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John Earl Smerdon, Jr. (1925-2000) was a naval aviator and test pilot who flew numerous aircraft, including the National Air and Space Museum's Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver (BuNo 83479). Smerdon enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1943 at the age of 17. In 1946, Smerdon was designated as a naval aviator. Smerdon served with the reserves until being transferred to the Regular Navy at the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade) in March 1949. Smerdon later served as a test pilot at Naval Air Station Patuxent River and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. Smerdon retired from the Navy in 1963 as a Commander. During Smerdon's service with the U.S. Navy he flew numerous aircraft including the Stearman (1927) N2S-3 Kaydet (Model B75N1); North American SNJ Texan; Douglas SBD Dauntless; Curtiss SB2C Helldiver; Beech SNB-2C, SNB-3, and SNB-4 Navigator; Douglas R4D Skytrain; Douglas AD (A-1, BT2D) Skyraider; Grumman F6F Hellcat; Vought F4U Corsair; Boeing 767 Tanker Transport (KC-767); North American T-28 Trojan; Grumman S-2 (S2F) Tracker; Martin (Glenn L.) P5M (P-5) Marlin; Douglas F3D (F-10) Skyknight; Grumman TF-1 (C-1A) Trader; Lockheed P2V (P-2) Neptune; Douglas R5D Skymaster; Douglas A3D (A-3) Skywarrior; Martin (Glenn L.) P4M Mercator; McDonnell F2H (F2D, F-2) Banshee; Lockheed WV Super Constellation; Vought F7U Cutlass; Grumman F11F (F-11) Tiger; Grumman F9F Panther (Straight-Wing); Fairchild R4Q-2 (C-119F) Packet; Vought F-8 (F8U) Crusader; Grumman UF-1 (HU-16C) Albatross; Lockheed TV-2 (TO-2, T-33B) Shooting Star; Lockheed T2V Seastar; North American FJ-4B (AF-1E) Fury; Douglas A4D-2N (A-4C) Skyhawk; Beech TC-45J Expeditor; and the Piper UO-1 (U-11A).

 Identifier

NASM.2013.0035

Creator

Smerdon, John Earl, Jr.

Date

bulk 1945-1963

Provenance

David Smerdon, Gift, 2013

Extent

.28 Cubic feet ((2 containers))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of papers relating to John Earl Smerdon, Jr.'s military career including log books, pilot's licenses, photographs, correspondence, military records, and newsclippings. The log books cover the years of 1945-1963. The photographs are almost exclusively black and white and range in size from 3.5 by 2.5 inches up to 8 by 10 inches. The photographs include various views of Smerdon in uniform as well as in the cockpits of various aircraft including the North American FJ-4B (AF-1E) Fury; North American SNJ Texan; Curtiss SB2C Helldiver; Vought (RF-8A) F8U-1P Crusader; Douglas A3D (A-3) Skywarrior (photograph also includes McDonnell F3H-2N (F-3C) Demon, Douglas F4D (F-6) Skyray, North American FJ-4 (F-1E) Fury, Grumman F11F-1 (F-11A) Tiger, and Douglas A4D-1 (A-4A) Skyhawk); and the Douglas AD-5N (A-1G) Skyraider.

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

John Earl Smerdon, Jr. Papers, Accession 2013-0035, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aeronautics

Naval aviation

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver Family

North American FJ-4B (AF-1E) Fury

Douglas A3D-1 (A-3A) Skywarrior

Douglas AD-4NA (A-1D) Skyraider

Vought (RF-8A) F8U-1P Crusader

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs

Logbooks