Search Results

Creator:

Hammer, William J. (William Joseph), 1858-1934 (electrical engineer)  Search this

Names:

Hudson-Fulton Celebration (1909)  Search this

Curtiss, Glenn Hammond, 1878-1930  Search this

Hammer, William J. (William Joseph), 1858-1934 (electrical engineer)  Search this

Wright, Wilbur, 1867-1912  Search this

Extent:

5.66 Cubic feet (13 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Publications

Manuscripts

Correspondence

Photographs

Date:

1881-1934

bulk 1905-1915

Summary:

The collection is the result of Major Hammer's passion for amassing material related to aeronautics and technology, and it is arranged into eleven series: articles, clippings, correspondence, drawings and blueprints, leaflets, legislation, minutes, miscellaneous, photographs, programs and publications. Housed in 23 folders, the correspondence is the most comprehensive series, reflecting the original order which grouped the letters into series by topic. Much of the correspondence concerns the planning of the Hudson-Fulton Celebration of 1909, and the involvement of Wilbur Wright and Glenn Curtiss. There is also a scrapbook of black and white photographs providing front and side views of specified airplanes. Each page has 3 photos showing different views of the same plane accompanied by a label with additional information. (See written copy for details. Also, please see information written on 8x11 notebook paper.)

Scope and Contents:

The William J. Hammer Collection reflects Hammer's great interest in aeronautics --a passion he cultivated for several decades by accumulating a veritable storehouse of materials. Hammer's important contributions to the early development of aviation are also evident in this collection.

The collection of materials listed in the finding aid is arranged into two series. The first series includes correspondence, reports, handbooks, drawings, brochures, programs, leaflets, magazines, articles, newspaper clippings and miscellaneous materials. The second series is comprised of photographs of various sizes, scrapbooks, scrapbook pages and miscellaneous materials (the front pages of newspapers, certificates, posters, etc.).

Hammer's papers are arranged both chronologically and alphabetically. Correspondence, drawings, brochures, programs, leaflets, miscellaneous materials, scrapbook pages, articles and newspaper clippings are organized by the former method. Reports, handbooks, magazines and booklets are grouped alphabetically by either title of publication or author. Photographs are arranged either by subject or chronologically.

The reader should note that at some point, Hammer produced a series of large format photographs. These mounted photographs are duplicates. Due to the very fragile condition of these particular images, the photographs and are not available to researchers.

Additional photographic material regarding Hammer Collection photographs can be found in the NASM Archives Images database. An Archives staff member will assist you with research using this database.

Box 13 of the William J. Hammer Collection has not been scanned.

Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.

Arrangement:

The William J. Hammer Collection is arranged by content type.

Biographical/Historical note:

William J. Hammer was born in Cressona, Pennsylvania, on February 26, 1858, was an associate of Thomas Edison and an early aviation supporter and enthusiast. He began his career as an assistant to Edward Weston of the Weston Malleable Nickel Company. In 1879, he moved on to a new position as laboratory assistant to Thomas Edison at Menlo Park, New Jersey. His duties ranged from aiding in conducting experiments on such devices as the phonograph, telephone and ore separator to acting as Edison's key person in further developing the incandescent electric lamp. By 1880, he was made chief engineer of the Edison Lamp Works. A year later, Edison dispatched Hammer to London to be chief engineer of the English Electric Light Company. In this position, he helped construct the Holborn Viaduct Central Electric Light Station in London. This was the first central station ever built for incandescent electric lighting. In 1883, Hammer became chief engineer for the German Edison Company. This task included planning and supervising the construction of all Edison plants in Germany. He returned to the United States late in the following year and acted as chief inspector of central stations of the parent Edison Electric Light Company. In 1886-87, Hammer was general manager and chief engineer of the Boston Edison Electric Illuminating Company. In 1888, he worked as an independent engineer and supervised the completion of the then-largest isolated electric lighting plant, located at the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida. During that year, Hammer also was chosen as consulting electrical engineer to the Cincinnati Centennial Exposition. Subsequently, Edison selected him as his personal representative to the Paris Exposition of 1889. This assignment rounded out Hammer's eleven years with Edison. During his time as one of Edison's most trusted and important employees, Hammer devised a number of innovations to the incandescent electric lamp. He designed and built the first electric sign, which spelled out the name "Edison". While in Germany, he invented the automatic motor-driven flashing electric lamp sign. This particular sign flashed the word "Edison" letter by letter and then all at once. At the International Electrical Exhibition, held in Philadelphia in 1884, Hammer also constructed the first flashing column of electric lights.

Upon his return to the U.S. in 1890, Hammer worked as an independent consulting electrical engineer by assisting in a variety of electrical projects, carrying out tests, giving lectures and providing expert testimony in patent disputes. He based this modest enterprise in an office in New York City and continued in this occupation until 1925. His career as an electrical engineering consultant was interrupted by World War I. In June 1918, he was commissioned a major in the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the Inventions Section of the War Plans Division of the General Staff in charge of Aeronautical and Electrical Inventions at the Army War College, Washington, D.C.. By December of that year, he was attached to the Operations Division General Staff at the War Department (Inventions Section). During the war and on into 1919, Hammer also worked for the U.S. Patent Office by identifying any aviation-related patents likely to convey too much information to potential enemies. In conjunction with his War Department duties, he acted as a member of the Advisory Board of Experts affiliated with the Alien Property Commission.

Busy as he was with his private consulting work, Hammer also immersed himself in other scientific activities. He took a particular interest in radium after visiting Pierre and Marie Curie in Paris in 1902. The two discoverers of radium gave him some samples of this substance. Soon after returning to the United States, Hammer experimented with radium. His research yielded numerous useful applications for this material such as radium-luminous powders and paints that were used to coat everything from watch and clock dials to aeronautical instruments, switches and toys. Hammer also advocated the use of radium for cancer and tumor treatment. Beyond his interest in this material, he invented selenium light-sensitive cells and recommended many practical uses for them. He also conducted a great deal of laboratory work on X-rays, ultraviolet and cathode rays, phosphorescence and wireless communications. Accordingly, he lectured and published extensively on many of these fields of research and study.

Hand in hand with his overall interest in science and technology, Hammer had a particular passion for aeronautics. Beyond paying careful attention to the rapid progress made in this field at the turn of the twentieth century, he also played an active role as participant and supporter. He made his first balloon flight over France during the Paris Exposition of 1889. His last lighter-than-air journey took place in 1931 aboard the U.S. Navy dirigible Los Angeles. Moreover, he attended and officiated over many balloon, airship and airplane exhibitions and races. Hammer was a member of the Aero Club of America and a director of the Aeronautical Society. This latter group made the first ever purchase of an airplane in January 1909. He served as expert and secretary of the Aeronautics Committee on the Hudson-Fulton Celebration Commission of 1909 and wrote the contracts for Wilbur Wright and Glenn Curtiss to fly their airplanes for this event. This occasion in New York was important as it marked the first time a large gathering of people in the U.S. witnessed heavier-than-air powered flight. As a friend of the Wright brothers, Hammer testified as an expert witness on their behalf during various patent litigation suits. His contact with aviation pioneers went beyond the Wrights and Curtiss. He also knew and interacted with, among others, Samuel Langley, Alberto Santos-Dumont, Henri Farman and Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Even his work with radium had applications for aviation. Hammer developed radium-based luminous compounds and used them on aircraft instruments so pilots could more easily view their cockpits' dials and gauges.

Hammer's last years were filled with serving as Historian General of the Military Order of the World War, as well as participating in many scientific, engineering and aeronautical committees and societies. During this time, he was the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, John Scott Medal from the Franklin Institute and the Cross of the Legion of Honor from France. Up until his death on March 24, 1934, he also labored in his efforts to organize a vast personal collection of rare and valuable scientific artifacts, photographs and other materials accumulated since his days with Edison. Following Hammer's death, this important collection was left in the care of his daughter Mabel (his wife of twelve years, Alice, having died in 1906). Some years later, International Business Machines (IBM) acquired it. In 1962, IBM donated the William J. Hammer Scientific Collection to the Smithsonian Institution. The bulk of the collection resides with the National Museum of American History's Archives Center. In the mid 1980s, the aeronautical portion of this collection was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) Archives.

Provenance:

IBM (Mr. William J. Hammer Collection), gift, 1961, XXXX-0074, not 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.

Topic:

Aeronautics -- Exhibitions  Search this

Aeronautics -- 1903-1916  Search this

Periodicals  Search this

Aeronautics  Search this

Genre/Form:

Drawings

Scrapbooks

Publications

Manuscripts

Correspondence

Photographs

Citation:

William J. Hammer Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0074, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.XXXX.0074

See more items in:

William J. Hammer Collection

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2b19d3684-d8df-43fc-ba10-9da9e20ed7c2

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-xxxx-0074

Extent:

0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

November 3, 1908

Summary:

Official program issued by The Aeronautic Society in conjunction with the Federation of American Motorcyclists for the "Aeronautic Society Exhibition and Tournament and Championship Motorcycle Races" held at the Morris Park Aerodrome, New York, on November 3, 1908.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of an official program, bound in a hard-cover library binding, issued by The Aeronautic Society in conjunction with the Federation of American Motorcyclists for the "Aeronautic Society Exhibition and Tournament and Championship Motorcycle Races" held at the Morris Park Aerodrome (formerly the Morris Park Racetrack), Westchester, New York, on November 3, 1908. The front cover features a reproduction of the front cover of the September 1908 edition of Aeronautics magazine showing the US Army "Signal Corps No.1" (SC-1) (Baldwin) airship in flight during US Army trials at Fort Myer, Virginia, in August 1908. Interior pages include a list of events (alternating aeronautic activities and motorcycle races) and information about The Aeronautic Society.

