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 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.

 Biographical / Historical

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.

 Identifier

NASM.1994.0011

Creator

Vaeth, J. Gordon (Joseph Gordon), 1921-2012

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)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

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.

Arrangement note

Collection is arranged by type of material. Most publications are housed individually in folders.

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

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Citation

J. Gordon Vaeth Collection, NASM.1994.0011, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Airships

Aeronautics, Military

Aeronautics

United States Navy TC-14 (Airship)

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Publications

Clippings

Reports