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.
Collection Citation:
Stits Aircraft Collection, NASM.2019.0024, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Stits Aircraft Collection, NASM.2019.0024, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Stits Aircraft Collection, NASM.2019.0024, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Stits Aircraft Collection, NASM.2019.0024, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Stits Aircraft Collection, NASM.2019.0024, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection consists of drawings of the 1903 Wright Flyer executed at various times during the life of the aircraft: Science Museum of London Drawings -- commissioned when the aircraft was on loan to the Museum; Ford Drawings -- sponsored by the Ford Motor Company which were supervised by Orville Wright and Charles Taylor; Christman Drawings -- drafted by Louis Christman who consulted with Orville Wright and other sources; and the National Air and Space Museum Drawings -- commissioned by the Museum during the 1985 restoration of the Wright 1903 Flyer. These drawings include three view drawings as well as both the airframe and engine components.
Biographical / Historical:
The Wright 1903 Flyer holds a special place in aviation history as the vehicle in which mankind first achieved controlled, powered, and sustained flight. The Wrights made no drawings of the aircraft when they originally built it and they continuously modified the craft during flight tests. The aircraft also underwent modifications due to damage suffered following its last flight, and the reconstruction work of 1916 and 1925-1927. Thus, there will always be some doubt about the exact configuration of the aircraft during the 1903 flights.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
NASM, Science Museum of London, Ford Museum, Gift/Transfer, 1986-0152, Some NASM
Restrictions:
Some restrictions on distribution.
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
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.
Collection Citation:
Stits Aircraft Collection, NASM.2019.0024, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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.
Collection Citation:
Stits Aircraft Collection, NASM.2019.0024, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
A. Francis Arcier, (1890-1969) was an aviator, scientist, designer and engineer whose pioneering work in aviation design spanned six decades and earned him many honors.
Scope and Contents:
The A. Francis Arcier Collection contains approximately 3 cubic feet of material relating to his extraordinary career in aviation. This collection has biographical and professional documents, technical information on aircraft designs, patents, correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, certificates, photographs, negatives and three scrapbooks.
Note: The digital images shown for this collection were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product which did not reproduce all materials found in this collection; some items have not been scanned.
Arrangement:
Every effort was made to provide dates when possible and each series is arranged in chronological order.
The collection is arranged as follows:
Series 1: Biographical and professional material
Series 2: Technical material
Series 3: Publications
Series 4: Photographs
Series 5: Scrapbooks
Biographical/Historical note:
A. Francis Arcier, (1890-1969) was an aviator, scientist, designer and engineer whose pioneering work in aviation design spanned six decades and earned him many honors. Born in London, he studied aeronautics in Passey, France under Sir Gustave Eiffel, the designer of the Eiffel Tower. He served as draftsman for such notable aircraft designers as Gabriel Voisin, Henri Coanda, Frank Barnivell and Gordon England. At the age of 21, he learned to fly and received his international aviator's certificate. He served as a flight instructor at the Hall School of Flying in Hendon, England and during World War I, with Handley Page, Ltd. He designed the first twin engine and the first four engine bombers used by the United States and its Allies. Arcier emigrated to the United States in 1919 and was employed as Chief Engineer at the Witteman Aircraft Corporation, makers of the Barling Bomber designed by Arcier. It was the largest heavier-than-air aircraft of its time. During his years with Witteman, Arcier won the Army Air Service Engineering Divisions' design competition for a bomber aircraft design. That same year, Arcier became Chief Engineer for the Fokker Aircraft Corporation, where among other notable accomplishments, he designed the Fokker Trimotor Transport which was used by Amelia Earhart and by Richard Byrd in his flight over the North Pole and also across the North Atlantic. After Arcier attained his United States citizenship in 1929, he became Vice President of Operations and Director of the General Airplanes Corporation in Buffalo, New York. In 1930 under his leadership, the "Mailplane", one of the first all-metal airplanes, was built. Later in 1930, Arcier became Chief Engineer of the Weaver Aircraft Company, WACO. He worked for WACO for 17 years in various capacities. Arcier and the Waco Aircraft Company made many contributions to the National Defense Program during World War II such as the Model UPF-7. The Waco Company was entrusted with the entire combat and cargo glider Program of the U.S. Army Air Forces. This was initiated in an Army Design Competition which the Company won and resulted in a program involving the design, prototype construction and, in some cases, production construction of some twelve models ranging from Model CG-3A to the CG-15A. These gliders were built by the thousands under Arcier's technical direction by sixteen prime contractors and many hundreds of sub-contractors throughout the nation. In 1948, Arcier became Chief Scientist for U.S. Air Force Intelligence at Wright- Patterson AFB until he retired in 1963. After his retirement, he served as consultant to the Commander, Foreign Technology Division and Special Advisor to the Division's Advisory Group on scientific and technical intelligence matters. Among his honors were the USAF Meritorious Civilian Service Award (1953), and the USAF Distinguished Civilian Service Award (1961.) A. Francis Arcier died on November 21, 1969.
