Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) in 1928 was the first woman to fly (as a passenger) across the Atlantic, and in 1932 the first woman (and second person, after Charles Lindbergh) to fly solo and nonstop across that ocean. She flew many record flights, published several books and accomplished much for women in aviation. This collection consists of a file of correspondence, telegrams, official Coast Guard dispatches from the USS Itasca, newspaper and reports relating to the planning of Amelia Earhart's 1937 flight and the naval search for her after her disappearance.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a file of correspondence, telegrams, official Coast Guard dispatches from the USS Itasca, newspaper and reports relating to the planning of Amelia Earhart's 1937 flight and the naval search for her after her disappearance. The file contains correspondence signed by George Putnam and some of the correspondence relates to the radio frequencies that were to be used/were used by Earhart during her trip. This file evidently belonged to W. T. Miller, who was Airways Superintendent at the Bureau of Air Commerce, United States Department of Commerce. Miller was very involved in asserting sovereignty over Pacific Islands, such as Howland, during the late 1930s.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original reverse chronological order.
Biographical / Historical:
Amelia Earhart (1897-1937) in 1928 was the first woman to fly (as a passenger) across the Atlantic, and in 1932 the first woman (and second person, after Charles Lindbergh) to fly solo and nonstop across that ocean. She flew many record flights, published several books and accomplished much for women in aviation before attempting on June 1, 1937, an around-the-world flight from Miami, Florida in a twin-engine Lockheed Electra. She and navigator Frederick J. Noonan were flying from Lae, New Guinea to Howland Island when they disappeared over the Pacific Ocean on July 2, 1937. A exhaustive sea and air search, ordered by President Franklin Roosevelt, was unsuccessful in locating Earhart and Noonan.
Provenance:
John Davison, Gift, 2010, NASM.2011.0006
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
Record Flights, AX-10 endurance flight, Kanda & Takezawa (1997) [Documents]
Collection Creator:
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Collection Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: fees for commercial use.
Collection Citation:
American Petroleum Institute Photograph and Film Collection, 1860s-1990 (bulk 1955-1990), Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Sponsor:
Digitization of Series 1 though Series 4 was made possible by Andrew and Anya Shiva.
1.32 Cubic feet (2 legal document boxes and 1 flatbox)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Maps
Diaries
Date:
1924
Summary:
In 1924, as a lieutenant in the Army Air Service, Leslie P. Arnold was a crew member in one of the three Army planes that flew 27,000 miles around the world in 175 days. This collection consists of Leslie Arnold's handwritten diary and annotated navigational charts of the journey as well as a scrapbook with images of the trip including the aircraft, gasoline tanks, pilot crew, and air-to air shots.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of Leslie Arnold's handwritten diary and annotated navigational charts of the journey. The collection also contains the following: an autographed photograph; a Signal Corps message; an advertisement for Mobil oil; a page from 'Illustrated Current News;' and a black scrapbook with images of the trip including the aircraft, gasoline tanks, pilot crew, and air-to air shots. Some of the photographs in the scrapbook are snapshots while others were taken by news agencies.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged by type of material.
Biographical / Historical:
In 1924, as a lieutenant in the Army Air Service, Leslie P. Arnold was a crew member in one of the three Army planes that flew 27,000 miles around the world in 175 days. Arnold joined the Army in 1917 where he served for eleven years. During his service, he spent time in France during World War I and was part of General William Mitchell's group that conducted tests to prove that battleships could be sunk by aerial bombardment. After the 1924 trip, Arnold worked for a variety of airlines: Transcontinental Air Transport; Pennsylvania Central Airlines and Eastern Air Lines.
Provenance:
Leslie Arnold?, Gift?, unknown, NASM.XXXX.0518.
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
In July 1933, Wiley Post flying the Lockheed Model 5B Vega Winnie Mae (A/C No. NR105W) became the first person to fly solo around the world. Lieutenant J. F. Gillon worked at the US Navy Hydrographic Office and "voluntarily assisted many of the prominent fliers in plotting their courses," including Wiley Post. After his successful around the world solo flight, Post returned the map section in this collection to Gillon as a memento.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a linen-backed map section of the Buffalo, New York region with route and degrees marked in red ink. The section measures approximately 7 by 7 inches and is marked on the reverse with the inscription, "Lt. J. F. Gillon, Hydrographic Office, 1933" and the number "310,728."
