Log Books and Instructions, 1928-1955
Subseires 4.3: Photographs and Drawings, 1928,1955
Series 5: Hartford Electric Light Company Operational Records, 1928-1949
Historical:
The mercury boiler was developed by a General Electric Company's engineer, William Le Roy Emmet, to use mercury fluid in conjunction with steam power to improve cycle efficiency in converting coal or oil to electric power. An experimental mercury-steam generating unit was installed by Hartford Electric Light Company in 1923 at Dutch Point, Connecticut. In June 1927, ground was broken for the South Meadow Station in Hartford, Connecticut, and Babcock and Wilcox Company was contracted for the boiler. This unit was the first commercial installation in the nation and was based on the data collected from the Dutch Point unit. The Dutch Point unit was damaged during the course of operations and was permanently shut down by Emmet in September 1927. Emmet requested that all efforts be focused on the South Meadow Station. In August 1947, the first commercial unit at South Meadow Station was taken out of service and disposed of, and a second unit was installed and put into use on January 1, 1949. The engineering company, Foster Wheeler, was used to help design the second unit. During inspections in 1959 and 1960, it was discovered that the second unit had a wastage issue, and the unit was then operated at half load capacity for the remainder of 1960. On January 4, 1961, the second unit was removed from operation, and on April 19, 1961 it was officially retired. The mercury was removed and sold to Woodbridge Chemical Corporation. The decision was made to not to replace it with another mercury unit.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning intellectual property rights. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Copyright held by the Smithsonian Institution.
The Archival collections of the National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni (NACCCA) donated in 2006. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), created as part of the New Deal legislation initiated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, was a public work relief program for unemployed men designed to reduce high unemployment during the Great Depression. The CCC carried out a broad natural resource conservation program on national, state, and municipal lands from 1933 to 1942. This collection contains papers, photographs, and ephemera collected and created by alumni of the CCC and donated to the NACCCA archives.
Scope and Contents:
This material was acquired by the National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni (NACCCA)from CCC alumni and originally housed in the NACCCA archives in St. Louis, Missouri. Photographic materials, including loose photos, slides, snapshots, group photos, panoramic photos, and albums and binders of photographs; printed materials, including newspapers published by individual companies, camps and districts, and the national CCC newspaper, Happy Days; materials documenting each camp, including camp histories, personal memoirs, blueprints of camps and projects worked on; the papers of C.E. Ward, Educational Director of the CCC's 3rd Corps, which document the planning and implementation of educational activities in that region; miscellaneous materials, including camp rosters, cartoons, menus, poems, pamphlets, booklets, magazines, manuals, enrollee discharge papers, work logs, and sheet music; and other more recent materials such as research papers, books on the CCC, selected audiotape and video interviews with some of the alumni; and other miscellaneous items. The collection is arranged into nine series.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into nine series.
Series 1: Scrapbooks, 1853-2003, undated
Series 2: State Material, 1922-2008, undated
Series 3: Publications, 1924-2006, undated
Series 4: C.E. Ward, 3rd Corps, 1933-2001, undated
Series 5: Photographs, 1929-2008, undated
Series 6: General Ephemera, 1915-2006, undated
Series 7: Bidwell Addendum, 1933-1987, undated
Series 8: Bires Addendum, 1934-1985, undated
Series 9: Audiovisual Materials, 1933-2009, undated
Biographical / Historical:
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a New Deal era program, created in 1933 to reduce unemployment, a direct result of the Great Depression. The CCC provided national conservation work across the United States for young, unmarried men. Veterans could be enrolled in the CCC after verification of their service by the Veteran's Administration. Veterans were exempt from the age and marriage restriction. Projects included planting trees, bulding flood barriers, combatting forest fires, maintaining forest roads and trails, and building recreational facilities in the National Park system and a host of other projects. There were separate CCC programs for Native Americans of recognized tribes and African Americans. In 1942, with the waning of the Great Depression and America's entry into World War II in December 1941, resources devoted to the CCC (men and materials) were diverted to the war effort. Congress ceased funding for the CCC and liquidation of the CCC was included in the Labor-Federal Security Appropriation Act (56 Stat. 569) on July 2, 1942, and for the most part completed by June 30, 1943. Appropriations for the liquidation of the CCC continued through April 20, 1948.
Related Materials:
Materials at Other Organizations
National Archives and Records Administration
Record Group 35, Civilian Conservation Corps
Provenance:
Collection donated by National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni in 2006.
Restrictions:
This collection is open for research use.
Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with cotton gloves. Researchers may use reference copies of audio-visual materials. When no reference copy exists, the Archives Center staff will produce reference copies on an "as needed" basis and as resources allow.
Viewing film portions of the collection requires special appointment, please inquire; listening to LP recordings is only possible by special arrangement.