Provenance:
Elizabeth Arcier, gift, 1972, additional material received from Francis Arnoult, 2019, NASM.XXXX.0072.
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.
Knabenshue, A. Roy (Augustus Roy), 1876-1960 Search this
Names:
Early Birds of Aviation (Organization). Search this
Knabenshue, A. Roy (Augustus Roy), 1876-1960 Search this
Extent:
3.6 Cubic feet (8 legal document boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Diaries
Drawings
Correspondence
Manuscripts
Photographs
Date:
circa 1890s-1960s
Summary:
This collection contains approximately three and a half cubic feet of material relating to the life and career of A. Roy Knabenshue. The collection includes correspondence, photographic material, drawings of aircraft, and flight records.
Scope and Contents:
The A. Roy Knabenshue Collection (accession XXXX.0136 and related accession XXXX.0370) contains approximately three and a half cubic feet of material relating to the life and career of a daring aeronaut and the United States' first successful dirigible pilot. The collection includes correspondence, photographic material, drawings of aircraft, and flight records. The material spans over seventy years, from the end of the nineteenth century to the nineteen-sixties.
The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) received these materials in several parts in the early 1960s. Material was donated by Mrs. A. Roy (Jane) Knabenshue and their son, Glenn Knabenshue. Original order, where identified, has been maintained.
Arrangement note:
Series 1: Personal
Subseries 1: Biographical
Subseries 2: Articles and Manuscripts
Subseries 3: Correspondence
Series 2: Career
Subseries 1: The Wright Company
Subseries 2: National Park Service
Series 3: Photographs and Scrapbooks
Series 4: Drawings
Series 5: Subject files
Series 6: Miscellaneous
Biographical/Historical note:
Augustus Roy Knabenshue was born July 15, 1876 in Lancaster, Ohio to Samuel S. and Salome Matlack Knabenshue. The family later moved to Toledo, Ohio where Roy's father became editor-in-chief of the Toledo Blade. It was there that Roy became interested in lighter-than-air flight after seeing a balloon ascension when he was five years old. His interest continued to grow in the years that followed and in 1899 he bought a captive balloon and its equipment. The next season, he began to take short leaves of absence from his job at Central Union Telephone Company and was operating his balloon at fairs and carnivals, charging attendees for ascensions. To protect his day job and spare his socially prominent family embarrassment, Knabenshue used the name "Professor Don Carlos" at his balloon engagements. By 1900, Knabenshue had begun to fabricate additional spherical balloons himself, for use in free ascensions.
In October of 1904, Knabenshue took a new balloon to Saint Louis to enter it in contests associated with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. There he met Thomas S. Baldwin, who had brought his dirigible the California Arrow to the event. The airship proved incapable of take off with Baldwin at the controls, and the slimmer Knabenshue was asked to substitute as pilot. Possessing no experience with dirigibles, Knabenshue accepted Baldwin's instructions and on October 25 became the first person to successfully pilot a dirigible in the United States.
Roy Knabenshue's name would be associated with the term "first" many times in the next few years. In 1905, Knabenshue built his own airship, the Toledo I, and flew it at its namesake city on Independence Day. A month later, Knabenshue made the first flight of an airship over Manhattan, taking off from Central Park and circling the Times Building. On December 17, 1908, he made the first successful night flight of a dirigible in the United States.
By 1909, Knabenshue had teamed up with Lincoln Beachey to fly airships at various events. Beachey was to fly a Knabenshue dirigible a year later at the Los Angeles International Air Meet, held at Dominguez Field, Los Angeles, which Knabenshue was instrumental in organizing. Knabenshue also raced his own airship during the event, setting several records.
