Still Pictures Aerial Photography in Record Group 237: Records of the Federal Aviation Administration

Photographs of Officials, Aeronautical Subjects and Activities, 1943 - 1952 (237-P)

Photographic negatives, with a few corresponding prints, made or collected by the Photography Branch, Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), depict officials and activities of the agency, as well as a general history of aviation. Included are photographs of high-ranking personnel of the CAA and other prominent personalities, such as Woodrow Wilson, Charles A. Lindbergh, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Amelia Earhart, Calvin Coolidge, Will Rogers, Thomas Edison and Charles Steinmetz, Orville Wright, Senator Ken Wherry, Senator Pat McCarren; construction of airports in Alaska and other activities; Admiral Byrd's Plane on an Antarctic Expedition; the historic flight of the Yankee Clipper; the inauguration of the first airmail by Woodrow Wilson; the Hindenburg before and after the fire; aerial views of cities throughout the United States; zeppelins; the first balloons used; training activities of the CAA and various training schools; equipment used in planes and airports such as radar lights, range towers and fan markers; airports throughout the United States and Europe, especially the Washington National Airport; early developments in the history of aviation such as the first aerial photo in 1860; Napoleon's plane used for the invasion of England; the Petini Flying Machine; the Lilienthal Kite; the Wright brother's flight at Kitty Hawk, and their plane crash of September 1908; and identification views of over 200 twentieth century aircraft, primarily civilian. Some of the portraits are credited to Harris and Ewing. The finding aid for the series is available in the Still Pictures Research Room.

Slides Documenting Commercial, General, and Military Aviation in the United States, ca. 1966 - ca. 1984 (237-S)

Color photographs include an aerial view of O'Hare International Airport in Chicago (237-S-16-7-7). The finding aid for the series is available in the Still Pictures Research Room.