This collection consists of duplicate microfilm of individual aircraft records for the United States Air Force (USAF). The microfilm covers aircraft owned by the US Army Air Service, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, USAF, and the National Guard starting in July of 1923 and including those dropped from the active inventory before June 30, 1955. (Master films are held by the Air Force Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, AL.) Each record card consists of a complete record of aircraft transfers (duty locations) from acceptance until retirement. Duty locations do not include unit, only theater/air base.
Scope and Contents:
Beginning in 1951, the USAF began microfilming the IARCs for retired aircraft. The first group filmed were aircraft retired as of May 1951 (119 rolls of 16mm microfilm), with additional sections including retirements through September 1952 and records "out of file" (not present in the retired aircraft file) in May 1951 (6 rolls) and retirements through May 1953 and records "out of file" in September 1952 (3 rolls). In 1971 the USAF microfilmed the records through 1954 for aircraft not retired by May 1953 (approximately 70 rolls) and all active aircraft from 1955 through 1964 (89 rolls). Later these various film series were designated by the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA; Maxwell AFB, AL), which maintains the original records, as ACR (May 1951 retirements), OA (out-of-file records from May 1951, retirements through September 1952 and May 1953), AC (aircraft active as of August 1954), and ACA (1955-1964 records).
Records were organized by military serial number, although some records were missorted and therefore filmed out of order. The project only encompassed the main IARC files and as a result the records maintained by the 15th SCU were filmed only in a few rare cases. Similarly the records maintained by overseas SCUs were not filmed. Thus the IARC records for wartime aircraft, particularly those transferred out of the Continental United States, remain incomplete.
The NASM holdings of these records consists of duplicate copies of the ACR and OA series of films only, comprising 128 rolls of microfilm. NASM rolls are identified consistent with the AFHRA designation scheme. The following listing gives the roll identification (ACR- or OA- number), the serial number range, and any special notes relating to the particular roll. The note "NASM M###" gives the roll identification assigned by the National Air and Space Museum in the 1960s when all microfilm in the NASM collection was sequentially numbered regardless of collection; these numbers are included for historical purposes and are cross-referenced in M-number order in Appendix 1 (page 8).
For access to the AC and ACA series, contact the Air Force Historical Research Agency at:
Air Force Historical Research Agency, 1600 Chennault Circle, Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Series I: Records for aircraft retired from USAF service through May 1951
Series II: Records for aircraft retired from USAF service through May 1951 (Out of file records)
Series III: Records for aircraft retired from USAF service May 1951 through September 1952
Series IV: Records for aircraft retired from USAF service September 1952 through May 1953
The NASM holdings of these records consists of duplicate copies of the ACR and OA series of films only, comprising 128 rolls of microfilm. NASM rolls are identified consistent with the AFHRA designation scheme. The follow listing gives the roll identification (ACR- or OA- number), the serial number range, and any special notes relating to the particular roll. The note "NASM M###" gives the roll identification assigned by the National Air and Space Museum in the 1960s when all microfilm in the NASM collection was sequentially numbered regardless of collection; these numbers are included for historical purposes and are cross-referenced in container listing notes.
Biographical/Historical note:
The United States Air Force and its predecessors1 have maintained a variety of records relating to the aircraft operated by the service. Beginning in 1923, the Air Service maintained individual records for each aircraft added to the inventory listing location and activity from its acceptance by the service until its retirement from the inventory. Such records have had a number of official names --Aircraft Master Record, Individual Aircraft Record Card (IARC), etc. --but are most commonly called "Aircraft History Cards." Originally, these records were manually compiled from unit inventories, morning reports, and so on, but the increased use of automated systems in the 1940s allowed automatic compilation and machine printing of the IARC entries after 1940.
IARCs do not record the entire history and activity of an individual aircraft. They do not include information about missions or crews, nor do they record exact locations or manners of loss. Rather, they serve as a compilation of the locations, transfers, and "controlling activity" (the unit responsible for reporting the aircraft) of the aircraft at a set time. The exact type of information and its manner of presentation changes over time and can be best described in chronological groups:
through c.1940
This period actually covers a variety of record card styles, but the data is hand-written or typed. The information follows the printed columns on the card. The information generally consists of reporting location, inventory date (month and fiscal year2), and flying time (both total and during the inventory period). The reporting activity is generally the base, rather than the unit. Transfers between bases are included as separate listings which include the authority for the transfer.
c.1940 --November 1942
During this period the USAAF switched to the use of electronic accounting machine (EAM) technology for inventory reporting and this allowed the automated compilation and printing of IARC data. The data and card presentation remains constant from the forms in use before the change, but the cards are machine printed, rather than hand written. Some data is abbreviated; location, for example, is given by a seven-character abbreviation.