Gloves must be worn when handling unprotected photographs and negatives. Special arrangements required to view materials in cold storage. Using cold room materials requires a three hour waiting period. Contact the Archives Center at 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Conservation of natural resources -- 1930-1950 Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Mechanical and Civil Engineering Search this
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry Search this
Extent:
1.5 Cubic feet (2 boxes, 8 oversize folders)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Logs (records)
Articles
Place:
Ohio -- Manufacturing
Date:
1933-1988
Scope and Contents note:
Records of the Borsig Steam Engines installed at the Philip Carey Manufacturing Company, Lockland, Ohio. The papers include engine logs, drawings, an index to the drawings (in German), articles, and black-and-white photographs.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical/Historical note:
The Phillip Carey Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of industrial thermal insulation for pipes and boilers. They installed two Borsig steam engines, imported from Berlin, in their factory in 1930. Borsig had been founded in 1837 by August Borsig, his company built steam engines to support German railroads.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Frank H. Beberdick, 1988.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
2.44 Cubic feet (consisting of 4.5 boxes, 1 folder, 5 oversize folders, 2 flat boxes (partial), 1 map case folder.)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Business ephemera
Business letters
Publications
Receipts
Business cards
Trade literature
Logs (records)
Sales catalogs
Print advertising
Ephemera
Catalogs
Advertising mail
Commercial catalogs
Invoices
Trade cards
Technical reports
Trade catalogs
Advertising
Manuals
Reports
Manufacturers' catalogs
Commercial correspondence
Catalogues
Printed materials
Illustrations
Bulletins
Technical manuals
Printed material
Transcripts
Letterheads
Printed ephemera
Advertisements
Advertising cards
Radio scripts
Correspondence
Advertising fliers
Business records
Date:
1893-1992
Summary:
A New York bookseller, Warshaw assembled this collection over nearly fifty years. The Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Accounting and Bookkeeping forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Subseries 1.1: Subject Categories. The Subject Categories subseries is divided into 470 subject categories based on those created by Mr. Warshaw. These subject categories include topical subjects, types or forms of material, people, organizations, historical events, and other categories. An overview to the entire Warshaw collection is available here: Warshaw Collection of Business Americana
Scope and Contents:
The radio category contains material primarily related to radio company products, radio broadcasts and programs, technical documentation on the use of radios, and material documenting the effect of radio on modern life. The bulk of the material covers sales catalogues and advertisements, though no complete records for single companies are present.
The radio broadcast transcripts and programs include fictional or anecdotal stories, transcripts of contests, interviews, or speeches, and notifications about future broadcasts.
Literature concerning the effect of radio on modern life includes brief radio historiographies, discussions about the need for advanced education for the radio field, and documentation of the use of radio in leisure time or in rural life. Additional publications address the uses and effects of radio during times of war. While no extensive documentation exists on any one topic, the publications may provide general histories of the radio with snapshots of specific facets of radio history.
Arrangement:
Radio is arranged in three subseries.
Business Records and Marketing Material
Genre
Subject
Forms Part Of:
Forms part of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana.
Missing Title
Series 1: Business Ephemera
Series 2: Other Collection Divisions
Series 3: Isadore Warshaw Personal Papers
Series 4: Photographic Reference Material
Provenance:
Radio is a portion of the Business Ephemera Series of the Warshaw Collection of Business Americana, Accession AC0060 purchased from Isadore Warshaw in 1967. Warshaw continued to accumulate similar material until his death, which was donated in 1971 by his widow, Augusta. For a period after acquisition, related materials from other sources (of mixed provenance) were added to the collection so there may be content produced or published after Warshaw's death in 1969. This practice has since ceased.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Some items may be restricted due to fragile condition.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Subject Categories: Radios, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Sponsor:
Funding for partial processing of the collection was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Institution's Collections Care and Preservation Fund (CCPF).
Documentary materials relating to the construction and operation of the 80-inch hydrogen bubble chamber at Brookhaven National Laboratory: a 16mm film of the construction of the bubble chamber; 6 reels of audiotapes from the operation of the bubble chamber, 8 rolls of 70mm film of particle tracks; 3 rolls of 35mm film of particle tracks; a log book of the bubble chamber, recording the discovery of the Omega-minus particle; an operations manual for the chamber; and a "user package" for the chamber. Some of the film records the discovery of the Omega-minus particle.
Arrangement:
1 series. Unarranged.
Separated Materials:
The bubble chamber itself is in the Division of Medicine and Science. See Accession No. 1978.2309.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Brookhaven National Laboratory, through Bernard J. McAlary, December 15, 1994.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Graphic Arts Search this
Names:
St. Joseph News-Press and Gazette (newspaper). Search this
Extent:
1.25 Cubic feet (5 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Logs (records)
Manuals
Technical manuals
Place:
Missouri -- 1970-1990
Date:
1979-1985
Summary:
Records relating to the development of direct plate imager technology and its early use by the St. Joseph News-Press and Gazette, St. Joseph, Missouri.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of records relating to the development of direct plate imager technology and its early use by the St. Joseph News Press and Gazette, credited with being a leader in the field of laser adaptation to computer reproduction of photographs for newspaper use. It consists primarily of maintenance manuals, maintenance logs and systems logs, and training notes over a period of about five years.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into four series.
Series 1: Maintenance logs, System logs
Series 2: Maintenance manuals
Series 3: Training Notes
Series 4: Miscellaneous
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Fertig was a technician at the St. Joseph News-Press and Gazette. The newspaper developed a direct plate imager technology and is credited with being a leader in the field of laser adaptation to computer reproduction of photographs for newspaper use.
Provenance:
Collection donated by Charles Fertig, April 8, 1988.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
This collection consists of correspondence, memos, newspaper articles and logbooks concerning the flight.
Arrangement:
The documents on the microfilm are only arranged by Record Groups and not chronologically. The material covers correspondence, memos, newspaper articles, logbooks, descriptions of the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC) aircraft, memos dealing with permission to overfly and photograph foreign countries, the flight route, pilot selection, aircraft selection, equipment and weather forecasts. The decision was made during the processing to arrange the photocopied documents by subject and then chronologically.
Historical note:
In 1924, the U.S. Army Air Service decided to attempt an around the world flight to prove that the airplane was a valuable and viable method of transportation and could therefore have a great impact on the world's future. The Douglas Aircraft Company was commissioned by the Army Air Service to build an aircraft for the flight. The result was the Douglas O-5 Observation Seaplane, which was referred to in 1924 as the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC). The O-5 grew out of the 1923 Douglas Observation Seaplane (DOS).
