Silver gelatin on fiber-based paper sheet, 10" x 8"
1 item
Type:
Portraits
Date:
1941
1945
ca 19411945
Topic:
Pilots
African American air pilots
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations
Airmen
African American men
Local number:
618ps0245872pm.tif (AC Scan)
Cite as:
Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Summary:
Warm-toned, double-weight print, unsigned, uncaptioned, undated, but appears to be a "vintage" print. Location is probably either Tuskegee airfield or on base in Italy. Print has regular borders
Willa Brown was a pilot and president of the National Airmen's Association of America
Cite as:
Willa B. Brown Photograph, Accession number 1987-0095, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Summary:
This full-length studio portrait photograph features early African American pilot Willa B. Brown, posed in her flying suit photograph. The photograph was taken somewhere between 1925 and 1935 in Chicago, Illinois
Silver gelatin on fiber-based paper sheet, 8" x 10"
1 item
Type:
Two-dimensional graphics
Date:
1941
1945
ca 19411945
Topic:
Airmen
African American air pilots
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations
Pilots
Local number:
618ps0245869jp.tif (AC Scan)
Cite as:
Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Summary:
Two men seated on bench and one standing.Slightly warm-toned, double-weight print, unsigned, uncaptioned, undated, but appears to be a "vintage" print. Extra margin at right. Location is probably either Tuskegee airfield or on base in Italy
Silver gelatin on fiber-based paper sheet, 10" x 8"
1 item
Type:
Photographs
Date:
1941
1945
ca 19411945
1940-1950
Topic:
African American air pilots
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations
Airmen
Local number:
618ps0245868pm.tif (AC Scan)
Cite as:
Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Summary:
Warm-toned, double-weight print, unsigned, uncaptioned, undated, but appears to be a "vintage" print. Location is probably either Tuskegee airfield or on base in Italy
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Materials:
Overall: Gold
Type:
AWARDS-Medals & Ribbons
Credit Line:
On loan from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC
Inventory Number:
I20071282001
Rights:
Do not reproduce without permission from the Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum
Label Text:
The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian award presented by the U.S. Congress. It is awarded to an individual or group for an outstanding deed or act of service to the security, prosperity, and national interest of the United States. This medal was presented to the Tuskegee Airmen, African American pilots flying for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. Awarded on March 29, 2007, the medal recognized their "unique military record that inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces." Lent by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Summary:
Display of completed wooden model aircraft, parts, plans and photographs of real aircraft. Signs read, "Phelps Vocational School Model Aircraft Project..." and "model planes like these are being constructed by school children of the nation for use of the United States Navy in training its pilots...". A partially obscured fabric sign reads, "We are proud to present Carole Lomba... Benn... in... be or...". No further ink on negative. "4 AGFA SAFETY FILM" edge imprint
National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Space History Division
Physical description:
1 cu. ft. (1 record storage box)
Type:
Manuscripts
Collection descriptions
Black-and-white photographs
Color transparencies
Audiotapes
Date:
1992
1992-1998
19921998
Topic:
African American air pilots
Aeronautics
Oral history
Local number:
SIA Acc. 03-079
Summary:
This accession consists of materials created and maintained by David H. DeVorkin, Senior Curator, documenting the video "Pathways to the Skies" produced by the National Air and Space Museum for Project SMART. Project SMART was led by George R. Carruthers, Physicist, to encourage minority youths to become interested in science, math, and technology. Carruthers believed that doing experiments and watching demonstrations was the best way to learn about science. "Pathways to the Skies" was produced by the National Air and Space Museum and distributed by Project SMART to encourage interest in the minority experience in aviation and spaceflight. Materials include correspondence, memoranda, scripts, notes, images, and background materials. Also included is a cassette tape copy of an oral history interview of Carruthers
Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions (Traveling exhibition) (1996-2002)
We Shall Overcome: Photographs from the American Civil Rights Era (Traveling exhibition) (1998-2004)
Who's in Charge: Works and Managers in the United States (Traveling exhibition) (1992-1996)
Women and Flight (Traveling exhibition) (c. 1997)
Women of Taste: A Collaboration Celebrating Quilt Artists and Chefs (Traveling exhibition) (1999-2002)
Creator:
Smithsonian Institution Office of Exhibits Central
Physical description:
6 cu. ft. (6 record storage boxes)
Type:
Brochures
Collection descriptions
Manuscripts
Drawings
Black-and-white transparencies
Black-and-white photographs
Date:
1990
1990-2004
19902004
Topic:
Traveling exhibitions
Local number:
SIA Acc. 08-010
Summary:
This accession consists of records documenting traveling exhibitions produced by the Office of Exhibits Central for the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. Exhibitions documented in this accession include "American Voices: Latino Photographers in the United States;" "An Ocean Apart: Contemporary Vietnamese Art from the United States and Vietnam;" "Art of Jack Delano;" "Artrain: Art in Celebration!;" "Beauties of the Coral Reef;" "Before Freedom Came: African American Life in the Antebellum South;" "Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington;" "Brown vs. Board of Education;" "Constance Stuart Larrabee: World War II Photo Journal;" "Creativity and Resistance: Maroon Cultures in America;" "Dreams and Traditions: 300 Years of British and Irish Paintings from the Ulster Museum, Belfast;" "Exotic Illusions: Art, Romance, and the Marketplace;" "Flag in American Indian Art;" "Fragile Ecologies: Artists' Interpretations and Solutions;" "Fred E. Miller: Photographer of the Crows;" "Full Deck: Art Quilts;" "Going Strong: Older Americans on the Job;" "Graceful Envelope;" "Hannelore Baron;" "Jazz Age in Paris: 1914-1940;" "Looping the Loop: Posters of Early Flight;" "Matchsafes;" "Millennium Messages;" "On Miniature Wings: Model Aircraft from the National Air and Space Museum;" "Out of Time: Designs for the 20th Century Future;" "Perpetual Campaign: The Making of the People's President;" "Photographing History: Fred J. Maroon and the Nixon Years, 1970-1974;" "Pilot's Eye;" "Red, Hot, and Blue: A Salute to American Musicals;" "Seeing Jazz;" "Serving Home and Community: Women of Southern Appalachia: Photographs by Barbara T. Beirne;" "Six Bridges: The Making of a Modern Metropolis;" "Small Wonder: Worlds in a Box: Photographs of David Levinthal;" "Spiders!;" "Stories from Life: The Photographs of Horace Bristol;" "Strong Hearts: Native American Visions and Voices;" "The Long Road Up the Hill: Blacks in Congress, 1870-1983;" "The Prairie Schoolhouse: A Photo Essay by John Martin Campbell;" "The Real McCoy: African-American Invention and Innovation;" "These Rare Lands: Photographs by Stan Jorstad;" "This Land is Your Land: The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie;" "Try This On: A History of Clothing, Gender, and Power;" "Vanishing Amphibians;" "Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions;" "We Shall Overcome: Photographs from the American Civil Rights Era;" "Who's in Charge: Works and Managers in the United States;" "Women and Flight;" and "Women of Taste: A Collaboration Celebrating Quilt Artists and Chefs." Materials include scripts, design drawings, label text, budgets, correspondence, memoranda, brochures, images, and related materials
National Air and Space Museum (U.S.) Dept. of Astronautics
National Museum of Natural History (U.S.) Dept. of Paleobiology Division of Invertebrate Paleontology
Department of Paleobiology (NMNH) Division of Invertebrate Paleontology
United States Army Air Forces Fighter Group, 332nd
Tuskegee Airmen, Inc
Author:
Unknown
Physical description:
Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and white; Size: 5w x 7h; Type of Image: Person, Candid; Medium: Photographic print
Place:
Washington (D.C.)
