Finding aid for the Daniel Guggenheim Airship Institute Records

History of Daniel Guggenheim Airship Institute

The Daniel Guggenheim Airship Institute was "the most dramatic venture of the Zook era in the area of graduate study." Dr. George F. Zook, president of The University of Akron, thought the Institute should be dedicated to a specialized field of aeronautical engineering that would simultaneously benefit the Akron airship industry and be of interest to post-graduate engineering students. On November 9, 1926, Dr. Zook requested funds in the amount of $250,000 from the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics for construction of the Institute.

Dr. Zook believed there was a need for such an institute because of the inefficient approach employed by the U.S. Navy to solve research and development problems. Until that time the Navy had relied on various independent government agencies such as the Weather Bureau, the Bureau of Mines, and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to solve its research problems. Dr. Zook envisioned that the institute would bring the specialized equipment and knowledge possessed by these diverse organizations together. Dr. Zook reasoned that the institute should be located in Akron because the city was home to the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation and the municipal airport was the "center of airship activity in the United States." Ultimately, the potential for cooperation with Goodyear was a major factor in the decision to place the Institute in Akron. Dr. Karl Arnstein, the Chief Engineer of Goodyear Zeppelin, went on to serve as a consultant for the research staff at the Institute.

On October 19, 1929, an agreement concerning the construction and operation of the Daniel Guggenheim Airship Institute was made between The University of Akron, the California Institute of Technology, and the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics. Under the agreement, costs of the construction, equipage, and maintenance of the facility were to be split between the Guggenheim Fund and the City of Akron. CIT was to pay the salaries of a director (Dr. Theodore van Karman), and an Akron-Resident Director (Dr. Theodore Troller), as well as fund five fellowship positions. CIT agreed to oversee the Institute for five years, and it formally handed over control of the Institute to The University of Akron on February 18, 1935.

Construction of the Institute on the Akron Municipal Airport grounds took place during the winter of 1931-1932. The building, which was dedicated on June 26, 1932, was four-stories tall and 75 foot-square. The institute boasted a C-shaped vertical wind tunnel, then the largest in existence, and a 52 foot high meteorological tower on its roof. Much of the early experiments conducted at the Institute focused on the effects of turbulence and drag on airships' hulls. Meteorological observations were also carried out in cooperation with Goodyear Zeppelin and the U.S. Weather Bureau. A whirling arm was added to the complex prior to 1934. The whirling arm was used to conduct experiments on how airships behaved in curved flight. A small wind tunnel placed within the test circuit simulated the upwards wind gusts that aircraft would experience as turbulence.

The equipment housed at the Institute soon found applications outside the field of airship testing. The centrifuge was used to test airplane models, and the wind tunnel was used to ascertain how various building designs/materials faired in strong winds. However, the local airship industry was suffering from the effects of the USS Akron and USS Macon accidents and, in the absence of funds from that industry, was sustaining itself on the revenue generated through conducting airship experiments for the Navy and various industrial tests.

The lighter-than-air industry never developed to the extent that was originally expected. Despite this, the Institute flourished during World War II as it was engaged in "important government contracts" of a classified nature. Both before and after the War, the building was used by engineering students as a place to carry on their studies while additional facilities were constructed on the main campus. By 1949, those facilities had been constructed and the Institute was no longer generating enough research revenue to sustain itself. The Institute was formally closed on July 1, 1949, on the recommendation of university president Hezzelton E. Simmons. The Institute's library and machinery were transferred to the main campus.

Scope and Content

The Daniel Guggenheim Airship Institute records contain information on the development of the institute in 1926 through the closing of the institute in 1949. Consisting primarily of correspondence, administrative files, and technical reports, the records document the administration and research studies of this important research facility of the College of Engineering at The University of Akron. The documents cover 1929-1952, from the founding through the closing of the institute until the records were transferred to the university library.

Series I (Founding & Historical Files) includes the October 19, 1929 agreement between The University of Akron, the California Institute of Technology, and the Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics, Inc. to establish the institute. It also includes correspondence of The University of Akron President George Zook relating to securing funds for establishment of the institute. Another notable correspondent in this series is Dr. Karl Arnstein, airship engineer for the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation, relating to the establishment and dedication of the institute. Files are arranged chronologically.

Series II (Administrative Files) documents the dedication ceremony and corresponding events that took place in 1932. Also included in this series are blueprints and photographs of the Guggenheim building and information on general operations of the institute. Files are arranged alphabetically.

Series III (Correspondence) includes general correspondence, most notably regarding the closing of the institute and the equipment housed in it. Correspondence relating to employees is restricted. Files are arranged chronologically.

Series IV (Publications) includes newsletters, journals, and pamphlets that were published by the institute. Publications are arranged chronologically.

Series V (Technical Reports) is a valuable resource of primarily unpublished research reports conducted at the Daniel Guggenheim Airship Institute. The primary topics of these 182 research reports are lighter-than-air flight, heavier-than-air flight, meteorology, aerodynamics, and G-force measurements. A number of the reports relate to studies conducted using the institute's whirling arm, which produces centrifugal force. Research was often sponsored by private industries (such as Goodyear-Zeppelin Corp.), government entities (such as the National Advisory Committee), or the military (such as the U.S. Navy). Reports are arranged by number.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Permission to reproduce or publish materials in this collection must be secured in writing from Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron.

Restrictions on Access

Box 2 is restricted.

Karl Arnstein Papers; Lighter-than-Air Society Collection; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Records; College of Engineering Records

Indexing Terms

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

Subjects:

Organizations/Corporations:

Preferred Citation

[Identification of Item], Daniel Guggenheim Airship Institute Records, Archival Services, University Libraries, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.

Acquisition Information

Transferred to Archival Services in 1966 and 1969.

Bibliography

Information for biographical sketch was taken from the following sources:George W. Knepper, New Lamps for Old (Akron, Ohio: University of Akron, 1970): 195.Theodore von Karman and Lee Edson, The Wind and Beyond: Theodore von Karman Pioneer in Aviation and Pathfinder in Space (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1967): 163 and 165.

Detailed Description of The Collection