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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 16 Collections and/or Records:

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

Larry Michelsen Pacific Northern Airlines textual materials

 Collection — Folder 1
Identifier: 1985-02-20
Contents of the Collection The Larry Michelsen Pacific Northern Airlines (PNA) textual materials is a small collection of assorted newspaper clippings about PNA, circa 1959 and a photocopy of a merger decision for Western-Pacific Northern by the Civil Aeronautics Board, 1967. Many of the clippings are from unidentified newspapers, although some include identifying information. The materials are bound in a booklet with a front label, "Western-Pacific Northern Merger - Art Quinn." It is unknown who collected the...
Dates: 1959-1967
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Kenneth E. Schultz Western Airlines Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 1995-06-28
Overview

Kenneth E. Schultz was a Douglas DC-6B aircraft flight engineer for Western Airlines from the 1950s to 1960s. This small collection is comprised of materials related to the Western Airlines Chapter of Flight Engineers’ International Association and Shultz’s labor disputes with Western Airlines while he was employed with the company as a flight engineer.

Dates: 1948-1989
Found in: The Museum of Flight Archives

Wanda Smith Flight Attendant Collection

 Collection — Folder 1
Identifier: 2022-04-16
Contents of the Collection The Wanda Smith Flight Attendant Collection is a small collection consisting of photographs and clippings documenting Smith's career as a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines and Western Airlines in the 1950s and 1960s. The collection includes seven photographs of Smith in her Eastern Airlines uniform, including six formal individual portraits of her and one group portrait of her with several other flight attendants, circa 1956. There are also thirteen photographs of Smith and...
Dates: 1955-circa 1960s
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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