On April 6, 1924, four Army Air Service DWC Seaplanes departed from Seattle, Washington in an attempt to fly around the world. They were the: "Seattle", "Chicago", "Boston" and "New Orleans". The "Seattle" was delayed by a forced landing caused by engine trouble early on and was trying to catch up to the others when bad weather forced it off course. It crashed near Chignik, Alaska. The "Boston" suddenly lost oil pressure and had to land at sea between Orkney and Faroe Islands. Although the landing was successful, the "Boston" was damaged beyond repair during an attempt to hoist it on board the USS Richmond. At Pictou Harbor, Nova Scotia, the prototype aircraft arrived to join the remaining two and became the "Boston II". From there the planes flew on across the United States and landed at Sand Point Field in Seattle, Washington on September 28, 1924 having accomplished the 27,553-mile flight around the world.
Two of the World Cruisers still survive. The "New Orleans" (#4) is in the Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio. The "Chicago" (#2) is in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Provenance:
National Archives, Purchase, 1971, XXXX-0152, unknown
This collection consists of material relating to Francis Gary Powers's flying career in the Air Force, Central Intelligence Agency, and later pursuits. The majority of the documents deal with the May 1960 U-2 incident, in which Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union during a reconnaisance mission and imprisoned. Materials include: logbooks; flight records from his military and civilian careers; a pocket diary and journal he kept during his Soviet imprisonment; letters to his parents; materials collected by his parents as his father attempted to visit him including a telegram from Nikita Khrushchev and a New Testament given to Powers by his mother during his Soviet trial; Congressional hearing material; newspaper articles; Life magazine; and several photographs of Powers.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of documents relating to Francis Gary Powers and his aviation career, particularly the 1960 U-2 incident with the Soviet Union. Materials include: logbooks; flight records from his military and civilian careers; a pocket diary and journal he kept during his Soviet imprisonment; letters to his parents; materials collected by his parents as his father attempted to visit him including a telegram from Nikita Khrushchev and a New Testament given to Powers by his mother during his Soviet trial; Congressional hearing material; newspaper articles; Life magazine; and several photographs of Powers.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into three series: Early Career, the U-2 Incident, and Post U-2 Incident Life and Career.
Series 1 contains materials relating to Francis Gary Power's early career with the United States Air Force before resigning to join the CIA, including his birth certificate, military orders and forms, and his individual flight records.
Series 2 contains materials relating to the U-2 incident, in which Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union and imprisoned. The first set of materials relates to Powers' imprisonment, including his prison journal, pocket diary, New Testament, correspondence, and the subsequent congressional hearing. The second set of materials relates to the Powers family during the incident, including correspondence and telegrams with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev and the United States government and Oliver Powers' passport. The third set of materials relates to the media reactions to the incident, including complete newspapers, article clippings, a television script, and artwork.
The Soviet Prison Journal and Soviet Prison Pocket Diary were on display in the Looking at Earth Gallery when the collection was digitized. The photocopies were scanned for digital access.
Series 3 contains materials from Powers' life and career after his return to the United States, including logbooks, public relations documents, flight training and insurance records, an employment application, and memorial items.
Documents with personally identifiable information (PII) have been redacted or not digitized.
Biographical/Historical note:
Francis Gary Powers (1929 -1977) learned to fly during high school. He enlisted in the United States Air Force after graduating from Milligan College in 1950. In 1956, he resigned from the Air Force to become a "civilian employee" of Lockheed on loan to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, authorized to fly Air Force aircraft. In reality, he was a covert employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), training for Operation Overflight—U-2 reconnaissance missions.
Powers was captured and imprisoned after his U-2 was shot down over the Soviet Union during an aerial reconnaissance mission on May 1, 1960. Powers was placed on trial and exchanged nearly two years later for Rudolf Abel, a Soviet agent. After his return to the United States, Powers continued to work for the CIA, but then left to work at Lockheed. Powers was working for NBC's Los Angeles affiliate KGIL in 1977, when his helicopter ran out of fuel and crashed, causing his death.
Provenance:
Claudia Sue Powers, Gift, 1994, NASM.1994.0010.
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:
United States -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union Search this
Basil Lee Rowe (1896-1973) enjoyed a long and successful career in aviation, initially as a military exhibition pilot, barnstormer, air racer, charter operator, flight instructor, aircraft salesman, and rumrunner, before moving to the West Indies to start an airline, the short-lived West Indian Aerial Express, bought out by Pan American Airways in 1928. Rowe became a pioneering senior pilot for Pan Am, flying with them for 28 years before his retirement in 1956. This collection includes scrapbooks, photo albums, memorabilia, and first day covers, in addition to the draft manuscript for Rowe's 1956 autobiography, Under My Wings.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of Rowe's pilot's log books covering his career from 1927 to 1956, assorted periodicals, cartoons featuring Rowe, scrapbooks and photo albums assembled by Rowe (featuring newspaper clippings, photographs, and ephemera), several draft manuscripts of Rowe's 1956 autobiography Under My Wings, and first day air mail postal covers collected by Rowe.
Arrangement:
Materials in this collection are grouped into series by format. See individual series Scope and Content notes for details on arrangement within that series. Note that with the exception of the chronologically arranged flight log books, Rowe did not appear to organize his materials in any particular order.
