Aviation Archives

The content on this page takes two forms. The first is the real-world locations of aviation archives. The second is online accessible documents. Links to the direct catalog entry are included where available.

Airlines

• Air France – Air France Museum (digitized collections on Gallica)
• AirTran Airways – National Museum of Commercial Aviation
• America West Airlines – National Museum of Commercial Aviation
• Braniff Airways – Braniff Airways Foundation, University of Texas at Dallas
• British Airways – British Airways Heritage Collection
• Delta Airlines – Delta Flight Museum
• Eastern Airlines – Georgia State University, University of Miami (Eastern Airlines Retiree Association collection, Ref, Ref)
• FedEx Express – National Museum of Commercial Aviation
• Island Air Service – Bowling Green State University (Milton Hersberger personal collection)
• Northwest Airlines – NWA History Center, Minnesota Historical Society
• Pacific Southwest Airlines – San Diego Air and Space Museum
• Pan American – University of Miami (digitized collections), advertisements at Duke University, other collections with HistoryMiami Museum
• Piedmont Airlines – Piedmont Aviation Historical Society
• Republic Airlines – Minnesota Historical Society
• Trans World Airlines – State Historical Society of Missouri, TWA Museum at 10 Richards Road
• United Airlines – United Airlines Historical Foundation

Country Specific

• Aviation Heritage Archive – collection of documents related to Japanese aviation history maintained by the Japan Aeronautic Association
• Aviation Ancestry Database of British Aviation Advertisements – database of British aviation advertisements
• Biblioteca Nacional de Aeronautica – national aeronautical library of Argentina
• Finnish Air Force Museum (onsite archive) (digital archive) – collection of documents related to Finnish aviation history, including about 130,000 photographs
• Österreichisches Luftfahrt-Archiv – collection of documents about the history of aviation in Austria, publishes the periodical "FLUG-Informationen"
• Polish Aviation Museum – list of digitized documents from the museum's collections
• Swedish Aviation Historical Society – collection of documents related to the history of aviation in Sweden

Manuals

• AeroAntique: AeroAntique On-Line Library – mostly World War II American aircraft documents
• Avialogs (Paid Access) – collection of digitized aircraft manuals from around the world
• Aviation Shoppe: Aircraft Manuals/Original Rare Documents – small collection of digitized American military aircraft documents, mostly from World War II
• DeutscheLuftwaffe: Das Archiv – collection of World War II German aircraft documents with a focus on cockpit instruments
• Hangar 13: Library – small collection of manuals, mostly related to the B-17 and its equipment
• Luftfahrt-Archiv Hafner – collection of German aircraft documents from 1928-1945, organized by manufacturer
• Thomson's Aviation Library – business selling over 300,000 original aircraft manuals

Specific Aircraft

• Culver Aircraft Pages
• Douglas A/B-26 Invader: Pilots Notes/Manuals
• N5210K: About Navions
• The 109 Lair: Bf 109 Manuals
• Time Travel Air: TTA Technical Library
• Tugmoe.com: Seabee Documents

