Donald Sewell Lopez (1923-2008) was a legendary figure in aviation having had a remarkable career as a fighter pilot in World War II and the Korean War, contributing significantly to aeronautical engineering and education, and playing critical roles in the planning and development of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM). This collection includes slides, digital images, and audio-visual material maintained by Donald S. Lopez during his time as the NASM Deputy Director.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of 48 slides, some of which are duplicates, mostly relating to Lopez's service in World War II. The slides, most of which are black and white, depict various aircraft including Lockheed P-38M Lightning, Curtiss C-46 Commando, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Dornier Do 215 B-5 Kauz 3 (Screech Owl)(Night Fighter Modification), Douglas P-70, Bell P-39 Airacobra, Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko (Moonlight) Irving (Night Fighter Model 11), North American P-51 Mustang, and Northrop P-61 Black Widow. The slides also depict Lopez and a number of people who served with him in China including Lieutenant Jessie Gray, and Lieutenant Oswin "Moose" Elker. One slide also depicts the crash of a North American B-25 Mitchell that occured in Chihkiang on January 19, 1945. There are also images of Lopez at work in the Museum and of his wife, Glindel Lopez in her wedding gown. Finally, there is an image of the William S. Phillips painting, "Into the Teeth of the Tiger," showing Lopez in combat (this piece is owned by the Lopez family). A number of these images were used in Lopez's book "Into the Teeth of the Tiger."
The collection also includes a DVD of a panel lecture at the Udvar-Hazy Center on the Northrop P-61 Black Widow on June 8, 2006 featuring Donald S. Lopez, Robert Bolinder, Louis Bost, Avery J. Miller, Robert Ferguson as speakers and Dik Daso as moderator; a CD of photographs taken at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 2000 showing Lopez and other NASM staff as well as figures such as Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager, Robert A. "Bob" Hoover, Patricia "Patty" Rosalie Kearns Combs Wagstaff, James A. "Jim" Lovell, Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson, and Frank Borman; and a reel of 16mm color film, with sound, entitled Reunions: Memories of an American Experience.
Arrangement:
Arranged in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Donald Sewell Lopez (1923-2008) joined the staff of the Smithsonian Institution in 1972 as part of the team responsible for planning the construction and opening of the National Air and Space Museum (NASM). As assistant director for Aeronautics, Lopez was instrumental in developing the exhibits that welcomed visitors at the museum's opening on July 1, 1976. Lopez became deputy director of NASM in 1983, a position he held until 1990. He served as senior advisor to the director before retiring in 1993, holding a position as senior advisor emeritus until he was again appointed deputy director in 1996, a position he held until his death. Before coming to the Smithsonian, Lopez was already an aviation legend: he was a fighter pilot in the 23rd Fighter Group of the 14th Air Force - successors of the legendary Flying Tigers - in China. He flew Curtiss P-40s and North American P-51 Mustangs, demonstrating his extraordinary flying skills under the leadership of famous war heroes Col. Tex Hill and Gen. Claire Chennault. During his two years in China, Lopez flew 101 missions and tallied up five victories, the required number to be recognized as an "Ace." Lopez was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, and three Air Medals for his service during World War II. After the War, Lopez became an Air Force test pilot and then served in combat again during the Korean War flying North American F-86s. Lopez then served at the Pentagon, during which time he also earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology and a master's degree in aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology. Lopez served at the US Air Force Academy as an associate professor of aeronautics and chief of academic counseling before retiring from the US Air Force in 1964 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Lopez then worked as a Systems Engineer on the Apollo-Saturn Launch Vehicle and the Skylab Orbital Workshop for Bellcomm, Inc. Lopez was a member of the American Fighter Aces Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association and was a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Lopez was the recipient of many honors and awards, including being named an Elder Statesman of Aviation by the National Aeronautic Association (1995); the Federal Hispanic Heritage Month Excellence in Leadership Award recipient (1999); the Frank G. Brewer Trophy in Museum Education recipient; being inducted as a fellow by the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (2006); and being honored as one of the living legends at the Gathering of Mustangs and Legends at Rickenbacker Field in Columbus, Ohio (2007). Lopez's publications include Into the Teeth of the Tiger (Bantam, 1986), The National Air and Space Museum: A Visit in Pictures (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989) and Fighter Pilot's Heaven: Flight Testing the Early Jets (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1995).
