196th Field Artillery Battalion's helicoper pad in South Korea
Creator: Timken, Frank Darrell
Date: Between 1953 and 1954
Here are two photographs showing the 196th Field Artillery Battalion's helicopter pad. The ridge in the background contained the Kansas Line, a secondary defense line in case the North Koreans and Chinese broke through the front line. Minefields covered the hills leading to the ridge. These photographs were taken by Frank Darrell Timken of Cimarron, Kansas after the armistice was signed.

196th Field Artillery Battalion airstrip and observation plane in South Korea
Creator: Timken, Frank Darrell
Date: Between 1953 and 1954
This is a photograph showing the 196th Field Artillery Battalion's airstrip and observation plane in South Korea after the armistice was signed. The photograph was taken by Frank Darrell Timken of Cimarron, Kansas.

Aerial view of Forbes Air Force Base, Topeka, Kan.
Date: July 23, 1963
An aerial photograph showing the south end of Forbes Air Force Base, Topeka, Kan.

Aerial view of Forbes Air Force Base, Topeka, Kansas
Date: July 23, 1963
An aerial photograph showing the runway, aircraft, and buildings at Forbes Air Force Base, Topeka, Kansas.

Aeroplanes - Le Valdahon, France
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: March 1919
During his tour with the Army of Occupation, Captain Hughes photographed these biplanes (aeroplanes). James C. Hughes, as part of the 35th Division, left Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he boarded the troop ship "Ceramic" on May 18, 1918. Hughes arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 1, 1918 and then landed at Le Havre, France, on June 9, 1918. Hughes fought in the battles of St. Michael and the Meuse-Argonne. He was at Verdun on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. He took no photos of the actual fighting. He did take many photographs after the war as part of the Army of Occupation until he left France on July 18, 1919. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available at the link below to Kansapedia.

Airplanes, Smoky Hill Army Air Force Base, Salina, Kansas
Date: Between 1950 and 1960
This photograph shows military personal preparing airplanes at the Smoky Hill Army Air Force Base in Salina, Kansas.

Airplanes, Smoky Hill Army Air Force Base, Salina, Kansas
Creator: Kansas Industrial Development Commission
Date: Between 1940s and 1950s
This photograph shows three military airplanes on a runway at the Smoky Hill Army Air Force Base in Salina, Kansas.

Aviation Field, Le Valdabon; Lewis just going up. Schmidt in rubber boots, France
Creator: Hughes, James Clark, 1888-1964
Date: 1919
While in France with the Army of Occupation, Captain Hughes had the opportunity to visit an Aviation Field. He has identified Lewis de Mayer who is in the biplane preparing to go for a flight. Another person Hughes identified is a soldier named Schmidt (in rubber boots) standing by Captain James Hughes. James C. Hughes, as part of the 35th Division, left Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and traveled to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he boarded the troop ship "Ceramic" on May 18, 1918. Hughes arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 1, 1918 and then landed at Le Havre, France, on June 9, 1918. Hughes fought in the battles of St. Michael and the Meuse-Argonne. He was at Verdun on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918. He took no photos of the actual fighting. He did take many photographs after the war as part of the Army of Occupation until he left France on July 18, 1919. A full biography of James Clark Hughes is available at the link below to Kansapedia.

B-29s, Salina, Kansas
Date: Between 1942 and 1955
This black and white photograph shows the B-29 Superfortress at the Smoky Hill Army Air Force Base in Salina, Kansas. These advanced bomber airplanes were used during World War II.

B-47 bomber, Schilling Air Force Base, Salina, Kansas
Date: 1958
Three pilots standing beside a B-47 bomber at Schilling Air Force Base, Salina, Kansas.

Beech Aircraft Corporation, Wichita, Kansas
Date: December 31, 1941
This black and white photograph shows the Beechcraft AT-11 production line in Wichita, Kansas. These aircrafts were used during World War II and produced by Beech Aircraft Corporation.

Beechcraft Bomber crew trainers postcard
Date: 1944
This is a postcard illustrating Beechcraft bomber crew trainers. Aircraft featured are: AT-10 Plywood Trainer, AT-7 Navigation Trainer, AT-11 Bombing and Gunnery Trainer, all from the Beech Aircraft Corporation in Wichita, Kansas.

Boeing B-29 Bomber
Creator: Boeing Airplane Company
Date: 1945
View of a Boeing B-29 Bomber on the runway.