His success attracted the attention of the Wright brothers, who were considering entering the exhibition field. Knabenshue was hired to manage the Wright Exhibition Team beginning in 1910, and worked with the team periodically for the next few years. Associated professionally at times with Glenn Martin, Walter Brookins and James V. Martin, by 1917 he had formed the Knabenshue Aircraft Corporation to produce dirigibles, kite balloons and parachutes. During the First World War, this company made captive observation balloons for use by the United States Navy.
In 1933, Knabenshue began working for the National Park Service. His duties included surveying air routes, and the management of an autogiro project.
After suffering a heart attack in 1949, Knabenshue retired. He died on March 6, 1960, at the age of 83, and was buried at the Portal of the Folded Wings, Valhalla Memorial Park, North Hollywood, California. He had held Balloon License Number 31, Dirigible License Number 4, built ten airships and numerous balloons, was a prominent member of the Early Birds of Aviation, and had earned a significant place in American aviation history.
Provenance:
Mrs. A. Roy (Jane) Knabenshue, NASM.XXXX.0136.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection consists of drawings relating to Aaron A. Sargent's designs for an Aerial Ship in 1883
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately eighteen sheets of drawings, descriptions and calculations relating to Aaron A. Sargent's designs for an Aerial Ship. These early dirigible designs are dated June 2, 1883 and are believed to have been drawn during Sargent's tenure as Minister to Germany.
Arrangement:
No arrangement; just one folder of material.
Biographical/Historical note:
Aaron Augustus Sargent (1827-1887) was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. After working in the printer's trade in Philadelphia, PA, he moved to Washington, DC and became Secretary to a Member of Congress. He later owned a paper in Nevada City, CA and studied law there, subsequently serving as District Attorney and as Representative to the Thirty-seventh Congress. He served as a United States Senator from 1873-1879. In January 1878 he introduced to the Senate a bill that was to be adopted in 1920 as the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting suffrage to women. Sargent returned to California in 1880. He was appointed Minister to Germany (1882-1884) and thereafter practiced law in San Francisco, CA.
Provenance:
David I. and Janice Sargent Lamphier, Gift, 2000, NASM.2000.0032
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection consists of ten linen drawings and two microfilm drawings of the Adlershof R-Planes. Six of the drawings depict a twin fuselage configuration. The drawings originated at Adlershof, Germany, but there is no other information on these drawings.
Biographical / Historical:
The R-planes of World War I were German giant bombers - the largest aircraft of World War I. The 'R' was an abbreviation for 'Riesenflugzeug,' which meant 'giant aircraft.' The R-plane was conceived as a long-range strategic weapon for attacking objectives deep within enemy territory. The aircraft were only produced in small numbers.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of various sized autopositive drawings of the Aeromarine Model 39.
Biographical / Historical:
In 1917, the Navy placed an order with the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company for 50 Model 39-A and 150 Model 39-B trainers. They were conventional two-bay wood and fabric biplanes and could be fitted with either wheels or floats. On October 22, 1922, an Aeromarine 39-B made the first landing on an aircraft carrier, the USS Langley.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Unknown, Unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
United Aircraft Corporation. Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Division Search this
Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company Search this
Extent:
0.41 Cubic feet ((2 boxes and 2)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Technical manuals
Photographic prints
Drawings
Brochures
Date:
bulk 1917-1985
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of manuals, reports, photographs, drawings, brochures, and other material relating to aircraft propulsion. The following companies are represented: Pratt & Whitney, Armstrong Siddeley, Bristol, Napier, Westinghouse, and Rolls Royce Engines. Besides material on engines and propellers, the collection also contains U.S. Navy Department Power Plant Memorandums and color slides of 1962 and 1964 British air shows.
Provenance:
Ulrika Mikel, Gift, 1994
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of the materials relating to Bruce Del Mar's airplane cabin pressurization and air quality engineering work, including: 82 3.25 by 4 inch glass lantern slides featuring images, graphs and charts of Del Mar's cabin pressurization work including work on the Douglas DC-4E (possibly for a lecture); reports; drawings; correspondence; and issues of Douglas' internal management newsletter. There are also several reports on air transportation of large cargo, including vehicular trailers.
