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 Summary

Howard Harrop Sargent, Jr. (1911--1986) was a test pilot who was the first person to fly an aircraft powered by the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major R-4360 engine. This collection consists of a Wasp Major Club certificate issued to Sargent.

 Biographical / Historical

Howard Harrop Sargent, Jr. (1911--1986) was a test pilot who was the first person to fly an aircraft powered by the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major R-4360 engine. Sargent obtained his pilot's license in 1929 and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1933. Sargent was immediately hired by Pratt & Whitney as an Experimental Test Pilot and by 1939 was their Chief Test Pilot. On April 25, 1942, Sargent became the first person to fly an aircraft powered by the Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major R-4360 engine while making a test flight in a Vultee (Vengeance) XA-31B from Vultee Field in Downey, California. Sargent worked for Raymond Engineering in Connecticut beginning in 1947. The Wasp Major Club was created by Pratt & Whitney to document the first 100 pilots to fly an aircraft powered by a Wasp Major R-4360 engine.

 Identifier

NASM.2024.0007

Creator

Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company

Date

April 25, 1942

Provenance

Douglas B. Sargent, Gift, 2023, NASM.2024.0007

Extent

0.02 Cubic feet (1 oversized map folder)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a Wasp Major Club certificate issued to Howard Harrop Sargent, Jr. indicating that he was the first pilot to fly an aircraft powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major R-4360 engine. The certificate, which measures approximately 16 x 14 inches, is dated April 25, 1942 and is signed by Pratt & Whitney's General Manager, name unreadable, and Chief Engineer, Andrew Willgoos.

Arrangement note

Collection is a single item.

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

Wasp Major Club Certificate [Sargent], NASM.2024.0007, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aeronautics

Test pilots

Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major R-4360 28-Cylinder Radial

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Certificates