A few months ago, a ceremony announced the Libraries’ electronic edition of the Escadrille N.124 Journal de Marche et Operations (i.e., the “combat logs”) of the legendary squadron of American aviators who served in the French Air Force during World War I, known more affectionately as the Lafayette Escadrille. Continue reading
Junkers, Ju.52, Courtesy of San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives on Flickr Commons.
One of my favorite things to do while waiting in an airport, other than reading and seeing what others are reading, is looking at everyone’s luggage. I have always had a passion for luggage. My favorite is the old-fashioned trunks and vintage luggage that people plastered with labels of their travels. I find most of the luggage of today to be high on utilitarianism and low on glamour. Now don’t get me wrong; I bow down before the wonderfully clever person who decided to put wheels on luggage. Continue reading
In 1939 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued a proclamation designating August 19th, the anniversary of pioneer aviator Orville Wright’s birthday, to be National Aviation Day. Continue reading
Cover of Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon
Saturday, May 5, 2012 is Space Day at the National Air and Space Museum. Space Day is an annual family day program sponsored by Lockheed Martin.
Kids, parents and museum enthusiasts are all welcome to explore amazing exhibits, as well as presentations provided by aerospace industry engineers, specialists and astronauts. There are also interactive, space-related educational activities for all ages to enjoy. Continue reading
Here are some of the newest additions to the National Air and Space Museum Library collection.
The Birth of the 787 Dreamliner by Edgar Turner. Simon & Schuster/Andrews McMeel, New York, New York and London, England. TL686. B65 T87 2010
Alan Bristow, Helicopter Pioneer: The Autobiography by Alan Bristow with Patrick Malone. Pen & Sword, Barnsley, England, 2009. Tl526. G7 B86 2009
Fire in the Sky: The Australian Flying Corps in the First World War by Michael Molkentin. Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, New South Wales, 2010. D607. A8 M65 2010
A History of Air Warfare edited by John Andreas Olsen. Potomac Books, Washington, DC, 2010. UG625. J57 2010
The Jet Paradigm: From Microquasars to Quasars (Lecture Notes in Physics 794) edited by Tomaso Belloni. Springer, Heidelberg, Germany/New York, New York, 2010. QB466. J46 J447 2010
The Setting of the Rising Sun: Japanese Military Aviation 1877-1945 by Terry Treadwell. Amberley Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, 2010. UG635. J3 T74 2010
Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich. Doubleday, New York, New York, 2011. HV6248. R585 M49 2011
—Leah Smith