Arrangement:

Single item catalogued as NASM Archives item number NASM-9A20341. Digital scans are presented in page number order.

Biographical / Historical:

The Aeronautic Society was founded in New York in July 1908 to promote interest in and support the development of aeronautics by assisting its members in carrying out experiments, encouraging investors, bringing together people working in related aeronautical fields, and providing facilities where experimenters could carry on their work. A committee immediately set to work to find a suitable location for these activities, eventually settling on a defunct racecourse just north of New York City. Morris Park Racecourse had operated as a fashionable horse racing facility beginning in 1889 but closed in 1904 due to lack of attendance. In September 1908 The Aeronautic Society leased the property from the City of New York for two years for use as the Morris Park Aerodrome. The Society wasted no time in organizing its first public event, to be held at their new Aerodrome on Election Day of the same year, November 3, 1908. They joined with the Federation of American Motorcyclists to present the "Aeronautic Society Exhibition and Tournament and Championship Motorcycle Races," interspersing aeronautic events with motorcycle races over the course of the day. The air show was a rousing success with the public, with over 20,000 people filling the stands and the infield.

The Aeronautic Society (later known as The Aeronautical Society of America) secured a second location for use as a flying ground at Mineola, Long Island, New York, in January 1910; in April 1910 a fire damaged much of the Morris Park Aerodrome facility. The property was eventually sold to developers and the land subdivided into building lots. Morris Park was originally part of Westchester County, New York, but later became part of The Bronx, the northernmost of the five boroughs which make up New York City. The Aeronautical Society appears to have disbanded in 1918 at the end of World War I.

Related Materials:

Additional information on The Aeronautics Society (later known as The Aeronautical Society of America) and the 1908 Morris Park event can be found in the William J. Hammer Collection, NASM.XXXX.0074, https://sova.si.edu/record/nasm.xxxx.0074:

Series 1: Professional Materials, 1.1 Correspondence, Box 1, Folder 8: Correspondence, Hammer and the Aeronautical Society, November 1908 - July 1933. https://sova.si.edu/record/nasm.xxxx.0074/ref58

Series 1: Professional Materials, 1.7 Leaflets, Box 3, Folder 17: Leaflets and handbooks, The Aeronautical Society, 1911-1920. https://sova.si.edu/record/nasm.xxxx.0074/ref111

A cleaner copy (NASM 00139297) of the 1908 Morris Park event program can be found in the Hammer collection in Series 1: Professional Materials, 1.6: Programs, Aeronautic Society Exhibition and Tournament and Championship Motorcycle Races. https://sova.si.edu/record/nasm.xxxx.0074/ref835 NOTE: NASM 00139297 (NASM-2A39297) includes the back cover of the program featuring an advertisement for N.S.U. Motorcycles; in the case of NASM-9A20341 the back cover is obscured by the library binding and is not visible.

Provenance:

Smithsonian Institution Libraries, transfer, 2010, NASM.XXXX.0956

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:

Aeronautics -- 1903-1916  Search this

Aeronautics -- Competitions  Search this

Motorcycles  Search this

Citation:

1908 Aeronautic Society Exhibition and Tournament and Championship Motorcycle Races Program, NASM.XXXX.0956, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.XXXX.0956

See more items in:

1908 Aeronautic Society Exhibition and Tournament and Championship Motorcycle Races Program

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2c36c2ee8-f0dd-45e2-8a49-a9d40d23630e

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-xxxx-0956

Creator:

United States. Air Force  Search this

Names:

United States. Air Force  Search this

United States. Army Air Forces  Search this

United States. Army. Air Corps  Search this

United States. Army. Air Service  Search this

United States. National Guard Bureau  Search this

Extent:

1.69 Cubic feet (128 microfilm rolls)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Microfilms

Date:

circa 1920-1953

Summary:

This collection consists of duplicate microfilm of individual aircraft records for the United States Air Force (USAF). The microfilm covers aircraft owned by the US Army Air Service, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, USAF, and the National Guard starting in July of 1923 and including those dropped from the active inventory before June 30, 1955. (Master films are held by the Air Force Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, AL.) Each record card consists of a complete record of aircraft transfers (duty locations) from acceptance until retirement. Duty locations do not include unit, only theater/air base.

Scope and Contents:

Beginning in 1951, the USAF began microfilming the IARCs for retired aircraft. The first group filmed were aircraft retired as of May 1951 (119 rolls of 16mm microfilm), with additional sections including retirements through September 1952 and records "out of file" (not present in the retired aircraft file) in May 1951 (6 rolls) and retirements through May 1953 and records "out of file" in September 1952 (3 rolls). In 1971 the USAF microfilmed the records through 1954 for aircraft not retired by May 1953 (approximately 70 rolls) and all active aircraft from 1955 through 1964 (89 rolls). Later these various film series were designated by the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA; Maxwell AFB, AL), which maintains the original records, as ACR (May 1951 retirements), OA (out-of-file records from May 1951, retirements through September 1952 and May 1953), AC (aircraft active as of August 1954), and ACA (1955-1964 records).

Records were organized by military serial number, although some records were missorted and therefore filmed out of order. The project only encompassed the main IARC files and as a result the records maintained by the 15th SCU were filmed only in a few rare cases. Similarly the records maintained by overseas SCUs were not filmed. Thus the IARC records for wartime aircraft, particularly those transferred out of the Continental United States, remain incomplete.

The NASM holdings of these records consists of duplicate copies of the ACR and OA series of films only, comprising 128 rolls of microfilm. NASM rolls are identified consistent with the AFHRA designation scheme. The following listing gives the roll identification (ACR- or OA- number), the serial number range, and any special notes relating to the particular roll. The note "NASM M###" gives the roll identification assigned by the National Air and Space Museum in the 1960s when all microfilm in the NASM collection was sequentially numbered regardless of collection; these numbers are included for historical purposes and are cross-referenced in M-number order in Appendix 1 (page 8).

For access to the AC and ACA series, contact the Air Force Historical Research Agency at:

Air Force Historical Research Agency, 1600 Chennault Circle, Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into the following series:

Series I: Records for aircraft retired from USAF service through May 1951

Series II: Records for aircraft retired from USAF service through May 1951 (Out of file records)

Series III: Records for aircraft retired from USAF service May 1951 through September 1952

Series IV: Records for aircraft retired from USAF service September 1952 through May 1953

The NASM holdings of these records consists of duplicate copies of the ACR and OA series of films only, comprising 128 rolls of microfilm. NASM rolls are identified consistent with the AFHRA designation scheme. The follow listing gives the roll identification (ACR- or OA- number), the serial number range, and any special notes relating to the particular roll. The note "NASM M###" gives the roll identification assigned by the National Air and Space Museum in the 1960s when all microfilm in the NASM collection was sequentially numbered regardless of collection; these numbers are included for historical purposes and are cross-referenced in container listing notes.

Biographical/Historical note:

The United States Air Force and its predecessors1 have maintained a variety of records relating to the aircraft operated by the service. Beginning in 1923, the Air Service maintained individual records for each aircraft added to the inventory listing location and activity from its acceptance by the service until its retirement from the inventory. Such records have had a number of official names --Aircraft Master Record, Individual Aircraft Record Card (IARC), etc. --but are most commonly called "Aircraft History Cards." Originally, these records were manually compiled from unit inventories, morning reports, and so on, but the increased use of automated systems in the 1940s allowed automatic compilation and machine printing of the IARC entries after 1940.

IARCs do not record the entire history and activity of an individual aircraft. They do not include information about missions or crews, nor do they record exact locations or manners of loss. Rather, they serve as a compilation of the locations, transfers, and "controlling activity" (the unit responsible for reporting the aircraft) of the aircraft at a set time. The exact type of information and its manner of presentation changes over time and can be best described in chronological groups:

through c.1940 This period actually covers a variety of record card styles, but the data is hand-written or typed. The information follows the printed columns on the card. The information generally consists of reporting location, inventory date (month and fiscal year2), and flying time (both total and during the inventory period). The reporting activity is generally the base, rather than the unit. Transfers between bases are included as separate listings which include the authority for the transfer.

c.1940 --November 1942 During this period the USAAF switched to the use of electronic accounting machine (EAM) technology for inventory reporting and this allowed the automated compilation and printing of IARC data. The data and card presentation remains constant from the forms in use before the change, but the cards are machine printed, rather than hand written. Some data is abbreviated; location, for example, is given by a seven-character abbreviation.

November 1942 --April 1944 At the end of 1942 the responsibility for maintaining the inventory and individual aircraft status information was shifted from Headquarters, Air Materiel Command to one of several Statistical Control Units (SCU) within the Continental United States (CONUS) or overseas. IARCs were still prepared as before for newly-purchased aircraft and added to the main IARC file to track each aircraft from the factory to its initial assignment within CONUS or to an overseas shipping destination. The 15th SCU was responsible for tracking aircraft inventory and status information for aircraft within the CONUS and developed its own form for recording this data. The 15th SCU forms radically changed the data presentation --flying time was no longer recorded, some unit information was recorded for the first time, and location either appears as the abbreviations used previously or as a four-character shipping destination code. No effort was made to transfer 15th SCU data to the IARC master file, so that no activity was recorded on IARC cards during this period. Further, the inventory records on aircraft outside of the CONUS were maintained by SCUs in theater; as a result the entries on IARCs end with their transfer overseas, save for the final entry showing their removal from the inventory or until they returned to a CONUS location.

