The 50th Anniversary of the NC-4 Transatlantic Flight Collection [Smith] Collection contains photocopies of correspondence, published materials, maps, and photographs. The collection also includes photocopies of aircraft logs, naval ship logs, weather reports, progress reports, biographies of the participants, information on the construction of the NC Aircraft and the general planning for the flight, and original material on the thirtieth and fiftieth anniversaries of the flight.
Scope and Content Note:
This collection was gathered by Dr. Richard K. Smith of the National Air and Space Museum, in preparation for the fiftieth anniversary of the NC-4's transatlantic flight. It contains photocopies from microfilm of documents found in the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Record Group 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, and Record Group 72, Records of the Bureau of Aeronautics. The researcher will find photocopies of correspondence, published materials, maps, and photographs. The collection also includes photocopies of aircraft logs, naval ship logs, weather reports, progress reports, biographies of the participants, information on the construction of the NC Aircraft and general planning for the flight, and original material on the thirtieth and fiftieth anniversaries of the flight.
The final box of the collection (Box 5) contains 6 reels of microfilm from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Record Groups 24 and 72 relating to the Trans Atlantic flight of the NC-4. As the processing archivist reviewed the microfilm, it appeared that many of the documents in boxes 1-4 were copied from the microfilm. These reels of microfilm are available for review upon request.
Arrangement:
Materials are arranged by subject and then chronologically.
Historical Note:
In 1917, the United States Navy developed specifications for a flying boat of sufficient range to cross the Atlantic to England. The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, in conjunction with the Navy, developed a three-engine aircraft. The Navy intended that the flying boat would serve as an anti-submarine patrol aircraft. The first of the new aircraft, the NC-1, flew on October 4, 1918, followed by the NC-2 on April 12, 1919. Even though World War I had ended, the Navy decided to continue the program in an effort to make the first transatlantic crossing by air. As the program progressed, the NC-2 was dismantled for parts for the other NC aircraft. On May 16, 1919, the NC-1, the NC-3, and the NC-4 assembled at Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland, to begin the 1200 nautical-mile flight to the Azores. The NC-1 was forced down short of the islands and sank, but the Greek vessel, Ionia, rescued the crew. The NC-3 landed two hundred miles short and taxied the remaining distance to the islands. The NC-4 completed the flight successfully, reaching Plymouth, England via Lisbon, Portugal, on May 31, 1919. Following publicity tours of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, the NC-4 was given to the Smithsonian Institution and is a part of the National Air and Space Museum collection.
Reels of microfilm are available for review upon request.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to ue NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Admiral Albert C. Read, USN (Curtiss NC-4) Collection
Creator:
Read, A. C. (Albert Cushing), 1887-1967 Search this
Names:
Read, A. C. (Albert Cushing), 1887-1967 Search this
Extent:
1.74 Cubic feet (1 legal document box, three oversized boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Biographies
Clippings
Reports
Scrapbooks
Logs (records)
Correspondence
Photographs
Date:
1919-1946
bulk May 1919 to June 1919
Summary:
Rear Admiral Albert C. Read (1887-1967) graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1907 and became Naval Aviator #24 in July 1915. In 1919, Read was the commander of the Curtiss NC-4, the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic. The NC-4 covered 2150 nautical miles, from Nova Scotia to the Azores. The NC-4 was joined in the flight by the Curtiss NC-1 and Curtiss NC-3, but both the NC-1 and NC-3 were forced to land in the open sea.
This collection consists of the following: black scrapbook containing photographs with US Navy numbers; newspaper front pages; reports; cable grams; signals and dispatches; the NC-4 log; biography of Read; and correspondence.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of the following: black scrapbook containing photographs with US Navy numbers; newspaper front pages; reports; cable grams; signals and dispatches; the NC-4 log; biography of Read; and correspondence in both Portuguese (with English translations) and English.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Biographical/Historical note:
Rear Admiral Albert C. Read (1887-1967) graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1907 and became Naval Aviator #24 in July 1915. In 1919, Read was the commander of the Curtiss NC-4, the first aircraft to fly across the Atlantic. The NC-4 covered 2150 nautical miles, from Nova Scotia to the Azores. The NC-4 was joined in the flight by the Curtiss NC-1 and Curtiss NC-3, but both the NC-1 and NC-3 were forced to land in the open sea.
