A. Francis Arcier Collection
Acc. XXXX-0072

Born in London, Alex Francis Arcier was an aviator, scientist, designer and engineer whose pioneering work in aviation design spanned six decades. Among his designs are the Barling Bomber and the Fokker TriMotor. He later supervised glider production for Waco during World War II, and served as Chief Scientist for U.S. Air Force Intelligence at Wright-Patterson AFB until his retirement in 1963. 3 cu. ft. (6 boxes)

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Captured German Documents -- Fort Eustis Library (F.E.) Microfilm
Acc. XXXX-0468

This collection consists of captured German documents pertaining to operations and research at the German missile testing station at Peenemünde during World War II. The documents were processed by the United States Army and housed for a time in a library at Fort Eustis, VA before being microfilmed.

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Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. Collection
Acc. 1992-0023

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (1912-2002) was the commander of the 99th Fighter Squadron and 332d Fighter Wing (better known as the "Tuskegee Airmen") during World War II before going on to become the first black general in the United States Air Force. After his retirement from the Air Force in 1970 Davis became the Director of Public Safety in Cleveland, OH, the first Director of Civil Aviation Security for the U. S. Department of Transportation, and the Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Environment, Safety, and Consumer Affairs during the Nixon and Ford Administrations. This collection consists of correspondence, press clippings, and photographs gathered by the Davises, particularly after Davis left military service.

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James H. Doolittle Scrapbooks
Acc. XXXX-0501

James "Jimmy" Doolittle (1896-1993) enjoyed a career of unusual impact. A flying instructor during World War I, he became known for his skill as a pilot. In the years between the wars, he won several trophy races and set many records. His work with instrument ("blind") flying would be of great importance to aviation. Returning to service in World War II, Doolittle led the April 1942 raid on Tokyo from the USS Hornet. 10 cubic feet (9 boxes)

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Reimar and Walter Horten Interviews
Acc. 1999-0065

Walter (1912-1996) and Reimar (1915-1993) Horten were two largely self-taught aircraft designers. Their interest in aircraft began as early as 1925 when they joined a fliers club in Bonn, Germany. In 1932, Reimar and Walter commenced work on their first piloted all-wing sailplane, the Ho I. Prior to World War II, the brothers improved upon the Ho I glider, creating other models including the Ho II, Ho III and Ho IV. During the war, they continued their projects, developing many enhanced versions of their original flying wing. This included the Ho 229, the first functional jet-propelled flying wing. After the war, Reimar moved to Argentina where he continued with his unorthodox aeronautical designs while Walter remained in Germany. This collection contains interviews with the Hortens taped by David Myhra. The collection consists of 60 original audiotapes donated by Mr. Myhra. The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) Archives had the original audiotapes remastered onto 61 master reel-to-reels and 120 CD-Rs. Also included in this collection is a box of transcriptions for some of these audiotapes. These transcriptions are unidentified and consequently, cannot be matched to the correct audiotapes. Collection size is 8.03 cubic feet (20 boxes).

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Peenemünde Aerodynamics Reports
Acc. XXXX-0193

This collection consists of captured German documents pertaining to aerodynamic research conducted at the German missile testing station at Peenemünde during World War II. The documents consist of blueprint and autopositive copies of reports from the Peenemünde Archiv Nr. 66 document series. 2.03 cu. ft. (5 boxes).

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Peenemünde Interviews Project
Acc. 1999-0038

This collection contains the transcripts for the Peenemünde Interviews Project which examines the development of the German Peenemünde complex from the early 1930s through World War II. This rocket test center designed the V-2 missiles that terrorized Britain during 1944-45. The collection consists of 39 hours of interviews with 13 individuals. The audiotapes for these interviews have yet to be remastered and, due to their fragility, are not available to researchers. Most of the transcripts to these interviews are available to researchers though, there are restrictions placed on a small number of them. A National Air and Space Museum (NASM) Archives staff member will advise the patron which transcripts are available for copying and viewing. Collection size is 0.69 cu. ft. (4 boxes)

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Peenemünde Technical Reports (Fort Bliss / Putkammer Collection)
Acc. XXXX-0192

This collection consists of captured German documents pertaining to research conducted at the German missile testing station at Peenemünde during World War II. The documents consist of copies of reports primarily from the Peenemünde Archiv Nr. 14, 66, and 86 document series. These documents were held for a time in the Document Room of the Ordnance Research and Development Division Sub-Office on Rockets, Fort Bliss, TX. 1.58 cu. ft. (4 boxes).

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Richard Porter Collection
Acc. 1997-0037

Richard Porter (1913-1996) was an electrical engineer and expert in the fields of rocketry and space travel. In 1937, the General Electric (GE) Company hired him as a student engineer after receiving his Ph.D. from Yale University. This was the start of a very long affiliation between Porter and the corporate giant. During World War II, he was directly involved in the U.S. effort to identify and debrief top German rocket scientists. He was also instrumental in evacuating these rocket specialists to the U.S. - an undertaking known as Operation Paperclip. In 1953, GE placed Porter in overall charge of the company's guided missiles department. From that time onward, he stayed heavily engaged in the rocketry field. This included heading a panel of scientists tasked with developing a U.S. space program in time for the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58. This collection consists of correspondence, memoranda, meeting minutes, reports, notes, speeches, photographs, brochures, pamphlets, programs, magazines, newsletters, papers, articles, newspaper clippings and miscellaneous materials. Collection size is 8.03 cu. ft. (22 boxes).

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The Swoose: Odyssey of a B-17 Collection
Acc. 1994-0024

The Boeing B-17D The Swoose (serial number 40-3097) has a long and storied history. Its nickname derives from a song popular in the 1940s about a half-swan, half-goose. Like the bird, this B-17 was composed of components from different aircraft. The Swoose flew four historic trans-Pacific flights and carried out bombing and transport operations in the Pacific during World War II. The aircraft remained in service until 1953, when it was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum. This collection consists of materials collected by author Herbert Brownstein during his research for the book The Swoose: Odyssey of a B-17.

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Lee Ya-Ching Papers
Acc. 2008-0009

Lee Ya-Ching was a Chinese aviatrix in the 1930's and 1940's. Beginning her flying career in Switzerland in 1934, Ms. Lee was the first woman to receive a pilot's licenses from the Ecole Aero Club de Suisse, the Boeing School of Aeronautics and the government of China. In partnership with several other pilots, Ms. Lee opened a civilian flying school in Shanghai. Despite being instrumental in the formation of a Chinese air force prior to World War Two, Ms. Lee found she was not allowed to fly for her country when Japan invaded. Finding other ways to serve her country, Ms. Lee helped form hospitals and flew Red Cross planes from Hong Kong to Canton. Wishing to do more, Ms Lee embarked on a goodwill tour of the United States, Canada and South America, raising money for the war effort in China. Following the war, Ms. Lee returned to China, where she receded from public life. This collection consists of news clippings, photographs, magazines and three scrapbooks. The majority of the collection is in English; however, there are significant occurrences of Chinese, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Dutch. Collection size is 11.9 cubic feet (22 boxes).

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