April 1944 --September 1949 At the beginning of this period, entries again appear on the main IARCs, although the concentration on CONUS-based aircraft continued until after the end of World War II. There are no records for aircraft transferred overseas once they leave the CONUS until they are dropped from the inventory, return to the United States, or until the reporting requirements changed after the end of the war. During this period the entries recorded a change in the status of the aircraft --either a transfer of station or a change in the usage of the aircraft. Entries record the reporting and other involved station and unit and the type, nature, and date of the change. The exact presentation of the data varies slightly over the period but generally involves a number of codes used to speed transmission of the data.

September 1949 and subsequent Beginning September 1949, IARCs entries were printed in batches, giving rise to groups of entries followed by a "bookkeeping" line indicating the serial number and number of entries printed. The data presentation for each entry remains similar to the entries from the previous period.

During the machine-printed period (from 1940 on) IARC entries become more and more difficult to understand due to the increasing data density and the use of one- or two-character codes for a variety of information. The Museum staff is currently preparing a guide to understanding the USAF IARC, which will treat the various code groups and data presentations in greater depth.

1 Aviation Section, United States Army Signal Corps (1914-1918); United States Army Air Service (USAAS; 1918-1926); United States Army Air Corps (USAAC; 1926-1941); United States Army Air Forces (USAAF; 1941-1947); United States Air Force (USAF; 1947- )

2 Until 1976 the government fiscal year (FY) ran 1 July --30 June. Thus FY1941 ran 1 July 1940 through 30 June 1941.

Provenance:

Dept. of the Air Force, Transfer, unknown, XXXX-0461.

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:

Airplanes, Military  Search this

Airplanes  Search this

Aeronautics  Search this

Aircraft history cards  Search this

Aeronautics, Military  Search this

Genre/Form:

Microfilms

Citation:

United States Air Force Aircraft History Cards Microfilm, Acc. XXXX-0461, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.XXXX.0461

See more items in:

United States Air Force Aircraft History Cards Microfilm

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg21018c261-43aa-4e54-b304-5d330835c75b

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-xxxx-0461

Creator:

National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Space History Department  Search this

Subject:

National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Department of Space History  Search this

National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Space History Division  Search this

National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Space Science and Exploration Department  Search this

National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Department of Astronautics  Search this

Physical description:

11.5 cu. ft. processed holdings

32.40 cu. ft. unprocessed holdings

Type:

Manuscripts

Black-and-white photographs

Color photographs

Floor plans

Color transparencies

Audiotapes

Videotapes

Floppy disks

Clippings

Pamphlets

Brochures

Exhibition catalogs

Electronic records

Videodiscs

Compact discs

Transcripts

Architectural drawings

Black-and-white negatives

Black-and-white transparencies

Color negatives

Books

Drawings

Illustrations

Digital versatile discs

Place:

Outer space

Date:

1969

1969-2022

Topic:

Aeronautical museums  Search this

Astronautical museums  Search this

Exhibitions  Search this

Museum exhibits  Search this

Space sciences  Search this

Museum curators  Search this

Museums--Collection management  Search this

Museums--Educational aspects  Search this

Columbus Quincentenary, 1992-1993  Search this

Traveling exhibitions  Search this

Exploration  Search this

Local number:

SIA RS00704

See more items in:

Exhibition Records 1969-2022 [National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Space History Department]

Data Source:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_arc_219830

Extent:

0.03 Cubic feet (1 map folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Ephemera

Date:

1946

Summary:

Operation Crossroads was an atmospheric nuclear weapon test series conducted by Joint Army/Navy Task Force One in the summer of 1946 at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. This collection consists of a loading list for the Douglas C-54 Skymaster (A/C No. 9122) carrying official observers during the first detonation (Able) of Operation Crossroads, July 1, 1946.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of a loading list for the Douglas C-54 Skymaster (A/C No. 9122) carrying official observers during the first detonation (Able) of Operation Crossroads, July 1, 1946. The typewritten list includes the crew and passengers which includes observers and a Congressional party. The list has been signed by most of the passengers and by two members of the crew. The list is part of an arrangement in a photo mat which measures approximately 15 x 23 inches and also includes a brief caption regarding the list and a short quote from Operation Crossroads: The Atomic Tests at Bikini Atoll by Jonathan M. Weisgall.

Arrangement:

Collection is a single item.

Biographical / Historical:

Operation Crossroads was an atmospheric nuclear weapon test series conducted by Joint Army/Navy Task Force One in the summer of 1946 at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The series consisted of two detonations, a low altitude test and a shallow water test. The series was intended to study the effects of nuclear weapons on warships, equipment, and material.

Staff Sergeant Loren L. Parmelee participated in Operation Crossroads, including serving as engineer on the Douglas C-54 Skymaster (A/C No. 9122) that carried official observers during the first detonation (Able) on July 1, 1946.

Provenance:

SuAnn Parmelee, Gift, 2023, NASM.2023.0037.

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:

Aeronautics  Search this

Operation Crossroads, 1946  Search this

Genre/Form:

Ephemera

Citation:

Operation Crossroads Loading List, NASM.2023.0037, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2023.0037

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg26b3d193e-f5eb-48cc-aca0-dee518936eaa

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2023-0037

Creator:

Pacific Air Lines  Search this

Extent:

0.12 Cubic feet (One 16 mm reel; 1 folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

16mm films

Ephemera

Date:

1977

Summary:

This donation consists of Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) employee film entitled, "Catch Us!" and some PSA ephemera.

Scope and Contents:

This donation consists of a 31 minute 16 mm color sound Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) employee film entitled, "Catch Us!" The collection also includes a PSA First Flight Certificate and a PSA baggage tag.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged by type of material.

Biographical / Historical:

From 1949 until 1988, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was a United States airline headquartered in San Diego, California. Founded by Kenneth Friedkin, PSA was the first large discount airline in the United States. PSA was initially operated as an intrastate airline in California, but expanded to other western states cities, as well as to several cities in Mexico, after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. PSA eventually merged into USAir. PSA's corporate culture was known for its humor and friendliness; the airline's slogan was "The World's Friendliest Airline," and its trademark was a smile painted on the nose of each plane while its accompanying advertising campaign employed the phase, "Catch Our Smile."

Provenance:

June Moore Irey, Gift, 2019, NASM.2019.0036

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.

Topic:

Aeronautics  Search this

Airlines  Search this

Genre/Form:

16mm films

Ephemera

Citation:

Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Employee Film and Ephemera, NASM.2019.0036, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2019.0036

See more items in:

Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Employee Film and Ephemera

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg20e892dd6-874a-42a3-8ce0-7564c7423f66

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2019-0036

Creator:

National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Space History Division  Search this

Physical description:

34 cu. ft. processed holdings

33.16 cu. ft. unprocessed holdings

Type:

Black-and-white photographs

Electronic records

Floppy disks

Digital versatile discs

Clippings

Brochures

Newsletters

Color transparencies

Pamphlets

Compact discs

Black-and-white negatives

Color photographs

Color negatives

Black-and-white transparencies

Floor plans

Illustrations

Videotapes

Serials (publications)

Date:

1955

1955-2020

1955, 1960-2020

Topic:

Astronautics  Search this

Aeronautical museums  Search this

Astronautical museums  Search this

Museum curators  Search this

Space sciences  Search this

Local number:

SIA RS00703

See more items in:

Subject Files 1955, 1960-2020 [National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Space History Division]

Data Source:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_arc_219829

Creator:

National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Space History Department  Search this

Subject:

Neal, Valerie  Search this

Enterprise (Space shuttle)  Search this

National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Space History Division  Search this

National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Department of Space History  Search this

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center  Search this

Space Telescope History Project (U.S.)  Search this

National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Department of Space Science and Exploration  Search this

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration  Search this

Physical description:

9 cu. ft. (9 record storage boxes)

Type:

Manuscripts

Collection descriptions

Clippings

Brochures

Newsletters

Pamphlets

Digital versatile discs

Floppy disks

Compact discs

Electronic records

Floor plans

Illustrations

Black-and-white negatives

Black-and-white photographs

Color negatives

Color photographs

Black-and-white transparencies

Color transparencies

Videotapes

Date:

1964

1964-1969

1955, 1961, 1964-1969, 1975-2013, 2015, 2018

Topic:

Aeronautical museums  Search this

Astronautical museums  Search this

Museum curators  Search this

Museum exhibits  Search this

National Air and Space Museum Trophy  Search this

Special events  Search this

Museums--Collection management  Search this

Local number:

SIA Acc. 22-073

See more items in:

Subject Files 1955, 1960-2020 [National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Space History Division]

Data Source:

Smithsonian Institution Archives

EDAN-URL:

edanmdm:siris_arc_404739

Names:

Skelton, Betty (19260628-20110831)  Search this

Extent:

.1 Cubic feet (1 folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Correspondence

Date:

1946

2004

Summary:

Letter and photograph related to Betty Skelton.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of one typed letter to Betty Skelton from Chuck Allen and one 8 by 10 inch brown toned photograph. In the letter, Allen recounts the last time he saw Skelton. At that time in 1946, a group of people had a day excursion from her father's flying school to Longboat Key just off Sarasota, Florida; on the return trip, Allen flew with Skelton in the back performing aerial rolls not knowing she didn't buckle her seat belt until mid-flight. The photograph is an oblique, low-altitude aerial view of a small group of people in swimwear near seven monoplanes and one biplane all on the ground along coast line between sand and long grass. It is likely that the photograph depicts the story in the letter.

