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National Air and Space Museum Archives
Wesley Archer (Cockburn-Lange Hoax) Collection
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NASM.1986.0008
- Creators:
-
Archer, Wesley David
- Dates:
-
1916-1960
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
5.45 Cubic feet(5 records center boxes) (1 16x20x3 flatbox)5.2 Linear feet
- Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
This collection documents the Cockburn-Lange hoax. The material includes the photos used in the book, as well as correspondence and journal articles detailing Grosz and Schneide's unraveling of the hoax. The collection also includes personal correspondence from Archer and various maps.
Arrangement
Arrangement
Arrangement: 1) Photographs published in DEATH IN THE AIR (1933), arranged by page number 2) unpublished photographs, unarranged 3) Peter M. Grosz & Karl S. Schneide journal articles and correspondence 4) Wesley David Archer correspondence arranged chronologically, 1915-1960 5) photographs of family, travel and friends 6) books 7) maps 8) artifacts 9) oversize photographs
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
In 1933 the anonymous "Death in the Air: The War Diary and Photographs of a Flying Corps Pilot" purported to be the record of a Royal Flying Corps (RFC) pilot during World War I, and included photos allegedly taken by the pilot during aerial combat. The photos were supposedly owned by a Mrs. Gladys Maud Cockburn-Lange, but had actually been faked by Wesley David Archer, an American pilot who had served in the RFC. The Cockburn-Lange hoax persisted until it was exposed by Peter M. Grosz, a German aviation author (Princeton, NJ), and Karl S. Schneide, from the Aeronautics Department of the National Air and Space Museum, in the early 1980s.
Administration
Immediate Source of Acquisition
John W. Charlton, gift, 1985, 1986-0008, Unknown
Using the Collection
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
More Information
General
General
NASMrev
Keywords
| Keyword Terms | Keyword Types | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Death in the Air: The War Diary and Photographs of a Flying Corps Pilot | Title | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Cockburn-Lange Hoax | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Aeronautics | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Maps | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Audiotapes | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Scrapbooks | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Archer, Wesley David | Personal Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Cockburn-Lange, Gladys Maud | Personal Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Grosz, Peter M. | Personal Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
| Schneide, Karl S. | Personal Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
National Air and Space Museum Archives
14390 Air & Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly, VA 20151
NASMRefDesk@si.edu
