Air Transport Collection

Bowman Field, Municipal Airport, 1942. Artist: Caufield & Shook
Bowman Field, Municipal Airport, 1942. From Souvenir of Louisville Ky.. [Curt Teich & Co. Inc. Chicago, 1942]

Rolls-Royce Merlin R. M. 14S. M. Mk 100 V-12 Engine, 1944. Creator: Rolls-Royce
Formed in 1906 to produce automobiles, Rolls-Royce was asked to begin designing and building aircraft engines at the outbreak of World War I in 1914

C17 Transport Aircraft Taking Off from RAF Brize Norton
A Royal Air Force 99 Squadron C17 aircraft taking off from RAF Brize Norton providing air transport assistance to France for the Central African Republic (CAR)

An Aerial Cricket Match of the Future, c1918 (1919). Artist: W Heath Robinson
An Aerial Cricket Match of the Future, c1918 (1919). From The Wonder Book of Aircraft for Boys and Girls, edited by Harry Golding. [Ward. Lock & Co. Limited, London, Melbourne and Toronto, 1919]

Runway Perspective, 1941, (1944). Creator: Eric Ravilious
Runway Perspective, 1941, (1944). RAF Spitfires at a British airfield during the Second World War. Painting in the Imperial War Museum, London. From " Britain In The Air", by Nigel Tangye

Galley, Zeppelin LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, 1933. The Graf Zeppelin was the most successful airship ever built. Between its first flight in 1928 and retirement in 1937

The Westland Lysander, 1941. Creator: Unknown
The Westland Lysander, 1941. British army liaison aircraft made by Westland Aircraft, used before and during the Second World War

View of London, 1926-1927. Artist: Captain Alfred G Buckham
View of London, 1926-1927. A biplane flies over the River Thames. Illustration from Wonderful London, volume I, edited by Arthur St John Adcock, published by Amalgamated Press (London, 1926-1927)

Aeroplane landing at sunset. Boeing 747 landing at sunset at Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia, Canada. The landing gear is down and the angled wing tips are clearly seen

Wilbur and Orville Wright with Flyer II at Huffman Prairie, Dayton, Ohio, USA, May 1, 1904. The Wrights had a much more difficult time testing their aircraft at Huffman Prairie than at Kill Devil

RAF bomber pilot and second pilot, 1941. Brave yet cautious, cool yet daring. From Bomber Command. [His Majestys Stationery Office, London, 1941]

U-2 spy plane with fictitious NASA markings, USA, 1960. Creator: NASA
U-2 spy plane with fictitious NASA markings, USA, 1960. After Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union during a CIA spy flight on May 1, 1960

Aeroplane landing at sunset, Canada
Aeroplane landing at sunset. Boeing 747 landing at sunset at Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia, Canada. Landing lights, used to guide aircraft to the runway

Wind sock, aerodrome, Belle Ile en Mer, Breton Islands, Morbihan, France, Europe

Bristol Brabazon JLP01_08_070272
FILTON AIRFIELD, SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE. The Bristol Brabazon G-AGPW on the runway at Filton Airfield. The first prototype of the Bristol Brabazon, designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company

Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb, 1941. Artist: Chas Brown
Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb, 1941. The iconic British Second World War fighter was designed by Reginald Mitchell. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine

The Short-Mayo Composite Aircraft, c1937 (c1937). The Short Mayo Composite was a long-range seaplane combination produced by Short Brothers to provide a reliable long-range air transport service to

Two Short Sunderlands rescuing crew, 1940
An artists impression of two Short Sunderlands rescuing the crew of the torpedoed merchant ship Kensington Court, 1940. On 18th September 1939 Kensington Court was stopped by U-32 with 13 shots of

Otto Lilienthal makes one of his last flights, 1896 (1956). Otto Lilienthal (1848-1896) German gliding pioneer and aeronautical inventor, flying one of his gliders

New Imperial Airways Aircraft At Croydon
An aerial view of the christening ceremony for five Handley Page airliners of Imperial Airways at Croydon Aerodrome, London, 30th March 1926

Curtiss OXX-6, V-8 Engine, ca. 1916. Creator: Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
Among the most successful early engines marketed in the United States were those designed and built by aviation pioneer and inventor Glenn Curtiss

Aerial view of Tangier, Morocco, from a Zeppelin, 1930 (1933). A photograph from Zeppelin-Weltfahrten, Vom ersten Luftschiff 1899 bis zu den Fahrten des LZ127 Graf Zeppelin 1932, Dresden, 1933

The Santos Dumont Air-ship rounding the Eiffel Tower, on October 19th 1901, (c1910). Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873-1932) in his airship (dirigible)

The Short Sunderland, 1941. Creator: Unknown
The Short Sunderland, 1941. The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the RAF by Short Brothers

The Consolidated Catalina, 1941. Creator: Unknown
The Consolidated Catalina, 1941. The Consolidated PBY Catalina, American flying boat and amphibious aircraft built by Consolidated Aircraft

German airship Graf Zeppelin flying over Wembley during the FA Cup Final, London, 1930. Artist: Central Press
German airship Graf Zeppelin flying over Wembley during the FA Cup Final, London, 1930. The final was played between Arsenal and Huddersfield Town, with Arsenal winning 2-0

Wright Brothers Glider Tests, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, USA, October 10, 1902. Historic photo of the Wright brothers third test glider being launched

Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser, 1946. Creator: Piper Aircraft Corp
Single engine, two seat, high wing, monoplane, yellow and red, first light aircraft to fly around the world. From August 9 to December 10, 1947