Arrangement:

Arranged by item.

Biographical / Historical:

Betty Skelton (1926--2011) was an American aerobatic pilot and auto racer who gained prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. Born in Pensacola, Florida, Skelton developed a passion for aviation at an early age and purchased her first aircraft in 1946, a Great Lakes (1929) Model 2T-1A. She went on to become a three-time Female Aerobatic Champion and set 17 aviation and race car records earning the nickname the "First Lady of Firsts."

Provenance:

Charles "Chuck" Allen, Gift, 2024, NASM.2024.0017

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:

Aeronautics  Search this

Women air pilots  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Correspondence

Citation:

Betty Skelton Photograph and Letter [Allen], NASM.2024.0017, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2024.0017

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg270b59a13-417b-4905-a05a-f4ed15e63017

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2024-0017

Names:

McCoy, James Comly, 1862-1934  Search this

Extent:

0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder, Cloth-bound notebook, 6.5 x 4.2 inches (16 x 10 cm))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1908

Summary:

This collection consists of a small cloth-bound notebook published by the Deutschen Luftschiffer-Verbandes (German Airship Association) and used by Lieutenant Fogman to record details of his flight with balloon pilot James Comly (J. C.) McCoy in the gas balloon "America II" as one of the American entries in the 3rd Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett (Gordon Bennett Balloon Trophy) international race starting at Berlin, Germany, on October 11, 1908.

Scope and Contents:

This single-item collection consists of one brown cloth-bound notebook, 6.5 x 4.2 inches (16 x 10 cm), with an embossed image of a gas balloon in flight on the front cover; includes loop for pencil (not found with notebook), 126 numbered pages with black ink annotations on some inside pages; rear flyleaf has attached 11.75 x 13.8 inch (30 x 35 cm) map of Central Europe ("Mitteleuropa"). The German-language book, entitled Anweisung für die Ballonfuhrer des Deutschen Luftschiffer-Verbandes sowie Allgemeine Bestimmungen für die Ballonfahrten des Deutschen Luftschiffer-Verbandes und Bestimmungen über die Erteilung von Fuhrerpatenten: Im Anhang einige Tabellen, Vordrucke für Fahrberichte und eine Karte [Instructions for the balloon pilots of the German Airship Association as well as general regulations for balloon flights of the German Airship Association and regulations on the granting of pilot licenses: Attached are some tables, forms for flight reports and a map] was published by the Deutschen Luftschiffer-Verband [German Airship Association], Berlin (Germany), in 1908 (second supplemented and expanded edition) and printed by Hofbuchdruckerei Gebr. Radetzki [Radetzki Brothers Court Book Printing Company], Berlin. The book includes information useful for balloon pilots (see table of contents), a section to record information gathered during a balloon flight (date, time, altitude, ballast released, location, and wind and weather data), and phrases translated into several European languages for the use of German-speaking balloonists who have landed in a foreign country. Ink annotations in the notebook appear to have been made by aide Lieutenant Fogman during his flight with balloon pilot James Comly (J. C.) McCoy in the gas balloon "America II" as one of the American entries in the 3rd Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett (Gordon Bennett Balloon Trophy) international race starting at Berlin, Germany, on October 11, 1908. The annotations record the balloon's landing at 11:06 p.m. on October 12, 1908, near Wismar, Germany. Note that McCoy's name is incorrectly spelled on page 45 of the notebook as "Mac Coy," lending credence to the assumption that Lt. Fogman was the author of the annotations.

Not all pages of the notebook have been digitized; included online are views of the front cover and title pages, pages 1-13 (including the table of contents), annotated pages recording information about the flight (pages 44-55), German to English phrases (pages 92-95), and the map attached to the rear flyleaf. The notebook contains a book plate identifying it as part of The Library of Congress - Smithsonian Institution Langley Aeronautical Library, with a date stamp of October 10, 1930.

Arrangement:

Single item. Scans of pages are presented online in page number order.

Biographical / Historical:

In 1906, James Gordon Bennett, Jr. (1841-1918), publisher of the New York Herald newspaper, announced a prize for the furthest continuous flight by a balloon from its launch site. Bennett, a wealthy American yachtsman and sporting enthusiast, had already established an international competition awarding a Gordon Bennett trophy for automobile racing (Coupe International, 1900). The Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett (Gordon Bennett Balloon Trophy) competitions were open to national Aero Clubs affiliated with the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), with each country able to enter up to three balloons in the annual race. The first race was launched from Paris, France, on September 30, 1906, with the winning team's country to host the following year's race. The United States entered three balloons in the 1908 competition: the "America II," the "Conqueror," and the "St. Louis." Accomplished American balloonist James Comly McCoy (1862 -- 1934) had the 2200 cubic meter gas balloon "America II" built by French manufacturer Édouard Surcouf (Astra) specifically for use in the 1908 competition. On October 11, 1908, the "America II" started the race as the first balloon to take off from the launch site in the Schmargendorf suburb of Berlin, Germany, followed at two-minute intervals by 22 other balloons representing eight different countries. Balloon pilot J. C. McCoy's aide Lieutenant Fogman recorded the date, time (3:07 p.m.), altitude, and location in this small brown notebook published for the purpose by the Deutschen Luftschiffer-Verbandes (German Airship Association). As fate would have it, the winds carried the "America II" not towards the expanse of Russia to the northeast, but towards the southwest. Early the next morning the wind changed, carrying the balloon back to the northeast, but heavy mists and clouds obscuring the ground made it difficult for the balloonists to be sure of their exact location throughout the day. When the mists cleared and the moon rose that evening, they realized they were flying over water along a coastline. Fearing that they were in danger of heading out over the North Sea, McCoy and Fogman landed the balloon on a small, forested peninsula, coming to a stop at the top of a 50-foot cliff at the edge of the water. At the conclusion of their 31 hour 59 minute flight, they had landed not on the shore of the North Sea but farther east near the city of Wismar in northern Germany, at the western end of the Baltic Sea. Although unsuccessful in the 1908 race, the "America II" would go on to win the 1909 Gordon Bennett Balloon Race as a French balloon piloted by American balloonist Edgar W. Mix and his French aide André Roussel on a 696-mile flight from Zurich, Switzerland, to Poland.

Related Materials:

"Proofs for an article by Mr. J. C. McCoy describing his participation in the Third Gordon Bennett Balloon Race from Berlin, October 1908." National Air and Space Museum Technical Reference Files, NASM.XXXX.1183, Biographical Series, Folder CM-239000-01 McCoy, James Comly [Documents].

Provenance:

Unknown, found in collection, 2010, NASM.XXXX.0981

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:

Aeronautics -- Competitions  Search this

Aeronautics -- 1903-1916  Search this

Aeronautics -- Germany  Search this

Ballooning  Search this

Citation:

1908 James Gordon Bennett Aeronautic Cup Race Balloon Log, NASM.XXXX.0981, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.XXXX.0981

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg24787fd9a-703a-4f70-89d4-c1dbb994a6df

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-xxxx-0981

Creator:

Parker, Francis Frederick "Fred", 1880-1965  Search this

Extent:

0.13 Cubic feet (1 flatbox)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photograph albums

Programs

Date:

1911-1917

1953

Summary:

Francis Frederick "Fred" Parker (1880--1965) was an early aviator, mechanic, and aircraft designer and builder. This collection consists of a photo album created by Parker (1911 to 1917) and a program for an open house event held at the San Jose Municipal Airport on June 14, 1953 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of powered flight.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of a photo album created by Francis Frederick "Fred" Parker. Aircraft depicted in the album include the Walsh 1911 Silver Dart Biplane; Parker (Francis) Firecracker; Parker (Francis) Firecracker 2; Andermat Biplane Bomber; Parker (Francis) Canard Pusher Biplane (1913); Parker (Francis) Tractor Biplane 1 (1913); and the Andermat Cabin Biplane. Aviators shown in the album include Silas G. Christofferson and Charles Forster Willard. The album also includes aerial photographs and several photographs of aircraft engines. Tucked in the back of the album is a program for an open house event held at the San Jose Municipal Airport on June 14, 1953 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of powered flight.

Note: Blank pages in original album have not been digitally reproduced in slideshow. Any gaps in numbering of filenames are due to their omission. All pages with content are shown.

Arrangement:

Collection is a single album.

Biographical / Historical:

Francis Frederick "Fred" Parker (1880--1965) was an early aviator, mechanic, and aircraft designer and builder. Prior to his involvement in aviation, Parker worked at various odd jobs, spent time as a cowboy, served as a ship's carpenter on a vessel bound for Australia that was shipwrecked, and worked as a hospital orderly and ambulance driver in California. Parker made his first solo flight in an aircraft he helped build at Dominguez Field in Los Angeles, California on July 20, 1911. From 1912 to 1913, Parker worked for fellow early aviators Charles H. Paterson and Roy N. Francis, and Parker also helped build the Gage 1912 Tractor Biplane (Fowler Gage) in which Robert G. Fowler made a flight across the Isthmus of Panama on April 27, 1913. From 1914 to 1915, Parker served as shop foreman for Silas G. Christofferson in San Francisco, California. In 1915, Parker moved to the Andermat Company in Sunnyvale, California where he mainly engaged in experimental work. Parker designed and built an airplane in 1917 for the Union Gas Engine Company of Oakland, California that was flown by Stanley H. Page. From the 1920s until 1942, Parker worked as a contractor and builder until shifting into work for the war effort from 1942 until 1945, after which he retired. Parker was a member of the Early Birds of Aviation.

