This collection consists of 163 photographs, collected by Whitman, covering early aviation activities in predominantly the United States and France. Aircraft manufacturers represented include: Wright, Curtiss, Bell, Bleriot, Antoinette, Deperdussin, Farman, Voisin, and other American, French, and British designers of the period 1909-1911. The following events are represented: 1909, 1910 Grande Semaines d'Aviation, 1910 Quinzaine de la Baie de la Seine, 1909 meet at Blackpool England and the 1910 meets at Belmont Part Long Island, Nice and other locations. Flights represented include: Bleriot's Channel flight, Latham's flight over San Francisco and flights in and around New York and Paris. Aviators represented include: the Wright Brothers, Henry Farman, Louis Bleriot, Hubert Latham, Glenn Curtiss, Louis Paulhan, and other French and American pilots.
Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.
Arrangement:
The Roger B. Whitman Early Aviation Photograph Collection is arranged in its original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Roger B. Whitman was a prominent photographer who maintained a lifetime love of aviation. During World War I he was in the Air Service and established the first school of aerial photography. Whitman was later the Associate Editor of the American 'Country Life.'
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Herbert S. Whitman, Gift, 1979, XXXX-0517, 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
United States Navy Engineering Drawings on Microfilm
Creator:
United States. Navy. Bureau of Aeronautics [BuAer] Search this
Names:
United States. Navy. Bureau of Aeronautics [BuAer] Search this
Extent:
69.84 Cubic feet (776 microfilm cartons)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Drawings
Microfilms
Manuals
Date:
[no dates]
Scope and Contents:
Included in this collection are drawings for the following aircraft: Douglas AD series, BTD-1 and F3D, Grumman F4F-3, F4F-4, F4F-7, F6F-3, F8F-1, Goodyear F2G-1, McDonnell FH-1, North American FJ-1, General Motors FM-1, FM-2, Chance-Vought F4U-1, F4U-4, F4U-5, F8U-1, OS2U, Beech GB-2, UC-43, Bell HSL-1, HTL-5, HTL-6, HUL-1, Grumman J2F, JRF, Naval Aircraft Factory N3N, Martin PBM, Consolidated PB2Y, PB4Y, Lockheed R7V-1, Curtiss SB2C, North American SNJ, General Motors TBM-3, Goodyear ZPG-3W and K type airship, as well as drawings of miscellaneous equipment, several incomplete microfilm sets, manufacturer specifications and technical documentation and manuals.
Biographical / Historical:
The United States Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) maintained record copies of engineering drawings for aviation equipment operated by the Navy and microfilm copies of these drawings were created by the Drawings and Microfilm Section of BuAer's Maintenance Division for the use of the Navy. In the mid 1980s, a portion of this drawing collection was loaned to the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) for processing by NASM personnel. In 1991, positive reference copies of microfilm, comprising some 3000 rolls, were loaned to NASM to assist in the processing of the hardcopy drawings and with the understanding that, should funding be available, NASM would duplicate the microfilm for its own collection as a "second security copy." The completion of the Archives II complex in College Park, MD in the 1990s allotted sufficient storage space to NARA's Cartographic and Architectural Branch for the RG72 drawing collection to be housed directly under NARA custody. As a result, NARA recalled its loan of the material, including the microfilm collection. The drawings were returned in 1994, but NARA granted an extension of the microfilm loan to allow NASM to duplicate portions of the collection which were relevant to NASM's artifact collection. The resulting 776 rolls of diazo 35mm film duplicates portions of microfilm contained in NARA RG72 and includes some records of the Drawings and Microfilm Section and Publications Section of BuAer's Maintenance Division.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
NARA, unknown, 1994, 1994-0058, unknown
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 of historical material from Curtiss-Wright Flight Systems, Inc. There are twenty-five rolls of microfilm pertaining to the Wright Aeronautical Division (which was responsible for the construction of aeronautical engines) and Air Materiel Command. In addition this collection contains various operating instructions for the Wright Cyclones and the Wright engines as well as publications on fuel injection service and overhaul instructions for the Wright engines. Other documents include a flight handbook for the Douglas, numerous schedules of spare parts for the Olympus engines, operation bulletins and indexes, and a report entitled, "The Effect of Humidity on Reciprocating Engine Performance."
Biographical / Historical:
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation was formed in June 1929 by the merger of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co. and the Wright Aeronautical Corporation. Curtiss-Wright operated in three main divisions: the Curtiss-Wright Airplane Division, which manufactured airframes until it closed down in 1951; the Wright Aeronautical Corporation, which produced aeronautical engines; and the Curtiss-Wright Propeller Division, which manufactured propellers. After 1929, most engines produced by the new company were known as Wrights, while most aircraft were given the Curtiss name, with a few exceptions. During World War I, the Curtiss company produced more aircraft than any other American manufacturer and became the largest aircraft and aircraft engine producer in the world. The Wright Aeronautical Corporation division produced air-cooled radial engines during the war that powered US fighter and bomber aircraft. During the first half of the 1930s, more than half of the company's revenues came from Wright Aeronautical, which provided a cushion that helped the other divisions survive during the Depression. In 1936 the Wright Aeronautical Corporation produced five distinct series of aircraft engines. They were the Wright Cyclones F and F-50; the Wright Cyclone G Series high-powered, nine cylinder radial air-cooled engines; the single-row Whirlwind series of five, seven and nine cylinders; the 14 cylinder Wright double-row Whirlwind Series; and the Curtiss Conquerors.
Provenance:
Curtiss-Wright Flight Systems, Inc., Gift, 2002
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 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 146 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 Plates [this part of the collection has not been processed]
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.