Arrangement:
Collection is a single item.
Biographical / Historical:
In June 1931, Wiley Post flying the Lockheed Model 5B Vega Winnie Mae (A/C No. NR105W) with Harold Gatty as navigator successfully traveled around the world making fourteen stops and setting a record time of 8 days, 15 hours, and 51 minutes. In July 1933, Post followed a similar course but made only eleven stops and became the first person to fly solo around the world, making the trip in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes.
Lieutenant J. F. Gillon worked at the US Navy Hydrographic Office and "voluntarily assisted many of the prominent fliers in plotting their courses," including Wiley Post. After his successful around the world solo flight, Post returned the map section in this collection to Gillon as a memento.
Provenance:
J. F. Gillon, Gift, 1933, NASM.XXXX.1006.
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 a scrapbook relating to Manila Davis Talley and her aviation career.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of one scrapbook which contains newspaper clippings, membership cards, programs, photographs, and pilot's licenses, mostly relating to Manila Davis Talley and her aviation career. The focus of the collection is on the years 1929-42, and highlights Talley's career as a salesperson for Curtis-Wright, and her association with the 99s and the Betsy Ross Corps. Also included is the scrapbook is information on the Women's National Air Races, the Women's National Air Meets, and Talley's work with the Civil Air Patrol. The scrapbook also includes clippings and other items related to Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Doolittle and General Balbo.
Arrangement:
Single item in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Manila Davis Talley (1898-1973) soloed in October 1929 and received her pilot's license in April of 1930. She joined Curtis-Wright Corporation as a saleswoman in late 1929 or early 1930. Talley joined the 99s (international association of female pilots) in 1930 and was a founding member of Betsy Ross Corps, a private 1930s female auxiliary/reserve for the Army Air Corps. Talley was the third woman to go through Air Force War College, in December 1966.
Provenance:
Estate of Manila Davis Talley, Gift, Unknown, NASM.XXXX.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.
Materials – Biographies, photographs, articles, and newspaper clippings.
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:
United States Women In Aviation Through World War I Collection, Acc. XXXX-0424, 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:
United States Women In Aviation Through World War I Collection, Acc. XXXX-0424, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection consists of correspondence, memos, newspaper articles and logbooks concerning the flight.
Arrangement:
The documents on the microfilm are only arranged by Record Groups and not chronologically. The material covers correspondence, memos, newspaper articles, logbooks, descriptions of the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC) aircraft, memos dealing with permission to overfly and photograph foreign countries, the flight route, pilot selection, aircraft selection, equipment and weather forecasts. The decision was made during the processing to arrange the photocopied documents by subject and then chronologically.
Historical note:
In 1924, the U.S. Army Air Service decided to attempt an around the world flight to prove that the airplane was a valuable and viable method of transportation and could therefore have a great impact on the world's future. The Douglas Aircraft Company was commissioned by the Army Air Service to build an aircraft for the flight. The result was the Douglas O-5 Observation Seaplane, which was referred to in 1924 as the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC). The O-5 grew out of the 1923 Douglas Observation Seaplane (DOS).
On April 6, 1924, four Army Air Service DWC Seaplanes departed from Seattle, Washington in an attempt to fly around the world. They were the: "Seattle", "Chicago", "Boston" and "New Orleans". The "Seattle" was delayed by a forced landing caused by engine trouble early on and was trying to catch up to the others when bad weather forced it off course. It crashed near Chignik, Alaska. The "Boston" suddenly lost oil pressure and had to land at sea between Orkney and Faroe Islands. Although the landing was successful, the "Boston" was damaged beyond repair during an attempt to hoist it on board the USS Richmond. At Pictou Harbor, Nova Scotia, the prototype aircraft arrived to join the remaining two and became the "Boston II". From there the planes flew on across the United States and landed at Sand Point Field in Seattle, Washington on September 28, 1924 having accomplished the 27,553-mile flight around the world.
Two of the World Cruisers still survive. The "New Orleans" (#4) is in the Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio. The "Chicago" (#2) is in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Provenance:
National Archives, Purchase, 1971, XXXX-0152, unknown
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.
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.