Biographical / Historical:
Basil Lee Rowe, born February 10, 1896, grew up in the small town of Shandaken, New York, in the Catskill Mountains. He began his flying career in 1914 as an apprentice to aviator Turk Adams after seeing Adams fly at a local county fair. Impatient to become a military pilot, Rowe arranged to join the Royal Canadian Air Force, but was sidelined by a ruptured appendix before he could get to Canada. By the time Rowe had recovered, the United States had entered World War I and Rowe was able to join the Aviation Section of the U. S. Army Signal Corps; he was sent to Texas. During the Third Liberty Loan drive, Rowe was assigned to a group of fliers who were to give exhibition flights; after his discharge, he used his savings to buy a used Avro biplane and barnstormed around the East Central United States, using Hadley Field (New Brunswick, New Jersey) as his home field. Rowe soon bought a second aircraft, hired pilot William S. "Bill" Wade, and moved his base of operations to the Aeromarine Base at Keyport, near Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Rowe prospered through the early 1920s, and his troupe the "Rowe Fliers" (including at various times wingwalkers Bill Stacy and Marguerite L. "Peggy" Roome) toured the eastern US giving exhibition flights and passenger rides. In the winter, Rowe moved his operation to Florida, and, with a rebuilt Curtiss Seagull, ferried passengers eager to escape Prohibition from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas--with a bit of rumrunning on the side. Back in New Jersey, Rowe formed the Chamberlin-Rowe Aircraft Corporation with fellow aviator Clarence Chamberlin to buy and resell Army surplus aircraft; the short-lived business went bust in 1924 when the government finished selling off its aircraft. Rowe, a talented racing pilot, kept busy from 1924 through 1926 on the racing circuit, winning numerous prizes.
By the end of 1926, at the age of thirty, Rowe felt that he had reached a turning point in his life. Dismayed by the increase in US government regulation of aviation, Rowe moved his operations to the West Indies, settling in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. With Bill Wade, Rowe rapidly established a business flying charters around the country, with flights to neighboring Haiti and Puerto Rico. In June 1927, with financial backing provided by sugar industry businessmen and the government of the Dominican Republic, Rowe founded West Indian Aerial Express (abbreviated variously as WIAE or WIAX) to provide airline service between Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, hoping to be well positioned to bid on future US foreign air mail routes. With this in mind, Rowe returned to the Unites States and purchased a Fairchild FC-2W floatplane (christened "La Niña") and a larger Keystone K-47 Pathfinder trimotor (the former "American Legion," r/n NX179, rebuilt by the Keystone factory following a crash in April 1927 and rechristened as "Santa Maria"). To his dismay, Rowe was forced to acquired a US transport pilot license in order to be allowed to fly the "Santa Maria" back to Santo Domingo; he hired Canadian pilot Cy Caldwell to ferry "La Niña." On the way south in mid October 1927, Rowe found himself and his two aircraft in Florida just as Pan American Airways (PAA), which had been successful in obtaining a temporary contract to deliver mail from the US to Cuba, found itself without any aircraft able to fly out of their Key West, Florida, field to fulfill the contract before it expired. PAA struck a deal with Rowe to lease "La Niña" (piloted by Caldwell) to fly the first Pan American Airways flight on October 19, 1927.
With its two new aircraft, West Indian Aerial Express started regularly scheduled twice-weekly flights on December 1, 1927, between Cuba, Haiti, Santo Domingo, and Puerto Rico, later extending the routes to St. Thomas and St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. On June 30, 1928, WIAX filed a bid with the US government for air mail service on the route from Key West to Puerto Rico, but was outmanuevered by the more politically-savvy Pan American Airways which won the contract. A final crippling blow was dealt to WIAX in September 1928 when a severe hurricane hit their base in San Juan, Puerto Rico, destroying "La Niña" and two older Waco biplanes. Rowe made his last flight in the "Santa Maria" on September 20, 1928, before turning the aircraft over to Pan American. On October 16, 1928, PAA purchased WIAX, with Rowe becoming PAA's senior pilot.
During his first ten years with Pan Am, Rowe flew a record number of hours and surveyed most of the new air routes through the Caribbean to Central and South America, several times flying with Charles Lindbergh. When the US entered World War II, Rowe was assigned to Pan Am's Africa and Orient Division to serve with the US Army Air Forces Air Transport Command on their supply route across the South Atlantic and Africa to India and China (the "Cannonball Run"). His wife, Florence May Sharp, whom Rowe had married in 1930, served as an aircraft spotter during the war. During the Korean Conflict, Rowe was once again pressed into service, and was transferred to Pan Am's Pacific Division to fly transpacific supply routes and medical evacuation flights. May's early death in 1943 left Rowe a widower at his retirement from Pan Am in 1956. At their Coral Gables, Florida, home he wrote his autobiography, Under My Wings (The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., New York, 1956) and remained active as a tennis instructor until his death on October 28, 1973.
Related Materials:
See related collection Basil Lee Rowe First Day Air Mail Covers, NASM.XXXX.0487.
Basil Lee Rowe air racing medals in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum collection:
Medal, 1926 National Air Races [Winner, Relay Race], A19690242000.
Medal, 1926 National Air Races [Winner, Relay Race], A19690243000.
Medal, Aviation [Dayton Air Race], A19690244000.
Medal, Third Annual Dayton Air Race Winner, A19690245000.
Medal, 1926 National Air Races [2nd Place, Free-For-All Race, 510 cu. in. Class], A19690246000.
Medal, 1926 National Air Races [Winner, First Elimination, 500 cu. in. Class], A19690247000.
