ca. 1939. Airplane accident at Mueller-Harkins Airport circa 1939. About a dozen people looking at crashed single-prop airplane whose wings have separated from its body. Cockpit appears empty.

Aircraft; Aircraft accidents--Lakewood--1930-1940; Mueller-Harkins Airport (Lakewood);

The ghostly USS Macon, a dirigible, flew over the Jones Building (now known as the Pantages) in downtown Tacoma on August 22, 1934. The eerie airship was almost disguised by the clouds. Thousands of spectators lined the streets and rooftops of buildings to watch the dirigible make a wide circle over the city around 8 a.m. The Daily Ledger called the airship "a great silver fish of the skies." The Macon was lost over the waters of the Pacific Ocean offshore from Point Sur on February 12, 1935. (T. Times 8/22/1934, pg. 1)

Airships--Tacoma; Jones Building (Tacoma); Historic buildings--Tacoma;

On October 1, 1941, Mrs. Evelyn Burleson, of Tacoma, took off from Vancouver, B.C. for a solo flight to Tijuana, Mexico. Flying the tiny "Miss Liberty", she flew the 1,600 miles non-stop in 16 1/2 hours. This photograph, by Tacoma Times photographer Bob Richards, was taken as her plane passed over Pierce County. (T. Times 10-2-1941 p.1)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1940-1950; Burleson, Evelyn; Aerial photographs--1940-1950; Monoplanes;

These four unidentified bathing beauties used a little cheesecake to help advertise the upcoming Pacific Air Exposition, scheduled for July 4th, 1947, at the "Seattle-Tacoma Airport" at Bow Lake (now Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.) The all-day airshow was sponsored by the Junior Chambers of Commerce of Tacoma and Seattle. The Exposition showcased Army and Navy aircraft, the new jet P-80 Shooting Stars, local hero Col. Ross Greening and a fleet of P-51 Mustangs, air acrobat Sammy Mason and the Hollywood Hawks, Wayne Lowell and the "Flying Hobo," Wally Blair. 15 to 20 thousand spectators jammed into the airport to view the show, crowding the grandstands built to accomodate 5,000. The seven-hour show went off without any mishaps to the delight of the enthusiastic spectators. Proceeds from the show went to the Army and Navy relief fund. One dollar was charged for admission with servicemen and kids free. (TNT ad 7-2-47, p. 26; TNT 7-3-47, p. 2-article; TNT 7-5-47, p.1-article)

Airplanes--SeaTac--1940-1950; Bathing suits; Bathing beauties; Publicity; Holidays--SeaTac--1940-1950; Banners--SeaTac--1940-1950;

Bucky arriving at airport, Studio, Ed R. A man wearing an airlines uniform, possibly the pilot, is met by a girl at the airport. An airplane is seen behind them with the rolling stairway still pushed against its doorway.

Airplanes--SeaTac--1940-1950; Air pilots--SeaTac--1940-1950; Airports--SeaTac--1940-1950; Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac);

Joseph's was a beauty shop in Tacoma, it was located at 105 Tacoma Avenue North. Joseph's advertised the "Latest in Hair Fashions and New Techniques in Permanent Waving" Mr. Joseph (right) and Mr. Lloyd, two of Tacoma's leading hair stylists were traveling to Hollywood, California to attend the West Coast Style Show and to preview the latest fall fashions; they would be traveling on United airlines (T.N.T., 10/5/49, p. 9). TPL-9096

Airplanes--SeaTac; Business people--Tacoma--1940-1950; Airplane propellers; Airports--SeaTac; Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac); United Airlines (SeaTac); Joseph's (Tacoma);

Copies of a customer's prints, ordered by the Douglas Fir Plywood Association. Actual date of photographs is unknown. Two men observe a wooden structure that might be the housing for the landing gear on the all wood plane.

Plywood; Airplanes; Airplane industry;

US Air Force pilot poses in front of his jet airplane, most probably at McChord Air Force Base. The pilot is wearing a flight helmet with the breathing apparatus pulled away from his face. Ordered by the Tacoma News Tribune.

Airplanes; Fighter planes--U.S. Air Force; Military air pilots--Air Force;

Lynden's canned chicken and chicken with noodles were among the first Tacoma-made products carried in the inaugural air express service flight from Tacoma on March 1, 1930. Varney Air Lines, piloted by Al Davis, made a brief stop in his large cabin Boeing plane at Mueller-Harkins Airport, 4500 Steilacoom Blvd. S.W., before he flew on to Portland and Pasco. R.E. Darling, manager of the Washington Cooperative Association, is pictured handing a can of Lynden Brand chicken to pilot Davis; it and the larger can of chicken and noodles were destined for New York. San Tex cigars for President Hoover, Brown & Haley chocolates for the First Lady, shipments from Rhodes Bros. bound for New York, and packages to Chicago (from Wheeler-Osgood) and to Utah (from the smelter), were just some of the express cargo on the first flight from Tacoma. The cargo was transferred upon arrival in Pasco to planes heading eastward via Salt Lake City. (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 3-2-30, p. 1) TPL-5544

Varney Air Lines; Airline industry; Airplanes--Tacoma--1930-1940; Davis, Al; Darling, R.E.; Canned foods;

ca. 1929. Navy bi-plane with identification number 1SD (or O)-P-1 sits in field with crowd in background. Photograph probably taken at Tacoma Field.