Louis Bleriot about to make the first successful flight across the English Channel, 1909. French aviator Bleriot (1872-1936)

Illustration from the childrens book The Adventures of Uncle Lubin, 1902. Artist: W Heath Robinson
Illustration from the childrens book The Adventures of Uncle Lubin, 1902. From a private collection

Bleriot monoplane used by the British army, 1914. This aircraft was essentially the same as the one in which Louis Bleriot made the first successful flight across the English Channel in 1909

P-51 ("Mustang") fighter planes being prep... North American Aviation, Inc, Inglewood, Calif. 1942
P-51 (" Mustang" ) fighter planes being prepared for test flight at the field of the North American Aviation, Inc. plant in Inglewood, Calif

Bowlus 1-S-2100 Senior Albatross "Falcon", 1933
Monoplane glider with strut-braced, gull-type wing mounted high on monocoque fuselage; wooden construction with steel and aluminum fittings and controls; fuselage

The aeroplane proposed by Henson in his patent of 1842, c1936 (c1937). William Samuel Henson (1812-1888) was a pre-Wright brothers aviation engineer and inventor from Nottingham, England

Dreadnoughts and hydroplane, British Grand Fleet, North Sea, First World War, 1914. Illustration from The Great War by HW Wilson, Vol I, (London, 1914)

The Aerial Man
1843: The aerial man passing over the Royal Greenwich Observatory, London. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Flying Teletubby
July 1909: This aviator performs some last minute adjustments on the plane, while his lucky mascot looks on. (Photo by W. G. Phillips/Phillips/Getty Images)

Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny"aircraft with model wing suspended, June 22, 1921
Curtiss JN-4 " Jenny" aircraft with model wing suspended, June 22, 1921. Active aircraft biplane, NACA 29-38131, with model wing suspended during flight

Aerosleds on the Ob, 1880. Creator: GP Putintsev
Aerosleds on the Ob, 1880. From a collection of 153 photographs and documents held in the Berdsk Historical Art Museum, drawn from the personal archives of people who lived in the town of Berdsk in

Passenger Plane
3rd November 1945: A Sunderland flying boat used by British Overseas Airways for business flights to India. The aircraft carries 16 passengers, travelling the 4769 miles in 30 hours and 20 minutes

Poster showing types of British and German aircraft, 1915, (1944). Creator: Unknown
Poster showing types of British and German aircraft, First World War, 1915, (1944). Chart produced by the British goverment showing outlines of aircraft for identification: Public Warning

Space Shuttle Enterprise landing at Stansted, Essex, United Kingdom, 5 June 1983. The US space shuttle Enterprise and its carrier aircraft, a Boeing 747

Claude Grahame-White hydroplane, 1912. Creator: Kirk & Sons of Cowes
Claude Grahame-White Hydroplane, 1912. The early aviation pioneer, Claude Grahame-White flew his hydroplane at Cowes over the assembled yachts which included the Royal Yacht which had King George V

Red Arrows over Birmingham International JLP01_10_16460
Birmingham International Airport, Elmdon, Birmingham, Bickenhill, Solihull, West Midlands. A Hawker Siddenley Andover aircraft on the runway at Birmingham International Airport

Flying Boat JRU01_01_109
TOWER BRIDGE, TOWER HILL, TOWER HAMLETS, GREATER LONDON. A Short Sunderland flying boat on the River Thames at Tower Bridge, with the bridge in the background, during the Battle of Britain Week

Cappadocia balloons at sunrise, Goreme, Anatolia, Turkey

Boeing T50-BO-8A (502-10VC) Turboshaft Engine, ca. 1950s. Creator: Boeing Aircraft Co
In the mid-1940s, Boeing engineers conducted research to become familiar with gas turbines, but it became apparent that the research engines were significant in themselves

Junkers Jumo 207 D-V2 In-line 6 Diesel Engine, ca. World War II. Creator: Junkers
Dr. Hugo Junkers started development of his Diesel aircraft engines in a small factory at Dessau, Germany in 1911. His early engines functioned on the two-stroke cycle principle with

All Professionally Made to Order for Quick Shipping

"From the Skies to the Horizon: A Captivating Journey through Air Transport" C17 Transport Aircraft Taking Off from RAF Brize Norton: Witness the sheer power and agility as a mighty C17 aircraft soars into the sky, ready to conquer new horizons. The Westland Lysander, 1941: Step back in time and marvel at the iconic Westland Lysander, a symbol of courage and resilience during World War II, showcasing the evolution of air transport. Wilbur and Orville Wright with Flyer II at Huffman Prairie, Dayton, Ohio, USA: Pay homage to aviation pioneers Wilbur and Orville Wright as they stand proudly beside their groundbreaking invention - Flyer II - forever changing the course history. Galley, Zeppelin LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, 1933: Embark on an elegant journey aboard the luxurious Zeppelin LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin; experience unparalleled comfort while soaring through the skies in this majestic mode of air transport. Runway Perspective, 1941 (1944): Capture a glimpse into wartime airfields with Eric Ravilious' masterpiece; witness planes lining up on runways before taking flight – a testament to human ingenuity in advancing air transport technology. U-2 spy plane with fictitious NASA markings, USA, 1960: Uncover secrets from above as you delve into espionage missions carried out by U-2 spy planes disguised under fictitious NASA markings – an intriguing chapter in aerial reconnaissance within air transport history. RAF bomber pilot and second pilot, 1941: Salute brave souls who took to the skies during WWII as RAF bomber pilots; their unwavering determination ensured safe passage for countless lives amidst turbulent times for global air transport. View of London, 1926-1927 by Captain Alfred G Buckham.