National Air and Space Museum Archives

Amelia Earhart Scrapbook

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.XXXX.0049
Creators:
Mantz, Paul
Babb, Charles Harding, 1899-1952
Dates:
1931-1935
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.36 Cubic feet
1 flat box
Repository:
The Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special (A/C No. NC965Y) was one of Amelia Earhart's aircraft in which she set numerous records. This collection consists of one scrapbook documenting the aircraft and Earhart's flights in it.
This collection is in English.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of one scrapbook compiled by Charles H. Babb and Paul Mantz as the "Story of NC-965-Y." The scrapbook is contained in a 14 x 18 inch spiral notebook and includes a map of some of Amelia Earhart's flights in the Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special (A/C No. NC965Y); photographs of Earhart and the aircraft; newspaper clippings regarding some of her flights in the aircraft; and a history of the aircraft itself. The newspaper clippings set up to look like a collage are actually superimposed upon other clippings and printed on a single sheet and the photographs and map are printed as well rather than being originals adhered to the pages. The scrapbook appears to be professionally produced, possibly commissioned by Pratt & Whitney for advertising purposes.

Arrangement

Arrangement
Collection is in original order.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special (A/C No. NC965Y) was completed by Lockheed in 1931. It had been ordered by John Henry Mears, who did not take delivery, and then sold to Elinor Smith before being purchased by Earhart. Earhart removed the Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine from her Lockheed Model 5B Vega (NR7952) in which she had made her record-setting solo transatlantic flight and installed it in the Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special. The aircraft was also fitted with special fuel tanks, radio, high speed landing gear, and a NACA engine cowling. Earhart set several records flying in the Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special including a women's transcontinental speed record flying from Los Angeles, California to Newark, New Jersey in July 1932; a women's international airline distance record flying from Los Angeles to Newark in August 1932 (a record she would break herself in 1933 flying the same aircraft); first person to fly solo from Honolulu, Hawaii, to the US mainland (Oakland, California) in January 1935; and the first person to fly solo from Mexico City, Mexico to Newark in May 1935. Also in 1935, Earhart made a record flight from Los Angeles to Mexico City, and she placed fifth in the 1935 Bendix Race. Earhart sold the Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special (A/C No. NC965Y) in 1936. It appeared in two Paramount Pictures movies,
Wings in the Dark
and
Border Flight
, and was sold two more times before being destroyed in a hangar fire in 1943.

Administration

Author
Jessamyn Lloyd
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Unknown, material found in collection, NASM.XXXX.0049.
Processing Information
Arranged, described, and encoded by Jessamyn Lloyd, 2021.

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
Amelia Earhart Scrapbook, NASM.XXXX.0049, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lockheed Model 5C Vega Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Women air pilots Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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