Harland B. Cushman Papers
Scope and Content
This collection contains 44 letters, written between 1919 and 1921. While they are love letters mainly focusing on the distance between Stella and Harland, they do contain some interesting material concerning a young woman's life on McCook Field as well as events on the base.
The following is a list of some interesting events mentioned in the letters:
July 1, 1919 7 DH-4's finished trip from Dallas to Boston, 3,276 miles in 2,091 minutes for an average speed of 93.96mph. Trip uneventful until landing when 2 children were killed.
Sept. 9, 1920 Camouflaged Rollin German Plane caught fire and burned.
Sept. 13 Tank, Tractor and Trailer Division in Washington interested in air-cooled engine developed by Mr. Kettering.
Sept. 17 Commander Bellinger, who flew across the Atlantic, flew the Thomas-Morse.
Oct. 14 Mr. McNeil, a draftsman, sent to Hollbrouck Heights, N.J. where building Barling Bomber.
Oct. 15 Flew modified Briguet with American Liberty or Packard engine, testing all foreign planes with American engines.
Feb. 7, 1921 Mr. Boulton, technical advisor on aircraft wing structure feels it's a crime that "the gov't spent a fortune on the Barling Plane." Stella notes, "It does seem strange that they should have chosen Mr. Barling to do it when the only other plane he ever built had such disastrous results."
Feb. 21 Night Flying at Wilbur Wright field: Lt. Harris will fly Martin Bomber using flares.
March 8 Caproni passenger plane, 3 sets of triplanes with rudders attached to last set of wings. Powered by 8 Liberty engines developing 3,000 h.p.
March 23 Stella attended dinner at Woman's Club, Orville Wright and his sister are guests.
March 25 Debate concerning parachute jump at Rantoul Field, Ill. An officer claims to have jumped from a DH at 24,000 ft., but Lt. Harris says DH can only climb to 20,000 ft. unless it has a supercharger, only 2 superchargers at McCook Field. Record was set by Sergeant from McCook at somewhat over 19,000 ft.
March 21 Photograph of "Officers of the Engineering Division at McCook Field."
April 11 Balloon department from Ft. Crook Neb. To be moved to McCook field bringing 2 dirigibles as well as captive and free balloons.
Dates
- Creation: 1919-1921
Creator
- Cushman, Harland B. (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 Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright.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 Harland B. Cushman
Since this collection was bought and contains only personal letters, little is known about Harland B. Cushman. Through reading the letters it was discovered that they were written by Stella Kline, a secretary at McCook field. The letters were written to her boyfriend, Harland Cushman, who worked at the Cushman Bakery in New York. They met in 1919, when Lieutenant Cushman visited the department in which she worked, concerning the matter of a machine gun. Sometime later he left the service, when is not clear, and went to work in New York. She continued to write to him until 1921, when it appears that she left Dayton to join him.
Extent
0.5 linear feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Papers consist of letters written to Cushman by his fiance, Stella Kline, who worked at McCook Field from 1919-1921. Letters contain mostly personal and family information, but also discuss events and people at McCook Field during the period.
Statement of Arrangement
The collection is arranged chronologically.
Acquisition Information
The Harland B. Cushman Papers were accessioned into the Wright State University Department of Archives and Special Collections in November 1994. They were purchased from Charles Apfelbaum, Rare Books and Collections, Valley Stream, New York.
Subject
- Cushman, Harland B. (Person)
- Kline, Stella (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the Harland B. Cushman Papers (MS-263)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Michael E. Smith, 1995
- 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
