The AAHS
Journal is the quarterly publication of the American Aviation Historical
Society. The Journal has been in continuous publication for over 65 years.
The Journal is available for a $50 annual membership fee. AAHS members also
receive the quarterly
Flightline newsletter, online
access to previous Journal articles, access to a photo archive with over
1,000,000 images, and access to a 3 view archive with over 7,000 drawings.
The Society's stated mission is “ the preservation and dissemination of the
rich heritage of American Aviation”. Each journal has 8-10 articles about
both civil and military aviation in the USA.
This review is of the Summer 2024 AAHS Journal. Note: the Fall 2024 and Winter 2024 have been published, but the Summer 2024 issue is the most recent one that I have managed to read in its entirety. The review issue has 10 articles, a photo essay, and a message from the CEO. The articles are:
Immigrants in Aviation – Rotorcraft: Rotor-Revolutionaries from Abroad. A retrospective on the pioneering inventors of the American helicopter industry – almost all of whom were natives of Eastern Europe.
Coastal Sentinels – The Rise and Fall of the Blimp Hangar. A brief history of the heyday and steady destruction of military blimp hangars in the USA.
Operation Pressure Points: A Memoir and Short but True History of the Owl FAC Mission, September 1969 – February 1970. The author recounts his experiences flying F-4Ds during night time forward air control missions over the Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War.
Return to Ho Chi Minh Trail. Four former A-1 Skyraider pilots recall their return visit to places that they bombed and strafed in Vietnam and Laos some 50 plus years earlier.
The Story of the Self Sealing Fuel Tank. A reprint of a 1946 article describing the difficulties encountered by the USA and Germany in developing and manufacturing effective self sealing fuel tanks.
Countering the Zero: A Small Firm's contribution. Describes the process used by a small Mishawaka, IN company to manufacture self sealing fuel tanks.
The 737 and the Thrust Reverser or Just one more Day! The author provides a brief history of the early thrust reversers on Boeing jet airliners and recollects the time he repaired a broken thrust reverser on a 737 outside during the winter in Northern Canada.
The Irish Swoop....the Bellanca 28-70. Tells the story of the Bellanca 28-70 and its various owners attempts to both win the MacRobertson race and complete a trio of aviation record attempts.
Lockheed RT-33As Supplied to U.S. Allied nations in the 1950s and 1960s. An operational history of the RT-33A in worldwide service. Many color photos.
PBY Operations in the Solomons – A WWII Interview. A transcription of an April 26, 1943 interview of Lt. Commander J.O. Collins, then OC of VP-91. The interview provides a comprehensive and detailed overview of PBY operations in the Solomon Islands during the early years of WWII.
The issue concludes with Forum of Flight, a regular photo essay feature. Color images of California based aerial fire-fighting operations are the content of this issue's Forum of Flight.
Each Journal also includes full page color artwork and photos from the AAHS archives. .This issue has a color photo of a Sikorsky YR-5A /YH-5A on the cover, a color of a restored Fleet 7 inside the rear cover, color artwork of Roscoe Turner's Lockheed Air Express 3 inside the front cover, and color artwork of a Martin RB-57F on the back cover. As can be discerned from the contents of the articles in the review issue, the AAHS journal offers a broader perspective than most aviation history periodicals. The journal goes well beyond the familiar to provide background information on some lesser known, but still important and interesting aspects of aviation history. I recommend the AAHS Journal to all aviation history enthusiasts.
February 2025