53.375 Linear feet (102 containers: 89 legal size document boxes, 2 shoeboxes, 10 flatboxes, 1 large format folder)
5 Film reels (1 35mm, two 16mm, and 2 8mm films)
50.008 Cubic feet
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Film reels
Date:
1886-1969
Summary:
This collection contains Verville's personal papers. The material relates mainly to his various aeronautical concerns as well as his involvement with military aviation. The collection includes a large number of photos tracing the development of Curtiss aircraft and Naval Aviation, and especially documenting the design, construction, and flights of a replica of the Navy's first aircraft, the Curtiss A-1 'Triad', built under Verville's direction by the Bureau of Aeronautics to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of Naval Aviation in 1961. Also included are a large number of blueprints and photos of Verville-designed aircraft, especially those developed by the Verville Aircraft Co. in 1928 - 1931
Scope and Contents:
Contents of this collection include blueprints, drawings, technical manuals, reference material, correspondence, financial information, event programs, photographs, newspapers and clippings, magazines, pamphlets, brochures, journals, books.
The researcher should note that the collection also contains 35mm, 16mm and 8mm films. These films are not included in the container list but a NASM Archives staff person can assist you regarding access.
Arrangement:
Organized into series:
SERIES 1: Correspondence
SERIES 2: Institute of the Aerospace Sciences (IAS) - Navy National Naval Aviation Meeting 1961 commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Naval Aviation in San Diego CA featuring the A-1 Replica
SERIES 3: Technical Materials
SERIES 4: Drawings
SERIES 5: Other Papers
SERIES 6: Publications
SERIES 7: Photographs
SERIES 8: Scrapbooks, Oversize Materials
This collection was arranged at the time of processing to better reflect its main areas of subject matter as there was very little original order preserved. Original folder titles were kept when they appeared; archivists' folder titles are in brackets. Archivist's description appears below folder titles.
Biographical / Historical:
Alfred Victor Verville (1890-1970), aviation pioneer and aircraft designer, was responsible for a number of important inventions in aircraft design, including welded-steel-frame fuselages and retractable landing gear. He began work with the Curtiss Aeroplane Co in 1914 and, by the end of World War I had moved through a number of manufacturers, including Curtiss (1914), T-M Airplane Co (1915), General Airplane Co (1915-17), and Fisher Body Corp, Airplane Division (1917-18). In 1918 he became involved in military aviation at the United States Army Air Corp Engineering Division, McCook Field , OH (1918-25) and served as advisor to Colonel William Mitchell during his inspection trip to Europe (1922). In 1925 he co-founded the Buhl-Verville Aircraft Co (1925-27) before striking out on his own with the Verville Aircraft Co (1928-31). Through the 1930s and 1940s he acted in a number of capacities, including periods as a consultant (1932, 1939-41); at the Bureau of Air Commerce, United States Department of Commerce (1933-36); Douglas Aircraft (1937-38); Curtiss Wright Corp (1941-42), Snead Aircraft, Technical Division (1942); and Drexel Aviation Co (1942-45). In 1945 he served as a member of the Naval Technical Mission to Europe and later joined the Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics (1946-61). He retired in 1961, but continued to support aviation and aeronautics until his death.
Provenance:
Alfred Verville, gift, 1954
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.
Helicopter Air Service Program: Hearings before the Aviation Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, Eighty-Ninth Congress, First Session on Helicopter Air Service Program, March 8-11, 1965, US Government (Washington, DC) Serial No. 89-4.
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection 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.
Collection Citation:
New York Airways Collection, Acc. NASM.1992.0052, 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 http://airandspace.si.edu/permissions
Collection Citation:
Joseph D. Mountain Collection, Acc. 1991-0079, 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:
Charles Ingram Stanton, Sr., Papers, Acc. NASM.1987.0076, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Freedmen's Bureau Digital Collection, 1865–1872, is a product of and owned by the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution. Copyright for digital images is retained by the donor, FamilySearch International; permission for commercial use of the digital images may be requested from FamilySearch International, Intellectual Property Office, at: cor-intellectualproperty@ldschurch.org.
Collection Citation:
Courtesy of the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, FamilySearch International, and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Business records related to the development of the rail detector cars used by railroads to find hidden flaws, which could cause catastrophic accidents in event of rail failure.
Scope and Contents:
This collection focuses on the development of the rail detector cars used by railroads to find hidden flaws, which could cause catastrophic accidents in event of rail failure. The history of this device, including its conception by Elmer A. Sperry in 1923 utilizing a magnetic field passed over the rail and later improvements including an ultra-sonic system is presented in a publication of the American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Materials Evaluation , March, 1985. A technical handbook prepared for ASNT in 1963 describes the electric current test principles utilized in development of the induction systems, while a SRS brochure (1950) lists advantages of the ultra-sonic method. A bill of materials for "interior lighting, plumbing and detecting equipment for double unit AAR magnetic type detector car" (1946) is also included.
A detailed chronology of Sperry Rail Service (SRS) actions in collaboration with the American Railway Association (ARA) in the early development of the period (1926-1940) lists correspondence, memoranda and reports on the design and manufacture of the first Sperry rail detector cars, delivered to ARA in 1928. Also included are details of the negotiations between SRS and ARA regarding financing of the project and prices of the cars, as well as proposed modifications of the cars. Later Sperry negotiations with individual railroads, including Northern Pacific, Illinois Central, etc. for car purchases also are listed, including legal questions surrounding ARA's participation are listed.
Arrangement:
Collection arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
The Rail Detector Car was developed as a jointly-financed project by the American Railway Association (ARA) and the Sperry Co. beginning in 1926. The ARA contracted with Sperry to manufacture a rail detector car, initializing a method by which the magnetic detection equipment (invented by Elmer A. Sperry in 1923) contacted the rail. This system proved unsatisfactory as dirt, oxide and scale on the rail surface interfered with its operation. Sperry continued work on the project, developing the induction method which utilized electrical induction coils suspended above the rail. Thus equipped, a successful rail detector car was produced and delivered to ARA in 1928. The newly-organized Sperry Rail Service operated additional cars on a contract basis with the railroads.
A new method of rail flow detection using ultra-sonic high frequency sound waves was introduced by Sperry and mounted on rail detector cars in 1949. The ultra-sonic system proved particularly useful in detecting rail joint flaws not found by the induction method. As a result, by 1985 all of the Sperry detector cars in service used a dual induction/ultrasonic system.
Provenance:
Immediate source of acquisition unknown.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sperry Rail Detector Car Collection, 1928-1985, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sperry Rail Detector Car Collection, 1928-1985, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sperry Rail Detector Car Collection, 1928-1985, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sperry Rail Detector Car Collection, 1928-1985, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Sperry Rail Detector Car Collection, 1928-1985, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