Airplanes--Tacoma--1920-1930;

Mooring mast built by the Navy in 1924 at Camp Lewis for the visit of the dirigible USS Shenandoah. The Shenandoah visited the Tacoma area October 18-19, 1924. The Shenandoah was one of four rigid airships constructed by the military during the 20's and 30's, after the design of the German Zeppelin. The Shenandoah was the first built in America. The 165 foot pole was built for the 1924 visit and dismantled 12 years later.

Mooring masts; Airships--Associated objects;

Military men and newspaper photographers surround Harold Bromley's plane "City of Tacoma" after it crashed in one of the first attempts to make a solo trans-Pacific flight. After Lindbergh's 1927 solo cross of the Atlantic in the "Spirit of St. Louis," a group of Tacoma businessmen decided to invest in a handsome and dapper Royal Air Force war hero named Harold Bromley who felt he could be the first to cross the Pacific and place their city's name in headlines all around the world. Bromley's first attempt failed in front of 27,000 spectators who had to be held back from stripping the crashed plane for souvenirs. BGN-723

On July 28, 1929 Harold Bromley's Lockheed Vega monoplane, the "City of Tacoma," failed to take off on his first attempt to fly solo across the Pacific from Tacoma to Tokyo. The huge orange low wing craft was designed specifically for this 4,762 mile flight, with a 48 foot wing span, a 425 horse power engine and tanks that held 900 gallons of fuel.. Bromley, a dashing twenty-nine year old Canadian native, was a former Royal Air Force Lieutenant, a barnstorming stunt man, a World War I hero and a "Tacoma Boy," who now taught aviation at the Tacoma air field. On take off, everything went wrong. The over-filled gas tanks drenched gasoline onto the windshield; as Bromley leaned to the side for a better look, gasoline spewed onto his goggles and into his eyes. The plane veered off the runway and crashed. Bromley escaped from the gasoline soaked vessel unharmed. The insured wreck was followed by two more "City of Tacoma " monoplanes designed by Lockheed, each of which crashed in test flights. The third plane crash, and resulting fire in May of 1930, killed the pilot testing the plane for Bromley. BGN-310L

On July 28, 1929, Harold Bromley took off in his big orange Lockheed monoplane, the "City of Tacoma," planning to fly into history books as the first pilot to make a solo trans-Pacific flight. Instead, overfilled gas tanks spewed gasoline blinding Bromley who crashed the plane. The plane ended nose down with the right wing badly damaged and the fuselage cracked in at least two places; while the left wing, tail and motor remained largely undamaged. The crowd of 25,000 there to view the dawn take off had to be held back, to keep them from stripping pieces from the gasoline drenched plane as souvenirs. BGN-310M

Fair-haired actress Ruth Taylor, currently in Tacoma promoting her new film, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," rides aboard the "City of Tacoma" airplane on February 8, 1928. The aircraft is parked outside the hangar of the Olympic Aeronautical Corporation (which had succeeded the Eagle Rock Sales Corporation) at the Mueller-Harkins airport. Photograph ordered by the Olympic Aeronautical Corporation, newly organized and headed by J. Barton ("Jack") Story, president and well known pilot. (TNT 1-31-28, p. 1-article on Olympic Aeronautical Corporation; TDL 2-8-28, p. 2-article on Miss Taylor's visit)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1920-1930; Olympic Aeronautical Corporation (Tacoma); Taylor, Ruth; Actresses;

Members of the Girls' Corner Club of Tacoma pose with the pilot of this biplane located at the Mueller-Harkins Field in early May of 1930. The Corner Club was a women's support and social group, an off-shoot of the club originating in British Columbia in 1917. Eleanor Renstrom (seated in plane) and Dorothy Allen (outside) experienced a trial flight with Washington Aeronautical Corporation pilot George Fisher before the girls made the actual flight to Olympia to scatter flowers over a white birch tree to be planted by club members on the grounds of the executive mansion. The white birch is the official Washington State mothers' tree. G12.1-036 (TNT 5-10-30, p. 12)

Biplanes--Tacoma--1930-1940; Girls' Corner Club of Tacoma (Tacoma); Renstrom, Eleanor; Allen, Dorothy; Fisher, George; Air pilots--Tacoma;

A Coast Airlines Flying Service aircraft is on the ground at a Tacoma airport in June of 1930. Coast Airlines provided service to Seattle and Everett. Mount Rainier (or "Tacoma" as referred to by locals) is prominently featured in the background. Standard Used Car Market used this plane, or a similar Coast Airlines aircraft, in their promotion of a free scenic 15-minute ride for every car sold over $100. TPL-5031; G12.1-047 (Ad-TNT 6-10-30, p. 18)

Airplanes--Tacoma--1930-1940; Rainier, Mount (Wash.);