Fly Pan American

A selection of stunning early to mid-20th century airline posters, from a collection donated to the San Diego Air and Space Museum. 

San Diego Air and Space Museum

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San Diego Air and Space Museum

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San Diego Air and Space Museum

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Flying, 1920s Style

A terrific set of cigarette cards depicting a flight from London to Amsterdam in the early days of commercial air travel. The images (each "from an official photograph supplied by Imperial Airways") are accompanied by text detailing "our" flight, from check-in and take-off, to views over the Channel, France, and Brussels (where we land for lunch), to the final landing in Amsterdam. I've included the backs with the text, as the little details are fascinating insights into a time when planes held "as many as" 20 passengers, reached cruising altitudes of 3,000 feet, and got from London to Brussels in "only" two and a half hours. 

(The cards aren't specifically dated, but Imperial Airways existed from 1924-1936, the plane named (the [Armstrong Whitworth] Argosy) was used from 1926-1935, and the clothing is solidly late 1920s)

New York Public Library

New York Public Library

Check-in ("weighing-in"). Source

New York Public Library

Through the Camera Gun

For World War One pilots and observers, a crucial part of training was learning how to accurately operate a plane-mounted machine gun, while flying, with moving targets. Of course actually shooting at the other student pilots wouldn't work, so they came up with a solution: camera guns. The camera gun resembled the regular machine guns used on airplanes, but firing the shutter exposed a frame of film (for more details and pictures, see here).  The film would then be developed and the accuracy of the aim could be assessed by the position of the target as captured by the shutter. 

The photographs themselves were, of course, not the aim of the endeavour. Exposure, aperture settings, and focus were fixed, and the shots were disposable. I'd actually never seen an example until I stumbled across these images in the collection of the San Diego Air and Space Museum. They come from the personal photographs (possibly in album form; it's unspecified) of an American air force pilot named Frederick H. Morlan who served and just after during WWI. Apparently he liked them enough to keep them!

San Diego Air and Space Museum

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San Diego Air and Space Museum

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San Diego Air and Space Museum

Though the camera guns were of course intended only for target practice, pilots sometimes took pictures just for fun. Peter Hart's book on WWI pilots Aces Falling contains an anecdote of a young pilot who got in trouble for flying where he shouldn't have been... because he took a picture of it! Source

Through Biplane Rigging

I'm extremely fascinated by snapshot photos taken from the cockpits of WWI biplanes, as I've posted several times. I love the fact that a lot of these guys really wanted to take pictures up there, just for fun (these are all from training, when this was possible). Often you can tell from the position that it's the pilot taking the pictures, too-- not as easy with a Vest Pocket Kodak as with an iphone or even a Leica, especially when you're flying what is essentially a kite with an engine. But some of these fellows just loved doing it, and filled albums with their photos (a couple favourite examples). 

One of the things I love to see in these pictures is the unintentional aesthetic created by the limited position of the photographer. Wings and rigging are caught in shots of the landscape or other planes, crisscrossing the scene, cutting it up or sometimes framing it. I think the rigging and wing interference shots are amazing both for the way they ground us in the place of the photographer, and for simply looking cool.

All but one from two albums by different pilots at training air fields in Texas during World War One. 

San Diego Air and Space Museum

This one fellow often captions the photos in his albums--thanks to SDASM for including these! Source

San Diego Air and Space Museum

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San Diego Air and Space Museum

The Grand Canyon, 1931. Source

Wing Walking

Wing walking, of course, is one of the crazy stunts pilots got up to in the earlier days of aviation. It is still done sometimes, but with wires and straps and thing to make sure the practitioners won't die. Back in the days these photos were taken, there were no such safeguards. Pilots would simply climb out of their cockpits and stand, sit, or hang from the wings or fuselage. This kind of thing was very popular in stunt shows of the 1920s, though it was being done for fun much earlier.

The majority of these photos depict an American barnstormer of the 1920s named Carter Buton, whose antics are documented in scrapbooks temporarily held by the San Diego Air and Space Museum. However, the albums of WWI pilots-in-training yield plenty of examples at least as daring, done just for the benefit of fellow pilots, and/or just for the hell of it.

If you're afraid of heights, you might want to click away now...

San Diego Air and Space Museum

Carter Buton, 1920s. Source

Deseronto Archives

RFC pilot and flight instructor Lt. Ned Ballough, known as the "wing walker", Ontario, WWI. From this album. Source

Deseronto Archives

Lt. Ned Ballough again, Ontario,WWI. Source

Spitfires, in Colour

This blog has seen a number of striking photographs depicting the Spitfire; today, more great photographs of the iconic Second World War plane--this time, in full colour!

© IWM (COL 189)

A Spitfire in flight over England, 1939-1945. Source

© IWM (COL 190)

Three Spitfires flying in formation over Essex, 1939-1945. Source

© IWM (TR 823)

Spitfires of the Royal Canadian Air Force in Tunisia, 1943. Source

Scramble!

Scrambling, in WW2, was the order for pilots to get to their planes and in the air right away, because approaching enemy aircraft had been detected. Of course, as soon as you know enemy aircraft are on their way you want to be after them really, really fast, so pilots trained to scramble really, really fast. One moment you'd be chilling at the base (in your gear, of course), the next you'd be off to risk your life in the skies.

© IWM (CL 570)

A pilot of 175 Squadron RAF scrambles to his plane, Britain,  1944. Source

William Vandivert, LIFE © Time Inc.