Basil Lee Rowe air racing trophies in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum collection:
Trophy, Allen W. Hinkle, Basil L. Rowe, A19690238000 [Allen W. Hinkle Trophy for Two, Three, and Four Place Airplanes, 1924]
Trophy, Glenn H. Curtiss, Basil L. Rowe, A19690239000 [The Glenn H. Curtiss Trophy for Two Seater Low Horsepower Airplane, National Air Races, Mitchel Field L. I., 1925]
Plaque, B.B.T. Corporation, National Air Races 1926, A19690240000 [B.B.T. Corporation of America Relay Race for Commercial Planes won by Basil L. Rowe, Charles S. Jones, A. H. Kreider]
Plaque, 1926 National Air Races, Benjamin Franklin Trophy, A19690241000 [Benjamin Franklin Trophy donated by Joseph A. Steinmetz, Relay Race for Commercial Planes won by Basil L. Rowe, Charles S. Jones, A. H. Kreider]
Provenance:
Basil Lee Rowe, gift, 1969; United States Air Force Museum, transfer, 1973; NASM.XXXX.0019
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
The first crossing of the United States by airplane was achieved by Calbraith Perry Rodgers in 1911 in his Wright EX biplane, named the Vin Fiz.
Scope and Content:
This collection consists of the following material relating to Fred Howard and his role with the Vin Fiz Special: correspondence, newspaper clippings and articles, schedules and logs for both the Vin Fiz and the Vin Fiz Special, telegrams; train registration sheets, miscellaneous notes, passenger lists, and financial paperwork.
Arrangement:
Arranged by type of material.
Biographical/Historical note:
The first crossing of the United States by airplane was achieved by Calbraith Perry Rodgers in 1911 in his Wright EX biplane, named the Vin Fiz. Rodgers decided to attempt the coast-to-coast flight in response to publisher William Randolph Hearst's New York American challenge which offered a prize of $50,000 for the first transcontinental flight to be competed in 30 days. Rodgers began his journey from Sheepshead Bay, New York, on September 17, 1911, and as the flight was punctuated by numerous stops, delays, and accidents the 30-day time limit Hearst imposed for the prize had expired before Rodgers reached California on November 5, 1911.
To finance the trip, Rodgers had secured backing from the Armour Company, a Chicago firm which was then introducing a new grape-flavored soft drink called Vin Fiz. Armour provided Rodgers with a special train, called the Vin Fiz Special, with cars for the accommodation of Rodgers' family and his support crew, and a "hangar" car, which was a rolling workshop, filled with spare parts to repair and maintain the airplane over the course of the flight. There was even an automobile on board to pick up Rodgers after forced landings away from the rail line. Fred Howard, the division passenger agent for the Erie Railroad, was placed in charge of the Vin Fiz Special and soon also took charge of the command center, juggling both railroad matters and aviation repairs. In Chicago, Howard was commended for his effort and asked to continue with the flight to California, but he declined.
Provenance:
Eileen F. Lebow , Gift, 2006, NASM.2007.0002
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.
This collection consists of eleven cubic feet of archival material chronicling the aviation career of Richard E. Schreder. Included are the following types of material: 95 drawings of Schreder's kit designs; logbooks; correspondence; photographs; awards; military paperwork; and Schreder interview tapes with CD copies.;
Biographical / Historical:
Richard E. Schreder (1915-2002) was a naval aviator and American sailplane enthusiast who designed and developed kit sailplanes. Schreder built his first powered aircraft, a single seat aircraft with a Henderson motorcycle engine, at age 19. He received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering form the University of Toledo in 1938 and he then joined the US Navy as a Naval Aviation Cadet. Schreder served in the Navy until 1952, rising to the rank of Commander. He won the Distinguished Flying Cross for the sinking of a German U-boat during World War II. After leaving the Navy, Schreder founded a successful drafting supplies business in Toledo Ohio, and continued experimenting with small aircraft. He designed an all-metal low-wing single-seater called the Airmate 5, which won the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) best workmanship award in 1954. Soon after however, Schreder became fascinated with soaring. He bought a Bowlus Baby Albatross and a Schweizer 1-23D before building his own sailplane designs. In 1956 Schreder built the HP-7 which he flew to a four-place finish in that year's US National Championship contest. Schreder's next design, the HP-8 won the 1958 US Nationals and established speed records in the 100, 200, and 300 km courses. Schreder's first attempt at developing a glider specifically for kit manufacture was the HP-10. That design was followed by the HP-11, HP-14, HP-15, HP-16, RS-15, HP-17, HP-18, HP-19, HP-20, HP-21 and HP-22. The aircraft were so successful the Schreder set up a company, Bryan Aircraft Inc., in 1966 to market the plans and kits, eventually selling more than 470 kits. Schreder won three US national sailplane contests (1958, 1960,1966) in sailplanes he designed and represented the United States at four international sailing contests. Due to Schreder's contribution to soaring, both in design and piloting skill, he was elected to the Soaring Society of American Hall of Fame in 1962.
Provenance:
Carol Schreder and Karen Schreder Barbera, Gift, 2008
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
This collection consists of the following items documenting Roland Chilton's aviation patent career: photographs; two 11 x 7 inch black photo albums, labeled "Healey-Aeromarine Bus Co., Inc. Keyport - New Jersey USA," which contain photographs of engines from Aeromarine Plane & Motor Co.; log book for a Wright R 760 engine; Chilton's pilot log books; World War I registration cards and passports; newspaper clippings; patent and tax paperwork; reports on Chilton's trip to the United Kingdom in 1941; an Aeromarine S-12 Engine report; and drawings of Blade Rolling Machines.
Biographical / Historical:
Roland Chilton (1890- ) was a prolific designer of over 150 aviation engine and accessory mechanisms. Born in Wolverhampton, England, Chilton immigrated to the United States in 1918, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1941. Chilton started his career working at Sunbeam Motor Car Co., LTD, in Wolverhampton, England, before moving to London where he was in charge of the engine section of B. Napier & Son. In 1914, Chilton became the Chief Engineer for Fergus Motors and entered the United States to work in Fergus' American offices. Chilton then joined Aeromarine Plane & Motor Co. as the Chief Engineer for Aero Engines, Starters and Buses in 1920. Ten years later, he was hired as a Consulting Engineer for Wright Aeronautical Corporation. He retired from Wright Aeronautical Corporation in 1949, and by that time held over 150 United States patents, ranging from articulated propellers to the Chilton Damper.