Biographical / Historical:
Bruce Del Mar (b. 1913) graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1937 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. During his college summer breaks, Del Mar had worked at Douglas Aircraft Company, and after his graduation he returned to to Douglas full-time. At Douglas he worked with other scientists on airplane cabin pressurization, which would allow passengers to comfortably fly above 10,000 feet without oxygen masks. Del Mar, along with Douglas engineer Wolfgang Klemperer, held the patent for the first pressurization system of a commercial aircraft. In 1952, Del Mar used the money he received from royalties on his patents and inventions to found Del Mar Engineering Laboratories in Santa Monica, California. His company, later renamed Del Mar Avionics, built targeting systems for military aircraft. During later years, the company produced HydraSet, a hydraulic lifting device used to hoist space shuttles onto 747s for transport to Cape Kennedy and to move fuel rods in nuclear power plants. Besides his work in the aviation field, Del Mar also had great success in the medical field and in 1963 he was the first to patent and produce the Holter monitor, an electrocardiogram system that allowed physicians to track their patients' hearts continuously.
Provenance:
Bruce E. Del Mar, Gift, 2012
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection of six Albatros D. Va drawings (and corresponding autopositives) were drawn by the donor, Bob Waugh.
Biographical / Historical:
The Albatros D. Va was a single-seat fighting scout used by the Germans during World War I, 1917-1918. The Albatros D. Va is similar to the Albatros D. V, the only certain means of distinguishing between the two being the location of the aileron control wires. Manufacture of the Albatros D. Va was discontinued in 1918 in favor of the Fokker D. VII, but the Albatros D. Va remained in action until the end of hostilities.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Bob Waugh, gift, 1994-0042, NASM
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection contains photographs and drawings of the tailless and all-wing aircraft with which Lippisch was involved. Many of the photographs appear in Lippisch's book 'The Delta Wing: A History and Development.'
Biographical / Historical:
Alexander Lippisch (1894-1976) began his career in Aeronautics in February, 1918 when he joined the aircraft manufacturing plant of Zeppelin-Dornier in Lindau, Germany as an aerodynamicist. In 1921 Lippisch began his work on the development of sailplanes and gliders. At the same time he worked on the development of the tailless and the Delta-wing aircraft. In 1939 Lippisch joined the Messerschmitt A.G. Augsburg for the development of the ME 163 A and B. In 1943, Lippisch took over the Aeronautical Research Institute (LFW) were he developed the shape of the supersonic Delta wing. After the war, he was in custody of the Air Technical Intelligence of the U.S. Army. Lippisch was transferred to the United States where he worked at Wright Field, for the Navy, and later with Collins Radio Company. At Collins he developed a wing-less aircraft, the Aerodyne. He also started the development of another type of aircraft - the ram-wing or Aerofoil Boat.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Gertrude Lippisch, gift, 1988, 1993-0031, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Smith, Apollo Milton Olin (A. M. O.), 1911-1997 Search this
Names:
Smith, Apollo Milton Olin (A. M. O.), 1911-1997 Search this
Extent:
1.09 Cubic feet ((1 records center box))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuscripts
Drawings
Photographs
Publications
Date:
1935-1981
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of the significant writings of Smith, including writings relating to his contributions to boundary layer theory. The collection also includes Smith's notebooks and related photographs of his post-World War II on-site appraisal of Nazi aeronautical developments.
Biographical / Historical:
Apollo Milton Olin Smith (1911-1997), an aircraft designer and engineer known as 'AMO' for most of his life, was born in Columbia, Missouri. He began constructing gliders in high school and earned Masters Degrees in both Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from Caltech in 1938. After graduation, he began work for Douglas Aircraft, where he was to be employed until his retirement in 1975. His work for Douglas included wind tunnel testing of the A-20 bomber, performance analysis of the DC-5 and aerodynamic design of the A-26 light bomber. During a leave of absence from Douglas, he served as first chief engineer of the Aerojet Co. Smith's work in aerodynamics led to his participation in an important post-World War II mission to Germany, which revealed that country's developments in swept-wing design. AMO Smith's subsequent research would make him a leader in aerodynamics, especially regarding his contributions to boundary layer theory. He was the recipient of many honors and awards during his lifetime and was responsible for advances in research involving the use of rocket motors to assist takeoff (JATO) and the design of the D-558 Phase 1 airplane and the F4D Skyray.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of the personal papers and memorabilia of Arthur Raymond Brooks. It includes photographs, correspondence, documents, and certificates relating to Brooks' aviation career, as well as personal correspondence, photographs, and diaries (1907-87).
