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Collection of Golden Era Aircraft Photographs Found

Puyallup Lee

New in Town
Messages
35
Location
Puyallup, Washington
Hi Everyone,

I have discovered a previously unknown collection of Golden Era Aircraft photographs. These have been in my friends garage for many years in Southern California.

A couple of years ago my family and I went on vacation to Southern California, to visit family and friends and oh yes, Disneyland.

While visiting with an old neighbor, he asked if I wanted some old photographs to sell on ebay. They had belonged to his grandmother's second husband and after he passed away, were given to my friend. I told him I was interested so he went to his garage and brough back two very old photograph albums and a box of loose photographs. I briefly looked at them and saw most of the photographs were of airplanes.

After we arrived back home, I sat down to see what I really had. I was amazed at the collection. The gentleman who married my friends grandmother was Thomas Doughty. He attended the Naval Aerial Photography school at NAS Pensacola. This was his private collection of photographs, that either he or one of his friends had taken.

At that time, I decided that the collection was too important to break up and sell on ebay. Instead, I made a website to share the photographs with everyone. I also decided that I would not try to sell the images, but make them so everyone who is interested could enjoy them. After all money isn't everything.

Now you know how I acquired the collection and why I made the website.

I would like to share a couple of the pictures with you right now.

This is Mr. Doughty with his Fairchild F-1 camera showing how to take pictures from a biplane. The camera is almost half as big as he is.


Fairchild_F-1_Camera-1.jpg



Can you imagine leaning over the side of a biplane at 15,000 feet trying to take a picture with the plane bouncing in air pockets and vibration from the engines. I wonder if he had fall protection?


Here is a great picture of a formation of Grumman F2F-1 Fighters.

Grumman%20F2F-1%20%231.jpg




If you look on my home page, I have the History Cards and Maintenance Cards for these aircraft. It will tell you on a certain date where the aircraft was stationed.


This collection also includes some photographs of crashed aircraft. Here is a photo of a Douglas P2D-1 Patrol Aircraft. This aircraft was pulling up from a dive at 500 feet when the wings folded up. Everyone on board was killed. This accident happened at Fleet Air Base, Coco Solo, Canal Zone.

Douglas-P2D-1-patrol-plane-crash.jpg



There are also photographs of Ships and Air Craft Carriers. Here is a photograph of the USS Lexington.

USS%20Lexington%20%231.jpg



There are many other areas of photographs such as airliners with photos of Clipper Ships, Lighter than Air Ships, and so much more.

I have been told by several renound aviation historians that this is one of the major Golden Era Aviation Collections on the internet and several of the photographs have never been seen before.

There is also photographs of Admiral Byrd's Second Antarctic Expedition which I highlight in another thread.

If you would like to visit my web site it is called Old Airplane Pictures.


I hope you enjoy it.

Lee
 

Fletch

I'll Lock Up
Messages
8,865
Location
Iowa - The Land That Stuff Forgot
Those F2Fs are a delight - little brightly painted flying Coke bottles.

My dad was a Navy photo officer in the cold war, BTW, and I know he will get a kick out of seeing these pics. He surely will have some intel about using a heavy camera in flight. I'm sure they were not handheld!
 

Puyallup Lee

New in Town
Messages
35
Location
Puyallup, Washington
Hi Twitch,

I would never put them on ebay. They need to be out there for everyone to enjoy and if they get sold on ebay then they go to a private collection.

I have been contacted by the San Diego Air and Space Museum and they are interested in the photographs to add to their collection. A large portion of the photographs were taken at North Island in NAS San Diego, so that is why the museum wants them. If and when I get rid of them, that is where they will probably go.

Lee
 

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