J. Gordon Vaeth Collection
J. Gordon Vaeth (1921-2012) was an accomplished author and historian on the subject of airships. He was known as the 'leader of the airship underground' during his earlier days with the Naval Airship Program at the start of World War II. During his active duty in the U. S. Navy (1942-1946), he was assigned to Commander Airship Patrol Group One, later Commander Fleet, Airships, Atlantic, then to Naval Air Station Lakehurst. He entered civilian life in 1947, continuing to work with programs relating to airships, including at the Office of Naval Research, the Helios Project, and on Skyhook. Vaeth held many positions for the federal government and was the director of systems engineering for the National Environmental Satellite Service at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the time of his retirement. Vaeth was a frequent lecturer, including appearances in television documentaries, as well as the author of numerous professional articles and books.
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J. Gordon Vaeth Collection
Identifier
NASM.1994.0011
Creator
Vaeth, J. Gordon (Joseph Gordon), 1921-2012
Processing Information
Arranged and described in 1993 by Christina T. Simcox. Updated and encoded in 2020 by Jessamyn Lloyd.
Date
1908-1992
Provenance
J. Gordon Vaeth, Gift, 1993, NASM.1994.0011
Extent
1.97 Cubic feet (4 legal document boxes and 1 oversize folder)
Summary
This collection, compiled by J. Gorden Vaeth, consists of documents, reports, news clippings, scrapbooks, publications, and photographs relating to rigid and non-rigid airships worldwide.
Restrictions
No restrictions on access
General
Additional materials: Mr. Vaeth also donated a number of books and volumes of "The Airship Quarterly" which are housed in National Air and Space Museum Branch Library.
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Publications
Clippings
Reports
Arrangement
Collection is arranged by type of material. Most publications are housed individually in folders.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of documents, reports, news clippings, scrapbooks, publications, and photographs relating to rigid and non-rigid airships worldwide, including the USS Shenandoah; USS Akron; USS Macon; USS Los Angeles; Schütte-Lanz; R-23; TC-14: and the Zeppelins Hindenburg and Bodensee. It was compiled by J. Gordon Vaeth for personal and research reasons.
Genre/Form
Photographs
Publications
Clippings
Reports
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
Creator
Vaeth, J. Gordon (Joseph Gordon), 1921-2012
Names
LZ 120 Bodensee (Airship)
LZ 129 Hindenburg (Airship)
Project Helios
Project Skyhook
United States. Navy -- Aviation
United States. Navy. Naval Airship Program
United States. Office of Naval Research
ZR-1 Shenandoah (Airship)
ZR-3 Los Angeles (Airship)
ZRS-4 Akron (Airship)
ZRS-5 Macon (Airship)
Vaeth, J. Gordon (Joseph Gordon), 1921-2012
Topic
Airships
Aeronautics, Military
Aeronautics
United States Navy TC-14 (Airship)
Citation
J. Gordon Vaeth Collection, NASM.1994.0011, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Archival Repository
National Air and Space Museum Archives
