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This collection consists of photographs taken by Ada Wandling of aviation activity in Alaska during the 1920s.
In July 1923, the U. S. Army Air Service disclosed that it intended to attempt a global flight the following year. Four specially built aircraft were commissioned from the Douglas Aircraft Company. The World Cruisers, as they were called, were christened the Seattle, the Chicago, the Boston, and the New Orleans. The four aircraft departed from Seattle, Washington, in April 1924 to begin their flight. Only the New Orleans and the Chicago completed the arduous 44,085 km (27,553 mi) flight. It took 175 days, with a flying time of 371 hours and 11 minutes. Ada Wandling was living in Alaska during the time of the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC) world flight. She took photographs that documented their stop in Seward, Alaska, as well as other aviation events happening in the state.
NASM.2019.0056
Wandling, Ada
Circa 1924-1930
Barbara Jones, Gift, 2019, NASM.2019.0056
0.01 Cubic feet (1 folder)
National Air and Space Museum Archives
This collection consists of photographs taken by Ada Wandling of aviation activity in Alaska during the 1920s. There are both negatives and prints, and there are some duplicates. There are five black and white negatives and two black and white prints, each measuring approximately 3.5 by 6 inches, of five different images of the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC) aircraft taken in Seward, Alaska in 1924. There are also seven black and white prints of three different images, measuring approximately 3 by 1.75 inches each, of a Travel Air Model BW (Model 4000) (J-4 Whirlwind) that has crash landed in Alaska. It is possibly the Travel Air Model BW Anchorage No. 2 flown by Russel Hyde Merrill for Anchorage Air Transport, Incorporated. The collection also contains a 3 by 1.75 inch black and white negative showing a Western Air Express Boeing Model 204 on the water in an unknown location.
Collection is in original order.
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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Alaska Aviation Photographs [Wandling], NASM.2019.0056, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Aeronautics
Airplanes
Douglas World Cruiser (DWC)
Collection descriptions
Archival materials