Guide to the Cold War Aerospace Technology Oral History Project

History of the Cold War Aerospace Technology Oral History Project

In the fall of 2003, Dr. Richard Thomas, retired from a career at the Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, OH, and also retired Director of the Center for Strategic Technologies at Texas A&M University, suggested a proposal to Dr. Stephen Foster, University Librarian at Wright State University. Fearing the rather sudden demise of the Soviet Union in 1992, and the widespread focus on the subsequent War on Terror, has pushed the period of the Cold War and its technology from public memory, Thomas proposed the creation of a Cold War research archive to be housed in Special Collections and Archives at Wright State University.

A proposal then was developed to seek funding for the creation of a Cold War Aerospace Technology Archive. This archive would document the technological dimensions of the Cold War, with an initial focus on aerospace technology emerging from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Miami Valley region. Special Collections and Archives in the Wright State University Libraries would collect and preserve the experiences and stories of these individuals through oral and written histories and manuscript collections as the Cold War Aerospace Technology archive, within its larger aviation history focus.

Scope and Content

Researchers studying the Cold War Aerospace Technology Oral History Project will gain insight into the history of the Cold War as seen through the eyes of those who lived it. Primarily, the collection is made up of audio/video interviews of men who worked in the field of aerospace technology during the years 1946 through 1992. The remaining materials document the history of the project. The collection is arranged in two series.

Series I, Project Interviews, include the audio and video interviews along with any information pertaining to the interviewees, e.g. resumes, CVs, biographical information, etc. Interviewees are arranged alphabetically by last name. Some interviews and transcripts are also available online in CORE Scholar:
http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/special_ms431/.

Series II contains any information regarding the development of the project. These items include materials on the project's advisory board, bibliographies.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Restrictions on Access

One section of the interview with Joseph P. Lusczek Jr. has been restricted due to a possible conflict with the classified nature of the subject. There are no other restrictions on use with any of the other materials; however, researchers are requested to use the oral history videos and transcripts available online in CORE Scholar, Wright State University's Campus Online Repository, at
http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/special_ms431/.

The following related collections are located in Special Collections & Archives at Wright State University Libraries:

MS-118: Dr. John Keto Papers

MS-375: Harry Dyme Papers

MS-294: Seymour Dunham Collection

MS-335: Dr Von Ohain Papers

MS-362: Richard E. Thomas Collection

Subject Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

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Preferred Citation

[Description of item, Date], MS-431, The Cold War Aerospace Technology Oral History Project, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

Other Finding Aid

The finding aid is available on the Special Collections & Archives, Wright State University Libraries web site at
https://wright.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/324.