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of the personal papers of Arthur Raymond Brooks. These papers relate to his military career with the U.S. Army Air Service (1917-22), his years in both civilian government service and the private sector (1923-60), as well as a lifetime's involvement in numerous military, academic, aeronautical, and professional associations and organizations. Additionally, there are examples of correspondence and autographed photographs from such aerospace notables as Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Billy Mitchell, Clayton Bissell, Reed Chambers, and Michael Collins.
The collection is arranged into two broad series. First, is the material relating to his professional life. This includes Brooks' official military documents (U.S. Army commission, discharge papers, etc.), correspondence, reports, photographs (mostly from his time spent as an Air Service officer in France and the U.S.), handbooks, manuals, brochures, programs, speeches, magazines, newsletters, newspaper clippings, and articles. The second series contains items pertaining mainly to his personal life. Included here are personal documents such as income tax receipts, last will and testament, correspondence, photographs (both largely from and of family and friends), diaries, biographical notes, transcripts from audio tape cassettes, logbooks, travel guides, and books. Miscellaneous materials retained by Brooks such as a commemorative medallion, prints, posters, publications, a stamp album, photograph albums, newspapers, and address books are also found in this series.
Brooks' papers are arranged both chronologically and alphabetically. Official military and personal documents, correspondence, reports, photographs, brochures, programs, newspaper clippings and articles, diaries and day timers, biographical notes, transcriptions, logbooks, travel guides, maps, atlases, timetables, and newspapers are organized by the former method. Handbooks, instructions, manuals, magazines, and newsletters are grouped alphabetically by title. The books are arranged alphabetically by author.
Arrangement:
Series 1: Professional material
1.1 Official military documents
1.2 Correspondence
1.3 Reports
1.4 Handbooks, instructions, and manuals
1.5 Photographs
1.6 Brochures
1.7 Programs
1.8 Magazines
1.9 Newsletters
1.10 Newspaper clippings and articles
Series 2: Personal materials
2.1 Personal documents
2.2 Correspondence
2.3 Diaries and day-timers
2.4 Photographs
2.5 Biographical notes
2.6 Transcripts
2.7 Logbooks
2.8 Travel guides, maps, atlases, and train/airline timetables
2.9 Books
2.10 Miscellaneous materials
2.11 Oversized materials
2.12 Posters, prints and maps
2.13 Newspapers and newspaper supplements
Biographical/Historical note:
Arthur Raymond Brooks (1895-1991) was a fighter pilot for the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I and later, a civil aviation pioneer. Born in Framingham, Massachusetts on November 1, 1895, Brooks graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1917 with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrochemical engineering. In July of that year, he enlisted in the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. His flight training was provided by the Royal Flying Corps' School of Military Aeronautics in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was then sent for further flight training to Fort Worth, Texas where he flew with the 139th Squadron, 2nd Pursuit Group. In March 1918, Brooks left for France and completed pursuit training at the 3rd Aviation Instruction Center, American Expeditionary Force (AEF), at Issoudun. The 139th was placed at the Vaucouleurs Aerodrome, Toul sector, where the squadron was equipped with SPAD VII aircraft. Brooks was eventually made its flight commander. By early August, he was assigned as flight commander of the 22nd Aero Squadron, 2nd Pursuit Group. His new squadron was supplied with SPAD XIII pursuit craft. Altogether, he flew 120 missions in four different aircraft. He named each of the aircraft Smith in honor of his fiancée (Ruth Connery) who was attending Smith College in Massachusetts. The final plane he flew in combat, the Smith IV, is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum.
On July 29, 1918, Brooks achieved his first confirmed aerial victory by downing a German Fokker aircraft. Later, he destroyed two more Fokkers while flying over enemy lines on September 14. On that day, Brooks single-handedly engaged eight enemy aircraft in combat thus, earning him the Distinguished Service Cross. By the war's end, he had six confirmed kills to his credit.