Manufacturers

• Aeronca – National Air and Space Museum, some material at Aeronca Museum
• Auster – Auster Heritage Group
• Arrow – History Nebraska
• Avro – partially destroyed in 1959 fire, some at Avro Heritage Museum, some with Royal Air Force Museum
• Avro Canada – photograph collection with Canadian Aviation and Space Museum (digitized collections, catalog entry) (Ref)
• Beechcraft – Beechcraft Heritage Museum, Wichita State University (Walter H. and Olive Ann Beech personal papers)
• Bell – University of Northern Texas
• Bellanca – National Air and Space Museum (personal papers of Giuseppe M. Bellanca with some aircraft documentation)
• Blackburn – some with Royal Air Force Museum
• Boeing – still with company (photographs available via Boeing Images) (Ref)
• Breda – Institute for the History of the Contemporary Age (papers, photographs)
• Bristol – Aerospace Bristol, Bristol Archives (papers of Lionel Harris, papers of Sir George White), Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Bristol Branch (Bristol Engine Company)
• Canadian Vickers – partially destroyed in fire
• Cessna – Wichita State University (Aircrafter yearbooks, Dwane Wallace collection, Model 150 production records, Model 170 production records, Model 180 production records, Model 182 production records, Model 185 production records, various production records), San Diego Air & Space Museum (Mort Brown collection), photographs still with company (Ref)
• Command Aire – blueprints destroyed, copies of some records with Federal Aviation Administration
• Convair – San Diego Air & Space Museum, Lockheed Martin (via The Portal to Texas History)
• Curtiss – some blueprints at Glenn H. Curtiss Museum (Ref)
• Curtiss-Wright – National Air and Space Museum (partially), some destroyed, some at Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey (Ref)
• de Havilland – some at Royal Air Force Museum, The People's Mosquito has copies of mostly mosquito drawings, Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Bristol Branch (de Havilland Engine Company)
• de Havilland Canada – Viking Air (Ref)
• Douglas – now with Boeing
• ERCO – College Park Aviation Museum
• Fairchild – National Air and Space Museum (former employee personal collection), Library of Congress (Sherman Fairchild personal papers), UC Santa Barbara (Fairchild Aerial Surveys, California Office), New York State Archives (Fairchild Aerial Surveys, New York Office), New Jersey State Archives (Fairchild Aerial Surveys)
• Fairey – Royal Air Force Museum
• Folland – some with Royal Air Force Museum
• Galludet – some with Neil Williams Ross, Ann Holst/Clouds Hill Victorian Museum (Ref)
• General Aircraft – some with Royal Air Force Museum
• General Dyamics – San Diego Air & Space Museum, Lockheed Martin (via The Portal to Texas History)
• Globe – Swift Museum Foundation (mostly Swfit related, via Air Corps Library) (Ref)
• Goodyear – University of Akron
• Grahame-White – some with Royal Air Force Museum
• Granville Brothers – New England Air Museum (blueprints, Ref), University of Massachusetts (interviews with employees)
• Grumman – Northrop Grumman History Center
• Handley Page – Royal Air Force Museum (administrative and business records), Imperial War Museum (drawings and photographs)
• Hawker Siddeley – some with Royal Air Force Museum, Coventry Collections (Armstrong/Bristol Siddeley)
• Henschel – Henschel Museum & Collection (mostly family and railroad related, some aviation)
• Heath – National Air and Space Museum
• Howard – Howard Aircraft Foundation
• Hughes – Florida Air Museum (Howard Hughes personal collection)
• Lear – Museum of Flight (William Lear personal collection, Ref)
• Lockheed – Library of Congress (Robert Gross personal collection), Huntington Library (Albert Yackle personal collection), San Diego Air & Space Museum (Star newsletters)
• Loening – Library of Congress (Grover Loening personal collection)
• Martin – Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, early records at Museum of Flight (Ref)
• Miles – some with Royal Air Force Museum
• North American – now with Boeing, blueprints from Columbus plant with AirCorps Library (Ref)
• Northrop Grumman – Huntington Library
• Piaggio – Museo Piaggio (mostly scooter related)
• Pietenpol – still with Pietenpol family
• Piper – Piper Aviation Museum
• Platt-LePage – The Franklin Institute (personal papers of Wynn Laurence LePage) and Hagley Museum and Library (company photos)
• Reggiane – Municipality of Reggio Emilia
• Republic Aviation – destroyed
• Rockwell – now with Boeing
• Ryan – San Diego Air & Space Museum
• Sikorsky – Sikorsky Archives (Ref)
• Sopwith – some with Royal Air Force Museum
• Stout – The Henry Ford
• St. Louis Aircraft Company – Washington University (as part of St. Louis Car Company records, limited number digitized at Missouri Over There)
• Supermarine – Royal Air Force Museum
• Valtion Lentokonetehdas – Finnish Air Force Museum
• Vickers – Brooklands Museum
• Vought – San Diego Air & Space Museum, University of Texas at Dallas
• WACO – National Air and Space Museum, National Archives, Wright State University (Clayton J. Brukner personal collection)
• Westland – many destroyed by flood
• Wright – Wright State University, Museum of Flight (Ref), Library of Congress (Wilbur and Orville personal collection)

Parts Suppliers

• Allison – Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Allison Branch
• Bendix – Baltimore Museum of Industry (radio only, via Bendix Radio Foundation)
• BMW – BMW Group Archive
• Collins – Collins Aerospace Museum
• Dowty – Gloucestershire Heritage Hub (via Dowty Heritage)
• Edo – destroyed (some at Cradle of Aviation Museum)
• Elliot Brothers – Museum of the History of Science at Oxford (Rochester Avionics Archive, also includes artifacts from GEC, Marconi, and BAE Systems)
• Flight Refueling – some with Royal Air Force Museum
• Goodrich – San Diego Air & Space Museum
• Honeywell – Minnesota Historical Society
• Link – Binghamton University (personal papers of Ed Link)
• Raytheon – still with company (Ref)
• Safran – Safran Heritage Center
• Sperry – destroyed (some at Cradle of Aviation Museum, some at Hagley Museum and Library)
• Wright – Wright State University

