100 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1955 



REFERENCE MATERIAL AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



The Museum maintains a library and file of books, periodicals, docu- 

 ments, and contemporary records of aeronautical data to supplement 

 the exhibits and serve as sources of reference both for the staff and 

 others who consult the Museum in connection with their research 

 projects. The improvement of these sources and the arrangement of 

 this material in readily available form are necessary factors in main- 

 taining the service described in the previous section of this report. 

 Many persons who appreciate the importance of the National Air 

 Museum reference collection have donated to it their own files, thus 

 preserving them and extending their usefulness. 



The following lots of reference material were received: 



Aero Digest, Washington, D. : 19,998 photogi-aphs pertinent to aeronautics — a 

 collection aeciimulated in connection with the publication of "Aero Digest," 

 "The Sportsman Pilot," and "Aircraft Yearbook." Mostly 8 x 10 Inches in 

 size and dating from the early 1920's. 



AiB Trail Hobbies, New York, N. Y. : Approximately 1,500 photographs dealing 

 with aeronautics in general, from 1920 to 1940, 



Beilstein, Chris W., Arlington, Va. : A collection of clippings contained in 67 

 envelopes and file folders, covering aviation in general. Selected from maga- 

 zines, books, and newspapers from 1920 to the present. 



Chance Vought Aircraft, Dallas, Tex,: 45 enlarged photographs, framed, 

 covering the history of Vought aircraft from 1917 to date. 



GoRTiss- Wright Corporation, Wood-Ridge, N, J.: 11 books relating to aero- 

 nautics in general. 



Gleditsch, Ernest W. : 770 aeronautical magazines, including "Aviation," "Aero 

 Digest," and "Flight," published between 1917 and 1935. 



Gruhman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, Bethpage, L. I., N. Y. : A collec- 

 tion of aviation magazines covering 12 titles, some dating back to 1919. 



Hargraves, Mp.s. W. R., New York, N. Y. : A piece of the fabric from the NC-S 

 which was one of the flying boats of the U. S. Navy's first transatlantic 

 squadron, 1919. 



Ijams, Mrs, J. Horton, Lawrence, L. I., N. Y. : A collection of "Air Facts" in 

 three binders, complete from February 1, 1938, through 1941. 



Navy, Department of, Washington, D. C. : Drawings, assembly, for Douglas 

 D-55S-1 "Skystreak." 



Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, East Hartford, Conn,: A collection of manuals, 

 drawings, and brocbures covering data and specifications on the Pratt & 

 Whitney #2180 Twin Wasp E-1 powerplant. 



Weeks, E. D., Des Moines, Iowa : 289 photographs of European aircraft, 1909- 

 1914, which were purchased in Germany from Heinz J. Nowarra. 



Wolffsohn, Hans J., Sufifern, N. Y. : A series of the magazine The Aeroplane 

 Spotter, 1941 through 1946. Five issues of Fluyhafen und Luftverkehr, 1942, 

 1943, and 1954 ; 10 issues of Der Flieger, 1953 and 1954, 



Other acquisitions included several motion-picture films : "We Saw 

 It Happen," and the story of the Sikorsky helicopter, received from 

 United Aircraft Corporation of East Hartford, Conn. ; the picturiza- 

 tion of 50 years' progress in aeronautics, assembled by the Shell Oil 