Following the armistice of November 11, 1918, Brooks remained in France as the 22nd Squadron's commanding officer. His squadron was kept in reserve for possible German occupation duty. Upon his return to the United States in July 1919, Brooks was promoted to Captain. He decided to stay in the Air Service and was subsequently assigned as commanding officer for the 95th Pursuit Squadron, stationed at Kelly Field, Texas. From May 1920 to August 1921, he was put in charge of the 1st Pursuit Group at Ellington Field, Texas. Following that assignment, Brooks attended Air Service Field Officer's School, Langley Field, Virginia. After graduation, he stayed on duty at Langley Field until his resignation from the U.S. Army Air Service in December 1922. This action was spurred both by Brooks' frustration with being on the Army's stagnant promotion list and an interest in entering the private sector. During 1920-21, while in the service, he was involved in a failed Framingham-based commercial aviation business called the Brooks, Banks and Smith Corporation. Also in 1920, Brooks married Ruth. Their only child, Peter, was born in 1929.
Brooks' first job after his honorable discharge from the Air Service was as secretary for the National Automobile Association during 1923-24. During 1924-25, he worked in advertising sales for the financial magazine, United States Investor. Once again, his desire to be engaged in commercial aviation compelled him to become involved in establishing and organizing the Florida Airways Corporation from late 1925 into 1926. In time, Florida Airways became Eastern Airways. Brooks left this financially struggling enterprise and joined the Department of Commerce's Aeronautics Branch in August 1926. For the next seventeen months, he worked as an airway extension superintendent and associate airways engineer. His main task with the Aeronautics Branch was to survey air routes and supervise the installation of beacons to assist air mail pilots navigate the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia to Pennsylvania. He left government service in early 1928 and was hired by Bell Telephone Laboratories. He spent the next few decades working as a scientist, engineer and chief pilot for the company at Hadley Field, New Jersey. There, Brooks and his staff conducted pioneering research on ground-to-air radiotelephone communications and electronic aviation navigation equipment. During much of this period, he piloted a Fairchild FC2-W Wasp and a Ford Tri-Motor that operated as flying laboratories for the team's communications research. He was Bell's publications manager for New Jersey operations at the time of his retirement in 1960.
Brooks stayed active in aviation for the remainder of his life. Even in his nineties, he enjoyed flying all sorts of aircraft, including ultralights, gliders and hot-air balloons. He belonged to many aviation-related and professional associations and organizations such as the American Legion, Military Order of the World Wars, Combat Pilots Association, Order of Daedalians, OX-5 Aviation Pioneers Association, Telephone Pioneers of America, Cross and Cockade, Associate Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, Quiet Birdmen, WWI Overseas Flyers and the American Fighter Aces Association. Brooks also remained involved with the alumni affairs of his alma mater – MIT. He attended numerous air shows and reunions, including the sixty-fifth, and final reunion, held for the Lafayette Flying Corps in Paris, France in 1983. In 1980, he was inducted into the Aviation Hall of Fame of New Jersey. Brooks lived long enough to see his Smith IV restored by the National Air and Space Museum during the 1980s. Brooks, the last surviving American World War I ace, died in Summit, New Jersey, on July 17, 1991.
General note:
Other materials: medals and memorabilia transferred to NASM Aeronautics Division.
Provenance:
A. Raymond Brooks, Gift, 1989, NASM.1989.0104
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
The Atlas was the first intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM) in the US nuclear arsenal. This collection consists of 120 black and white photographs showing various aspects of the construction of the Atlas missile installation at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. In addition, the collection contains three pages of drawings showing typical equipment for launcher platforms and missile silos.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 120 black and white photographs, ranging in size from 3.5 x 5 inches to 8 x 10 inches, showing various aspects of the construction of the Atlas missile installation at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas. All the photographs are marked with the date and some caption information. In addition, the collection contains three pages of drawings showing typical equipment for launcher platforms and missile silos.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged by type of material.
Biographical / Historical:
The Atlas was the first intercontinental-range ballistic missile (ICBM) in the US nuclear arsenal. Deployed beginning in August 1959, the Atlas was designed to carry a 1-megaton thermonuclear warhead to targets up to 5,500 miles (8,850 kilometers) away, using either radio-inertial or all-inertial guidance. The Atlas was also used as a booster to launch US manned Mercury capsules into orbit in the 1960s. In the early 1960s, an installation was built at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas as part of the Atlas Missile Project.
Major Charles William Moore, USAF, was the project manager for the Site Activation Task Force and his unit received an award for completing the construction on time and under budget.
Provenance:
Jennifer Leigh, Gift, 2009, NASM.2010.0003
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
