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:
New York Airways Collection, Acc. NASM.1992.0052, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Chronik des Werkes Trauen Geschichtliches aus dem Versuchsgelände für Raumfahrtantriebe = History of the Trauen Plant of the arianegroup: historical reports from the rocket propulsion test center Claus Cohrt und Mitarbeiter des Raumfahrthistorischen Archivs Bremen e.V
Title:
History of the Trauen Plant of the arianegroup:historical reports from the rocket propulsion test center
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:
Peenemünde Interviews Project, Acc. 1999.0038, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Societe d'Etudes de la Propulsion par Reaction (SEPR) Search this
Extent:
0.15 Cubic feet ((1 flatbox))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Photographs
Albums
Date:
1939-1960
Scope and Contents:
This album 10 x 7 inches and contains 88 original photographs, taken from 1939 to 1960, of many of Zborowski's rocket, jet and coleopter projects, as well as 6 printed drawings.
Biographical / Historical:
Helmut Philip von Zborowski was a significant figure in early rocket and jet engine development. A contemporary of Werner von Braun, Zborowski worked on rocket and jet development for BMW during World War II, afterwards going to France and serving as a research engineer for the Société d'Etudes de la Propulsion par Réaction (SEPR). Zborowski later founded his own company, Bureau Technique Zborowski.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Stefan and Sylvia Eihhorn, Purchase, 2001, 2001-0060, 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
Henri-Marie Coanda (1885-1972) was born and died in Bucharest, Romania. He spent his early childhood in Paris (1886-1891), before being educated in a Romanian military school (graduated 1903). Coanda continued his studies in Berlin and Paris -- at Auguste Rodin's atelier, with Gustaf Eiffel, and as a member of the first class of L'Ecole Superieure d'Aeronautique. He made his aeronautical debut in 1910, in the world's first jet aircraft. This was followed in 1932 with the discovery of the Coanda effect in which jet streams are used to create vacuums by following curves. His other projects included prefabricated housing developments, water conversion and conservation, energy conservation and agricultural equipment. In his lifetime he contributed some 250 inventions to these diverse fields.
Scope and Contents:
The Henri Coanda Collection (acc. #XXXX-0170), located at the National Air and Space Museum Archives, consists of approximately one cubic foot of materials relating to Henri Coanda's experimental work. The inclusive dates are 1908-1961 with the bulk of the material covering the years 1953- 1961. The collection should prove valuable to researchers interested in Coanda's non- aviation, accomplishments, especially his hydrogenerator project. Topics included in the collection are the aforementioned water conversion project, his soil improvement project, the Société Multicellulaires pre-fabricated housing company, his work with concrete holding tanks, and unidentified experiments. The collection consists mostly of correspondence, technical reports, and photos, many of which are uncaptioned. There are also expense records, newspaper and magazine articles, books, glass plate negatives, and a watercolor painting. Those in search of information regarding Coanda's aviation achievements might find more information in Coanda's biographical file at the National Air and Space Museum Archives located on the Mall.
Biographical / Historical:
Henri-Marie Coanda (1886-1972), a Rumanian scientist and inventor, broke ground in a wide range of areas. He produced significant innovations in early aircraft design and claimed to have flown the first jet. He also identified the fluidics principle called the Coanda Effect and subsequently applied it in many of his inventions. Further, he pioneered concepts in such diverse areas as fuel storage, pre-fabricated housing, soil regeneration, and saline water purification.
Henri Coanda was born June 7, 1886, in Bucharest, Romania. His family soon moved to France after his father, Constantin Coanda, a professor and president of the Council of Romania, became attache to the Rumanian embassy in Paris. Coanda returned to Romania in 1896 to attend military school (1896-1903). He continued his education at Technische Hochsehule in Charlottenburg-Berlin (1903-1907), the University of Liége (1907-1908), and the Electrotechnical Institute of Montefiore in Turin (1908-1909). At L'Ecole Supirieure d'Aeronautique in Paris he completed his engineering degree, graduating first in his class (1910).
During his school days Coanda became interested in aviation. While studying in Berlin he followed Otto Lilienthal's glider experiments in nearby Spandau and also built a miniature airplane powered by two rocket engines (1903). In 1906 he even went as far as Nice to meet Captain Ferdinand Ferber, who also flew a glider. When Coanda proposed the idea of a jet engine, Ferber recommended that he present the idea to Ernest Archdeacon, Gustav Eiffel, and Paul Painleve in Paris. They in turn directed him to Louis Bleriot, who helped him build model of a pyrotechnic rocket Powered airplane which he displayed in Short Hall, 8erlin in 1907. At Liege one year later Coanda constructed a Joachim glider with his roommate, Giannini Caproni, who later established Aeroplani Caproni.
