National Air and Space Museum Archives

Franciszek Jarecki MiG-15 Flight Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.2002.0022
Creators:
Jarecki, Franciszek, 1931-
Dates:
undated
Languages:
Collection is in
English
and
Polish
.
Physical Description:
0.23 Cubic feet
(1 box)
Repository:
This collection consists of one Polish Air Force pilot's certificate; one pilot grade certificate; one copy of LIFE Magazine, dated April 6, 1953, featuring an article by Jarecki on his flight; on copy of This Week Magazine for August 23, 1953, with Jarecki's flight as cover story; one photocopied article from the Erie Daily Times, September 30, 1985; one photograph of a meeting of businessmen in the White House's Oval Office that includes Jarecki; one photograph of Frank Jarecki, Francis S. Gabreski, and James H. Doolittle; and the front page of the New York Times, dated March 6, 1953, matted on cardboard.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of one Polish Air Force pilot's certificate; one pilot grade certificate; one copy of LIFE Magazine, dated April 6, 1953, featuring an article by Jarecki on his flight; on copy of This Week Magazine for August 23, 1953, with Jarecki's flight as cover story; one photocopied article from the Erie Daily Times, September 30, 1985; one photograph of a meeting of businessmen in the White House's Oval Office that includes Jarecki; one photograph of Frank Jarecki, Francis S. Gabreski, and James H. Doolittle; and the front page of the New York Times, dated March 6, 1953, matted on cardboard. Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The Franciszek Jarecki MiG-15 Flight Collection is arranged by content type.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Franciszek (Frank) Jarecki graduated from the Polish Air Force College at Deblin, Poland, in 1952 and in September of that year was transferred to the 10th Fighter Regiment based at Stolp. On March 5, 1953, on the day of Joseph Stalin's death, Jarecki flew his Mikoyan & Gurevich MiG-15 from the Polish air base to land at Roenne airport in Bornholm, Denmark, to seek political asylum in the United States. It was the first intact MiG-15 to reach the West. Franciszek Jarecki studied English at Alliance College in Pennsylvania, opened his own machine shop and then went on to establish Jarecki Industries and acquire several other businesses.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Franciszek Jarecki, Gift, 2002
Processing Information
Arranged, described, and encoded by Patti Williams, 2016. Digital assets attached by Allan Janus, 2020.

Using the Collection

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
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access.
Preferred Citation
Franciszek Jarecki MiG-15 Flight Collection, Acc. 2002.-0022, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Cold War Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
MIG (Fighter planes) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
MiG MiG -15 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Asylum, Right of Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Certificates Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Clippings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Doolittle, James Harold, 1896-1993 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gabreski, Francis Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Poland. Polskie Siły Powietrzne Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jarecki Corporation Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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