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Archives at The Museum of Flight


Western Airlines

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1925 - 1987

Historical Note

Western Airlines was a major United States airline from 1925 to 1987. It first incorporated in 1925 as Western Air Express. The company reincorporated in 1928 as Western Air Express Corp. and was then purchased by Standard Air Lines in 1930 and merged with Transcontinental Air Transport to form Trans World Airlines (TWA). In 1934, Western Air Express was severed from TWA and briefly changed its name to General Air Lines, but then returned to the name Western Air Express after several months. It merged with National Parks Airways in 1937. In 1941, Western Air Express changed its name to Western Air Lines (WAL) and later to Western Airlines. The airline ceased operations in 1987 when it merged with Delta Air Lines.

Found in 6 Collections and/or Records:

Commercial Airlines Collection (Part 5, T-Z)

 Collection
Identifier: 2018-00-00-23-5
Abstract

The Commercial Airlines Collection is an artificial collection comprised of textual, visual, and audiovisual materials of commercial airlines from around the world, 1910s-2020s.

Dates: circa 1910s-2010s
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Lorraine C. (Coccio) Ditsworth Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Box 1
Identifier: 2009-02-20
Contents of the Collection The Lorraine C. (Coccio) Ditsworth Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection is comprised of texual materials and sixteen (16) photographs. The bulk of the material was collected by Ditsworth during her 1953-1956 service as a Western Airlines (WA) flight attendant, although five (5) of the photographs appear to be unrelated to Ditsworth directly and of a later date (circa 1970s). The textual materials include three (3) logs which contain notes about Ditsworth's flights,...
Dates: 1951-1956
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Esther (Hutchings) Hebrew Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2021-12-10
Contents of the Collection The Esther (Hutchings) Hebrew Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection consists of textual and visual materials gathered by Hebrew during her career as a stewardess for Western Airlines (WAL) in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The materials illuminate the work and life of flight attendants in the mid-twentieth century. The collection is organized in two series: Western Airlines career-related materials and other airlines. There are several files of textual materials related...
Dates: 1945-1951, undated
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Rebecca (Blodgett) Knight Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Folder 1
Identifier: 2009-03-19
Contents of the Collection

The Rebecca (Blodgett) Knight Western Airlines Flight Attendant Collection is comprised of four (4) items collected by Knight during her 1970s career. There are two (2) color photographs; Knight is depicted in both. One also includes a partial view of a Western Airlines aircraft. There are no captions. Additional material includes a "Fly! Western Airlines" decal and a business card for "B. Blodgett."

Dates: circa 1970s
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Richard J. McWhorter Stearman Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2010-06-06
Abstract

Richard J. McWhorter (1921-2007) was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho and had a long standing and multi-faceted interest in aviation, including owning and restoring vintage airplanes. The collection includes manuscript materials, ephemera, audio-visual materials, and approximately three hundred (300) photographs documenting the restoration of a Stearman C-3B (#NC7550), on display at The Museum of Flight, as well as a Stearman C-3R (#NC656K).

Dates: 1927-2004 ; Majority of material found within 1960 - 1979
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

John Wegg Commercial Airlines Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2014-09-12
Overview John Wegg is best known as the founder and editor-in-chief of Airliners and Airways magazines, as well as contributor to other publications and author of 12 books on aviation history, airlines, and aircraft manufacturers. The John Wegg Commercial Airlines Collection consists of about 2.7 cubic feet of material such as printed ephemera, photographs, documents, and other materials pertaining to the Wegg's aviation journalism...
Dates: 1929-2004; Majority of material found within circa 1950s-1990s
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

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