Restriction: Individuals desiring to use manuscript materials must apply in writing to the Directorate of the Libraries, DFSLB, USAF Academy Library, USAF Academy, CO 80840.
Resources (4)
Follett Bradley (1890-1952)
Papers, 1905–67, 1.2 ft., 3,000 pp. Air force officer. In August 1942, General Bradley went to Russia with the rank of minister to open an airway for lend-lease aircraft to Russia from the United States through Great Falls, Alaska, and Siberia. By December 1942, when Bradley returned to the U.S., 8,000 airplanes had been delivered to the Soviets. The most significant part of the collection deals with this "Bradley mission." Series 2 consists of reports, 1942, 1947, documenting the plans (and confusion) of the Russians and Americans involved in the airplane delivery. Series 3 has 1 folder of messages Bradley received and sent on his mission. Series 8 contains news clippings relating to Bradley's work in Russia, and Series 9 has photographs illustrating the mission. Unpublished finding aid.
George de Bothezat (1882-1940)
Papers, 1911–73, 2 boxes. Aircraft designer. Born in St. Petersburg, de Bothezat attended the Technological Institute of Kharkov, 1902–1905, did graduate work in Kharkov, and came to the United States in May 1918 as a lecturer and scientist. Under contract to the United States government, he built the "De Bothezat Helicopter," one of the first helicopters to carry out passenger flights. Captain Boris Sergievsky and Baron Vladimir Kuhn von Poushental assisted de Bothezat in the development of the rotary-wing aircraft. Series 7 of the de Bothezat collection consists of technical data written in Russian and of copies of 2 patents issued to Bothezat for his ideas regarding the first helicopter. Series 8 contains news clippings and correspondence to and from Poushental pertaining to his assignment as de Bothezat's special assistant. It also has materials on the Russian colony Poushental founded to preserve the customs of Russian emigrants. Unpublished finding aid.
Jarred V. Crabb (b. 1902)
Papers, 1929–61, 1.6 ft., 4,000 pp. Air force officer and deputy chief of staff for Operations, Far East Air Forces, 1949–52. Includes a journal describing the first encounter of North American F-86 Sabres with Soviet-built MiG-15s during the Korean War on 17 December 1950. Unpublished finding aid.
Robert LeGrow Walsh (b. 1894)
Papers, 1918–57, ca..5 ft., 1,000 pp. Air force officer. In 1944, Major-General Walsh was a member of the United States Military Mission in Moscow. Series 3 of his papers is a detailed analysis of the Poltava mission, 1944, during which American aircraft used Soviet airfields for shuttle-bombing of enemy territory. Poltava, Mirgorod, and Piryatin (all near Kiev) were the airfields used by the Americans. The series, which contains graphs of manpower, equipment, planes, bombs, and fuel, is a partially bound typescript with a record of planes used and photographs of the Poltava area and of American and Russian military personnel. Series 4 is a copy of a speech given at a meeting of the Russian Relief Inc., New York Committee, 18 December 1945, at Madison Square Garden. For having participated in this meeting, Walsh was later criticized by Walter Winchell on a radio program and accused of being a communist. Series 1, correspondence, 1928, 1942–57, includes letters to and from Generals William Mitchell, H. H. Arnold, Carl Spaatz, and Ira Eaker. Series 5, news-' clippings, 1925–50, is a folder of photographs and comments relating in part to Walsh's work. Unpublished finding aid.