Still, Coanda wished to produce a jet-powered airplane and by 1910 had perfected his craft. The plane featured a single turbine engine, fully cantilevered wings with thick airfoil sections, an integral fuel tank, retractable landing gear, a cruciform tail, and molded plywood construction. Although highly innovative, the strange-looking model made only a small stir at the Second International Salon of Aeronautics in Paris in November 1910.
One month later the plane left the ground for its first and only time. On December 10, 1910, Coanda had planned to run basic engine tests for his plane at Issy les Moulineaux near Paris, but as events progressed, Coanda found himself and his plane barreling towards the walls of Paris. He had no choice but to launch the plane up and over the barrier. Unfortunately, Coanda did not know how to fly the plane and so immediately crashed on the other side. Luckily, he was thrown clear of the wreck, for the gas exhaust had ignited the plywood plane, and it went up in flames instantly. The unfortunate loss bankrupted Coanda, and he was forced to terminate the project. Though the years scholars have disputed over Coanda's claims to the first jet flight. Those who argue against him site that he did not step forward immediately, the press did not record the event, the flight only a short distance, and the engine design differed from that of other jets.
After the tragedy at Issy, Coanda turned his creativity towards more traditional yet still inventive aircraft. In 1911 he designed and flew the first twin engine plane at Riems, France, and in 1912 he conceived the first delta wing airplane. From 1911 to 1914 he worked for Bristol Aeroplane Company in Great Britain and became their chief technical engineer. There he designed the successful Bristol-Coanda airplane. With the onset of World War I Coanda returned to France to fight in the 22nd Artillery Regiment, but the French recognized his talent in aircraft design and consequently sent him to the Delaunay-Belleville Factory at St. Denis to build airplanes. At Delaunay Coanda designed a bomber with a range of 1100 miles and also created a small, fast observation plane.
Even as late as the l930s Coanda intermittently designed aircraft. In 1933 he conceived a vertical take-off craft popularly known as the "flying saucer." Coanda saw it as the wave of the future because of its speed and its use of jet stream dynamics. Two years later Coanda tried his hand at designing a jet for a second time, but the twin-boomed model was never built.
Although Coanda never constructed a workable jet, his experiences with jet properties did
help him to identify the Coanda Effect in 1932. Basically, the principle states that a fluid stream will tend to follow a curved surface' because of the vacuum it creates with that surface. Coanda first encountered the effect when the exhaust traveled down the fuselage of his 1910 plane and ignited it. Coanda later applied the principle to inventions such as his flying saucer, an automobile emissions reducer, mining safety features, and a jet sprayer.
Over the years Coanda's interests pulled him into many careers. As previously mentioned, he designed airplanes both in Great Britain and France. In 1929 he and Louis Blériot entered on a venture to build pre-fabricated houses. After World War II he tried his hand running businesses in Romania, and in the 1950s he formed SFERI-COANDA to market his inventions and experiments which included a solar-powered hydrogenerator and ideas for soil improvements. For the last thirty years of his life Coanda consulted for companies in both Europe and the United States. Through advising the Huyck Corporation, which was working on a hydrogenerator and water Propulsion during the 1960's, Coanda became acquainted with G. Harry Stine, the donor of this collection.
Even into the last years of his life Coanda remained active. In 1970 he returned to Romania where the government named him president of the National Institute for Scientific and Technical Creation. The following year the Academy of Aeronautics of London awarded him with an honorary membership. On November 25, 1972, Henri-Marie Coanda passed away in Bucharest, Romania.