Date:
1980
Topic:
Museum curators
Museums--Employees
Smithsonian Institution--Employees
Air pilots
African American air pilots
African Americans
Standard number:
SIA2008-3012
Summary:
Louis R. Purnell, 1920-2001, curator of Aeronautics at the National Air and Space Museum, stands in front of an aircraft in the museum. Early in his life he was able to realize his dream of becoming a pilot when the Civilian Pilot Training Program was instituted on the campus of his undergraduate institution, Lincoln University. In 1942, he was accepted into the seventh class of African American Army Air Force aviation cadets stationed at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Tuskegee, Alabama (the Tuskegee Airmen), and in 1943 joined the all-Black 99th Fighter Squadron. During World War II, he completed two tours of duty in North Africa and southern Italy with the 99th, and later the 332nd Fighter Group
After his return to the United States, Purnell worked with the Office of the Quartermaster General and the United States Book Exchange at the Library of Congress. In 1961, Purnell joined the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology and Paleobotany in the National Museum of Natural History. In 1968, he moved to the Department of Astronautics of the National Air and Space Museum. During his career in the Astronautics Department (renamed the Department of Space Science and Exploration in 1980), he progressed through the ranks from Museum Specialist to Curator until his retirement in January 1985
United States Army Air Forces 99th Fighter Squadron
United States Army Air Forces 332nd Fighter Group
United States Army Air Forces 477th Bombardment Group
Air University (U.S.) Air War College
Creator:
Davis, Benjamin O. Jr. 1912-
Physical description:
72 linear feet
Type:
Publications
Collection descriptions
Photographs
Correspondence
Programs
Place:
United States
Tuskegee Army Air Field (Ala.)
Date:
1928
1928-1990
19281990
Topic:
African American air pilots
Fighter pilots
World War, 1939-1945--Blacks
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations
World War, 1939-1945
Aeronautics, Military
Aeronautics, Commercial
Aeronautics and state
Aeronautics
Local number:
1992-0023
Notes:
Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr was born in Washington, DC on December 18, 1912, and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY, in 1936 as a Second Lieutenant in the infantry. After serving in the infantry for several years he was posted to the newly-established Tuskegee Army Air Field, AL for pilot training in 1942. He graduated in the first class from the new school, officially transferred to the Army Air Corps, and was promoted through Major to Lieutenant Colonel. In August 1942 he assumed of the 99th Fighter Squadron, leading it in combat in North Africa and Sicily. Davis, promoted to Colonel in 1944, commanded both the 99th and 332d, the only two "Tuskegee Airmen" units that saw combat in Europe and earned the Air Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Legion of Merit, and Silver Star for his own actions and a Distinguished Unit Citation for the 332d Fighter Group. Returning to the United States in June of 1945, Davis assumed command of the 477th Bombardment Group, another segregated black unit, at Godman Field, KY. Davis was expected to prepare the unit for deployment to the Pacific Theater, however, the war ended before the 477th left the United States. In 1948. Davis was appointed an advisor to the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force in relation to the integration of the armed forces. Davis was then assigned to the recently-established Air War College at Maxwell AFB, AL. After completing the course of study at the Air War College (1949-1950), Davis was posted to the Pentagon where he served in the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, during the period of active fighting in Korean War. Davis was continuously abroad between 1953 and 1961, serving in Korea (November 1953-July 1954), Japan (July 1954-June 1955), Taiwan (June 1955-April 1957), and Germany (May 1957-July 1961). During this period Davis achieved flag rank, being promoted to Brigadier General while serving in Tokyo in October 1954. With his promotion to brigadier general, Davis became the first black to earn a star in the US Air Force. He retired as a lieutenant general in 1970, and served under President Nixon as Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Environment, Safety, and Consumer Affairs
Summary:
This collection consists of 72 linear feet of the papers of Benjamin O. Davis. Included are the following types of material: programs, invitations, certificates, correspondence, published material, and photographs
The early days -- Breaking the barrier -- Training begins -- The selection process -- Learning to fly -- Making changes -- Fighter training -- Changing cockpits -- Combat -- Bomber pilots
United States Army Air Forces Fighter Group, 332nd
Author:
Jefferson, Alexander 1921-
Carlson, Lewis H
Physical description:
xxii, 133 p. : ill., 1 map ; 24 cm
Type:
Personal narratives, American
Biography
Place:
United States
Germany
Date:
2005
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, German
World War, 1939-1945--Participation, African American
World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American
World War, 1939-1945
Prisoners of war
Fighter pilots
African American fighter pilots
Contents:
Detroit: the formative years -- Clark College -- The making of a Tuskegee airman -- Combat -- Captured! -- Stalag Luft III -- Stalag VIIA and liberation -- Civilian!
Describes the life of Bessie Coleman. Determined to open a flight school for other African Americans, "Brave Bessie" raised funds as a stunt pilot. Her life ended in a tragic accident, but not before her dream of flight made aviation history
