Orville Burch Freeman (1893-1966) served with the US Army Air Service as an aviator, and later as a flight instructor, at Kelly Field, Texas during World War I and in the interwar period.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of one photo album created by Orville Burch Freeman documenting his career with the US Army Air Service. The album measures approximately 11.5 x 7 inches and contains more than 130 photographs. Photographs in the album, many of which were taken at Kelly Field, Texas, show other pilots and aircraft including air to air views of various aircraft in flight and aircraft accidents. Cyrus K. "Cy" Bettis (1893-1926) is shown in several photographs, including one with an erroneous label that states he died in 1924. Aircraft shown in the album include various models of Curtiss JN-4 including the Curtiss JN-4H Hisso Jenny and the Curtiss JN-4HB Hisso Jenny, as well as the Dayton Wright DH-4. There also aerial photographs of various locations in Texas. The album contains captions written by Freeman.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Orville Burch Freeman (1893-1966) served with the US Army Air Service as an aviator, and later as a flight instructor, at Kelly Field, Texas during World War I and in the interwar period. This collection consists of one photo album created by Freeman documenting his military career.
Provenance:
Glenn Farris, Gift, 2020, NASM.2020.0021
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.
From August 18 to September 2, 1919, the Scranton Aero Club held an aerial meet at an airfield near Clark's Summit, Pennsylvania. This collection consists of two album pages containing photographs taken at this event.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of two scrapbook pages containing nine black and white, mounted photographs. The pages measure approximately 10 by 7 inches and the photographs each measure approximately 2.75 by 4.75 inches. The photographs date to 1919 and most have a handwritten caption by Dora Bertha Wilson on the obverse. Six photographs were taken at an aerial meet held at an airfield near Clark's Summit, Pennsylvania from August 18 to September 2, 1919. Aircraft depicted in the photographs include the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny and the Dayton Wright DH-4. People depicted in the photographs include Hiram W. Sheridan (misspelled as Sheriden in the caption information) and Fred C. Nelson. The pages also include three family photographs of a young child playing outside.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
From August 18 to September 2, 1919, the Scranton Aero Club held an aerial meet at an airfield near Clark's Summit, Pennsylvania. Lieutenant Hiram W. Sheridan flew exhibition flights in his Dayton Wright DH-4 Maple Leaf and Lieutenant Fred C. Nelson made flights in a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny. Sheridan also attempted to set a speed record flying from Clark's Summit to Hazelhurst Field, New York. Dora Bertha Wilson is believed to have attended some part of the aerial meet as a young woman.
Provenance:
Thomas Arnold, Gift, 2014, NASM.2015.0007.
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
This collection contains two groups of photographs. The first group, mounted on pages removed from a photo album, contains views of aircraft and facilities at the United States Army Air Service Fairfield Intermediate Air Depot, Fairfield, Ohio, circa 1921. The second group consists of loose photographs of aircraft, most of which are historic views of early Aerial Experiment Association and Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company aircraft by photographer Harry M. Benner.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 86 photographs collected by the donor's father, roughly divided into two groups. The first group, most of which is mounted on black paper pages removed from a photo album, shows facilities and aircraft at the Fairfield Air Intermediate Depot in 1921, including aerial views of the field. Many of the aircraft pictured (circa 1918-1921) were undergoing technical assessment by the Army Air Service at nearby McCook Field and Wilbur Wright Field. Several photographs show the wreckage of Dayton Wright DH-4 and Curtiss JN-4D Jenny training aircraft crashed in the local area. Aircraft pictured in this group include Bristol Fighter F.2B (Brisfit) [McCook Field no. P-37], Engineering Division USD-9A (D.H.9) [McCook Field no. P-43], Fokker D.VII (V.18) [McCook Field No. P-108], LePère 11 (C-11, C II, LUSAC 11), Martin (MB-1) MP Mailplane, Martin (Glenn L.) (MB-1) GMB-TA Transatlantic Aircraft, Nieuport 24, Orenco Type B [McCook Field no. P-41], Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a, SPAD XIII (S.13), Standard (NJ) Handley Page O/400 "Langley", Standard (NJ)-Built Caproni Ca.5 Night Bomber, Thomas-Morse S-4C, Verville (Alfred) VCP-R (R-1), and Vought VE-7 [McCook Field no. P-23].
The second, smaller group of photographs consists of historical images (circa 1908-1913) relating to the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, Hammondsport, New York, most of which were taken by Curtiss photographer Harry M. Benner. This group contains photographs of Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) aircraft (the Aerodrome No 1 Red Wing, the Aerodrome No 2 White Wing, the Aerodrome No 3 Loon, the Aerodrome No 4 Silver Dart, and the Cygnet II) and an assortment of Curtiss models, including Lincoln Beachey at the controls of his Curtiss Beachey Special, Curtiss C-2 (AB-2), Ruth Law at the controls of her Curtiss Model D Headless, Curtiss Flying Boat No.2 "The Flying Fish," Curtiss Flying Boat Model F, the twin-engined Curtiss Model H "America" (H-1), Curtiss J (floatplane version), Curtiss JN-2 Jenny, Curtiss NC-1, Curtiss 18-T Wasp (Curtiss-Kirkham), and the Curtiss 1914 Rebuild of the Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome A. These widely reproduced images also appear in other NASM Archives collections from the period.