Provenance:

Mrs. Fred Parker, Gift, 1960, NASM.XXXX.0224.

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:

Aeronautics  Search this

Air pilots  Search this

Airplanes  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photograph albums

Programs

Citation:

Francis Frederick "Fred" Parker Photo Album, NASM.XXXX.0224, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.XXXX.0224

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2c09b043e-6bff-41d7-8b1d-1281b32a7eb9

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-xxxx-0224

Creator:

Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company  Search this

Names:

Sargent, Howard Harrop, Jr., 1911-1986  Search this

Extent:

0.02 Cubic feet (1 oversized map folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Certificates

Date:

April 25, 1942

Summary:

Howard Harrop Sargent, Jr. (1911--1986) was a test pilot who was the first person to fly an aircraft powered by the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major R-4360 engine. This collection consists of a Wasp Major Club certificate issued to Sargent.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of a Wasp Major Club certificate issued to Howard Harrop Sargent, Jr. indicating that he was the first pilot to fly an aircraft powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major R-4360 engine. The certificate, which measures approximately 16 x 14 inches, is dated April 25, 1942 and is signed by Pratt & Whitney's General Manager, name unreadable, and Chief Engineer, Andrew Willgoos.

Arrangement:

Collection is a single item.

Biographical / Historical:

Howard Harrop Sargent, Jr. (1911--1986) was a test pilot who was the first person to fly an aircraft powered by the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major R-4360 engine. Sargent obtained his pilot's license in 1929 and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1933. Sargent was immediately hired by Pratt & Whitney as an Experimental Test Pilot and by 1939 was their Chief Test Pilot. On April 25, 1942, Sargent became the first person to fly an aircraft powered by the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major R-4360 engine while making a test flight in a Vultee (Vengeance) XA-31B from Vultee Field in Downey, California. Sargent worked for Raymond Engineering in Connecticut beginning in 1947.

The Wasp Major Club was created by Pratt & Whitney to document the first 100 pilots to fly an aircraft powered by a Wasp Major R-4360 engine.

Provenance:

Douglas B. Sargent, Gift, 2023, NASM.2024.0007

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:

Aeronautics  Search this

Test pilots  Search this

Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major R-4360 28-Cylinder Radial  Search this

Genre/Form:

Certificates

Citation:

Wasp Major Club Certificate [Sargent], NASM.2024.0007, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2024.0007

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg211948cdd-1977-4e09-a863-8259106d7f17

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2024-0007

Creator:

Long, Eric  Search this

Names:

Early Birds of Aviation (Organization).  Search this

Extent:

2.329 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Cd-roms

Digital images

Date:

2007-03-26

Summary:

Photographs taken by National Air and Space Museum photographer Eric F. Long of the Airbus A380 during a commercial route proving flight over Washington, DC on March 26, 2007.

Scope and Contents:

The collection consists of 57 digital, color images relating to the Airbus A380 during a commercial route proving flight on March 26, 2007. Captured by National Air and Space Museum (NASM) photographer Eric Long, images depict the aircraft taxiing, taking off, flying over Washington DC and the NASM Udvar-Hazy Center, and landing at Dulles International Airport (IAD). There are also images of the interior of the aircraft and a preflight planning meeting with crew of the aircraft, Federal Aviation Administration, Transportation Security Administration, helicopter pilot Tom Pumpelly, and videographer Leo Shefer.

Arrangement:

Arranged by aircraft's flight movements.

Biographical / Historical:

The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body airliner measuring 238 feet in length, 79 feet in height, and featuring a wingspan of 261 feet. It was the result of an international project between France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom to build the largest high-capacity aircraft in aviation history. As the world's first fully double-deck passenger aircraft, the A380 has the capacity to carry approximately 550 passengers. It made its inaugural commercial flight flew on April 27, 2007. To demonstrate the practicality, reliability, and effectiveness of the aircraft's systems, a series of commercial route proving flights were made from the Lufthansa base in Frankfurt, Germany in 2007. As part of one of these exercises, A380 development aircraft MSN7 visited Hong Kong on March 25 before journeying to Washington, DC the following day and returning to Germany on March 27th.

Photographs in this collection were made by National Air and Space Museum photographer Eric F. Long. Initially hired with Smithsonian's Photo Services Division in 1983, he completed assignments for many of the Smithsonian museums. When Photo Services disbanded in 2006, Long was permanently assigned to the National Air and Space Museum where he photographed artifacts while continuing his work with other museums. Retiring in 2023, Long dedicated over 40 years serving the mission of the Smithsonian Institution.

Provenance:

Eric Long, Gift, 2007, NASM.2007.0033

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:

Aeronautics  Search this

Airplanes  Search this

Genre/Form:

CD-ROMs

Digital images

Citation:

Airbus A380 Washington DC Fly-Over Photography, NASM.2007.0033, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2007.0033

See more items in:

Airbus A380 Washington DC Fly-Over Photography

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg275f4c067-ba4d-4f02-943a-b0be181536e9

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2007-0033

Creator:

Collins, Michael, 1930-2021  Search this

Extent:

.23 Cubic feet (1 box)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1973-1974

Summary:

Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journey is the 1974 autobography of Michael Collins (1930--2021). While his early aviation career in the United States Air Force is covered, the vast majority of the text details his experiences as Command Module Pilot during the historic Apollo 11 mission in July 1969. This manuscript features hand-corrections from the author.

Scope and Contents:

This is the original manuscript of Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys, the book in which Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins describes his experiences as a test pilot and in the space program. It features hand corrections by his editor (in red) and Collins (in black) and includes passages which are crossed out and do not appear in the published version.

Arrangement:

Collection is a single item and divided into five folders.

Biographical / Historical:

Michael Collins (1930 - 2021) served as a fighter pilot and an experimental test pilot at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base from 1959-1963. He was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. Collins was pilot on the three-day Gemini 10 mission in 1966, during which he became the nation's third spacewalker and set a world altitude record. His second flight was as command module pilot of the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969. He remained in lunar orbit while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. After leaving NASA in 1970, Collins became Assistant Secretaty of State for Public Affairs and, in 1971, became the Director of the National Air and Space Museum, where he remained for seven years. Collins has received numerous decorations and awards and is the author of several books, including this, Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys, which was released to critical acclaim by Farrar Straus Giroux in 1974.

A Chronology of Major General Michael Collins' Life

1930, October 31 -- Born to James and Virginia Collins in Rome, Italy. He is the youngest of four children.

1942, September 22 -- Enters St. Albans School in Washington, DC.

1948 -- Graduates from St. Albans School.

1952, June -- Graduates from the United States Military Academy in West point with a Bachelor of Science degree in Military Science.

1952, August -- Joins the United States Air Force (USAF) and begins basic training at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, where he learns to fly the T-6 Texan.

1953 -- At Connally Air Force Base, Waco, Texas, he learns to fly T-33A Shooting Star jet trainers.

1953, September -- Learns advanced day-fighter training on an F-86 Sabre at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

1954, January -- Joins the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing at George Air Force Base, California, where he learns nuclear weapons delivery systems and ground attack.

1954, mid-December -- Transfers with the 21st Fighter-Bomber Wing at Chambley-Bussières Air Base, France.

1956 -- Wins first place in a gunnery competition.

1956 -- Deploys to West Germany during the Hungarian Revolution.

1957, April 28 -- Marries Patricia Finnegan, a social worker, in Chambley, France.

Late 1957 -- Enrolls in a nine-month aircraft maintenace officer course at Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois, that he finishes in six months.

1959, May 6 -- Birth of daughter, Kathleen.

1960 -- Commands a Mobile Training Detachment (MTD) at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. This requires him to travel to airbases world-wide. He later becomes the first commander of a Field Training Detachment (FTD).

1960, August 29 -- Enrolls in the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, as a member of Class 60C. While there, his flight test instructional aircraft are the F-104 Starfighter, F-86 Sabre, T-33 Shooting Star, B-52 Stratofortressand T-28 Trojan. He logs more than 5,000 hours of flying time.

1961, October 31 -- Birth of daughter, Ann.

1962, February 20 -- Collins' interest in becoming an astronaut is piqued after seeing coverage of John Glenn's orbit around Earth.

1962, October 22 -- Begins a postgraduate course on spaceflight at the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS) (formerly the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School) where he flew the T-38A Talon and the NF-101 Voodoo. Classmates include future astronauts Joe Engle, Charles Bassett and Edward Givens.

1963, February 23 -- Birth of son, Michael.

1963, May -- Returns to fighter operations at Edwards Air Force Base after having successfully completed the coursework at ARPS.

1963, June -- Applies to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to become an astronaut.

1963, September 2 -- Is interviewed by NASA in Houston, Texas.

1963, October 14 -- Receives a phone call from NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, asking if he would like to be an astronaut. He does.

1963, October 18 -- At the Manned Space Center (MSC). later renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), Collins is selected as one of fourteen new astronauts (7 from the Air Force, 4 from the Navy, 1 from the Marines and two civilians), bringing the total number of NASA astronauts to 30. This third group includes Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. Each astronaut is assigned a specialization. His is extravehicular activities (EVAs) and pressure suits.

