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In 1917 the United States Army Air Service established an aviation engineering section at McCook Field in Dayton, OH. In 1927 the Engineering Division, as it was then known, moved to nearby Wilbur Wright Field and there remained as the Air Force Material Division (AFMD) and Air Material Command (AMC) until Wright Field combined with Patterson Field to become Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1948. The Engineering Division was in charge of research and development for the Army Air Services and was a clearinghouse for the Army Air Services on aviation development worldwide.
NASM.XXXX.0172
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio)
1918-1971
University of Wisconsin, Transfer, 1981, XXXX-0172, Public Domain
899.25 Cubic feet ((825 records center boxes))
National Air and Space Museum Archives
This collection contains the file of still photographs taken by the Air Force Material Division at McCook Field, Wright Field, and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The material consists of over 340,000 black and white and color photographs illustrating the design, development and testing of military aircraft; structural components; and personal, emergency, and survival equipment. The collection also contains documentation of unsatisfactory materials and components, aircraft accident investigations, publicity, and development of McCook Field facilities to the present day Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The majority of the photos were taken as integral parts of the testing or investigation procedure for inclusion in resulting reports.
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
No restrictions on access
Airplanes, Military -- Flight testing
Aeronautics, Military
Aeronautics
Aeronautics, Military -- Research
Aircraft survival equipment
Aircraft accidents
Airplanes -- Design and construction
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs