The Lammot du Pont collection of aeronautical photographs (Accession 1975.360) and Lammot du Pont Jr. collection of aeronautics are collections of books, manuscripts, prints, drawings and photographs relating to the history of aeronautics from the first balloon flights through the 1940s.The collection was first assembled by Lammot du Pont, Jr. (1909-1964), the Assistant Vice President of the Wilmington Trust Company and a former employee of the Fokker Aircraft Corporation.This online collection is a selection of publications and images from the collections, which have not been digitized in their entireties. The digitized images photographs primarily depict subjects such as airplanes, balloons and dirigibles, seaplanes, male and female pilots, long-distance and round-the-world flights, airplane crashes, air races, flying instruction, and the Arctic schooner Effie M. Morrissey. Nearly all of the photographs are news service images, many accompanied by original caption information.Image: New World's Record for Helicopter. Click to view.
Text on verso: 'Additional spectacular experiments in freak and contact...were made the other day when Lawrence B. Sperry, former lieutenant in the aviation service, attached steel runners to his plane and, with two skiers 'hitching on behind,' traveled 30 miles an hour over the Garden City, Long Island, Flying Field. The 'ski-planing,' - in which Sperry did not at any time ascend more than five feet above the earth - furnished many thrills. Photo shows Sperry flying above the ground pulling skier 30 miles an hour.
Text on verso: 'The first International Challenge Tour for Light Planes, the biggest light plane contest ever held, started from Orly, near Paris yesterday (Wed). After preliminary tests for folding, weight, engine-starting, etc., the competitors set off on a tour of Europe, covering a distance of nearly four thousand miles, as far east as Bucharest and as far north as Hamburg. Photo shows one of the competing machines going through the weighing test.'
Text on verso: 'The first International Challenge Tour for Light Planes, the biggest light plane contest ever held, started from Orly, near Paris yesterday (Wed). After preliminary tests for folding, weight, engine-starting, etc., the competitors set off on a tour of Europe, covering a distance of nearly four thousand miles, as far east as Bucharest and as far north as Hamburg. OPS an Italian Fiat in the folding test just squeezed through the testing gateway.'
Text on verso: 'France thus honors the American inventor of the aeroplane - the first aviator. Hugh Wallace, Ambassador of the US made the speech of the day.'
Text on verso: 'Photo shows Lawrence Sperry, the New York sportsman and aviator, who brought his plane to England, where he acted as a campaign courier for the Liberal party in the recent election. Mr. Sperry hopes to visit all of the capitals of Europe in his plane, which he brought with him.'
Text on verso: 'Photo shows the Patoka, the navy's fuel oil tanker which will be converted into an airship tender for use with the navy's Artic expedition by air during the coming summer.'
Text on verso: 'Photo shows Henry Woodhouse, New York writer and authority on aeronautics, who was subpoenaed today, 2-26-24, to appear before the Senate Oil Committee and testify concerning charges he is reported to have made to the effect that Doheny was under contract to deliver the oil from the naval reserve No. 1 to British companies.'
Text on verso: 'Little Miss Gisel Gaubert, daughter of ex-army aviator of France flies daily with her father in his French Farman plane for an average of 50 flights a week.'
Text on verso: 'Photo - Mrs. Julliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of America takes flight over NYC in a plane for first time. Photo - Lawrence Driggs, pres. of the Flying Club of America, pointing out the route of the trip to Mrs. Low.'
Text on verso: 'Recently the king and queen of Belgium flew to England to attend the Curzon wedding, crossing the Channel in the air in rain and mist. Above they are shown landing at Farnborough.'
Text on verso: 'The first air display of the year was staged at the Heston Airport Middlesex, when prominent business men witnessed a fine display of flying. Photo shows the air display in progress.'
Text on verso: 'Photo shows - just as contact was established over Mitchel Field, Long Island where tests were made. Contact with another plane while flying at a speed of 65 miles an hour was made eight times over Mitchel Field, Long Island when Lawrence B. Sperry conducted tests. Experiment was to achieve close proximity between a given point on one plane and a given point on another, the idea being to prove whether messages or fuel could be passed from one machine to the other while in flight.'
Text on verso: 'Two hundred gallons of gasoline were transferred to the army tri-motored Fokker plane 'Question Mark,' 2500 feet above Dallas, TX, Dec. 20. The supply ship, a Douglass biplane, dropped a hose end while flying directly above the Question Mark, and the hose was attached directly to the tank of the big Fokker monoplane. The refueling test was accomplished on an experimental endurance flight at a 100 miles an hour. Both ships are army planes. Photo shows the two planes while in the process of transferring the fuel. The Question Mark is the monoplane flying below.'
Text on verso: 'The above photo shows left to right Lieut. Samuel Connell and Earl Carroll in a big army plane in which he flew to Washington to face the Senate Committee considering the bill to permit use of copyrighted music over the radio. Carroll made the flight from New York to the Capital in about two hours and eighteen minutes, thereby beating the delegation of song writers that he saw off at the Pennsylvania terminal New York. The above photo was made at Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York
Text on verso: 'Personnel of army bomber that 'bombed' New York City the night of May 21, 1929. Left to right - Mr. Bradley Jones, navigator; Lieut. Charles T. Skow, radioman; Lieut. Odas Moon, pilot; Lieut. Eugene Eubank, assistant pilot; Lieut.J.F. Richter, refueller.'
