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Archives at The Museum of Flight


Trans World Airlines

 Organization

Staff Only

Dates

  • Existence: 1930 - 2001

Historical Note

Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline from 1930 until 2001. It was originally formed as Transcontinental & Western Air as the result of the merger of Transcontinental Air Transport (T-A-T) and Western Air Express. The airline ceased operations when it was acquired by American Airlines.

Found in 23 Collections and/or Records:

Nancy and Klaus Meyn Trans World Airlines Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1990-09-24-A
Contents of the Collection This small collection is comprised of Trans World Airlines (TWA) stationery and a magazine advertisement, circa 1950s-1960s. The stationery includes four notecards with small color lithographs of TWA promotional posters featuring motifs representing Philadelphia, Hawaii, and San Francisco, as well as one featuring the Boeing 707 as the "World's Fastest Jetliner." Letterhead on TWA stationery features company images and a route map. Magazine advertisement promotes winter travel on TWA...
Dates: Circa 1950-1960s
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Robert F. Patterson Pilot Collection

 Collection — Box 1
Identifier: 2024-10-28
Contents of the Collection The Robert F. Patterson Pilot Collection consists of textual and visual materials primarily relating to the career of Trans World Airlines (TWA) pilot Robert F. Patterson, 1965-1982. The bulk of the collection is textual materials and includes TWA correspondence, memos, and bulletins. It also includes his 1977 pilot license, medical certificates, flight condition reports, customs forms, TWA employee benefit materials, a notebook, and reference materials issued by TWA. There are...
Dates: 1953-1982; Majority of material found within 1965-1982
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Virginia Randall TWA Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Folder 1
Identifier: 2008-09-04-B
Contents of the Collection The Virginia Randall TWA Flight Attendant Collection is a small amount of materials relating to Randall's time as a Trans World Airways (TWA) flight attendant from 1953-1954. The materials were collected by Randall. The collection contains six (6) portraits of Randall in her TWA uniform. Two (2) of these are are black-and-white, four (4) have been colorized, all are 8x10" and all are digital reprints, not vintage photographs. The rest of the materials are textual and include a...
Dates: 1953-1954
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Nancy W. (Biddle) Seidel Trans World Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Box 1
Identifier: 2015-04-03
Contents of the Collection The Nancy W. (Biddle) Seidel Trans World Airlines Flight Attendant Collection consists of textual materials that document Seidel's 1946-1947 service as an air hostess with Trans World Airlines (TWA). The materials were collected by Seidel and include her 1946-1947 flight log, which includes date, flight and airplane numbers, crew names, destination and origin locations, arrival and departure times, and other notes, such as altitude. Not every entry includes the same information....
Dates: circa 1940-1947
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Robert L. Simons Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 1998-05-05-B
Overview

Robert Lewis Simons was a military and commercial pilot in the mid-twentieth century. The Collection is comprised of materials relating to Simons’ career , including log books, military records, photographs, and films.

Dates: 1925-1972; Majority of material found within 1938-1948
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

James H. Smith Aviation Photograph Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2023-06-20
Overview

James Hamilton Smith (1913-2002) attended the Boeing School of Aeronautics and worked in the field of aviation as a government contractor for the Boeing Company, as well as the Defense Contract Administration Services. This small collection consists primarily of black-and-white photographs that were either taken or collected by Smith during his time at the Boeing School, as well as throughout his career in aviation, which spanned from the early 1930s to the late 1960s.

Dates: 1928-1965
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Judy Evans Sowell United Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Box 1
Identifier: 2008-11-19
Contents of the Collection The Judy Evans Sowell United Airlines Flight Attendant Collection is comprised of textual materials collected by Sowell during her 1965-1993 career with United Airlines (UAL) as a flight attendant. The collection includes assorted UAL materials, including airline maps, decals, menus, employee documentation, such as pay stubs and recognition letters; instructional materials for stewardesses (1965); and a June 23, 1990 letter from UAL celebrating Sowell's 25th anniversary with the...
Dates: 1965-1990
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

James Sterling Commercial Airlines Collection

 Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 1992-01-21
Contents of the Collection The James Sterling Commercial Airlines Collection is comprised of commercial airline ephemera printed between 1930 and 1990, such as route maps, flight schedules, postcards, flight kits, decals, catalogs, brochures, air sickness bags and calendars. The materials were items provided to customers by various airlines, predominantly ones with international routes, including: Pan American World Airways, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, TWA, Northwest Orient Airlines, Mexicana De Aviacion,...
Dates: circa 1940s to 1980s
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Eris Swarthout Trans World Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Folder 1
Identifier: 2011-03-25
Contents of the Collection

The collection is comprised of a photograph and a business card relating to Eris Swarthout's 1943-1945 time as a Trans World Airlines (TWA) flight attendant. The black-and-white portrait of Swarthout in her TWA uniform is 4x6". It includes a stamp on the reverse that reads "TWA photo" as well as "Eris Swarthout" written in pen across the top. There is also a TWA business card for "Miss Eris Swarthout" with the job title of "Air Hostess, Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc."

Dates: 1943-1945
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Tami Dias Commercial Airlines Collection

 Collection — Folder 1
Identifier: 2024-07-05
Contents of the Collection The Tami Dias Commercial Airlines Collection is a small collection of textual materials primarily related to Sabena and Trans World Airlines (TWA), 1978-1982. It includes a 1978 certificate for Sabena's inaugural flight between Atlanta and Brussels, Sabena instructional documents, "Terms and Definitions Relative to the Jet," and "Station Training for the Boeing 707-131," and a 1982 TWA interoffice correspondence about the first meeting of the Clerical Task Force. Also present is a JFK...
Dates: 1978-1982
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

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