Provenance:
Bonnie Hampton, Gift, 2005
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
This collection consists of the following types of documentation relating to SAMS: test plans and reports; drawings; maintenance logs; and memorandums and correspondence. This collection also contains optical discs from the SAMS/MIR project, which contain the raw data.
Biographical / Historical:
The Space Acceleration Measurement Unit System (SAMS) is an acceleration measurement and data acquisition instrument, not a classical micro gravity research experiment. SAMS consists of a main unit and up to three remotely positioned triaxial sensor heads. The data is used to provide investigators with a time history of this environment to improve for future experiment design. This instrument was flown on the Space Shuttle and Mir Space Station, from 1994 to 1998.
General:
Additional materials: The actual artifact, project decals and official SAMS log books are housed in the National Air and Space Museum Depart of Space History.
NASMrev
Provenance:
NASA Glenn Research Center, Transfer, 2000, 2000-0040, Public Domain
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
This collection consists of 7.31 cubic feet of material created by Edward Baldwin during his tenure as a engineer for Kelly Johnson at Lockheed Skunk Works, 1944-1982. The collection consists of original pencil on vellum Skunk Works drawings, blueprints, design studies, logs, engineering notebooks, photographs, technical manuals, correspondence, newspaper articles and newsletters relating to his work on Lockheed aircraft, including the development of the P-80, SR-71, F-94, F-104, F-117 and the U-2.
Biographical / Historical:
Edward Baldwin received his degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1940 from West Virginia University. After graduation he moved to California and began working at Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. He was first assigned to the Special Airplane Projects group, where he worked on the Model 10 Electra, Model 12 Electra Jr, Model B-14, Hudson Bomber and the Model 18 Lodestar. Baldwin was then placed on loan to the P-38 and R6-O Constitution projects. In March of 1944, Baldwin was asked by Dick Boehme to join the Fuselage Design Group of the Advanced Development Projects (ADP) "Skunk Works." Baldwin worked on the P-80, before working on the F-94C and the XF-104. In November of 1954, Baldwin was placed on the U-2 project, where he developed the configuration of the aircraft and completed the design. Baldwin also worked on the ADP's Archangel Program to develop a Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft, which became known as the SR-71. Baldwin was then assigned to the "Have Blue" program, which was the Skunk Work's entry into the Stealth Prototype competition. Baldwin was responsible for all structural design of the two test vehicles and when Lockheed won the contract, became the Deputy Program Manager for Structures of the F-117. He retired in September 1982, after the first four production F-117 aircraft were delivered to the Air Force.
Provenance:
Barbara Sulier and Robert Baldwin, Gift, 2016
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
17.25 Cubic feet ((2 legal document boxes) (15 records center boxes))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Financial records
Photographs
Drawings
Logs (records)
Manuscripts
Publications
Reports
Date:
1926-1972
bulk 1938-1943
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains the research material that Neill used in compiling his book. The material consists of correspondence and reports dealing with inspection, specifications, and performance tests of automobile and aircraft engines and fuels from 1926 to 1944. There are also reports, articles, and log books of specific engine types, both aeronautical and automotive, collected from all over the world, as well as a rough manuscript copy of Neill's book.
Biographical / Historical:
Thomas Taylor Neill (1903-1988) was an aeropropulsion engineer and author. Following the completion of his degrees at Catholic University of America (BS.ME 1925) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MS 1926) he went to work in the Aircraft Engine Research lab at the United States National Bureau of Standard (engineer 1926-39). He served as an ignition engineer for the Army Air Corps in Dayton, OH (1939-42). He then spent nearly twenty years in research for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (Assistant to the Director of Research 1942-58) and its successor the National Aeronautics and Administration (NASA; Chief of Research Administration Division, Office of Advanced Research Programs 1958-61; Chief of Research and Technical Reports, Office of Advance Research and Technology, 1961-70). Following his retirement from NASA, Neill worked as a consultant to the National Air and Space Museum (1971- ) where he began compiling a book on aviation engines in the inter-war period.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Thomas Neill, transfer, unknown, XXXX-0181, 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
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Search this
Extent:
3.36 Cubic feet ((2 Records center boxes) (2 flatboxes))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Logs (records)
Reports
Date:
1966-1977
Scope and Contents:
This collection documents the development of space suits and accessories for post-Mercury manned missions. The material includes acceptance data packages and test papers for the suits, life support systems, and survival rucksack which chart the testing and development of these systems.
Arrangement:
Arrangement: The papers are arranged chronologically by program, beginning with the Gemini mission in Folder One of Box One (S-1C-1). The papers continue chronologically until concluding with the Skylab and Shuttle missions in Folder 28 of Box Two. Box Three contains binders from the Blue David Clark Co., Inc. These binders include operational logs from NASA and the field, malfunction reports, maintenance logs and serialization control records. Blue prints of the systems tested are also included. Box Four includes two computer printouts. Printout number one contains the summary of hardware located at the Smithsonian as of 3-27-1973. Number two contains the summary of hardware located at the Smithsonian as of 9-10-1973.
Biographical / Historical:
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was inaugurated on 1 October 1958 with the intent of conducting a manned space program. NASA took over the rocketry and propulsion work previously performed by the United States Air Force, Navy, and National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Unmanned launches began during the International Geophysical Year (1957-58) under Air Force auspices and have continued to the present with a wide variety of payloads, including space science, weather, communications, and earth observation satellites. The manned program progressed through Projects Mercury (1959-63; launches 1961-63), Gemini (1962-67; launches 1965-66), Apollo (1960-72; launches 1968-72), and Skylab (1969-74; launches 1973-74). After a hiatus following the Skylab program, the manned program focused on the Space Shuttle, a reusable spacecraft. The manned program was supported by a number of unmanned exploration vehicles in the Ranger, Lunar Orbiter, and Surveyor series throughout the 1960s, as well as research into a number of related areas.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
NASA, Transfer, 1988, 1988-0114, 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
John Matthew Miller III (born June 3, 1896) was active in aviation throughout his life, as a naval aviator, air mail pilot, transport pilot, autogiro pilot, flight instructor, aircraft manufacturer, airport operator, agricultural pilot, and helicopter test pilot, working at different times for the United States Navy, the U.S. Aerial Mail Service, Pitcairn Aeronautical Corporation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture; from 1927-1929 Miller operated his own business, the Miller Aviation Corporation of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The collection includes Miller's pilot licenses and log books, scrapbooks, photographs, newspaper clippings and assorted ephemera, predominantly from the 1914 to 1939 period of Miller's life.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains both original materials and photocopies of materials loaned by the donor for copying. Original materials include Miller's United States Navy Naval Aviator Certificate, an aircraft log book for the Curtiss Seagull "Jacques Cartier" (owned by The Chicago Tribune), a photo album entitled "The Miller Corporation, New Brunswick Airport" featuring images of the Miller (Corp) MCA-1 Amphibian Biplane, assorted loose photographs, correspondence from Robert Woods Johnson (of Johnson & Johnson), two panoramic group photographs of the US Navy Flight A Naval Aviation detachment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1917, newspaper clippings (several covering James G. Ray's autogiro flight over Washington, DC in 1934), assorted ephemera relating to Miller's aviation career, and two bound books: Flying Officers of the U.S.N. (US Navy): 1917-1919 and Saga of the US Air Mail Service: 1918-1927, (Air Mail Pioneers, Inc., 1962). Photocopied materials include two of Miller's pilot log books, two of Miller's pilot licenses, a scrapbook, and selected pages from additional scrapbooks from which individual photographs were copied by the National Air and Space Museum in 2001. The collection also includes Smithsonian Institution numbered copy prints of these selected photographs.
Arrangement:
Materials in this collection are grouped into Series by type; materials within a series are generally arranged chronologically, grouped by subject.
Biographical / Historical:
John Matthew Miller III was born June 3, 1896, at Tacoma, Washington. As a teenager, Miller came east to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and found summer employment with the Burgess Company aircraft manufacturers at Marblehead, Massachusetts. In 1917, following the entry of the United States into World War I, Miller was accepted into the Massachusetts School for Naval Air Service (Flight A Naval Aviation detachment at MIT), and, after two months, moved on to elementary flying instruction at Hampton Roads, Virginia, and then advanced instruction at Pensacola, Florida. He was commissioned into the United States Naval Air Service as an Ensign on March 16, 1918, and stationed at Naval Air Station Rockaway Beach, New York, where he performed patrol and convoy work off New York harbor, until ordered to inactive duty on December 15, 1918. Miller promptly joined the US Aerial Mail Service; after training in Dayton Wright DH-4 air mailplanes at Belmont Park, Long Island, Miller was posted to Bustleton, Pennsylvania, as station manager. Following his two years of air mail service, Miller worked at a number of aviation jobs, including time with the America Trans Oceanic Company (Miami, Florida, 1920), survey flights in Quebec (Canada, 1922), and managing operations for Pitcairn Aeronautical Corporation at their base adjacent to Hadley Field in South Plainfield, New Jersey (the New York terminal for the New York to Chicago and New York to Atlanta air mail routes). Miller was an active member of the New Brunswick (NJ) Aero Club, owners of a Pitcairn PA-3 Orowing based at Pitcairn's field. On August 1, 1927, Miller organized the Miller Aviation Corporation, operating out of New Brunswick Airport (a.k.a. "Miller Field"), a short-lived airfield located southwest of the city of New Brunswick. Miller Aviation offered flying instruction, local sightseeing flights, and charter passenger flights in the mid-Atlantic seaboard region. In 1928-1929, the Miller Aviation Corporation designed, constructed, and tested the Miller (Corp) MCA-1 Amphibian Biplane; sadly, the aircraft crashed during its first ground landing. After his company failed, Miller returned to Pitcairn Aeronautical as an autogiro pilot, making a number of flights through the 1930s for Pitcairn, the US Department of Agriculture, and others. During World War II, Miller temporarily rejoined the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander, serving as a helicopter test pilot at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. Miller later worked for the Department of Agriculture until his retirement in 1956.
NOTE: John Matthew Miller III (born 1896, died circa 1980s), the subject of this collection, should not be confused with fellow air mail and autogiro pilot John McDonald "Johnny" Miller (1905-2008), occasionally referenced in this collection. Johnny Miller was more closely associated with the Kellett Autogiro Corp (Philadelphia, PA), and was famous for being the first to land an aircraft on the roof of a building.
Provenance:
Lee M. Gunther-Mohr, Gift, 2001, NASM.2001.0036.
