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National Air and Space Museum Archives
Caterpillar Club Collection
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NASM.XXXX.0576
- Creators:
-
Caterpillar Club
- Dates:
-
1922-1940
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
1.35 Cubic feet(3 legal document boxes)
- Repository:
Scope and Contents
Scope and Contents
This collection includes photographs of most of the members, and some of their aircraft and crash sites. There are also detailed reports of each of the 700 documented emergency parachute jumps as well as newspaper articles and correspondence about the Caterpillar Club and Lt. Col. Falk Harmel, who maintained this collection.
Biographical / Historical
Biographical / Historical
The Caterpillar Club originated in October 1922 at Wright Field, Ohio, when a suggestion was made to start a club composed only of persons whose lives were saved by the use of the parachute when forced to leave an aircraft in flight. The name comes from the fact that parachutes were made from silk, produced from the caterpillar cocoon. By 1940 there were some 700 members of the Caterpillar Club, including such noteworthy members as Charles Lindbergh
Administration
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Falk Harmel, gift, 1967, XXXX-0576, 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 | ||
---|---|---|---|
Aeronautics | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Aircraft accidents | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Parachutes | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Aircraft survival equipment | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Correspondence | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Periodicals | Topical | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Photographs | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Publications | Genre Form | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
Caterpillar Club | Corporate Name | Search Smithsonian Collections | Search ArchiveGrid |
National Air and Space Museum Archives
14390 Air & Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly, VA 20151
NASMRefDesk@si.edu