This collection consists of the following: five oversized rolled panoramic unit group photographs from Brooks Field, 1929; reports from the engineering department of Chance Vought Aircraft; pilot log books; design study brochures; the flight records of Paul S. Baker; volumes 1-5 of the Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences; correspondence; maps; ten issues of The Flying Kaydet; and photographs. The reports include information on the following aircraft: Vought F4U-1 Corsair; Vought XF5U-1 Skimmer; Vought F7U-3 Cutlass; Vought XF7U-1 Cutlass; Vought XF6U-1 Pirate; and North American P-51A Mustang. The photographs include: fifteen 3 x 5 black and white photographs taken during an orientation cruise in June 1946; nine 3.5 x 4.5 black and white photographs of the Vought XOS2U-1 Kingfisher; twelve 3.5 x 4.5 black and white photographs of the Vought XSB2U-1 Vindicator taken in 1937; twelve 3 x 4.5 negatives of the XO4U-2 Cockpit Cooling tank; eight 2.5 x 4 black and white photographs of employees working in the structures section of the Chance Vought Aircraft Engineering Department; one 3 x 5 black and white photograph of the plant of the Chance Vought Corporation in East Hartford, Connecticut.
Biographical / Historical:
Paul S. Baker (born October 2, 1907), received his Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from MIT In 1929 and that same year learned to fly at Brooks Field, Texas. Baker was an experimental test pilot, chief of aerodynamics, engineering manager and chief technical engineer, for Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft and Chance Vought Aircraft - United Aircraft Corporation. Baker was active in the United States Army Air Corps Reserve, especially with the 118th Photo Section. Throughout his life, Baker was an activist for the environment and a member of several ornithological societies. After retirement, Baker began work with the Center for Conservation Biology.
Provenance:
Paul Seaman Baker, Gift, 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
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of Mariner 2 Videohistory Collection
Extent:
2 videotapes (Reference copies). 8 digital .wmv files and .rm files (Reference copies).
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Videotapes
Transcripts
Date:
1987
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Videohistory Program, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation from 1986 until 1992, used video in historical research. Additional collections have
been added since the grant project ended. Videohistory uses the video camera as a historical research tool to record moving visual information. Video works best in historical
research when recording people at work in environments, explaining artifacts, demonstrating process, or in group discussion. The experimental program recorded projects that
reflected the Institution's concern with the conduct of contemporary science and technology.
Smithsonian historians participated in the program to document visual aspects of their on-going historical research. Projects covered topics in the physical and biological
sciences as well as in technological design and manufacture. To capture site, process, and interaction most effectively, projects were taped in offices, factories, quarries,
laboratories, observatories, and museums. Resulting footage was duplicated, transcribed, and deposited in the Smithsonian Institution Archives for scholarship, education,
and exhibition. The collection is open to qualified researchers.
Descriptive Entry:
This videohistory session brought together a group of engineers, scientists, and administrators associated with Mariner to discuss the construction, launch, and operation
of the country's first successful planetary probe. The interview was conducted in cooperation with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) and with the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of a week-long series of events to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Mariner 2.
Allan A. Needell, curator at NASM, moderated the session on December 11, 1987 at the International Conference and Reception Suite, S. Dillon Ripley Center, Quadrangle Building,
Smithsonian Institution. He sought to document how well the group operated as a team, specifically the process by which they -- as scientists, managers, and engineers -- worked
together, even when the sense of mission and procedure differed.
This collection consists of one interview session, totalling approximately 2:40 hours of recording, and 61 pages of transcript.
Historical Note:
The Mariner 2, launched to Venus on August 27, 1962, was built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the University of California. On December 14, 1962, the spacecraft
passed within 41,000 kilometers of Venus, returning important data on the conditions of Venus and its atmosphere. This was the first successful encounter of a spacecraft with
another planet. Mariner 2 also returned extremely important data on the electromagnetic and energetic particle environment of interplanetary space.