Organizations

• 607 Squadron – North East Aircraft Museum
• Aeronautics Research Council – The National Archives, Cranfield University (digitzed reports)
• Aircraft Engine Historical Society: Document Collection Catalog – partially at University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Army Air Forces – National Archives
• Aviation Pioneers Association – Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• B-26 Marauder Historical Society – Pima Air and Space Museum (Ref) and University of Akron
• Bureau of Aeronautics – National Archives
• China-Burma-India Hump Pilots Association – Museum of Aviation (Ref)
• Civil Air Patrol – Colonel Louisa S. Morse Center (digitized collections) (Ref)
• Civil Air Transport/Air America – University of Texas at Dallas
• Ercoupe Owners Club – Bowling Green State University
• Federal Aviation Administration – National Archives
• International Advisory Group Air Navigation Services – Digital Aviation Library (English) (German)
• Manufacturers Aircraft Association – University of Wyoming
• National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics – University of Florida (via Internet Archive), Cranfield University (digitzed reports)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration – NASA CRGIS
• Naval Air Station Atlanta – Atlanta Air & Space Museum
• Ninth Air Force Association – University of Akron
• Quonset Point Naval Air Station – Providence College
• Royal Aircraft Establishment – Farnborough Air Sciences Trust
• Royal Aeronautical Society – National Aerospace Library (Catalogue) (Heritage Collection) (Ref)
• Second Air Division – Norfolk Record Office
• Tallmantz Aviation – Margaret Herrick Library (Ref)
• Women Airforce Service Pilots – Texas Woman's University

Organization Newsletters

• 99 News Magazine – Ninety-Nines newsletter, 1929-present
• AeROHRcrafter – Rohr Aircraft company newsletter, 1943-1957
• Air Commerce Bulletin/Civil Aeronautics Journal – Civil Aeronautics Authority newsletter, 1929-1952
• Air Corps News Letter – United States Army Air Corps/Force newsletter, 1918-1944
• Air Force Journal of Logistics – United States Air Force periodical, 1980-2009
• Air University Quarterly Review/Air & Space Power Journal – United States Air Force periodical, 1947-present
• Aircrafter – Candian Car and Foundry company newsletter, 1944-1945 (Thunder Bay Museum)
• Approach – Naval Safety Center magazine, 1956-2000
• Army Aviation Magazine – United States Army aviation magazine, 1954-present (United States Army Aviation Museum)
• Aviation Safety Digest – Civil Aviation Authority of Australia, 1953-1991
• Cloudbuster – U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School Chapel Hill, North Carolina newspaper, 1942-1945
• Code One – Lockheed newsletter, 1986-2015
• Commanche Flyer (Paid Access) – International Commanche Society, 2004-present
• Convairiety – Convair newsletter, 1948-1961
• Der Condor – Focke-Wulf newsletter, 1938-1944 (1938-1940, 1941-1944)
• Drew Field Echoes – Drew Field newspaper, 1942-1944
• FAA World – Federal Aviation Administration employee newsletter, 1974-1986
• Fifinella Gazette/The Avenger – Women Air Force Service Pilots/Avenger Field newsletters, 1943
• Flying Safety/Aerospace Safety – Air Force Safety Center magazine, 1948-2009
• Front and Center – Travis Air Force Base newsletter, 1940s (Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center, ref)
• Frontier News – Frontier Airlines newsletter, 1966-1986
• General Dynamics News – General Dynamics newsletter, 1961-1971
• General Dynamics World – General Dynamics newsletter, 1971-1992
• Global Ranger – Travis Air Force Base newspaper, 1966-1980s? (Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center, ref)
• Grumman Plane News – Grumman company newsletter, 1970-1979
• Grumman World – Grumman company newsletter, 1980-1994
• Kaman Rotor Tips – Kaman company newsletter, 1960-1975
• Naval Aviation News – United States naval aviation newsletter, 1943-2007
• Piedmonitor – Piedmont Airlines employee newsletter, 1945-1989
• Plane Talk/Skyliner – Transcontinental Air Transport/Trans World Airliners newsletter, 1929-1989
• Sky Traffic – Embry-Riddle company newsletter, 1928-1929
• Republic Aviation News – Indiana Division of Republic Aviation employee newsletter, 1943-1945 (1943-1944, 1944-1945)
• Sunliner News – Frontier Airlines newsletter, 1951-1965
• Technical Data Digest – United States Army Air Corps/Force periodical,1939-1952
• The Faircrafter – Burlington, North Carolina Fairchild plant newsletter, 1943-1944 (State Archives of North Carolina, ref)
• The Hillfielder/The Hilltop Times – Hill Air Force Base newspaper, 1943-2006
• The Quonset Scout – Quonset Point Naval Air Station newspaper, 1941-1961
• The Tailwind – Travis Air Force Base newspaper, 1974-present (Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center, ref)
• Tyndall Target – Tyndall Field newspaper, 1942-1944
• Wingfoot Clan: Aircraft Edition – Goodyear Aircraft/Aerospace Corporation newsletter, 1941-1969