1908 -- Photographed bullet in flight, first to do so
1908-1909 -- Attended Institute of Montefiore, Turin
1909-1910 -- Attended L'Ecole Supérieure d'Aeronautique, Paris
1910 -- Published "Wings Regarded as Jet Engines" in La Technique Aeronautique, July
1910 -- Displayed jet airplane at the Second International Salon of Aeronautics, Paris, November
1910 -- Claimed to have flown jet airplane, Issy les Moulineaux, 10 December
1911 -- Built first turbine-powered automobile
1911 -- Designed and flew first twin-engined airplane, Riems, France
1912-1914 -- Designed airplanes for Bristol Aeroplane Company, Filton
1912 -- Conceived first delta wing airplane
1914-1918 -- Designed French military airplanes at the Delaunay-Belleville Factory
1914 -- Studied electric charge on aircraft
1914 -- Discovered electric charge of plants
1914 -- Joined the French 22nd Artillery Regiment
1916 -- Designed strategic bomber with range of 1100 miles
1918 -- Constructed first airborne rocket cannon, Le Havre, France
1918 -- Manufactured first concrete petroleum storage tanks
1923 -- Originated the idea of prefabricated concrete buildings, Paris
1929 -- Established Societe Multicellulaires with Louis Blériot, Paris
Provenance:
G. Harry Stine, gift, XXXX-0170, 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
Daniel D. Hungerford and his brother Floyd S. Hungerford designed a rocket-powered automobile that they debuted on November 2, 1929 in their hometown of Elmira, New York. This collection consists of eight black and white photographs, of various sizes, showing the Hungerford Rocket Car, Daniel D. Hungerford, Floyd S. Hungerford, the car's rocket motor and other components, and interior views of the rocket car from the pilot's seat.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of eight black and white photographs, of various sizes, showing the Hungerford Rocket Car, Daniel D. Hungerford, Floyd S. Hungerford, the car's rocket motor and other components, and interior views of the rocket car from the pilot's seat. Extensive caption information is written on the reverse of the photographs.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Daniel D. Hungerford and his brother Floyd S. Hungerford shared a great interest in rockets. They began by studying lighter than air craft and built an airplane engine in 1909. By 1913, they had bought their own airplane. In addition, the Hungerford brothers worked as glider mechanics, during which time they invented a rocket-powered soldering iron to aid in their work. They had plans for a rocket lawn mover, but this was never completed. The Hungerfords designed a rocket-powered automobile that they debuted on November 2, 1929 in their hometown of Elmira, New York. The Hungerford Rocket Car, named the Shirley Lois Moon Girl after Daniel's daughter, was based on a 1921 Chevrolet 490 chassis covered with a framework made of basswood strips, isinglass windows, and plate glass covered with heavy cardboard that had been painted black. The Hungerfords then had a special fuel injection pump and the rocket motors installed at Gould Pump Works in Seneca Falls, New York. The car's design featured four exhaust pipes in the rear, although only one was actually utilized. In 1932, after operating the Shirley Lois Moon Girl on public roads for more than two years, the Hungerfords decided to register the car with the state of New York. After much debate, the New York Bureau of Motor Vehicles agreed to register the car provided "rocket" was listed on the form under type. Shirley Lois Moon Girl was given New York license plate number 4J74-78 and was registered until 1952. Over time, the car was improved including the addition of new parts and equipment, new paint, and the replacement of the original Chevrolet cooling system with a 1927 Waco airplane radiator. The Hungerford brothers exhibited Shirley Lois Moon Girl at fairs and other events throughout New York and Pennsylvania, and a letter about the car written by the Hungerfords was read on the radio program "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century" on January 15, 1934. The last exhibition of Shirley Lois Moon Girl took place at Colussy's Airport at Coudersport, Pennsylvania on July 29, 1934. The Hungerfords had initially planned on large-scale manufacturing of the Hungerford Rocket Car with the Shirley Lois Moon Girl being simply a prototype, but no other rocket cars were ever made. The Hungerfords also discussed building a rocket that could reach the moon, a project that never made it past the planning phase. Floyd S. Hungerford died in December 1963. Daniel Hungerford allowed Ralph Hodge of Cohoes, New York to take possession of the car in the mid-1960s with the understanding that, in the event of Hungerford's death, it would become Hodge's property. Hodge cleaned the vehicle and replaced the rotting cardboard with aluminum, and the Shirley Lois Moon Girl took part in a number of parades and civic events in New York. Daniel S. Hungerford died in 1968. For a time, Shirley Lois Moon Girl was on display at "Harrah's Automobile Collection" in Las Vegas, Nevada. Upon the death of Ralph Hodge, his attorney, and one time assistant district attorney of Albany county, Daniel Dwyer took ownership of Shirley Lois Moon Girl. Before his death in 1992, Dwyer donated Shirley Lois Moon Girl to the New York State Museum at Albany.
