Farnborough Archive

A large collection of papers and records assembled by the Royal Aircraft Establishment Museum documenting the work of and research undertaken by the RAE at its Farnborough site. The collection is composed of a large number of photographs showing the site and work undertaken including some of the various experiments, the work undertaken on the Black Arrow program, including launches at Highdown and Woomera, examples of the instruments that were undergoing testing and buildings that were erected on site for various purposes. There are also a collection of 8 albums entitled ‘O’Gorman Photographic Record’ which were produced by Mervyn O’Gorman, head of the site between 1909 and 1916, showing various aircraft and experiments undertaken at Farnborough. Beyond this there are also numerous reports produced by the RAE relating to various areas including the protection of aircraft against ice, grooved runways, tests of materials, timing of world speed records, tests on aircraft and the design of the TRIDAC analogue computer. Additional items include lecture material, press cuttings, directories, some material relating to air shows, copies of drawings including First World War Aircraft and various buildings for the site, published material, reports from other institutions and various papers relating to areas of research that were being undertaken. Some material is also included that was created by the RAE Museum itself including information and display boards relating to the RAE and its work. There is also a collection of German research books dating from the 1930s and 40s along with numerous registers and logbooks relating to experiments, especially those conducted in the wind tunnels, and work undertaken by the engineering department. The collection contains some papers relating to the work of individuals at Farnborough including some relating to aerodynamic research undertaken for Concorde by W.E. Grey and papers and lectures by Sir George Gardner. Finally there is a large collection of material that relates to the various aspects of the Comet accident investigation including photographs, drawings of the test facilities, reports on the investigation and related areas such as fatigue of aircraft pressure cabins, papers relating to the Comets used in the experiments including type records and log books and a record of events including a list of official visitors. 1904-1994 [FARN]