This collection consists of the corporate records of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. Included in the collection are technical and engineering reports of Curtiss-Wright Airplane Division's operations in St. Louis (Robertson), MO (1935-1945) and Buffalo, NY, (1932-1945), as well as AAS Material Division and AAF Air Technical Services Command memorandum reports collected by Curtiss-Wright's St. Louis and Buffalo technical reference libraries. The collection also contains the files of Curtiss-Wright's Patent Department, which hold records of patents filed by Curtiss-Wright and patent-infringement cases involving Curtiss-Wright. Also included in the collection are specifications issued by and photos commissioned by the Keystone Aircraft Corporation (Huff-Daland Airplanes, Inc. until March 1927), which had been acquired by Wright in 1928 along with Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corp., and formed the Keystone Division of Curtiss-Wright until 1932 when Keystone's Bristol, PA factory closed its doors. The collection also contains financial records of the Curtiss-Wright Airports Corporation, which was liquidated in 1936, as well as an extensive negative collection featuring Curtiss-Wright aircraft from the 1930s and 1940s, concentrated especially on the war years.
Scope and Contents:
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation Records collection contains approximately 212 cubic feet of material. The collection contains the following material:
Army Air Service Material Division & Army Air Force Technical Services Command Memo
Reports & Technical Reports which include testing of various Curtiss-Wright models of aircraft and/or various parts of aircraft
Technical & Engineering Reports from the St. Louis, MO plant [Robertson] & Buffalo, NY plant
Patents, Patent Dockets, Patent Serial numbers, Suits, License Agreements, Patents filed by Curtiss-Wright & Patent Infringement Cases [1800s to 1940s]
Miscellaneous Research Files
Corporate & Financial Records [1923 to 1972]
Correspondence
Blueprint Drawings
Advertisements from Newspapers & Magazines in Scrapbooks
Engine Decals
Photographs
Negatives & Glass Plates
Arrangement:
This collection was arranged into Series and Subseries:
Subseries I: Air Corps Materiel Division, Reports [ACMR]
Subseries II: Buffalo Reports
Subseries III: St. Louis
Series III: Glass Format Photography
Series IV: 1969 Accretion - Listing of Archival Material
Series V: Master Print Books [this part of the collection has not been processed]
Historical note:
An historic event in aviation occurred on June 26, 1929 when two major aircraft companies: the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company merged with the Wright Aeronautical Corporation to form the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. After this merger, the former Wright organization took over all of the engine and propeller manufacture while Curtiss concentrated on airplanes. This merger was completed by organizing two major divisions under their original names, but under the direction of a corporate headquarters located in New York City. However, there was a recognized separation of spirit as well as specialized facilities that was never completely resolved in succeeding years. The election of former Wright personnel to key corporate positions soon led to Wright becoming the dominant division. At the height of the Lindbergh Boom during the 1920s and 1930s, the Curtiss-Wright Corporation was made up of the following identified organizations: The Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Company; The Curtiss-Caproni Corporation; The Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manufacturing Company; The Keystone Aircraft Corporation; The Moth Aircraft Corporation; The Travel Air Manufacturing Company; The Wright Aeronautical Corporation; Curtiss-Wright Flying Service; The Curtiss-Wright Sales
Corporation; The Curtiss-Wright Export Corporation. Curtiss-Wright was quickly becoming the 'General Motors of the Air' until the great depression in October 1929. Sales dropped and Curtiss-Wright was forced to close certain satellite plants and transfer some of their product lines to the St. Louis facility. It looked like even the Buffalo plants would also have to close when Curtiss-Wright received an order from Colombia, South America for Hawks and Falcons. This was the largest military order to Curtiss since the war. The Colombia sale saved the Curtiss-Wright organization at this low point in its history. This order kept the production lines going until new military and civil markets began to open up as the depression waned and the build-up for World War II began. During the U.S. military build-up prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, all existing Curtiss-Wright plants were expanded and new aircraft factories were built at Columbus, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky. The dropping of the two atomic bombs on Japan resulted in an unexpected early end to World War II. All of the major U.S. airplane builders including Curtiss-Wright were hit by massive contract cancellations because of the Japanese surrender. In 1946 Curtiss-Wright had only two experimental military models at hand for postwar delivery and no assurance of production orders. Curtiss-Wright was forced to shut down all airplane plants and transfer all units of the Aeroplane Division to their Columbus Plant. The eventual sale of the Airplane Division to North American included design rights to the former Curtiss-Wright airplanes. The Curtiss-Wright Airplane Division, which manufactured airframes, finally closed down in 1951.
