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

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