It is very exciting for us when we receive an artifact along with images which highlight the artifact in a historical context. For Christmas this year, we are highlighting an artifac...a Santa costume...that has a rich provenance that gives insight into the culture of Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA).
Arthur Dunning Spearman, Archivist at Santa Clara University, authored many publications of California history throughout his career. Of particular interest to him was the life and work of John Joseph Montgomery, International Air & Space Hall of Fame inductee. n early pioneer of flight, Montgomery is credited with piloting his first glider in 1884 in Otay Mesa. Montgomery later became a professor of physics at Santa Clara University, where many of his personal papers are housed in the Archives. It is at Santa Clara University that Spearman’s work with Montgomery’s primary resource material led to the first comprehensive history of Montgomery’s life published in 1967.
The San Diego Air and Space Museum's Curatorial collection holds several posters from the Second World War that were produced by the US government with different specific purposes but one goal: to win the War. Many of these posters are aimed at Women.
A look at some Space Age concept art in the San Diego Air & Space Museum collection.
Ever since military pilots began flying, they needed to carry supplies in case they crash landed or bailed out. During WWI, pilots carried a pistol and a knife; by the start of WWII, aircraft began carrying more sophisticated survival kits. The military quickly learned that when pilots and crew bailed-out, or crawled out of a crashed aircraft, the only supplies they usually carried out was what they had strapped, tied, or worn on their person. The solution, in mid-1943, was the C-1 Survival Vest, designed to carry the supplies needed for individual survival. The C-1 vest continued as the standard survival vest until 1963, when a new 2nd generation Survival Vest, the SRU-21/P, replaced it for all military services.
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The San Diego Air & Space Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Federal Tax ID Number 95-2253027.