Provenance:
Donald S. Lopez, Transfer, 2008, NASM.2008.0042
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.
EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) (Oshkosh, WI)
Collection Creator:
National Air and Space Museum. Archives Division. Search this
Type:
Archival materials
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
Type:
Archival materials
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
Type:
Archival materials
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
Type:
Archival materials
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
Type:
Archival materials
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.
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:
William Jones World War II Scrapbook, NASM.2006.0067, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
EAA Oshkosh the best AirVenture photography Hal Bryan, James P. Busha, Dick Knapinski ; foreword by Jack J. Pelton, Chairman/CEO, Experimental Aircraft Association
Seele, Jean W. (Jean Warren), 1924-1993 Search this
Extent:
12.11 Cubic feet ((1 shoebox) (7 slide and card cabinets))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Color slides
Color negatives
Black-and-white negatives
Photographs
Date:
[ca. 1950s-1970s]
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of approximately 6000 color slides and over 2000 negatives/prints (a mixture of color and black and white) of civil and military aircraft taken by Seele, circa 1950s-1970s. The shots were taken in the United States, specifically in the Midwest. Aircraft from the following manufacturers are represented: Aero Commander, Arrow, Aeronca, Beechcraft, Bell, Bellanca, Boeing, Bristol, Bucker, Callair, Cessna, Consolidated, Convair, Curtiss, Dassault, de Havilland, Davis, Dart, Douglas, ERCO, Fairchild, Fleet, Ford, Goodyear, Great Lakes, Grumman, Howard, Hawker Siddeley, Hughes, Heinkel, Jodel, Junkers, Lockheed, Ling-Temco-Vought, Lawson, Parsons, Pitts, Pitcarin, Piper, Pazmany, Piaggo, Porterfield, Republic, SAAB, Sikorsky, Stampe, Stearman, Stinson, Swearingen, Taylor, Vickers, and Waco. In June of 2001 the Smitihsonian's Museum of American History transferred an additional shoebox of Seele photography that had been sent directly to them from the widow. This color images included balloon events as well as aircraft shots. The ballooning images are color prints taken mostly around Topeka, Kansas, while the aircraft images are color transparencies of aircraft taken, again, mostly around Topeka.
Biographical / Historical:
Jean Warren (J. W.) Seele (1924-1993) was born in Topeka, Kansas, and spent almost his entire life there. After his graduation from Topeka High School he was enrolled for about one and a half years at the Spartan School of Aeronautics, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although he worked for a few years at Bendix Aviation Corp, Kansas City Division during the 1950s, most of his professional career was spent as an engineering technician for the Kansas Department of Transportation. While he was not directly employed in the aviation field, Seele's hobby was photographing aircraft. Over a twenty year period, Seele photographed aircraft and at various times he was the official photographer for the National Antique Airplane Association, and for the annual fly-in sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association at Rockford, Illinois. Seele's photographs often appeared in the publications of both organizations, and several of this photographs also appeared in Jane's All the World's Aircraft during the 1970s.
General:
Additional materials: photographs taken by Seele of the Kansas countryside, including many of threshing demonstrations, were transferred to the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History.
Provenance:
Charline Seele, Gift, 2000, 2000-0057, NASM, except for images not taken by Seele.
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
3-D: 866.1 × 335.3 × 274.3cm, 1211.6kg, 12.751m (28 ft. 5 in. × 11 ft. × 9 ft., 2671lb., 41 ft. 10 in.)
Width reflected is of main fuselage with the wings removed.
Dimensions taken by Move Contractor on behalf of CSC at the time of deinstall. Record Updated 12/15/2020. See As-Built in Media section for additional information.