Periodicals

• Aerial Age Weekly – ceased publication in 1923
• Aero Digest – ceased publication in 1956
• Aeroplane – 1912-1919
• Air Travel News – 1927-1930
• Aircraft Journal – 1919-1920
• Aviation Week & Space Technology (Paid Access) (Free Access, 1916-1968) – known under different names before 1959
• Experimenter – EAA publication
• Flight International (old webpage) (new webpage) – website known as Flight Global
• L'Aerophile – official publication of the Aéro-Club de France, 1893-1947
• Planes/Aerospace – official publication of the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America/Aircraft Industries Association of America, September 1944-Fall 1980
• Popular Aviation/Flying – publication changed name in 1942
• Popular Mechanics – not aviation focused, but still carries many articles about aviation
• Sport Aviation (Paid Access) – EAA publication
• Sportsman Pilot – magazine published by Jack Cox, 1981-1996, incomplete (Ref)
• The Aircraft Yearbook – publication of the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America/Aircraft Industries Association of America/Aerospace Industries Association of America, 1919-1970
• U.S. Air Service – Air Service Clubs Association/independent publication, 1919-1956
• Vintage Airplane (Paid Access) – publication of the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, 1972-2017

University Holdings

• McMaster University – digitized collection of World War II aeronautical maps, including a nearly complete set of AAF Aeronautical Charts
• Purdue University – multiple personal collections, including those of Amelia Earhart and Neil Armstrong
• University of Oklahoma – 4 personal collections
• University of Wyoming – multiple personal collections, including two related to Republic Aviation and Roscoe Turner's personal collection
• Wright State University – large number of various aviation collections, many personal collections

Other

• A Flying History – personal photographic collection of British Overseas Airways Corporation pilot Peter Keating (ref)
• A. J. Jackson Aviation Collection – personal photographic collection of A. J. Jackson
• AAFRadio: Maintenance Center – list of digitized documents, many only partial, related to U.S. Army Air Force radios
• Aerospace Research Central – collection of professional aerospace papers
• AirCorps Library (Paid Access) – collection of digitized documents hosted by AirCorps Aviation
• Airline Timetable Images – collection of digitized airline timetables
• Air Force History Index.org – search engine for the Air Force Historical Research Agency holdings
• Air University Library Index to Military Perodicals – database of periodicals provided by the United States Air Force Air University
• Army Air Forces Collection – collection of digitized U.S. Army Air Forces material, mostly class books
• Aviation Archives – blog run by a former McDonnell Aircraft engineer that regularly posts various digitized documents
• Aviation Safety and Security Archives – collection of documents about aviation safety and secruity at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Chic's Website – digitized personal collection of Australian pilot Captain Charles 'Chic' Eather (Ret.)
• Connecting the Nation: Australia's Aviation Heritage – index of aviation collections in Australia with a limited number of digitized documents
• Contrails – collection of reports from the Wright Aircraft Development Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology
• DepartedFlights.com – collection of airline route maps, timetables, terminal diagrams, seating charts, and advertisements
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: Archives and Special Collections – list of locations of aviation archives, not the archives of ERAU
• Japan Air Raids – collection of digitized documents related to the aerial bombing of Japan in World War II
• National Transportation Library: Investigations of Aircraft Accidents, 1934-1965 – digitized collection of aircraft accident investigations from 1934 to 1965
• OldManuals.com – defunct website selling World War II American aircraft manuals, likely the source of some of the CDs of manuals now available for sale on eBay
• Periscope Films – digitization company with a large collection of original films on various subjects, significant portion of collection is aviation, YouTube channel has many samples
• RC Bookcase – collection of digitized vintage model airplane magazines, some overlap with non-model aviation
• RC Library – collection of digitized vintage model airplane magazines, some overlap with non-model aviation
• Stuffinder – collection of vintage aviation material available for sale, includes scanned manuals
• Wartime Press – collection of digitized World War II materials, includes significant number of aviation related publications
• WWII Aircraft Performance – collection of digitized World War II aircraft performance data