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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.

 Identifier

NASM.XXXX.0172

Creator

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio)

Date

1918-1971

Provenance

University of Wisconsin, Transfer, 1981, XXXX-0172, Public Domain

Extent

899.25 Cubic feet ((825 records center boxes))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

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.

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

Airplanes, Military -- Flight testing

Aeronautics, Military

Aeronautics

Aeronautics, Military -- Research

Aircraft survival equipment

Aircraft accidents

Airplanes -- Design and construction

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photographs