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
Admiral Albert C. Read, USN (Curtiss NC-4) Collection
Creator:
Read, A. C. (Albert Cushing), 1887-1967 Search this
Names:
Read, A. C. (Albert Cushing), 1887-1967 Search this
Extent:
1.74 Cubic feet (1 legal document box, three oversized boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Biographies
Clippings
Reports
Scrapbooks
Logs (records)
Correspondence
Photographs
Date:
1919-1946
bulk May 1919 to June 1919
Summary:
Rear Admiral Albert C. Read (1887-1967) graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1907 and became Naval Aviator #24 in July 1915. In 1919, Read was the commander of the Curtiss NC-4, the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic. The NC-4 covered 2150 nautical miles, from Nova Scotia to the Azores. The NC-4 was joined in the flight by the Curtiss NC-1 and Curtiss NC-3, but both the NC-1 and NC-3 were forced to land in the open sea.
This collection consists of the following: black scrapbook containing photographs with US Navy numbers; newspaper front pages; reports; cable grams; signals and dispatches; the NC-4 log; biography of Read; and correspondence.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of the following: black scrapbook containing photographs with US Navy numbers; newspaper front pages; reports; cable grams; signals and dispatches; the NC-4 log; biography of Read; and correspondence in both Portuguese (with English translations) and English.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Biographical/Historical note:
Rear Admiral Albert C. Read (1887-1967) graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1907 and became Naval Aviator #24 in July 1915. In 1919, Read was the commander of the Curtiss NC-4, the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic. The NC-4 covered 2150 nautical miles, from Nova Scotia to the Azores. The NC-4 was joined in the flight by the Curtiss NC-1 and Curtiss NC-3, but both the NC-1 and NC-3 were forced to land in the open sea.
Provenance:
Rear Admiral Albert C. Read, gift, 1962, XXXX.0391, NASM
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.
This collection consists of three boxes of 4' and 3' glass slides, dating from the early 1930s. The slides are probably from 1919-1932 when Copland was an instructor and lecturer for Curtiss Flying Service, Inc. There are also seven log books chronicling both Copland's civilian and military flights (1917-1942) and numerous private and commerical pilots, mechanic, and medical licenses mostly from the 1920s-1940s. Lastly, there is a small black binder full of aerial photographs and notes, relating to a number of fields that were used for World War II training. All of the fields were part of the Southeast Army Air Corps, which included a number of civilian contract schools. Included in this notebook are lists of the officers for each school. The following fields and schools are included: Riddle Aero Inst., Florida; Lodwick School of Aero, Florida; Hawthorne School of Aeronautics, South Carolina; Tuskegee Institute, Alabama; Darr Aero Tech, Georgia; Graham Aviation Company, Georgia; Embry-Riddle Company, Florida; Lodwich Aviation Military Academy, Florida; Southeastern Air Service, South Carolina; Southern Aviation School, South Carolina; Clarksdale School of Aviation, Mississippi; South Aviation Training School, Alabama; Raymond-Richardson Aviation Co, Georgia; Helena Aero Tech, Arkansas; and Greenville Aviation School, Florida.
Biographical / Historical:
Harry Depew Copland (1896-1976) was an Early Bird, soloing in a glider in 1909 and in an airplane in 1911. His many achievements include: exhibition flights, (1911); British Blockade Runners, radio officer (1915-1916); Canadian Royal Flying Corps 203rd Squadron, 1st Lieutenant and Flight Commander (1917-1919); District Manager of the New England Flying Service in charge of Curtiss Primary School Flying Operations (1929-1932). During World War II he served at Maxwell Field, AL, and as commanding officer of the 19th AAF Basic Flying Detachment at Greenville, S.C. Copland was also involved with Altantic Airways, Inc., United Air Lines, and was the Director of Florida Aviation Department.
General:
Other materials: Two pouches which had held licenses and log books were transferred to NASM Aeronautics Division.
NASMrev
Provenance:
Harry Copland?, unknown, unknown, XXXX-0439, 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
This collection consists of Helen Richey's pilot log for 1944-1945, newspaper clippings covering the period from 1933 to 1944 and seven photographs of Ms. RIchey.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of Helen Richey's pilot log for 1944-1945, newspaper clippings covering the period from 1933 to 1944 and seven photographs of Ms. Richey.
Arrangement:
This collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Helen Richey (1909 - 1947) was an aviation pioneer who made headlines as a stunt pilot, a racing champion, a holder of speed and altitude records, a flight instructor, an Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) and Womens Air Service Pilot (WASP) during WWII, the first women to pilot a commercial airliner on a regular scheduled run, and as the first woman to ever fly the United States mail. In April of 1930, Richey enrolled as a student pilot at Bettis Field's Curtiss-Wright flying school and on June 28, 1930, she earned her pilot's license. In December 1930, Richey was granted a limited commercial pilot's license bythe Department of Commerce. During the 1930s, Richey set a number of records and placed in several races, including as a co-pilot to Amelia Earhart in the 1936 Bendix Race. In 1934 Richey applied for a pilot's job with Central Airlines. She was hired and flew Central's route between Washington and Detroit. However, the Bureau of Air Commerce warned Centeral management to keep her on the ground in bad weather and the pilot's union rejected her application for membership. Due to these restrictions, Richey resigned from Central in October 1935. The Bureau of Air Commerce then offered Helen a new job as an air marking pilot for the government. She stayed with the air marking service until 1937 when the job was completed. In 1940 Richey was the first woman to earn an instructor's license and she was appointed an instructor for air cadets at Pittsburgh - Butler Airport. In 1942, she joined the American wing of the British Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), where she ferried aicraft and needed materials thoughout the British Isles. Richey headed the ATA's American Group from 1942 until April 1943, when she returned to the States and joined the WASPs. Unable to find aviation employment after the WASPs disbanded in 1944, she committed suicide in 1947.
Provenance:
Gene Suskalo, Gift, 1998, NASM.1999.0006
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
