The USS ZR-1 Shenandoah was the first American-built rigid airship to use helium; the first to use water recovery apparatus for the continuous recovery of ballast from the exhaust gas of the fuel burned; and, during 57 flights with 740 hours in the air, the Shenandoah also trained crew members in the science of handling large airships in naval missions. The ZR-1 Shenandoah was destroyed in a squall on September 3, 1925, with the bulk of the airship crashing near Ava, Ohio; fourteen of the 43 person crew were killed. Robert McElroy visited the site of the Shenandoah's crash on September 4, 1925. This collection consists of two black and white photographs of the crash site that belonged to McElroy.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of two black and white photographs that belonged to Robert McElroy of the crash site of the USS ZR-1 Shenandoah. Each photograph measures 8 by 10 inches and both are marked "Photo by Parkins" with a Zanesville, Ohio address.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
The USS ZR-1 Shenandoah was the first American-built rigid airship to use helium. Plans for the construction of the ZR-1 Shenandoah began in September 1919; the parts were manufactured at the Naval Aircraft Factory and then shipped to NAS Lakehurst for final assembly. The assembling began on 11 February 1922 and the ZR-1 Shenandoah was commissioned in 1923. During the ZR-1 Shenandoah's short life, it had many achievements, including being the first rigid airship to be inflated with helium and the first to use water recovery apparatus for the continuous recovery of ballast from the exhaust gas of the fuel burned; and making 57 flights, logging 740 hours in the air, training crew members in the science of handling large airships in naval missions. The ZR-1 Shenandoah was destroyed in a squall on September 3, 1925, with the bulk of the airship crashing near Ava, Ohio; fourteen of the 43 person crew were killed.
Robert McElroy visited the site of the Shenandoah's crash on September 4, 1925. McElroy collected a piece of the Shenandoah's fabric on which he wrote a first hand account of viewing the crash site and this item is now in the National Air and Space Museum's artifact collection.
Provenance:
Bennington McElroy, Gift, 2023, NASM.2023.0018.
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:
899.25 Cubic feet ((825 records center boxes))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Date:
1918-1971
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains the file of still photographs taken by the Air Force Material Division at McCook Field, Wright Field, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The material consists of over 340,000 black and white and color photographs illustrating the design, development and testing of military aircraft; structural components; and personal, emergency, and survival equipment. The collection also contains documentation of unsatisfactory materials and components, aircraft accident investigations, publicity, and development of McCook Field facilities to the present day Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The majority of the photos were taken as integral parts of the testing or investigation procedure for inclusion in resulting reports.
Biographical / Historical:
In 1917 the United States Army Air Service established an aviation engineering section at McCook Field in Dayton, OH. In 1927 the Engineering Division, as it was then known, moved to nearby Wilbur Wright Field and there remained as the Air Force Material Division (AFMD) and Air Material Command (AMC) until Wright Field combined with Patterson Field to become Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1948. The Engineering Division was in charge of research and development for the Army Air Services and was a clearinghouse for the Army Air Services on aviation development worldwide.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
University of Wisconsin, Transfer, 1981, XXXX-0172, 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
Orville Burch Freeman (1893-1966) served with the US Army Air Service as an aviator, and later as a flight instructor, at Kelly Field, Texas during World War I and in the interwar period.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of one photo album created by Orville Burch Freeman documenting his career with the US Army Air Service. The album measures approximately 11.5 x 7 inches and contains more than 130 photographs. Photographs in the album, many of which were taken at Kelly Field, Texas, show other pilots and aircraft including air to air views of various aircraft in flight and aircraft accidents. Cyrus K. "Cy" Bettis (1893-1926) is shown in several photographs, including one with an erroneous label that states he died in 1924. Aircraft shown in the album include various models of Curtiss JN-4 including the Curtiss JN-4H Hisso Jenny and the Curtiss JN-4HB Hisso Jenny, as well as the Dayton Wright DH-4. There also aerial photographs of various locations in Texas. The album contains captions written by Freeman.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Orville Burch Freeman (1893-1966) served with the US Army Air Service as an aviator, and later as a flight instructor, at Kelly Field, Texas during World War I and in the interwar period. This collection consists of one photo album created by Freeman documenting his military career.
Provenance:
Glenn Farris, Gift, 2020, NASM.2020.0021
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:
United States Women in Aviation 1940-1985 Research Materials, NASM.1995.0062, 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 1940-1985 Research Materials, NASM.1995.0062, 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 1940-1985 Research Materials, NASM.1995.0062, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
This collection consist of Cyrus Bettis' logbook, photographs, correspondence and news clippings that document the Pulitzer Trophy flights as well as Bettis' career as an Army Air Service pilot.
Biographical / Historical:
Cyrus Bettis (1893-1926) was one of the leading Army Air Service pursuit pilots in the early 1920s. Born in Carsonville, Michigan, Bettis entered the Army as a flying cadet in February 1918. He attended the school of Military Aeronautics at the University of Illinois and was sent to Camp Dick, Dallas, Texas in April of that year. He finished his flight training and was commissioned second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Service on September 11, 1918. On July 1, 1920, Bettis was commissioned in the Regular Army and promoted to first lieutenant. During the International Air Races in 1924, Lt. Bettis won the John L. Mitchell Trophy Race. Bettis won the 1925 Pulitzer Trophy competition and established a world record of 249.342 miles per hour, flying the Curtiss R3C-2 Racer in its land plane configuration. Bettis was also the backup pilot for the 1925 Schneider Trophy competition, and flew the R3C extensively in its float plane configuration. Bettis, along with Lt. James Doolittle, was awarded the Mackay Trophy for 1925. Bettis died at the Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington DC on September 1, 1926, as a result of injures he received in an aircraft accident on August 23, 1926, when in heavy fog he crashed into a mountainside near Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
Provenance:
Aviationbug.com, purchase, 2009, NASM.2009.0038
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 http://airandspace.si.edu/permissions
Collection Citation:
Joseph D. Mountain Collection, Acc. 1991-0079, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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