Smiling for the Cockpit Camera
Biplane pilots seen from a new angle - literally
Anna Krentz
World War I
These photographs were taken during biplane training flights just before and after the United States entered World War I, in San Diego, Calif., and San Antonio, Texas.Most of the pictures were taken by the pilot of the second man in a plane, usually the flying instructor; a few of the images were taken by the pilot. All the pictures were taken during flights at training airfields. As you can see, most of the instructors were no older than the pilots they were guiding.
Make your own picture record of the War. - KODAK ADVERTISING, WWI
While both mono-winged and bi-winged planes were developed during the early years of the 20th century, by 1914 it was the biplane which had become the focus for aeronautic activity, its pair of wings giving it both greater strength and enhanced maneuverability.
The Vest Pocket Kodak does not belie its name. - Amateur Photographer Magazine, 1912
The camera used to take these pictures was typically a Vest Pocket Kodak (VPK) - known as the "Soldier's Camera." It was, for its time, a very thin camera desgined to fit in a vest or waistcoat pocket. On the market from 1912 to 1926, it was extremely popular, with more than two million of them sold. The VPK had some technical limitations, and was not able to focus at fewer than about six feet and also had a slow shutter speed - hence the slightly out-of-focus quality to some of the photographs.
The flights shown took place at Curtiss Flying School, in San Diego, and Kelly Field in San Antonio. Curtiss Flying School had originally been started as a direct competitor to the Wright Brothers' Flying School, in 1910. In fact, one Wright brother - the less famous Lorin Wright - was sent to spy at Curtiss' New York field. The U.S. Army took control of the Curtiss Flying School in 1917.Kelly Field - originally a cleared cotton field - was established as an Air Training Service Camp after the United States entered World War I, in 1917. Initially, tents were used as hangars.
The images come from two separate collections in the San Diego Air and Space Museum. The first is the collection of one Walt Claverie, a pilot who attended Curtiss Aviation flying school in 1912. Walt continued flying at Curtiss Aviation School through 1914-1915 and became a civilian instructor for the U.S. Army in 1917. The second is an album belonging to Paul Aldin Smith. Smith was born in Ohio in 1895 and flew at Kelly Field in 1917-1920. He was honorably discharged with 100% disability benefits due to numerous injuries to his back, hips, and legs.