Pilots to scramble to their planes, Britain, 1940. Source

© IWM (D 9521)

American pilots of the RAF scramble to their planes, Britain, 1942.  Source

Airplane Art II

We've had a look before at some of the adornments airmen gave to their planes during World War Two; however, these photographs, whether taken by official government photographers or photojournalists, were intended for publication. Since it was the 1940s, well, quite a lot couldn't be published. When you take a look at the personal photographs of aircraft artwork, well-- the picture is a lot more colourful! 

Snapshots from the collection of the San Diego Air and Space Museum. 

San Diego Air and Space Museum

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San Diego Air and Space Museum

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San Diego Air and Space Museum

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Portraits from the Cockpit

We've seen some of the photographs WWI era pilots took of each other's planes whilst aloft; today, the photographs they took of each other in the air! A lot of these are taken by the pilot of the other guy in the plane (usually an instructor, as all are from training airfields), though a few are from the other guy of the pilot. I think these are amazing. I love the fact that these (very) young guys took cameras up into the air to take pictures of each other. I love that they did this despite the fact that these cameras (probably Vest Pocket Kodaks) can't focus below about six feet and have slow-ish shutter speeds and I love the fact that they still managed some good pictures. I love picturing a biplane pilot turning away from the dashboard to snap a picture of his friend (most of the instructors weren't much older than the pilots). I just love them. 

From two seperate collections of the San Diego Air and Space Museum: the collection of Walt Claverie, a pilot who trained in 1912 and taught at Selridge and Rich Fields during WWI; and an album belonging to Paul Aldin Smith, a pilot training at Kelly field in Texas during WWI. Both are terrific views of life as an aviation student and are highly reccomended. 

San Diego Air and Space Museum

I think this might be Walt Claverie; looks like him (he's adorable, by the way). Source

San Diego Air and Space Museum

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San Diego Air and Space Museum

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Aeroplanes Aloft

Photographs of WWI airplanes in the air, including tricks and antics that the young pilots were encouraged to do. These are from an American aviation training field in Texas, 1917-18. I think most of the planes are training models but I've no idea, if anyone has expertise do share!

The San Diego Air and Space Museum recently uploaded a whole heap of WWI photos, mostly aviation related--they're not in very good condition but there's an incredible variety.

San Diego Air and Space Museum

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San Diego Air and Space Museum

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San Diego Air and Space Museum

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Aviatrix

A few of the fantastic woman flyers of the early 20th century. (For some of those I've missed, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum  has a great online exhibit). 

From various institutions, but especially the San Diego Air and Space Museum.

Matilde E. Moisant, the second American woman to get a pilot's license, 1912.  Source

Ruth Elder, c.1920s.  Source

Lores Bonney, c. 1933. Source

Airplane Art

A variety of squadron, plane, and personal emblems painted onto aircraft in World War Two (mostly). 

From the Imperial War Museum and LIFE archives. 

© IWM (CM 5005)

Wing Commader Ian Gleed in his Spitfire decorated with a cartoon of Figaro the cat batting a swastika, Tunisia, 1943. Source

© IWM (CH 9331)

Pinocchio on a Halifax recieving its latest mission completed symbol. The ice creams are raids on Italian targets and the key represents the plane's twenty-first mission. UK, 1943. Source

Walter Sanders, LIFE © Time Inc. 

A tornado on Capt. Howard Curran's fighter plane, Germany, 1948. Source

Jack Wilkes, LIFE © Time Inc. 

A Gurkha paratrooper in front of a plane with a drawing labelled "Gravel Gertie", apparently. Rangoon, 1945. Source

© IWM (H 9195)

A pin-up painted or glued onto a Hurricane. In 1941 this image was deemed too risque for publication! Scotland. Source

© IWM (TR 1000)

A caricature of the squadron's commanding officer on the nose of an Avro Lancaster, 1943. Source

 © IWM (CE 126)

"Dante's Daughter", an RAF Lancaster, with a 65th raid completed symbol being added. The ice cream symbols represent raids on Italy. c. 1943. Source

© IWM (CM 407)

An insignia made up of emblems for each member of a Vicker Wellington crew, headed by Flying Officer Lemon (of course). Egypt, c. 1942. Source

© IWM (CH 2718)

An RAF soda-syphon spraying bombs on a Vickers Wellington, c. 1940. Source

© IWM (CH 6614)

A train painted on a Handley Page Halifax, with a truck added for each successful mission, c. 1942. Source

© IWM (CBM 1261)

Dumbo painted on the nose of a Liberator, Egypt, 1942. Source

Walter Sanders, LIFE © Time Inc. 

A goggled face on the jet of Major Wallace Frank, Germany, 1948. Source

© IWM (CH 7135)

A dragon emblem on an Avro Lancaster of the RAF, c. 1943. Source

© IWM (TR 978)

A shark face on a Curtiss Kittyhawk of No 112 Squadron RAF, Tunisia, 1943. Source

© IWM (CH 1570)

The wasp emblem on Pilot Officer A V Clows' Hurricane, with a stripe added for each plane he shot down, UK, 1940. Source

© IWM (CH 13734)

Grumpy on a Mitchell, UK, c. 1943. Source

© IWM (CH 1934)

The Burmese flag painted on the Hurricane of Squadron Leader R. R. Stanford Tuck, UK 1941. Source

 © IWM (CM 2531)

Squadron Leader Billy Drake with his Hurricane, painted with his personal emblem "Zut". Sierra Leone, c. 1941. Source

Sam Shere, LIFE © Time Inc.

A bomber pilot with plane named "One Weakness", US, 1945. Source

© IWM (CH 4015)

This has been in the blog before, but I just have to include it again. Squadron Leader J A F MacLachlan lost an arm after being shot down in February 1941; by the summer he was flying again. His Hurricane sports his personal emblem: his lost arm waving the V-sign. I love how he is giving the sign back. UK, 1941-43. Source