The interview group consisted of Jack Albert, Albert R. Hibbs, Lewis D. Kaplan, Jack N. James, and Oran W. Nicks. Jack Albert was born in 1923 in Dansville, New York. He
attended Cornell University until 1943, prior to enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He later entered West Point and graduated in 1949 with a commission as a second lieutenant
in the U.S. Air Force. In 1950 he began his career in guided missiles at Holloman Air Force Base as project officer for the X-7 Ram Jet test vehicle. He also received an M.S.
degree from the University of Michigan in aeronautical engineering and eventually joined the ATLAS team at the Air Force Ballistic Missile Division in Inglewood, California.
In November 1960, he directed the NASA/Agena B division which supplied the upper stage for the Mariner 2 mission.
Albert R. Hibbs was born in 1924 in Akron, Ohio. He completed a tour as an active duty ensign in the U. S. Navy before receiving a B.S. in physics from the California Institute
of Technology (Cal. Tech.) in 1945. He then received an M.S. in mathematics in 1948 from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D from Cal. Tech. in 1955. He began work at JPL
in 1950 and was eventually appointed chief of the JPL Research Section.
Lewis D. Kaplan was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1917 and received a B.S. in 1939 and a Ph.D. in meteorology in 1951 from the University of Chicago. He worked for the
United States Weather Bureau and then joined the Institute for Advance Study in 1953. He remained there until 1956. He received short appointments at Imperial College of the
University of London and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and then accepted a joint appointment at JPL and the University of Nevada in 1961. While at JPL he
was actively involved with the development of the Mariner 2 infrared radiometer. In 1970 he began teaching at the University of Chicago, where he was appointed Professor Emeritus
of Meteorology.
Jack N. James was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1920 and received a B.S. in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University. He served with the United States Navy
during World War II, attended Bowdoin College and MIT, and was a naval radar instructor at Princeton University. From 1945 through 1950 he worked for General Electric and
RCA, and received an M.S. degree in electrical engineering from Union College. He started with JPL in 1950 and developed ground and flight radar equipment for the Corporal
missile system. In 1961 he became project manager for the Mariner Venus Project. By 1967 he was appointed assistant laboratory director for Technical Divisions.
Oran W. Nicks was born in 1925 in Eldorado, Texas. He received a B.S. in mechanical engineering at the University of Oklahoma. From 1948 through 1958 he worked at North
American Aviation and progressed from junior aeronautical engineer to supervisor of aerodynamics of the Navaho project to Technical Services project leader. In 1958 he was
appointed project engineer at Vought Astronautics Division of Chance-Vought Aircraft, Inc. He began at NASA in 1960 as head of Lunar Flight Systems in the Office of Lunar
and Planetary Programs, and became director of the Office of Lunar and Planetary Programs in 1962. He was responsible for Ranger, Surveyor, Lunar Orbiter, Mariner, and Pioneer
programs.
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:
Bendix Air Races Collection, Acc. NASM.1988.0115, 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:
Bendix Air Races Collection, Acc. NASM.1988.0115, 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:
Bendix Air Races Collection, Acc. NASM.1988.0115, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection consists of a scrapbook, compiled by McFadden, relating to the founding and history of the WFA, as well as with McFadden's role with the WFA. The scrapbook includes WFA convention programs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, patches, and 'The Women Flyer - Official Bulletin of the Women Flyers of America, Inc.' This donation also included a small cosmetic case with the WFA logo and McFadden's aviation pins. There is also material relating to the Charles A. Lindbergh Fund, Inc., in which McFadden participated as part of the Grants Review Panel during the 1980s.
Biographical / Historical:
The Women Flyers of America (WFA), established in July 1940, invited any women over the age of 18 to join their organization if they were interested in flying 'for sport, profession, or national emergency.' This organization helped to guide and prepare women in the various phases of aviation, and local chapters could be found in major cities across the United States. Mattie F. McFadden, an aeronautical engineer who worked for Chance Vought Aircraft Company, served as the Bridgeport, Connecticut, chapter president of the WFA and later became the national president of this organization. The organization folded in 1954.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Mattie F. McFadden Estate, gift, 1998, 1998-0041, 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
No restrictions. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by the Smithsonian Institution Archives. Contact SIA Reference Staff for further information (email photos@si.edu)
Data Source:
Smithsonian Institution Archives
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_arc_367115
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