Provenance:
Curtiss-Wright Corporation, gift, XXXX, 1969
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.
Edgar J. Wynn (1913--1947) was a barnstormer and civilian air transport pilot who served in both the Royal Canadian Air Force and later the US Air Force. This collection consists of several copies of a publication written by Wynn as well as a photo album.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of several copies of Edgar J. Wynn's So You're Going to Fly the Big Stuff and a photo album. The album measures approximately 10 x 11 inches and contains images dating mainly from 1939 to 1941, many taken in Canada or New York. The album also contains extensive captioning by Wynn. Aircraft shown in the album include the Luscombe Model 8; Waco F-2; Douglas DC-3; Consolidated B-24 Liberator; North American Harvard; and the Sikorsky S-42 Clipper.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged by type of material.
Biographical / Historical:
Edgar J. Wynn (1913--1947) learned to fly at age 16, and barnstormed in the east and middle west of the United States until the outbreak of World War II. In 1940 Wynn joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, where he was an instructor. After a few months, however, Wynn resigned his commission to take a job as a civilian ferry pilot. After forty-odd flights across the North Atlantic as a ferry pilot, he shifted to Pan American Airways (Pan Am) where he ferried bombers to Africa by the South Atlantic Route. He later switched to Trans World Airlines (TWA) where he had the privilege of piloting Eleanor Roosevelt. After his stint with TWA he became a captain in the US Air Force Air Transport Command. Wynn wrote several books about flying transport aircraft including Bombers Across and So You're Going to Fly the Big Stuff.
Provenance:
Gardette L. Cumpston, Gift, 1993, NASM.1993.0029.
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
This collection consists both of photographs that appear in the book as well as additional research materials, including: correspondence, printed materials, photographs, and negatives.
Biographical / Historical:
Thom Hook's book, Shenandoah Saga was published in 1973. It was written to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the USS Shenandoah--the first American-built, helium-filled rigid airship. This book traces the history of the naval airship from its preplanning stages to its tragic crash on September 3, 1925.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Thomas Hook, Gift, 1985, 1985-0021, varies (including public domain)
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
Restricted for 15 years, until Jan-01-2035. Records may contain personally identifiable information (PII) that is permanently restricted; Transferring office; 11/4/2022 memorandum, Johnstone to File; Contact reference staff for details
The Northrop YF-17, unveiled in April 1974, was a prototype jet fighter developed for the USAF's lightweight fighter program. This collection consists of two photograph albums pertaining to the YF-17, prepared by Northrop Corporation.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of two photograph albums pertaining to the Northrop YF-17 prepared by Northrop Corporation, Aircraft Division. The first is entitled: "Roll Out Ceremonies, United States Air Force / Northrop YF-17, April 4, 1974" and documents that event with items including color photographs of the aircraft, speakers, and festivities, and a copy of the invitation. The second album is entitled: "Flight Test Progress, United States Air Force / Northrop YF-17" and documents the first several flights of the aircraft. The album mainly contains captioned color photographs, but also includes a summary of the first five flights. Both albums contain a letter from Roy P. Jackson to George Gore that accompanied the albums when they were initially sent to Gore and contain some additional information.
Arrangement:
Collection is in chronological order.
Biographical / Historical:
The Northrop YF-17, unveiled in April 1974, was a prototype jet fighter developed for the USAF's lightweight fighter program. Powered by two General Electric J101 Turbojet engines, the YF-17 was a twin-tail aircraft with short swept wings. Northrop YF-17 No. 001 (A/C No. 01569) made its first flight on June 9, 1974 with Northrop Chief Test Pilot Henry E. "Hank" Chouteau at the controls. In total, two prototype Northrop YF-17 aircraft were built.
George Gore was a longtime Vice President and General Counsel for Northrop Corporation. The albums in this collection originally belonged to Gore and were sent to him by Roy P. Jackson, Northrop Corporate Vice President and Program Manager for the F-17 Program.
Provenance:
Rex Hardy, Gift, 1995, NASM.1995.0050.
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