November 1942 --April 1944
At the end of 1942 the responsibility for maintaining the inventory and individual aircraft status information was shifted from Headquarters, Air Materiel Command to one of several Statistical Control Units (SCU) within the Continental United States (CONUS) or overseas. IARCs were still prepared as before for newly-purchased aircraft and added to the main IARC file to track each aircraft from the factory to its initial assignment within CONUS or to an overseas shipping destination. The 15th SCU was responsible for tracking aircraft inventory and status information for aircraft within the CONUS and developed its own form for recording this data. The 15th SCU forms radically changed the data presentation --flying time was no longer recorded, some unit information was recorded for the first time, and location either appears as the abbreviations used previously or as a four-character shipping destination code. No effort was made to transfer 15th SCU data to the IARC master file, so that no activity was recorded on IARC cards during this period. Further, the inventory records on aircraft outside of the CONUS were maintained by SCUs in theater; as a result the entries on IARCs end with their transfer overseas, save for the final entry showing their removal from the inventory or until they returned to a CONUS location.
April 1944 --September 1949
At the beginning of this period, entries again appear on the main IARCs, although the concentration on CONUS-based aircraft continued until after the end of World War II. There are no records for aircraft transferred overseas once they leave the CONUS until they are dropped from the inventory, return to the United States, or until the reporting requirements changed after the end of the war. During this period the entries recorded a change in the status of the aircraft --either a transfer of station or a change in the usage of the aircraft. Entries record the reporting and other involved station and unit and the type, nature, and date of the change. The exact presentation of the data varies slightly over the period but generally involves a number of codes used to speed transmission of the data.
September 1949 and subsequent
Beginning September 1949, IARCs entries were printed in batches, giving rise to groups of entries followed by a "bookkeeping" line indicating the serial number and number of entries printed. The data presentation for each entry remains similar to the entries from the previous period.
During the machine-printed period (from 1940 on) IARC entries become more and more difficult to understand due to the increasing data density and the use of one- or two-character codes for a variety of information. The Museum staff is currently preparing a guide to understanding the USAF IARC, which will treat the various code groups and data presentations in greater depth.
1 Aviation Section, United States Army Signal Corps (1914-1918); United States Army Air Service (USAAS; 1918-1926); United States Army Air Corps (USAAC; 1926-1941); United States Army Air Forces (USAAF; 1941-1947); United States Air Force (USAF; 1947- )
2 Until 1976 the government fiscal year (FY) ran 1 July --30 June. Thus FY1941 ran 1 July 1940 through 30 June 1941.
Provenance:
Dept. of the Air Force, Transfer, unknown, XXXX-0461.
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.
0.05 Cubic feet (2 folders, 23 black and white 8 x 10 inch print photographs; two 4 x 5 inch color transparencies)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
1917-1919
Summary:
This collection consists of 23 black and white photographs taken by Herbert Emerson Garrison (1896-1986), during his service with the 95th Aero Squadron in France during World War I and includes informal views of both aircraft and personnel. The collection also includes two copy color transparencies of a Salvation Army post card stating that Garrison had arrived safely back in New York City after the war.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 23 black and white photographs copied from a scrapbook which was loaned to the National Air and Space Museum Archives by Walter Garrison, son of Herbert E. Garrison, the photographer. The images feature informal views of both aviation personnel and American and French aircraft, including the Nieuport 11 (XI) Sesquiplane, Nieuport 17, Nieuport 28, Morane-Saulnier Model LA (Mo.S.4), Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2b, Spad XIII, and a Voisin 8 BN.2 (Type LAP). Also seen are two captured German biplanes, an Albatros D.Va (L24) and a Fokker D.VII which later became part of the collection of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM). On November 9, 1918, two days before the end of the war, Lieutenant Heinz Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay landed this Fokker D.VII at a forward American airfield being used by the 95th Aero Squadron, near Verdun. The pilot and airplane were captured by three American officers before Beaulieu-Marconnay could set fire to his aircraft. The captured Fokker D.VII is seen in the Garrison photographs embellished with the "Kicking Mule" insignia of the 95th Aero Squadron. The collection also includes two copy transparencies of a Salvation Army post card sent to Minnie Owens (whom Garrison later married) to let her know that Garrison had arrived safely in New York City on his way home from the war in France.