Biographical / Historical:
The Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot, opened by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Fairfield (Ohio) in January 1918, was designed to provide supply and logistical support for wartime aviation training operations. The largest of the depot's buildings was constructed around a double spur of track connecting it with the main railroad lines (still in use decades later as Building 1, Area C, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base). As World War I came to a close, the Army Air Service made plans for reducing training operations and managing war surplus materiel; accordingly, in January 1919 they shut down training at adjacent Wilbur Wright Field and shifted control and use of that field to the depot, now renamed as the Wilbur Wright Air Service Depot. In November 1919, the facility was transferred to the Air Service's list of permanent depots and renamed as the Aviation General Supply Depot, Fairfield, Ohio. As post-war demobilization continued, millions of dollars of property flowed into Fairfield from Europe and closed-down Air Service facilities in the continental United States, and a large civilian workforce was hired to deal with the massive influx of materiel. The name changed to Air Service Supply and Repair Depot after an aviation repair unit was transferred to Fairfield in September 1920; the depot's Engineering and Repair Section was tasked with the repair and maintenance of Air Service aircraft and the overhaul of engines. After undergoing four name changes in just over two years, in January 1921 the depot's name and mission as a center for supply and repair was clarified by the War Department with the establishment of four "air intermediate depots" at San Antonio (Texas), Rockwell (California), Middletown (Pennsylvania), and Fairfield, which became the Fairfield Air Intermediate Depot (FAID).
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Donald G. Williams, Gift, 1992, NASM.1992.0040
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:
Aerial Experiment Assoc Aerodrome No 3 June Bug Search this
Aerial Experiment Assoc Aerodrome No 4 Silver Dart Search this
This collection consists of a photo album and a scrapbook kept by Benjamin Scovill "Ben" Kelsey to document his life and aviation career. The collection also includes Kelsey's U. S. Army Air Forces "Air Route Manual: United States to Great Britain," dated May 25, 1942, prepared for use by the first flights of military aircraft across the North Atlantic in support of Operation Bolero.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a photo album and a scrapbook kept by Benjamin Scovill "Ben" Kelsey to document his life and aviation career. The photo album measures approximately 12.25 by 9.5 inches and documents Kelsey's early flying career and other aviation activities he was involved in from the period of about 1920 to 1932. Many of the photographs were taken around Garden City, New York or in and around Connecticut. Aircraft depicted in the album include the Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, Standard (NJ) J-1, Bellanca WB-2 Miss Columbia, Dayton Wright DH-4 Mailplane, Irwin Meteorplane C-C-1, Alexander Eaglerock Biplane, Waco ASO, Martin (Glenn L.) MB-2, Ford 2-AT Air Pullman, Air Transport John Wanamaker, Sikorsky Standard-Sikorsky SN-1, Avro 504, Sikorsky S-31, Sperry Messenger, Burnelli (Remington-Burnelli) RB-1, Curtiss Oriole, Curtiss CR-1 Racer, Udet U 12 Flamingo, as well as numerous other models by manufacturers such as Fokker, Curtiss, Boeing, Stinson, and Sikorsky. Besides Kelsey, other notable aviators pictured in the album include Laura Bromwell, Charles S. "Casey" Jones, Lloyd W. Bertaud, Walter E. Johnson, Earl W. Fleet, Robert Stevens Fogg, Gus Graff, Bertrand Blanchard Acosta, Harold T. "Slim" Lewis, Harry Bradford Chin, Thea Rasche, Richard H. Depew, and Leigh Wade. The album also contains aerial photographs.
The scrapbook, which measures 11 by 16 inches, is mainly composed of newspaper clippings, but also includes magazine articles, photographs, correspondence, certificates and other ephemera. It covers the period of approximately 1934 to 1947 and documents Kelsey's military career during this period. Aircraft seen in the scrapbook include the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Curtiss P-37 (Hawk 75I), Lockheed XP-38/P-38 Lightning, Douglas XB-19 (XBLR-2), Curtiss CW-21 Interceptor-Fighter, Bell XFM-1 Airacuda, and the Douglas C-54 Skymaster.