Provenance:
Rear Admiral Albert C. Read, gift, 1962, XXXX.0391, 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 contains two groups of photographs. The first group, mounted on pages removed from a photo album, contains views of aircraft and facilities at the United States Army Air Service Fairfield Intermediate Air Depot, Fairfield, Ohio, circa 1921. The second group consists of loose photographs of aircraft, most of which are historic views of early Aerial Experiment Association and Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company aircraft by photographer Harry M. Benner.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 86 photographs collected by the donor's father, roughly divided into two groups. The first group, most of which is mounted on black paper pages removed from a photo album, shows facilities and aircraft at the Fairfield Air Intermediate Depot in 1921, including aerial views of the field. Many of the aircraft pictured (circa 1918-1921) were undergoing technical assessment by the Army Air Service at nearby McCook Field and Wilbur Wright Field. Several photographs show the wreckage of Dayton Wright DH-4 and Curtiss JN-4D Jenny training aircraft crashed in the local area. Aircraft pictured in this group include Bristol Fighter F.2B (Brisfit) [McCook Field no. P-37], Engineering Division USD-9A (D.H.9) [McCook Field no. P-43], Fokker D.VII (V.18) [McCook Field No. P-108], LePère 11 (C-11, C II, LUSAC 11), Martin (MB-1) MP Mailplane, Martin (Glenn L.) (MB-1) GMB-TA Transatlantic Aircraft, Nieuport 24, Orenco Type B [McCook Field no. P-41], Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a, SPAD XIII (S.13), Standard (NJ) Handley Page O/400 "Langley", Standard (NJ)-Built Caproni Ca.5 Night Bomber, Thomas-Morse S-4C, Verville (Alfred) VCP-R (R-1), and Vought VE-7 [McCook Field no. P-23].
The second, smaller group of photographs consists of historical images (circa 1908-1913) relating to the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, Hammondsport, New York, most of which were taken by Curtiss photographer Harry M. Benner. This group contains photographs of Aerial Experiment Association (AEA) aircraft (the Aerodrome No 1 Red Wing, the Aerodrome No 2 White Wing, the Aerodrome No 3 Loon, the Aerodrome No 4 Silver Dart, and the Cygnet II) and an assortment of Curtiss models, including Lincoln Beachey at the controls of his Curtiss Beachey Special, Curtiss C-2 (AB-2), Ruth Law at the controls of her Curtiss Model D Headless, Curtiss Flying Boat No.2 "The Flying Fish," Curtiss Flying Boat Model F, the twin-engined Curtiss Model H "America" (H-1), Curtiss J (floatplane version), Curtiss JN-2 Jenny, Curtiss NC-1, Curtiss 18-T Wasp (Curtiss-Kirkham), and the Curtiss 1914 Rebuild of the Langley (Samuel P.) Aerodrome A. These widely reproduced images also appear in other NASM Archives collections from the period.
Biographical / Historical:
The Fairfield Aviation General Supply Depot, opened by the U.S. Army Signal Corps in Fairfield (Ohio) in January 1918, was designed to provide supply and logistical support for wartime aviation training operations. The largest of the depot's buildings was constructed around a double spur of track connecting it with the main railroad lines (still in use decades later as Building 1, Area C, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base). As World War I came to a close, the Army Air Service made plans for reducing training operations and managing war surplus materiel; accordingly, in January 1919 they shut down training at adjacent Wilbur Wright Field and shifted control and use of that field to the depot, now renamed as the Wilbur Wright Air Service Depot. In November 1919, the facility was transferred to the Air Service's list of permanent depots and renamed as the Aviation General Supply Depot, Fairfield, Ohio. As post-war demobilization continued, millions of dollars of property flowed into Fairfield from Europe and closed-down Air Service facilities in the continental United States, and a large civilian workforce was hired to deal with the massive influx of materiel. The name changed to Air Service Supply and Repair Depot after an aviation repair unit was transferred to Fairfield in September 1920; the depot's Engineering and Repair Section was tasked with the repair and maintenance of Air Service aircraft and the overhaul of engines. After undergoing four name changes in just over two years, in January 1921 the depot's name and mission as a center for supply and repair was clarified by the War Department with the establishment of four "air intermediate depots" at San Antonio (Texas), Rockwell (California), Middletown (Pennsylvania), and Fairfield, which became the Fairfield Air Intermediate Depot (FAID).
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Donald G. Williams, Gift, 1992, NASM.1992.0040
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
Topic:
Aerial Experiment Assoc Aerodrome No 3 June Bug Search this
Aerial Experiment Assoc Aerodrome No 4 Silver Dart Search this
The donor's father, Otto Thielhart, worked at L.W.F. Engineering Company during the early 1920s, and these 81 prints were copied from the father's scrapbook. The subjects include scenes from L.W.F. Engineering Co. and aircraft built there or of the period, including: Aeromarine M-1; Albatros D V; Arens Biplane; Bleriot XI Type; Curtiss CR-1, CR-2, CR-3, HA, HS-1L, JN-4, L, NC-1, NC-2, NC-3, NC-4, Navy Racer, and R-6 Army Racer; De Havilland DH-4B; Douglas DT-2; shots of the L.W.F. Factory, LWF Model V, Model V-1, Model F, Model G-2, Model H, Model L; Martin NBS-1; Sloan/Standard H-3; and Thomas-Morse S.4C.
Biographical / Historical:
The Lowe Willard & Fowler (L.W.F.) Engineering Company, located at College Point, New York City, was organized in 1915 for the manufacture of all types of heavier-than-air machines. L.W.F. produced the first all-American aircraft to be used during World War I. In 1917, the first Liberty motor to fly was installed in the L.W.F. Model G, and several of the L.W.F. aircraft held performance records for speed and endurance. The company also completed Government contracts for producing Martin Bombers, Douglas DT-2s, and Naval Observation Planes, before the company dissolved in 1924.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Walter Thielhart, gift, 1993, 1993-0036, 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
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