Skip to main content

Archives at The Museum of Flight


Trans World Airlines

 Organization

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 17 Collections and/or Records:

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 One
Identifier: 2008-11-09
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: 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

Roy and Margaret Thrush Commercial Airlines Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2019-09-10
Contents of the Collection The Roy and Margaret Thrush Commercial Aviation Collection is a small collection that focuses mainly on Roy Thrush's 20-year career as a commercial pilot for TWA with a much smaller focus on his brief time at Lufthansa. The bulk of the collection is textual documents, including pilot logs; employee documents, including correspondence, memos, and schedules; membership cards; and a partial TWA pilot's manual. There are also 16 photographs, most of which depict aircraft. Identified aircraft...
Dates: 1937-1970; Majority of material found within 1940s-1950s
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Bruce Whitman Aviation Art Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2021-04-16-A
Overview

The Bruce Whitman Aviation Art Collection is a collection of artwork including a drawing, posters, lithographs, photographs, and advertisements primarily related to American military aviation from about 1917 to the early 1950s.

Dates: circa 1917-1953
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

The Museum of Flight | 9404 E. Marginal Way South | Seattle WA 98108-4097 | 206-764-5874
Contact us with a research request
curator@museumofflight.org