Scope and Contents

This collection consists of the following: five oversized rolled panoramic unit group photographs from Brooks Field, 1929; reports from the engineering department of Chance Vought Aircraft; pilot log books; design study brochures; the flight records of Paul S. Baker; volumes 1-5 of the Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences; correspondence; maps; ten issues of The Flying Kaydet; and photographs. The reports include information on the following aircraft: Vought F4U-1 Corsair; Vought XF5U-1 Skimmer; Vought F7U-3 Cutlass; Vought XF7U-1 Cutlass; Vought XF6U-1 Pirate; and North American P-51A Mustang. The photographs include: fifteen 3 x 5 black and white photographs taken during an orientation cruise in June 1946; nine 3.5 x 4.5 black and white photographs of the Vought XOS2U-1 Kingfisher; twelve 3.5 x 4.5 black and white photographs of the Vought XSB2U-1 Vindicator taken in 1937; twelve 3 x 4.5 negatives of the XO4U-2 Cockpit Cooling tank; eight 2.5 x 4 black and white photographs of employees working in the structures section of the Chance Vought Aircraft Engineering Department; one 3 x 5 black and white photograph of the plant of the Chance Vought Corporation in East Hartford, Connecticut.

Biographical / Historical

Paul S. Baker (born October 2, 1907), received his Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from MIT In 1929 and that same year learned to fly at Brooks Field, Texas. Baker was an experimental test pilot, chief of aerodynamics, engineering manager and chief technical engineer, for Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft and Chance Vought Aircraft - United Aircraft Corporation. Baker was active in the United States Army Air Corps Reserve, especially with the 118th Photo Section. Throughout his life, Baker was an activist for the environment and a member of several ornithological societies. After retirement, Baker began work with the Center for Conservation Biology.