The collection also contains a U. S. Army Air Forces document, "Air Route Manual: United States to Great Britain," prepared by Air Movements Unit, Operational Intelligence Section AFDIS – A2, May 25, 1942 (Second Revision). This publication is a pilot's briefing document prepared in support of Operation Bolero. It was designed for use by a Lockheed P-38 Lightning pilot and provides detailed radio and navigational information for all airfields en route (U. S. and Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and the British Isles) including aerial photographs, prepared strip maps marked with the magnetic course to be flown, and general information. It also contains eight large sectional maps, two American Airlines Radio Range and Mileage Charts, and six Ordnance Survey of Great Britain Aeronautical Maps.
Arrangement:
The collection materials are grouped into two roughly chronological scrapbooks and one military document.
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 material relating to the long military career (1918-1948) of aviator Lewis Selwyn Webster, including five of Webster's pilot's log books as well as numerous photographs, letters, news clippings, and other documents. A small section of the collection pertains to Webster's son, Lewis Frazer Webster, who served with the U.S. Air Force and was killed in action in Korea in 1952.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of material relating to the military career of Lewis Selwyn Webster, including five of Webster's pilot's log books, covering the dates 1918-1932, as well as numerous photographs (including two panoramic photographs), letters, and news clippings, and other documents gathered into a scrapbook binder. One of the panoramic photographs is 19 by 7.75 inches and shows the Station Supply Department at Duncan Field, San Antonio Texas, 1929. The second panoramic photograph is 40 by 8 inches and shows the commissioned officers of the 1st Provisional Air Brigade, who were gathered to take part in the Bombing Maneuvers at Langley Field, June 1921. The scrapbook binder contains photographs of Webster during flight training and subsequent military service; Webster's military records; photographs of various U.S. Army facilities; aerial photographs of various locations; a copy of the rules and regulations, Webster's flight log, and Webster's report pertaining to the 1919 Transcontinental Reliability and Endurance Test; news clippings; numerous photographs of the 1921 German battleship bombing trials; photographs and correspondence pertaining to the Panama Canal Zone, a 1924 memo from Mason M. Patrick to Commanding Officers regarding aircraft accidents; a program for the dedication of Randolph Field; and news clippings pertaining to Webster's participation in an aerial search for a gang of kidnappers. Aircraft depicted in the photographs include Dayton Wright DH-4, Curtiss JN-4D Jenny, de Havilland (Airco) D.H.9, Martin (Glenn L.) MB-2, Curtiss F-5L (PN-5), Curtiss O-1E Falcon, Douglas O-38, Douglas O-2, Boeing P-12, and the Handley Page H.P.42. Other photograph subjects include General William "Billy" Mitchell and aerial views of the 1933 Century of Progress exposition (World's Fair) in Chicago, Illinois. The collection also contains a copy of the publication A List of Airplane Pilot Officers of the United States Army Air Service Commissioned Prior to November 12, 1918.
A small portion of the collection pertains to Lewis Selwyn Webster's son, Lewis Frazer Webster, who served with the U.S. Air Force and was killed in action in Korea in 1952. This series contains military records of Lewis Frazer Webster, photographs, and news clippings. Aircraft depicted in the photographs in this series include Republic P-47 (F-47) Thunderbolt, Lockheed (F-80) P-80A Shooting Star, North American F-86 Sabre, and the Gloster Meteor.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two series.
A small number of items in the collection have been digitized and attached to this finding aid.
Biographical / Historical:
Lewis Selwyn Webster was born in 1892. After graduating from high school, Webster enrolled in the University of Illinois but left college to join the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I. Webster completed Ground School at the University of Illinois in January 1918 and then went to flight training at Rich Field in Texas which he completed in June of that year. Webster then completed a flying instructor's course at Brooks Field, Texas before being ordered to Call Field, Texas and subsequently to Langley Field, Virginia. In October 1919, Webster participated in the first mass transcontinental air race, dubbed by the Air Service the "Transcontinental Reliability and Endurance Test," which was organized by General William "Billy" Mitchell. Webster finished seventh. Webster served under Mitchell with the 1st Provisional Air Brigade and, in June and July of 1921, participated in the sinking of German battleships in an area off the Chesapeake Bay under a program of aerial bombing tests operated jointly by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy. Under this same program, Webster participated in the sinking of the USS Alabama (BB-8) in September of that year. From 1922 to 1925, Webster served at France Field in the Panama Canal Zone in the capacity of engineering officer of the 7th Observation Squadron. Webster returned to Langley Field in November 1925 and completed Air Corps Tactical School there in 1939. From 1942 to 1944, Webster was the Commanding Officer of the 36th Fighter Squadron in Australia and New Guinea, and from 1945 to 1948 he commanded the 4832nd Specialized Depot in Topeka, Kansas. In 1948, Webster retired from military service as a Colonel and was active in civic and social service organizations in Lakeland, Florida until his death in 1957.
A small portion of the collection pertains to Lewis Selwyn Webster's son, Lewis Frazer Webster, who served with the U.S. Air Force and was killed in action in Korea in 1952.
Provenance:
Eric Webster, Gift, 2010, NASM.2010.0041.
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.