1965, July 1 -- Collins and Edward White II are named the backup crew for Gemini 7. Frank Borman and James A. Lovell Jr are the prime crew.

1966, January 24 -- Collins is assigned to the prime crew of Gemini 10, along with John Young as mission commander. This makes Collins the seventeenth American to fly in space.

1966, July 18 -- At 5:20 pm EST, Gemini 10 lifts off from Launch Complex 19 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Among the accomplishments on this three-day mission were the successful rendezvous and docking with an Agena target vehicle, conducting dual rendezvous maneuvers using the target vehicle's propulsion systems, conducting two EVAs, practice docking maneuvers, executing fifteen scientific experiments and evaluating various docked spacecraft systems.

1966, July 21 -- Gemini 10 splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean, 529 miles east of Cape Kennedy, and is recovered by the amphibious assault ship USS Guadalcanal. Gemini 10 attained an apogee of approximately 475 statute miles and traveled a distance of 1,275,091 statute miles. It was the second spacecraft in the Gemini program to land within eye and camera range of the prime recovery ship.

1966, late July -- Receives Air Force Command Pilot Astronaut Wings.

1966 -- Receives NASA's Exceptional Service Medal.

1967, January 27 -- While attending a meeting in the Astronaut Office in Houston, Texas, Collins and others hears of the tragic deaths of astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Ed White. Collins went to the Chaffee home where he informed Roger's wife Martha that her husband died during a routine launch rehearsal test.

1967, November 19 -- NASA announces the crews for the first two manned Apollo/Saturn V flights. Collins (as command module pilot), Frank Borman (as commander) and William A. Anders (as lunar module pilot) are named the prime crew for AS-505, the second mission.

1968, July 22-23 -- At Wilford Hall Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, Collins undergoes surgery to fuse two vertebrae after a bone spur is found on his spine.. His role as prime Apollo 9 crew in jeopardy as his convalescence might take up to four months.

1968, August 8 -- NASA announces that James Lovell will replace Collins as prime command module pilot for the upcoming Apollo mission.

1968, December -- Collins serves as capsule communicator (CAPCOM) for Apollo 8

1969, January 9 -- NASA names Neil A. Armstrong (commander), Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr (lunar module pilot) and Collins (command module pilot) as prime crew of Apollo 11.

1969, May 24 -- Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin practice splashdown and anticontamination procedures they will use after returning from the moon in two months. They donned plastic-coated biological isolation garments and sprayed each other with Betadine disinfectant before leaving a test spacecraft in the Gulf of Mexico.

1969. July 3 -- Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin complete their final countdown rehearsal test. They achieved simulated liftoff at 9:32 am EST, the exact time of the scheduled July 16th launch.

1969, July 5 -- At MSC, the Apollo 11 astronauts hold a press conference where they are seated 50 feet away from the nearest reporters and were partially enclosed in a plastic booth to limit their contact 21 days prior to flight lest they get ill. Collins says that he doesn't not feel "the slightest bit frustrated" about going to the moon without landing on it. "I'm going 99.9 percent of the way there," he states, "and that suits me fine."

1969, July 11 -- The Apollo 11 crew undergo the last major preflight medical examination at KSC and are cleared for launch.

1969, July 16 -- At 9:22 am EST, Apollo 11 lifts off from launch complex 39A by Saturn V 506 booster at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Liftoff was relayed live on TV to 33 countries on 6 continents and watched by an estimated 25 million TV views in the United States. Onboard is command module pilot Collins, spacecraft commander Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot. While the latter two descend to the lunar surface on the Sea of Tranquility in the lunar module Eagle, Collins orbits the moon alone 30 times for more than 21 hours in the command module Columbia. It takes 48 minutes to pass behind the far side of the moon and is the most distant part of space that humans have yet visited alone. During that time, Collins loses all means of communication; the moon's 2,100-mile rocky diameter stood between him and all other human beings. While the press would later shortsightedly dub him "The Loneliest Man in History" during this period of disconnect, Collins recalled in Carrying the Fire that he was not having an existential, solipsistic crisis. Instead, he was preoccupied with the very real problem of failure on a scale that was hard to fathom. He documented his fear on audiotape recorded at the time, saying, "My secret terror for the last six months has been leaving them on the Moon and returning to Earth alone; now am within minutes of finding out the truth of the matter." What if things went terribly wrong and he returned to Earth alone? "I will be a marked man for life, and I know it." His worries proved to be unfounded. After Armstrong becomes the first man to set foot on the moon, he and Aldrin collect 21 kg of lunar surface material and conduct scientific experiments. After spending 21 hours and 36 minutes on the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin lift off the moon's surface using the Eagle's ascent stage and return to lunar orbit, where Collins successfully docks Columbia to it.

1969, July 21 -- After almost a full day on the lunar surface, Armstrong and Aldrin launch off the moon's surface using the Eagle's ascent stage and return to lunar orbit, where Collins successfully docks Columbia to it. After jettisoning the lunar module, Apollo 11 begins its journey home.

1969, July 25 -- The Air Force promotes Collins to the rank of full colonel. In a congratulatory message, General John P. McConnell, Air Force Chief of Staff, says the Apollo 11 mission was "indeed a momentous achievement" and the promotion was a "token of appreciation for the part you played."

1969, July 25 -- Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins splash down on July 24 in the Pacific Ocean and are retrieved by the USS Hornet. After donning biological isolation garments, they enter the Mobile Quarantine Facility along with the recovery physician, a recovery technician and the lunar samples where they remain until August 10, 1969.

1969, August 12 -- Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins hold their first postflight press conference at MSC, where they narrate a 45-minute film of the mission and answer questions. While discussing hte lunar landing, Collins says it was a "technical triumph for this country to have said what it was going to do a number of years ago and then, by golly, do it. It was also a triumph of the nation's overall determination, will, economy, attention to detail, and a thousand and one other fators that went into it."

1969, August 13 -- The three Apollo 11 astronauts attended parades in their honor in New York City and Chicago, Illinois and Los Angeles, California. An estimated six million people attend.

1969, August 17 -- Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins appear on CBS's "Face the Nation". Collins mentions that he would not fly in space again because he found it increasingly difficult "to keep up year after year" with the rigorous training required.

1969, September -- The three Apollo 11 astronauts embarked on a 38-day world tour. In all, they visited 22 countries.

1969, September 6 -- The Apollo 11 astronauts attend celebrations in their hometowns. Collins, who was born in Rome, Italy, chooses to visit New Orleans, Louisiana, as his adopted hometown, where he also visits NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility.

1969, December 15 -- Begins work as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. President Nixon announced his plan to nominate Collins on November 28th.

1970 -- Receives NASA's Distinguished Service Medal.

1970 -- After 18 years of Active Duty service in the Air Force, begins serving in the Air Force Reserve.

1971, February 22 -- President Nixon accepts Collins' resignation as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, effective April 11.

1971, April 12 -- Becomes Director of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) in Washington, DC. Collins tirelessly lobbied for funding from Congress to build the museum. $40 million was allocated for construction.

1973, April 6 -- The Senate confirms the nomination of Col. Michael Collins to be a brigadier general.

1974 -- Completes the Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.

1974, August 11 -- Publishes Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys to critical acclaim.

1976 -- Publishes Flying to the Moon and Other Strange Places.

1976, March 10 -- Is confirmed by the Senate as a reserve major general.

1976, July 1 -- The National Air and Space Museum opens to the public. Thanks to Collins' leadership, it is both under budget and three days ahead of schedule. The ceremony was presided over by President Gerald R. Ford and ribbon was cut by a signal transmitted by the Viking I spacecraft in orbit around Mars.to a large metal arm.

1976, November 16 -- Collins in one of 3 NASA employees to win the National Civil Service League's career service awards.

1976, December -- The Air Force Systems Command (AFSC) announce that Collins has been appointed mobilization assistant to the AFSC commander. This position was the top Air Force Reserve post in AFSC.

1977 -- Is inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame atthe New Mexico Museum of Space History.

1977, September 30 -- The National Aeronautic Association announces that the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) will present the gold space medal to Collins, at a ceremony to be held in Rome, Italy, on October 3rd. It is awarded yearly as the world's highest award for spaceflight.

1978 -- Becomes an Undersecretary of the Smithsonian Institution, a position he holds until he resigns on January 28, 1980.

1980 -- Is Vice President of Vought, Inc. (formerly Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) Aerospace and Defense Company) in Arlington, Virginia.

1982 -- Retires from the Air Force as a Major General.

1983, March 4 -- Asteroid 6471 Collins is named after him.

1985 -- Resigns from LTV Aerospace and starts his own consulting firm, Michael Collins Associates.

1987, March -- Aviation Week and Space Technology reports that the Space Goals Task Force of the NASA Advisory Council, headed by Collins, will recommend a crew-tended mission to Mars. Collins stressed that the development and operation of a US/international Space Station was a prerequisite for exploration of Mars and beyond.

1988 -- Publishes Liftoff: The Story of America's Adventures in Space.

1990 -- Publishes Mission to Mars.

1993, March 18 -- NASA announces that 14 astronauts who orbited the Earth during Project Gemini (which includes Collins) were inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame.

1993, March 3 -- Death of son Michael in Massachusetts.

2011, November 16 -- Collins, Armstrong and Aldrin receive the Precedential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.

2014, April -- His wife Pat passes away.

2020 -- The National Air and Space Museum Award, established in 1985, is re-named The Michael Collins Trophy.

