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Johnson (John Thad) Personal Papers
SDASM.SC.10080
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives
Title: John Thad Johnson Personal Papers
Identifier/Call Number: SDASM.SC.10080
Physical Description:
0.36 Cubic Feet
One box 10” X 15” X 2.5”
Date (inclusive): 1895-1927
Abstract: J. Thad Johnson was a WWI navy pilot in training for most of WWI. After the war he participated in the first transcontinental
flight from New York to San Francisco and other aviation feats.
The collection is open to researchers by appointment.
Some copyright may be reserved. Consult with the library director for more information.
[Item], [Filing Unit], [Series Title], [Subgroups], [Record Group Title and Number], [Repository “San Diego Air & Space Museum
Library & Archives”]
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The materials in this Collection were donated to the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
John Thad Johnson was born in 1895. He was educated at Trinity College in Waxahachi, Texas. When World War I broke out, he
volunteered. He was initially trained at Leon Springs, Texas. He was commissioned on May 17, 1917, and sent to the aviation
division at Rockwell Field (the present Naval Air Station North Island) for pilot training and though he was in France in
1918, he does not appear to have engaged in combat.
After the war, he participated in the first transcontinental flight from New York to San Francisco in 1919. During a flight
in 1925 his engine quit and he was forced to parachute 10,000 feet into an orchard. He was not injured, but made the newspapers
for this action. On July 2, 1927, he was part of an honor guard escorting Charles Lindberg in the Spirit of Saint Louis at
MacDonald field, Ottawa, Canada. During this flight, his aircraft collided with another as he was coming in to land, and he
was killed when his parachute failed to open properly.
There is now a street leading to the industrial section of the Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport that is named
after him.
One box 10” X 15” X 2.5” containing letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings and scrapbook pages.
Jackrabbits to Jets, a History of Naval Air Station North Island call no. VG 94.5.S3.S84 1992.
History of Rockwell Field Call no. MSS.UG.634.5.R65.A75 1923.
Related Research Institutions:
Secondary Sources:
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport – Brief History
http://ottawa-airport.ca/corporate/about-us/history
Subjects and Indexing Terms
World War, 1914-1918
Rockwell Field
Johnson, John Thad
Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus)
Naval Air Station North Island (Calif.)
United States. Army. Air Service
General Mitchell Field (Wis.)