Provenance:
Daniel S. Dwyer, Gift, Unknown, NASM.XXXX.0882
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
A collection of items attributed to rocket pioneer James Hart Wyld dating from the 1930s and 1940s. The collection consists of two boxes, with one containing notes and prints attributed to Wyld and the other containing original negatives.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately 140 black-and-white negatives (28 35mm strips of 8 frames each, seven 35mm strips of 2 frames each, and six 3.5 x 6 inch sheets), predominantly taken by James H. Wyld, of American Rocket Society meets and rocket tests and an Elmira, New York, glider meet, and images taken by Wyld on various trips around the New York City area and elsewhere. Buildings, engineering projects, and landscapes pictured include the Lincoln Tunnel and the Triborough Bridge (under construction), the Empire State Building, Central Park, Gilgo Beach and Long Beach (Long Island), Port Washington, Fire Island, the 1939 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, the Vanderbilt Cup races in Mineola, New Rochelle, Cornwall, and the Catskills, all in New York. Also included are images taken in Princeton, New Jersey; Connecticut; Mount Washington, New Hampshire; and Massillon, Ohio. Individuals pictured include Frank Harrison, Albert Rice, and Bill Baum. The collection also consists of Wyld's personal papers including a diary covering the period of February 1931 to May 1936; a 1932 scientific notebook; two photographs of rocket test activities; a post card addressed to Wyld from "John" (possibly John Shesta) referencing a postponement; a portraint of James Wyld; handwritten report, "An Automatic Thrust and Mixture Control for Rocket Motors," 1946.an envelope full of information relating to a court case involving the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; a Princeton University Alumni Lectures pamphlet entitled America's Problem of National Defense by Professor Harold Sprout; five newspaper clippings related to rockets; an undated letter, missing the first page, to Wyld from Bernard E. "Ben" Smith regarding rocket testing; two letters, dating from 1938-1939, from Wyld to "John" (possibly John Shesta) regarding rocket testing; a report entitled Long Range Rocket, Section II (Propellant Systems) by Dr. Paul F. Winternitz, Director of Laboratories, Reaction Motors, Inc.; "Proposal for Unguided Liquid-Propellant Rocket Projectile" by an unknown author, possibly Wyld; two drawings of rockets; three pages of notes handwritten by Wyld, and a letter from Albert M. Paquin to the American Rocket Society, with handwritten comment attached, regarding financial assistance from the Society for rocket research. In addition, the collection contains a memo to Wyld regarding Reaction Motors, Inc. stock prices; and Wyld's handwritten notes and drawings entitled, "The Design of Streamline Hulls and Fins for Rockets," "The Nature of Rocket Flight" (noted as draft of Chapter IV of Introduction to Rocketry), "Pumping Mechanism" (appears to be missing pages), "Superchargine Airplane with Oxygen," and six additional pages of miscellaneous notes and drawings. Some pages of the notes have been initialled and noted by Shesta and Lawrence.
Biographical / Historical:
Rocket pioneer James Hart Wyld was born in 1913 and received a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Princeton University in 1935. He joined the American Interplanetary Society (later the American Rocket Society) in 1931. In the late nineteen thirties, Wyld developed and tested the first modern liquid-propellant rocket motors. In 1941 he, along with John Shesta, Lovell Lawrence, Jr., and Hugh Franklin Pierce, formed Reaction Motors, Inc. (RMI), the first US rocket propulsion company.
Related Materials:
The American Rocket Society's Rocket Test Stand No. 2 is featured in negatives present in this collection. More information concerning this artifact can be found at American Rocket Society's Rocket Test Stand No. 2.
Provenance:
Anne W. Blizard, Gift, 2005, NASM.2005.0051
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 bulk of this collection consists of documents relating to Lawrence's work at RMI, including technical reports and administrative papers, as well as personal and business correspondence. The collection also includes some material on ARS and Lawrence's Chrysler years.
Biographical / Historical:
Lovell Lawrence, Jr. (1915-1971) was an amateur rocket experimenter in the 1930s under the American Rocket Society, of which he became president in 1946. He worked as assistant to the chief engineer of IBM from 1933 until 1941, when he joined with John Shesta, James Wyld, and Hugh Franklin Pierce to form Reaction Motors, Inc. (RMI), the first US rocket propulsion company, with Lawrence as president. Lawrence left RMI in 1951 over the gradual loss of administrative and technical authority. In 1953 he joined Chrysler's Missile Division as manager of power plant design. By 1956 he was director of the Redstone project. He went on to Chrysler's Advanced Project organization, first as chief engineer (1959), then as director (1961). In 1964 he became chief research engineer for Chrysler.
General:
Other materials: turbo supercharger (held by National Air and Space Museum, Aeronautics Division, acc. 1973-132)
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
Container:
Box 1, Folder 11
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1966 - 1971
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
A. Roy Knabenshue Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0136, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