Glenn Hammond Curtiss (1878-1930) is best known as an aviation pioneer and inventor and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co. This collection consists of fifty-four images, predominantly photographs printed as postcards. The postcard images feature subjects relating to Glenn Curtiss and his aviation career.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of fifty-four images, predominantly photographs printed as postcards. The postcard images feature the following subjects relating to Glenn Curtiss and his aviation career: early Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) and Curtiss aircraft predominantly at Hammondsport, New York (H. M. Benner photographs) but also elsewhere (including one image of flight at Atlantic City dated 1920); International Air Meet (Los Angeles, 1910); US Army airship Signal Corps No. 1 (Baldwin); Gordon Bennett Aviation Trophy; ice boats on Lake Keuka, Curtiss "wind-wagon;" Curtiss motorcycles (with G. H. C. team); Glenn Curtiss with others (including Mrs. Curtiss, Louis Paulhan); group photographs which probably show Curtiss employees; and informal Curtiss family photographs.
All images have received minimal subject headings, but only some have had additional captions added.
Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.
Arrangement:
The fifty-four photographs have been assigned "7A" image numbers. They are arranged in numerical order (some images were assigned multiple numbers). Some photographs are in sleeves that hold two images.
Biographical / Historical:
Glenn Hammond Curtiss (1878-1930) is best known as an aviation pioneer and inventor and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co. Initially a bicycle repairman and designer, by 1902 Curtiss had begun to manufacture motorcycles using a lightweight internal combustion engine of his own design and founded the Curtiss Manufacturing Co. By 1904, Curtiss' engine had been co-opted by Thomas Baldwin for his airship experiments. This activity led to a connection between Curtiss and Alexander Graham Bell and, in 1907, to the foundation of the Aerial Experiment Association. In 1909, Curtiss joined with Augustus M. Herring to form the Herring-Curtiss Co to manufacture powered vehicles, but Herring's unsubstantiated claims to priority over the Wright Brother's aeronautical patents led to the Wright and Curtiss patent suits which continued until the merger of Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor with Wright Aeronautical in 1929. Curtiss and Herring split after the Wright's filed suit and Herring sued Curtiss, claiming that Curtiss had failed to turn his air race winnings over to the company. Despite these, and other, suits, Curtiss continued to advance the cause and technology of aviation, founding the first public flying school (1910) and later a chain of schools across the US, inventing the aileron (1909), the dual-control trainer (1911) and the hydroaeroplane (1911). In 1920, Curtiss retired from active aviation pursuits.
Provenance:
Unknown - found in collection, Unknown, Unknown, NASM.XXXX.0682.
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 of one reel of 35 mm microfilm of a book, entitled, "Airplane Billing," which belonged to Louis Kessler of the Curtiss Wright Corporation, Curtiss Aeroplane Division, Buffalo, New York. The information includes invoice data for Curtiss aircraft sold from January 1, 1931, until December 31, 1940, and includes the following types of information: customer name, type of aircraft, the price of the aircraft, the delivery date, invoice date, acceptance date, and the destination of the aircraft. This reel was copied from a microfilm copy provided by the donor, Louis Casey.
Biographical / Historical:
The Curtiss-Wright Corporation was formed in June 1929 by the merger of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and the Wright Aeronautical Corporation. Curtiss-Wright operated in three main divisions: the Curtiss-Wright Airplane Division, which manufactured airframes until it closed down in 1951; the Wright Aeronautical Corporation, which produced aeronautical engines; and the Curtiss-Wright Propeller Division, which manufactured propellers.
Provenance:
Louis S. Casey, Gift, 2006
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 of 85 prints copied from photographs he took while stationed at Trumball Field, Conn. and Ft. Devens, Mass. The prints include aircraft from the following companies: Bellanca, Boeing, Consolidated, Curtiss, Douglas, Fairchild, Keystone, Lockheed, Martin, North American, Northrop, Seversky, and Taylor (Piper). There are also aerial prints of New York. The collection also includes a painted leather patch with the insignia of the 97th Observation Squadron, copies of information on the 97th Observation Squadron, and 'World War II Stories: The 317th Air Service Squadron' which is comprised of oral history accounts by members of the 317th.
Biographical / Historical:
Stanley Kocher was a member of the U.S. Army Air Corps, the 97th Observation Squadron, during the late 1930s.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Stanley C. Kocher, gift, 1989, 1990-0059, NASM
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 of a scrapbook containing newspaper and magazine articles on the International Great Lakes Flying Boat Cruise, and other flights, as well as photos, a menu and dinner program, and a few letters.
Biographical / Historical:
John Verplanck (1881-1955) was a bank executive, farmer and pilot (FAI hydro-aeroplane license no. 35). Verplanck and Beckwith Havens participated in the International Great Lakes Flying Boat Cruise in July of 1913 (Chicago to Detroit), which they won using a Curtiss flying boat. Verplanck also flew flying boats around New York and up the Hudson River. He was a commander of the First Aero Division of the Fourth Battalion of the New York Naval Militia, stationed at Poughkeepsie. He sold his flying boats and gave up flying in 1913.
Provenance:
Unknown
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
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Container:
Drawer AC, Folder 900020-01
Type:
Archival materials
Scope and Contents note:
Documents
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Container:
Drawer AC, Folder 900020-02
Type:
Archival materials
Scope and Contents note:
Documents
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Container:
Drawer AC, Folder 900020-OS
Type:
Archival materials
Scope and Contents note:
Oversize
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Container:
Drawer AC, Folder 900020-O2
Type:
Archival materials
Scope and Contents note:
Oversize
Collection Restrictions:
The majority of the Archives Department's public reference requests can be answered using material in these files, which may be accessed through the Reading Room at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. More specific information can be requested by contacting the Archives Research Request.
