W.J. Blanchard, Aeroproducts Inc. Collection
Scope and Content
This collection contains personal papers and correspondence belonging to Werner J. Blanchard co-founder of Vandalia, Ohio based Engineering Products Inc. Also included in this collection are business documents from 1937-1940 when the small corporation was purchased by General Motors Corp. and renamed Aeroproducts. The collection also contains patent information and blueprints for the inventions of W.J. Blanchard as well as marketing information for propellers designed by the company.
SERIES 1: Werner J. Blanchard Personal Material Included in this series are photographs, correspondence, and awards given to W.J. Blanchard for his service to the community. There is a biography on his life written by his wife Juliet. There are also copies of his wills, birth certificate, teachers certificate, and resume. Also included are memorial speeches and newspaper clippings related to his plane crash and death.
SERIES 2: Engineering Products/Aeroproducts Business Records Contains business documents relating to Enginneering Products and Aeroproducts. Included are the original Articles of Incorporation, Minutes of the Board, Corporate Tax Returns, Letters of Patent, project agreements and employee lists. After 1940 the documents reflect the purchase of Engineering Products by General Motors. These documents include Audits, Bills of Sale, Patent assignments to General Motors, Liquidation of Assets, and the Certificate of Dissolution of Engineering Products. There are also a small number of photographs and newspaper clippings related to Aeroproducts.
SERIES 3: Engineering Blueprints and Marketing Booklets This series includes both blueprints and technical reports for various Engineering Products/Aeroproducts inventions and products. Also included are maketing booklets for Aeroproducts and Curtiss Propeller Company products.
SERIES 4: General Motors Strike Documents exclusive to the labor difficulties in America after WWII and the General Motors/UAW strike in 1946. These documents include memoranda, newsletters, pamphlets and newspaper clippings from both local and national sources.
SERIES 5: Aviation Handbooks Includes a military handbook and technical order for the Type A-5 Automatic Pilot "M1". Also included is a Military Report on radio facility charts and an aerial map of Kansas City airport.
SERIES 6: Oversize Contains oversize photographs, maps and awards from the collection of W.J. Blanchard. Included are 4 Phonograph records containing speeches by W.J. Blanchard and Charles Kettering and the Dedication of the Blanchard-MacNeil Memorial.
Dates
- Creation: 1925-1960
Creator
- Blanchard, Werner J., 1900-1948 (Person)
Restrictions on Access
There are no restrictions on accessing materials in this collection.
Restrictions on Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biography of W.J. Blanchard
Werner J. Blanchard was a father, an inventor, and a well respected member of the Dayton business community. He was born in Bennington, Kansas on April 4, 1900. He attended college at Wooster, Ohio and graduated form Kansas State College where he received his Bachelor of Science degree. In 1920 he went to work as a machinist for Cleveland Worm and Gear Co. in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1924 he moved home to Manhattan, Kansas to teach school until 1927. He began his proffessional career in the Aeronautics industry as an engineer for Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Corp. It was at the Curtiss Corp. that he first patented some of his innovations for aircraft propellers. In 1935 he left the Curtiss Corp. to co-found his own new company with his friend Charles MacNeil. They called their new corporation Engineering Products and started it in Vandalia, Ohio. The company was the first to develop a new propeller that has since become known as the "Aeroprop". In 1940 Engineering Products was purchased by General Motors Corp. and renamed to Aeroproducts. Werner J. Blanchard was named first General Manager of the Aeroproducts division.
Mr. Blanchard was a member of many local organizations and charities. He was elected president of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce in 1944. He also served as a founding member of the University of Illinois Advisory Committee on Aeronautics. In addition, he served as President of the Board at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio and was a member of the Dayton Engineers Club.
Werner J. Blanchard was sadly taken before his time in December of 1948 when he was killed in the crash of his Navion 85 airplane on a return trip from a business conference. After many days of searching rescuers found the wreckage of his plane outside of Columbus, Ohio. Shortly after his death he was awarded the Presidents Award for Service of Merit During Wartime. He was survived by his wife Juliet, daughter Eunice and son David.
Extent
3.5 linear feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
W. J. Blanchard, an inventor and respected Dayton businessman, co-founded Engineering Products, Inc. in 1935. The company was the first to develop a new propeller known as the "aeroprop". In 1940, General Motors Corporation purchased Engineering Products, renamed it Aeroproducts, and instilled Blanchard as its first General Manager. The collection consists of administrative records, engineering blueprints, aviation handbooks, and personal materials.
Statement of Arrangement
The collection is arranged into 6 series:
- SERIES 1: Werner J. Blanchard Personal Material
- SERIES 2: Engineering Projects, Inc./Aeroproducts Business Records
- SERIES 3: Engineering Blueprints and Marketing Booklets
- SERIES 4: General Motors Strike
- SERIES 5: Aviation Handbooks
- SERIES 6: Oversize
Subject
- Blanchard, Werner J., 1900-1948 (Person)
- MacNeil, Charles (Person)
- General Motors Corporation. Aeroproducts Division (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the W.J. Blanchard, Aeroproducts Inc. Collection (MS-305)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Brett Stolle, 2002
- Date
- 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