Arrangement:
The black and white images in this collection were copied as Smithsonian Institution negative numbers 98-15105 through 98-15118 and 98-15188 through 98-15196. The front and back of the post card were copied as numbers 98-15296 and 98-15297. The copy images are physically arranged in negative number order. The images have been arranged online in this finding aid into subject groups which are presented roughly in chronological order.
Biographical / Historical:
The 95th Aero Squadron, organized on August 20th, 1917, and demobilized on March 18th, 1919, was part of the 1st Pursuit Organization stationed in France on the Western Front during World War I. The squadron was assigned as a Day Pursuit (Fighter) Squadron and was the first American squadron to fly in combat, doing so on March 8, 1918. The 95th Aero Squadron shot down 35 enemy aircraft and 12 observation balloons, participating in the following military campaigns: Champagne-Marne Defensive, Aisne-Marne Offensive, St. Mihiel Offensive and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Among the squadron's pilots were six air aces and Lieutenant Quentin Roosevelt. Herbert Emerson Garrison (1896-1986), the donor's father, served as a mechanic for the 95th Aero Squadron during World War I.
Related Materials:
Related artifacts in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum collection:
Fokker D.VII, A19200004000.
Provenance:
Walter Garrison, originals loaned for copying, 1998, NASM.1998.0029
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
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio) Search this
Extent:
733.77 Cubic feet (1508 document boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Publications
Reports
Photographs
Date:
1915-1955
Summary:
Throughout its history the Engineering Division/Materiel Division at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, maintained a catalogued library of technical documents, which was turned over to the Air Force Museum and later donated to the National Air and Space Museum. The collection consists of reports and other documents on a variety of aviation-related topics, including general science (aeronautics, physics, chemistry, etc); military air service personnel, organization, and equipment for both US and foreign air forces; as well as operations, and so on. Currently, the finding aid only covers documents from the D52.1 subject code (Airplanes, arranged alphabetically) and only those that are physically located in the Wright Field Technical Documents Library.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of reports and other documents on a variety of aviation-related topics, including general science (aeronautics, physics, chemistry, etc); military air service personnel, organization, and equipment for both US and foreign air forces; as well as operations, and so on. Information on foreign services and equipment is usually from military intelligence reports, although some foreign documents or translations are included. The material also includes a large section of test reports from the Material Division itself.
Arrangement:
Every document in the collection has been assigned a multi-part Wright Field Number. This number is adapted from the Air Force central decimal correspondence filing system. Wright Field Numbers are written in the format:
Subject Code: This number begins with an alpha-numeric subject code. For example, D52.1 (Airplanes, arranged alphabetically).
Category Suffix: A more specific textual subject reference. For example, in the D52.1 subjects, the suffix is usually a manufacturer name, aircraft name, or a general type of aircraft. (Original Wright Field cataloguers could be inconsistent in how they classified an airplane. For example, a document on a Japanese Mitsubishi A6M could be filed alphabetically under A6M, Mitsubishi, Zeke, Zero, or Misc. Japanese.) It is possible to not have a category suffix.
Sequence Number: The individual number assigned to the document within its subject code and category. If a document was formerly classified as "Security Information," the sequence number starts with "S," for example "S-1." These are usually filed at the beginning of a range of documents. Sometimes technical manuals are filed using the technical order (TO) number. For example, 01-20EE-3 is the sequence number used for a Boeing B-17 Handbook of Overhaul Instructions, TO-01-20EE-3.
Sequence Modifier: If there is a revision or multiple parts of a document, this is reflected in a sequence modifier. Ex. Dates, revision numbers, etc.
The documents are arranged alpha-numerically by Wright Field Number in the order of:
Each record contains the title and source from the index cards. Information from the subject field on the cards appears as a scope and content note.
Currently, the finding aid only covers documents from the D52.1 subject code and only those that are physically located in the Wright Field Technical Documents Library. Please contact the NASM Archives regarding additional documents. Some may be located in the Technical Reference Files, cataloguing information may be only on the index cards, or the document has been catalogued as missing from the collection.
Biographical / Historical:
In 1917, the United States Army Air Service established an aviation engineering section at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio. In 1927, the Engineering Division, as it was then known, moved to nearby Wilbur Wright Field and remained there as the Air Force Materiel Division (AFMD) and Air Materiel Command (AMC) until Wright Field combined with Patterson Field to become Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1948. The Engineering Division was responsible for Army Air Services research and development and served as a clearinghouse for information on aviation development worldwide. Throughout its history the Engineering Division/Materiel Division maintained a catalogued library of documents, which was turned over to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson and was later donated to the National Air and Space Museum.
Provenance:
United States Air Force Museum, Transfer, 1962, NASM.XXXX.0428.
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