Shepard, Alan B. (Alan Bartlett), 1923-1998 Search this
Extent:
0.05 Cubic feet
0.058 Gigabytes
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Date:
1960 - 1964
2011
Summary:
Photographs of Naval Corpsman Arthur B. "Art" Guntner and his career working with the Johnsville Centrifuge at the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory of the Navy Air Development Center Warminster. Capable of generating 40Gs, the Centrifuge was used throughout the early American space program for many different scientific simulations and experiments purposes including as a part of the training of every Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronaut.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 42 digital images of photographs and a few other materials relating to Arthur B. "Art" Guntner's time as an Aerospace Medicine Technician at the Naval Air Development Center in Johnsville, Pennsylvania. Black and white photographs show Guntner as well as other U.S. Navy personnel at work with particular emphasis on the centrifuge. Several astronauts appear in photographs including Alan B. Shepard, Jr., John Herschel Glenn, Jr., and Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom. Some images, likely scans of scrapbook pages, contain Project Mercury postage stamps and news clippings about Guntner.
Also included in this collection are promotional materials for the Johnsville Centrifuge and Science Museum from 2011.
Arrangement:
Arranged by material type.
Biographical / Historical:
Born and raised in the mining town of Morgantown, West Virginia, Arthur B. "Art" Guntner joined the Navy in 1958 and graduated from Aerospace Medicine School in 1960. Immediately after graduation, he began as an Aerospace Medicine Technician assigned to the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory at the Johnsville Naval Air Development Center.
U.S. Navy's Johnsville Naval Air Development Center (NADC) in Warminster, Pennsylvania was home to 30 different laboratories in the 1950s and 1960s. In the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory, the largest human centrifuge was constructed from 1947 to 1949 and operated in researching the limits of human tolerance for "G" forces. By late 1959, training and research focused on preparing the first Americans for space flight.
Given their full schedules, the Mercury astronauts weren't present for early runs or "flights" on the centrifuge. Younger staff members, therefore, served as the test subjects for the initial simulations. While working at Johnsville, Guntner flew over 350 flights in the centrifuge, tested the design of G-suits, and participated in many other classified experiments. He was personally involved in the briefing and training of the Mercury astronauts.
Provenance:
Art Guntner, Gift, 2011, 2011.0037
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.
Martin C. McMahon was an early aviator who served with the US Army Air Service during World War I. This collection consists of one scrapbook containing captioned photographs relating to McMahon's early flying experience and two leaves from the June 13, 1918 Air Service Journal.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of one scrapbook containing captioned photographs relating to the early flying experience of Martin C. McMahon, covering the period from 1910 to 1930. The scrapbook includes photographs of Curtiss and Wright pusher designs taken in 1910 and 1911, Curtiss JN-4 and Thomas D-5 aircraft at Ashburn and Chanute Fields in 1917, and US Army precision flying at the 1930 Chicago Air Races. Also included are two leaves from the June 13, 1918 Air Service Journal.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Martin C. McMahon was an early aviator who served with the US Army Air Service during World War I.
Provenance:
Nicolette Bromberg, Gift, 2000, NASM.2000.0034.
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
Ralph Myron Brown (1893--1976) was an early aviator. This collection consists of pages from a scrapbook documenting Brown's aviation career.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of pages from a scrapbook containing the following documentation on Ralph M. Brown's aviation career: newspaper clippings; advertisements for various aviation events; correspondence from the Aero Club of America disciplining Brown for his flight over New York City; a membership card for the Springfield Aeronautical Society; aviation race entry form; and contracts, including one between Brown and A. Leo Stevens.
Arrangement:
Pages are in the order in which they were originally found. Contents are roughly chronological in arrangement.
Biographical / Historical:
Ralph Myron Brown (1893--1976) received his pilot license in November of 1912, and was one of the Thomas Brothers Company (Ithaca, NY) fliers. Brown also flew exhibition flights and carried passengers; one of his most famous passengers was Chief Two Guns White Calf, the first Native American carried as a passenger in an aircraft. Brown went on to be a designer for Thomas Brothers before going to work at Penn Yan Boats Company, where he retired as President of that company. Brown was a member of the Early Birds of Aviation.
Provenance:
Unknown, possibly Ralph M. Brown, NASM.XXXX.1217.
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.
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:
Early Aeronautical Newsclippings (Alexander Graham Bell) Collection, Acc. NASM.XXXX.0086, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