2021, April 28 -- Michael Collin dies of cancer at his home in in Naples, Florida.

2023, January 30 -- Collins' ashes are interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

Provenance:

Material found in collection, October 1992.

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:

Aeronautics  Search this

United States Air Force  Search this

Apollo 11 Flight  Search this

Gemini Project  Search this

Apollo Project  Search this

Test pilots -- United States  Search this

National Air and Space Museum  Search this

Citation:

Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys Manuscript, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0399, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.XXXX.0399

See more items in:

Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys Manuscript

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg28c5dd05e-50f7-4cda-9cca-c730bd033867

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-xxxx-0399

Extent:

8.77 Cubic feet (24 containers (22 letter boxes, 2 flat boxes))

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Date:

1940s-2000s

Summary:

The Radar Collection [Blom] consists of approximately 9 cubic feet of maintenance guides for radar systems, wartime equipment catalogs and guides, periodicals, photographs and audio/visual materials.

Scope and Contents:

This collection conists of approximately 9 cubic feet consists of Western Electric maintenance guides for radar systems, wartime equipment catalogs and guides, periodicals, photographs and audio/visual materials.

Arrangement:

This collection is organized into five series according to material type:

Series 1: Technical Manuals, Handbooks and Catalogs, 1942-1995

Series 2: Other Publications and Miscellaneous, 1940-2006

Series 3: Photographs and Negatives, 1940s, 1950s and undated

Series 4: Oversize, 1945

Series 5: Audiovisual, undated

Biographical / Historical:

Jacob Michael Blom (1944--2023) was born in Amsterdam and emigrated to the United States in 1952. From an early age, Blom had a keen interest in science and attended the Neward College of Engineering. In 1966, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. According to his family, he spent countless happy hours in his 3,500 square foot workshop, which was filled with radar sets, navigation equipment, countermeasures equipment, radar test equipment, many spare parts and over a thousand original equipment manuals and other reference materials which he began collecting in 1960. He was also a Senior Vice President of the Mitre Corporation. Mr. Blom passed away in 2023.

Provenance:

Heather Ramos, Gift, 2023, NASM.2024.0005

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:

Aeronautics  Search this

Radar in aeronautics  Search this

Radar  Search this

United States Navy -- 20th century  Search this

Citation:

Radar Collection [Blom], Acc. NASM.2024.0005, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2024.0005

See more items in:

Radar Collection [Blom]

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg23f2bf6d3-404b-4122-8625-186ce81b59e4

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2024-0005

Creator:

Garrison, Herbert  Search this

Names:

United States. Army. Air Service. 1st Pursuit Group. 95th Aero Squadron  Search this

Garrison, Herbert  Search this

Extent:

0.05 Cubic feet (2 folders, 23 black and white 8 x 10 inch print photographs; two 4 x 5 inch color transparencies)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

1917-1919

Summary:

This collection consists of 23 black and white photographs taken by Herbert Emerson Garrison (1896-1986), during his service with the 95th Aero Squadron in France during World War I and includes informal views of both aircraft and personnel. The collection also includes two copy color transparencies of a Salvation Army post card stating that Garrison had arrived safely back in New York City after the war.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of 23 black and white photographs copied from a scrapbook which was loaned to the National Air and Space Museum Archives by Walter Garrison, son of Herbert E. Garrison, the photographer. The images feature informal views of both aviation personnel and American and French aircraft, including the Nieuport 11 (XI) Sesquiplane, Nieuport 17, Nieuport 28, Morane-Saulnier Model LA (Mo.S.4), Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b, Spad XIII, and a Voisin 8 BN.2 (Type LAP). Also seen are two captured German biplanes, an Albatros D.Va (L24) and a Fokker D.VII which later became part of the collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM). On November 9, 1918, two days before the end of the war, Lieutenant Heinz Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay landed this Fokker D.VII at a forward American airfield being used by the 95th Aero Squadron, near Verdun. The pilot and airplane were captured by three American officers before Beaulieu-Marconnay could set fire to his aircraft. The captured Fokker D.VII is seen in the Garrison photographs embellished with the "Kicking Mule" insignia of the 95th Aero Squadron. The collection also includes two copy transparencies of a Salvation Army post card sent to Minnie Owens (whom Garrison later married) to let her know that Garrison had arrived safely in New York City on his way home from the war in France.

Arrangement:

The black and white images in this collection were copied as Smithsonian Institution negative numbers 98-15105 through 98-15118 and 98-15188 through 98-15196. The front and back of the post card were copied as numbers 98-15296 and 98-15297. The copy images are physically arranged in negative number order. The images have been arranged online in this finding aid into subject groups which are presented roughly in chronological order.

Biographical / Historical:

The 95th Aero Squadron, organized on August 20th, 1917, and demobilized on March 18th, 1919, was part of the 1st Pursuit Organization stationed in France on the Western Front during World War I. The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron and was the first American squadron to fly in combat, doing so on March 8, 1918. The 95th Aero Squadron shot down 35 enemy aircraft and 12 observation balloons, participating in the following military campaigns: Champagne-Marne Defensive, Aisne-Marne Offensive, St. Mihiel Offensive and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Among the squadron's pilots were six air aces and Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt. Herbert Emerson Garrison (1896-1986), the donor's father, served as a mechanic for the 95th Aero Squadron during World War I.

Related Materials:

Related artifacts in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum collection: Fokker D.VII, A19200004000.

Provenance:

Walter Garrison, originals loaned for copying, 1998, NASM.1998.0029

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:

World War, 1914-1918  Search this

Aeronautics  Search this

Aeronautics, Military  Search this

Voisin Aircraft Family  Search this

SPAD XIII (S.13)  Search this

Nieuport (France) 11 Monoplane  Search this

Nieuport (France) 17  Search this

Nieuport (France) 28  Search this

Morane-Saulnier Model LA (Mo.S.4)  Search this

RAF F.E.3 (A.E.1)  Search this

Fokker D.VI  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

95th Aero Squadron Photographs [Garrison], NASM.1998.0029, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.1998.0029

See more items in:

95th Aero Squadron Photographs

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2934d6cb6-7889-42e1-b1ca-5983a4c59638

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-1998-0029

Former owner:

Chana, William Frank "Bill", 1921-2012  Search this

Names:

Skelton, Betty (19260628-20110831)  Search this

Extent:

0.01 Cubic feet (1 folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

1949

Summary:

The Bee Aviation Wee Bee was an ultralight aircraft designed and built by William F. "Bill" Chana, Kenneth Coward, Karl Montijo, and Jim Wilder.This collection consists of one digital print of a photograph showing the Bee Aviation Wee Bee at the Daily Express International Air Pageant held at Gatwick Airport, UK in 1949.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of one 4.5 by 7 inch digital print of a photograph showing the Bee Aviation Wee Bee at the Daily Express International Air Pageant held at Gatwick Airport, UK in 1949. Karl Montijo is strapped on the aircraft and Betty Skelton is standing beside it. In the background, Kenneth Coward is visible.

Arrangement:

Collection is a single item.

Biographical / Historical:

The Bee Aviation Wee Bee was an ultralight aircraft designed and built by William F. "Bill" Chana, Kenneth Coward, Karl Montijo, and Jim Wilder. The aircraft weighed only 150 pounds and was operated by a pilot strapped face-down atop the fuselage. Only one prototype of the Wee Bee, aircraft registration number NX90840, was produced.

Provenance:

William F. Chana, Gift, 1998, NASM.2024.0011.

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:

Aeronautics  Search this

Air pilots  Search this

Women air pilots  Search this

Bee Aviation Wee Bee  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Bee Aviation Wee Bee Photograph, NASM.2024.0011, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2024.0011

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2f459e40f-608a-4c08-af75-a21f01148b50

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2024-0011

Names:

Skelton, Betty (19260628-20110831)  Search this

Extent:

0.01 Cubic feet (1 folder)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Date:

Circa 1948

Summary:

Betty June Skelton Frankman Erde (1926--2011) was a three-time Female Aerobatic Champion who set 17 aviation and race car records, at one point earning her the nickname the "First Lady of Firsts." This collection consists of a photograph of Skelton posed beside her Great Lakes (1929) Model 2T-1A, circa 1948.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of one 8 by 10 inch brown toned photograph of Betty Skelton posed beside her Great Lakes (1929) Model 2T-1A, circa 1948. The collection also includes two additional copies of the same image, one of which measures 8 by 10 inches and one of which measures 4.75 by 3.75 inches.

Arrangement:

Collection is a single item.

Biographical / Historical:

Betty June Skelton Frankman Erde (1926--2011) was a three-time Female Aerobatic Champion who set 17 aviation and race car records, at one point earning her the nickname the "First Lady of Firsts." Skelton bought her first aircraft in 1946, a Great Lakes (1929) Model 2T-1A. In this aircraft, Skelton started her aerobatic career, performing in the Southeastern Air Exposition in Jacksonville, Florida, and then touring the southeastern air show circuit. It was also in her Great Lakes aircraft that Skelton won her first International Female Aerobatic Championship on January 1, 1948.

Provenance:

Richard Gombosh, Gift, 2003, NASM.2024.0012.

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:

Aeronautics  Search this

Women air pilots  Search this

Great Lakes (1929) Model 2T-1A  Search this

Genre/Form:

Photographs

Citation:

Betty Skelton Great Lakes (1929) Model 2T-1A Photograph, NASM.2024.0012, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2024.0012

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg26256fb2f-d036-4e05-9d1a-cbcbf5784544

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2024-0012

Creator:

Chance Vought Aircraft  Search this

Extent:

.1 Gigabytes

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Gigabytes

Date:

1946-09-30

Summary:

Technical manual for Chance Vought XF5U-1 Airplane.

