Col. C.B. Cosgrove, Jr.

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BACKGROUND

Burt Cosgrove was the manager of the Davis-Monthan Airfield from 1928 to 1932. As well, he was a pilot and airplane owner, and a competent amateur photographer. This collection of images comes from his Leica camera that he kept handy at the Airfield during his tenure.

The Cornelius Burton Cosgrove, Jr. Collection is important to understanding the role the Davis-Monthan Airfield played in civil, commercial and military aviation during the Golden Age. It gives us almost a day-to-day "movie" of the comings and goings of the people and airplanes of the era. It provides significant insight into the humanity and pioneering spirit of the people who give us the art and science of aviation here in the 21st century.

The images of the Collection are presented without touch up or modification, except for squaring margins, sizing and optimizing for web download. Unless otherwise indicated, they were scanned at 200dpi, using a Hewlett-Packard 4370 scanner.

Where some images may have interesting details viewed better at higher resolution, the scans were made at a higher dpi (300-1200dpi depending on details). These higher-resolution images are made available as PDF files, downloadable ad lib, so as not to slow display rates for the main pages.

The images are displayed without much technical commentary. Rather, the links will take you to further information, where available.

Take time to examine these important records of the Golden Age of Aviation. Enjoy everything!

OTHER RESOURCES

THANK YOU!

YOUR PURCHASE OF THESE BOOKS SUPPORTS THE WEB SITES THAT BRING TO YOU THE HISTORY BEHIND OLD AIRFIELD REGISTERS

Your copy of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register with all the pilots' signatures and helpful cross-references to pilots and their aircraft is available at the link. Or use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author, while supplies last.

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http://www.cafepress.com/content/global/img/spacer.gifThe Congress of Ghosts is an anniversary celebration for 2010.  It is an historical biography, that celebrates the 5th year online of www.dmairfield.org and the 10th year of effort on the project dedicated to analyze and exhibit the history embodied in the Register of the Davis-Monthan Airfield, Tucson, AZ. This book includes over thirty people, aircraft and events that swirled through Tucson between 1925 and 1936. It includes across 277 pages previously unpublished photographs and texts, and facsimiles of personal letters, diaries and military orders. Order your copy at the link.

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Military Aircraft of the Davis Monthan Register, 1925-1936 is available at the link. This book describes and illustrates with black & white photographs the majority of military aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield between 1925 and 1936. The book includes biographies of some of the pilots who flew the aircraft to Tucson as well as extensive listings of all the pilots and airplanes. Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author, while supplies last.

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Art Goebel's Own Story by Art Goebel (edited by G.W. Hyatt) is written in language that expands for us his life as a Golden Age aviation entrepreneur, who used his aviation exploits to build a business around his passion.  Available as a free download at the link.

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Winners' Viewpoints: The Great 1927 Trans-Pacific Dole Race is available at the link. What was it like to fly from Oakland to Honolulu in a single-engine plane during August 1927? Was the 25,000 dollar prize worth it? Did the resulting fame balance the risk? For the first time ever, this book presents the pilot and navigator's stories written by them within days of their record-setting adventure. Pilot Art Goebel and navigator William V. Davis, Jr. take us with them on the Woolaroc, their orange and blue Travel Air monoplane (NX869) as they enter the hazardous world of Golden Age trans-oceanic air racing.

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Clover Field: The First Century of Aviation in the Golden State. With the 100th anniversary in 2017 of the use of Clover Field as a place to land aircraft in Santa Monica, this book celebrates that use by exploring some of the people and aircraft that made the airport great.

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The definitive reference for early Lockheed aircraft is:

Allen, Richard S. 1988. Revolution in the Sky: The Lockheeds of Aviation's Golden Age. Orion Books, NY. 253 pp.

 
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THE CORNELIUS BURTON COSGROVE, JR.

PHOTOGRAPH AND DOCUMENT COLLECTION

Image Grouping ID: Arthur Goebel

Arthur Goebel was an aggressive air racer and aviation entrepreneur, typical of the premier movers and shakers of the Golden Age.

The image, below, of Goebel (in uniform) with four unidentified people was taken in San Diego, date unknown. The airplane, a Travel Air transport NX869 named "Woolaroc", was the winner of the Dole Race from Oakland, CA to Honolulu during August of 1927 (see book, right sidebar). This image was probably taken after the airplane was returned to the U.S. Goebel flew it on a two-week victory tour.

This image captures not only Goebel and his Dole Race-winning airplane, but also some details too unstaged to pass over. For example, notice the little girl at the far right looking at us and scratching her ankle. We have not only a Golden Age legend, but an itch captured somewhere in time! Note also the young boy in the white shirt and cap in the background. We can hear the man in the fedora bending over and admonishing him NOT to crawl under the rope to go touch the airplane!

Goebel With Woolaroc

Below, another image of the front end of the "Woolaroc" showing Goebel in the classic pilot's uniform of the day: jodhpurs, riding boots and a loose fitting (probably gabardine) double-pocket shirt. More than a few images on this site, as this one, are taken with the engine turning.

Second View of Woolaroc
Goebel & Woolaroc

Below, Goebel (L) poses, helmet in hand, with a Lockheed Explorer named "Yankee Doodle". The woman is Art Goebel's mother, Emma, as identified at the link. The gentleman in uniform is I.A Woodring.

Goebel (L) & Lockheed Explorer "Yankee Doodle"
Goebel & Sirius

According to Tim Kalina (friend of dmairfield.org who has provided much information and many images of Lockheed aircraft on this site) this airplane was c/n 148 and the last 'Explorer' built. The 'Explorer' was basically identical to the 'Sirius' except that the 'Explorer' had a 6-foot longer wing and a single cockpit. Only four Explorers were built, three of those going to Harold Bromley in his many failed attempts to fly across the Pacific Ocean to Japan.

Explorer 'Yankee Doodle' was registered as NR101W and built for Goebel who planned to use the plane on a record attempt from New York to Paris. According to R.S. Allen (reference, left sidebar), Goebel never took delivery of the airplane and never made the flight. The plane was sold to Pure Oil Company which renamed the airplane "Blue Flash" and hired Army pilot Roy Ammel to fly it around the country. Late in 1930 Ammel made a record flight from NY to the Canal Zone, Panama. On the return flight Ammel crashed the plane on takeoff. You may see images of the "Blue Flash" in the Canal Zone here (scroll down near the bottom of that page). Below, from Popular Aviation (PA) magazine, March, 1931, is an article describing the Panama flight of NR101W and the aftermath.

NR101W in Panama, Popular Aviation, March, 1931 (Source: PA)
NR101W in Panama, Popular Aviation, March, 1931 (Source: PA)

 

NR101W in Panama, Popular Aviation, March, 1931 (Source: PA)

 

The wing from the wrecked "Blue Flash" was purchased by famous used aircraft dealer Charles Babb who mated it with a former TWA Lockheed Orion 9 fuselage and sold the hybrid to Wiley Post to be used for a leisurely round-the-world flight with his friend Will Rogers. This was the plane Post and Rogers were killed in when they crashed in Alaska in 1935. The engine was recovered and the other parts burned (except for a 6-foot section of wing that showed up on eBay a few years back).

 

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THIS PAGE UPLOADED: 01/04/07 REVISED: 01/17/07, 06/23/14

 
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PHOTO CREDITS AND PERMISSIONS

To use the photographs of The Cornelius Burton Cosgrove, Jr. Collection for any purpose, please contact their owner:

C.B. Cosgrove, III at 5555 Zuni Rd., SE, Suite 206, Albuquerque, NM 87106

 

 
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