Boeing B-29 Bomber
Creator: Boeing Airplane Company
Date: 1945
View of a B-29 Superfortress bomber in flight.

Boeing B-29 Bomber
Creator: Boeing Airplane Company
Date: 1945
View of a Boeing B-29 Bomber in flight.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Date: Between 1944 and 1950
A postcard showing unidentified Wellington, Kansas citizens with a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The residents of Wellington raised a total of $685,000 in their Sixth War Loan Campaign, and with that money they purchased and presented to the Army Air Forces this Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The photograph was probably taken in Wichita, Kansas where the airplane was built.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress
Creator: Hollabaugh, Jack
Date: Between 1944 and 1945
A postcard with a drawing of two Boeing B-29 Superfortresses built in Wichita, Kansas. The two planes were purchased in bond drives by Boeing employees. 'Eddie Allen', named for America's leading test pilot and aviation pioneer, and '293', named for the bomber lost in the first B-29 raid over Japan.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress Production in Wichita
Date: 1941-1945
Final assembly line point in Wichita for the completed Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers ready for delivery to the United States Air Force during World War II.

Boeing B-29 bomber
Creator: Boeing Airplane Company
Date: 1945
View of a Boeing B-29 Bomber in flight.

Boeing B-47 Stratojet
Date: Unknown
A view of a B-47 Stratojet subsonic jet bomber built by the Boeing Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kansas.

British Royal Air Force plane flown by Robert S. Raymond
Creator: Raymond, Robert S
Date: 1943
This is a photograph of the British Royal Air Force plane flown by Robert S. Raymond. The plane's logo was a Jayhawk standing on a bomb. The bomb doors were damaged over Hamburg, Germany. In the spring of 1940, he joined the American Volunteer Ambulance Corps and went to France. He drove ambulances into unoccupied France where they became trapped by the German army and escaped through Spain and Portugal. Raymond traveled to England where he joined the Royal Air Force and became a bomber pilot. Later, he was transferred to the United States Army Air Force in England and shipped back the U. S. where he learned to fly B-17s and B-24s. This photograph appears in Diary Of A Volunteer, 1940-1943, by Robert S. Raymond.

Cecil Stecher video interview on experiences in World War II (transcript)
Creator: Stecher, Cecil L.
Date: June 12, 2007
Cecil Stecher enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and served until 1946. He was a Navy Air cadet and trained as a torpedo bomber. He was born June 14, 1925, near Baldwin, Kansas. He attended grade school at Spring Creek and Prairie City and graduated from Baldwin High School. He worked at the Sunflower Ordinance Works in DeSoto before joining the Navy. Interviewed by Deborah Pye on Jun 12, 2007, Stecher talked about military experiences in the Second World War. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the community institutions receiving grants. The transcript of the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Watkins Community Museum of History (Lawrence) and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Cessna Aircraft Assembly Line, Wichita, Kansas
Creator: Cessna Aircraft Company
Date: September 29, 1944
These black and white photographs show an assembly line of completed AT-17 Bobcats at the Cessna Aircraft Company in Wichita, Kansas.

Charles Parker video interview on experiences in World War II
Creator: Parker, Charles William
Charles Parker enlisted in the Army (Air Corps) in 1943 and served until 1945 in the 453rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. He did his basic training at Gibson Field, Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. He became a bombardier navigator and he describes all the specialized training he had to take for the job. He was sent to England in the fall of 1944 as part of a B-24 crew. He was involved in over 20 missions with targets of factories, railroad yards, and troop concentrations in Germany. He was born in Highland, Kansas, on August 31, 1923. He graduated from Highland High School and attended Highland Community College before he enlisted. After the war he returned to Highland and served as the postmaster there for 33 years. He was interviewed by Suzette McCord-Rogers. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the nine community institutions that received these grants. The transcript from the interview is presented here; the original video copy of the interview is available through the Doniphan County Historical Society (Troy) and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Erwin R. Bleckley, World War I soldier
Date: 1918-1919
Around 1919, the Kansas State Historical Society and the American Legion solicited biographical information from returning veterans (primarily members of the 35th and 89th infantry divisions) and the families of those who died in service, notably from the Gold Star Mothers. Each veteran or family member was asked to provide letters, photographs, a biography, and military records. This file contains information on Erwin R. Bleckley, Battery F, 130th Field Artillery later assigned to the 50th Aero Squadron. Erwin was killed in action on October 6, 1918 when the airplane he was aboard was shot down by German troops.