Scope and Contents:

This collection consists of one CD containing one technical manual titled Preliminary Pilot's Handbook for the Chance Vought XF5U-1 Airplane.

Arrangement:

One item.

Biographical / Historical:

The Chance Vought XF5U-1, also known as the "Flying Flapjack," was an experimental US Navy fighter aircraft designed by Charles Zimmerman for Vought Aircraft Industries during World War II. Developed from a a Vought V-173, its unique circular wing design aimed to provide better lift and maneuverability. However, due the advent of jet engines, the project was canceled in 1947 before reaching production. The prototype aircraft was transferred to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum (A19610120000).

Provenance:

United Technologies Corporation, Gift, 2003, NASM.2003.0020.0057

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:

Aeronautics  Search this

Vought XF5U-1 Skimmer  Search this

Citation:

Chance Vought XF5U-1 Preliminary Pilot's Handbook [Flight Manual], NASM.2003.0020.0057, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.2003.0020.0057

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2a5cccc1c-df2b-4a64-aaf2-3fd59d4384f1

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-2003-0020-0057

Creator:

Fulton, Garland, 1890-1974  Search this

Names:

United States. Navy -- Aviation  Search this

Extent:

20.8 Cubic feet (45 boxes)

Type:

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Correspondence

Memorandums

Photographs

Technical reports

Date:

1914-1964

bulk 1918-1945

Summary:

This collection consists of material gathered by Captain Garland Fulton, USN. Comprising 20 cubic feet, the Fulton Papers includes correspondence and memoranda regarding the U.S. Navy's LTA program from the 1920s to the beginnings of the expansion of the Navy's LTA program prior to World War II. There is also extensive material on Naval airship policy, and on defense policy between the world wars. As head of the Lighter-than-Air Design Section of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Fulton was an insider in the art of defense procurement and spending - his memoranda and letters provide an illuminating look into defense policy and congressional affairs between the World Wars. Of particular interest is Fulton's correspondence from his service as Inspector of Naval Aircraft during the construction of the USS Los Angeles in Friedrichshafen, Germany, 1922-1924. His correspondence with other leading figures in LTA and naval affairs - William A. Moffett, Ernest J. King, Jerome Hunsaker, Karl Arnstein, Hugo Eckener, F. W. von Meister, and Charles E. Rosendahl are an invaluable resource of the heroic period of airship development. The collection also includes technical data on airships, airship design, and naval architecture. There are many photographs, including photos documenting the construction and the first flight of the Los Angeles.

Scope and Contents:

The Garland Fulton Collection consists of material gathered by Captain Garland Fulton, USN (1890-1975), naval officer and proponent of lighter than air (LTA) flight. The collection was originally donated by Fulton's estate to the U.S. Naval Historical Foundation of Washington D.C. in 1979, and was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum as a permanent deposit in 1982. The collection was formally donated to NASM in May of 2000. Comprising 16 cubic feet, the Fulton Papers includes correspondence and memoranda regarding the US Navy's LTA program from the 1920s to the beginnings of the expansion of the Navy's LTA program prior to World War II. There is also extensive material on Naval airship policy, and on defense policy between the world wars. As head of the Lighter-Than-Air Design Section of the Bureau of Aeronautics, Fulton was an insider in the art of defense procurement and spending --his memoranda and letters provide an illuminating look into defense policy and congressional affairs between the World Wars. Of particular interest is Fulton's correspondence from his service as Inspector of Naval Aircraft during the construction of the USS Los Angeles in Friedrichshafen, Germany, 1922-1924. His correspondence with other leading figures in LTA and naval affairs --William A. Moffett, Ernest J. King, Jerome Hunsaker, Karl Arnstein, Hugo Eckener, F.W. von Meister, and Charles E. Rosendahl are an invaluable resource of the heroic period of airship development.

The collection also includes technical data on airships, airship design, and naval architecture. There are many photographs, including photos documenting the construction of the Los Angeles.

The collection includes books on lighter-than-air history naval history, and engineering. A number of the books have been transferred to the NASM branch of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries; others were transferred with the permission of the Fulton family to other institutions. Several books with personal inscriptions were retained with the collection.

The collection also includes a series of photographs of airships, including many detailing the construction and first flight of the Los Angeles.

Arrangement:

The Garland Fulton Collection is arranged in the following series:

Series I: Personal Files, Correspondence, Fulton's Writings

Subseries 1 --Biography, personal papers

Subseries 2 --Correspondence

Subseries 3 --Papers, articles, and notes by Garland Fulton

Series II: Lighter Than Air (LTA)

Subseries 1 --Navy airships; Navy LTA policy and doctrine

Subseries 2 --Civilian and foreign airships

Subseries 3 --LTA, general

Subseries 4 --LTA articles, papers and data

Subseries 5 --LTA general publications

Subseries 6 --LTA gases

Series III: Aeronautics, general

Series IV: Publications, Papers, Reports, Journals

Subseries 1 --Arranged by organization and/or individuals

Subseries 2 --Technical papers, reports, journals

Subseries 3 --Magazines, journals, papers, reports

Subseries 4 --Newspapers, clippings

Series V: US Navy, general

Series VI: Miscellaneous documents

Series VII: Photographs

Series VIII: Books

Series IX: Oversized Material

Biographical / Historical:

Captain Garland Fulton, USN, one of the U.S. Navy's leading proponents of lighter-than-air (LTA) flight, was born in University, Mississippi on May 6, 1890. He was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1908. His roommate at the Academy was Richard E. Byrd (1888-1957), and another classmate was Donald W. Douglas, later founder of the Douglas Aircraft Company. Serving at the Academy during Fulton's career as a midshipman was Lieutenant Ernest J. King, later head of the Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), 1933-1937, and Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet (COMINCH) during World War II. An early advocate of naval aviation, King sparked Fulton's interest in aeronautics. Fulton graduated from the Naval Academy in 1912. Following duty with the fleet, Fulton attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), studying naval architecture and, under Commander (and Dr.) Jerome C. Hunsaker, aeronautical engineering. Fulton received his master's degree in 1916. Fulton entered the Naval Construction Corps in 1915, serving in the Industrial Department at the New York Navy Yard, where, during World War I, he was in charge of mounting guns on armed merchant ships. In May 1918, Fulton asked to be assigned to aeronautical engineering duties in the Aviation Section of the Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair. Fulton transferred to the Bureau of Aeronautics when that organization was founded in 1921. In 1922, now a lieutenant commander, Fulton was sent to Europe to assist in the negotiations for the purchase of the "Reparations Airship" to replace the German rigid airships that had been awarded to the United States by the Versailles Treaty but were destroyed by their crews before transfer to the US. As Inspector of Naval Aircraft (INA), Fulton served at the Zeppelin works (Luftschiffbau-Zeppelin) at Friedrichshafen, Germany during the construction and flight trials of the rigid airship LZ 126. Assigned the service designation ZR-3, the airship was christened the USS Los Angeles upon its delivery to the US Navy at the Lakehurst Naval Air Station, NJ in 1924. Fulton resumed his service at the Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington DC after the completion of Los Angeles. As head of the Bureau's Lighter-Than-Air Design Section until his retirement, Fulton oversaw the design and construction of the USS Akron (ZRS-4) and the USS Macon (ZRS-5), and worked actively to help further the acceptance of large airships in both the Navy and in commerce. Under Fulton's guidance, expansion of the Navy's non-rigid airship (blimp) program was initiated in the years prior to the United States' entry into World War II.

Garland Fulton retired from the Navy with the rank of captain in 1940 and joined the Cramp Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia as a director. After retirement from Cramps as vice president in charge of engineering in 1947, Fulton served on several corporate boards of directors. In later years, Fulton was a frequent unofficial consultant to the Navy and industry on LTA issues. He continued to correspond with other participants of the airship age, including Admiral Thomas G.W. "Tex" Settle, Admiral C.E. Rosendahl, Commodore George H. Mills (NASM Collection 1994-0022), Jerome C. Hunsaker (NASM Collection XXXX-0001), Karl Arnstein, and F.W. "Willy" von Meister. As the dean of American airshipmen, Fulton frequently served as a source of information to airship historians like Douglas Robinson, Richard Smith, Robin Hingham, and William Althoff. Fulton wrote extensively on LTA and aeronautical history, and planned to write a history of U.S. Naval Aviation until prevented by failing health. Garland Fulton died on October 24, 1974 --the same day as his friend George Mills. They were buried on the same day in Arlington National Cemetery.

Provenance:

Naval Aviation History Foundation, Gift, 1981

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 http://airandspace.si.edu/permissions

Topic:

USS Los Angeles ( ZR-3)  Search this

Aeronautics  Search this

USS Akron (ZRS-4)  Search this

Airships  Search this

USS Macon (ZRS-5)  Search this

Genre/Form:

Correspondence

Memorandums

Photographs

Technical reports

Citation:

Garland Fulton Collection, Accession XXXX-0101, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Identifier:

NASM.XXXX.0101

See more items in:

Garland Fulton Collection

Archival Repository:

National Air and Space Museum Archives

GUID:

https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg219885ad7-0ab6-4bd1-97eb-2da9e486e6b9

EDAN-URL:

ead_collection:sova-nasm-xxxx-0101