SDASM Library & Archives

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we have created an online exhibit celebrating Hispanics and Latinos/Latinas in aviation! https://sandiegoairandspace.org//hispanic-and-latino-aviat

Here are some cool matches! You know what else matches? Our grant! For a limited time your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar through the Museum’s Challenge Grant Recovery Fund: https://sandiegoairandspace.org/support/donate/donate Please designate "Challenge Grant" if you kindly donate. Thank you very much!

As the Valley Fire burns in San Diego County, we take a look back at the first airplane meant to fight fires in the area. In 1917 Orvar "Swede" Meyerhoffer was contracted by the San Diego Fire Department to fly his Curtiss F Boat to attack fires from the air. His plane, christened "Aerial Truck No 1", was going to use chemical fire extinguishers to put out fires. Although the exact method to be utilized is unknown and there is no record that Ole No 1 ever fought a fire. Incidentally, in 2018, the San Diego Air and Space Museum acquired its own Aerial Truck, a Lockheed P2V Neptune which can be seen at our Gillespie Field annex. We do know that our Neptune, "Tanker 43" was quite successful at fighting fires!

Check out this rare book spotlight! https://sandiegoairandspace.org//rare-material-spotlight-a

Two of the most prized possessions in the Museum's collection are a pair of logbooks recording events related to the 103rd Aero Squadron from the First World War. The 103rd squadron was the first American combat squadron to see action in the War, and was initially comprised of 17 pilots from the famed Lafayette Escadrille, the French squadron made up of mostly American volunteers. One of the logbooks contains a record of the flight operations of the squadron, including hour...s flown and a narrative about each day's activities. Some of these reports, listed as the "Nature of Patrol" are quite interesting and detailed. The other logbook records more the Squadron's more mundane activities not related to flight, such as the names of new squadron members, or where the 103rd was stationed. This book spans the period when the squadron was formed till when it returned to the United States after the War. Recently the library undertook the process of restoring these logbooks. The digitization of these log books means that the can be used by researchers without additional wear and tear. And in 2020, the activity logbook were transcribed by Steve Ruffin. See the logbooks and transcription here: https://archive.org/search.php https://sandiegoairandspace.org//logbooks-of-the-lafayette