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John E. Parker was a Naval Academy graduate, and an entrepreneur. Parker was the president of Northwestern Aeronautical Corporation (NAC), which made wooden gliders for the war effort. Allied forces used the unpowered gliders at the Normandy D-Day invasion and at other battles to silently carry troops into enemy territory. The company assembled fifteen gliders a day in a huge plant on Minnehaha Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. After the War, Parker also became president of the newly created Engineering Research Associates (ERA), a computer development company.

 Identifier

NASM.1991.0005

Creator

Parker, John E.

Date

1940-1945

Provenance

Estate of John E. Parker, Gift, 1990, 1991-0005, NASM

Extent

3.09 Cubic feet ((1 records center box) (4 flatboxes))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection contains four wooden covered scrapbooks designed by John E. Parker which include clippings and photographs of the company during this period. Collection also includes 'General Survey Organization Northwestern Aeronautical Corporation;' 'Postwar Products Survey Northwestern Aeronautical Corporation;' newsclippings on NAC; 'TOW Lines' published by NAC; and other material about the company and John Parker.

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

Topics

Gliding and soaring

Gliders (Aeronautics)

World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations

World War, 1939-1945

Aeronautics, Military

Aeronautics, Commercial

Aeronautics

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Publications

Photographs

Clippings

Scrapbooks