The Dayton-Wright Airplane Company was an integral part of aviation research and development during the World War I era. The company had three plants around the Dayton area. They performed research at the South Field where they developed advanced aircraft and weapons such as the Kettering Bug; an early cruise missile. Dayton-Wright built the De Havilland DH-4, the Liberty Engine, and the Standard J-1 to support the war effort. At the end of World War I Dayton-Wright continued to develop aircraft for the military. One of the innovative aircraft that came from Dayton-Wright was the RB-1 racer which had one of the first practical and operational retractable landing gear systems. The company was headed by Harold E. Talbott, Charles Kettering, and Orville Wright and had several well know early aviators among the ranks of the engineering division. The photographs in the collection show how the De Havilland DH-4 was built and allow a glimpse at the daily operation of the Dayton-Wright Airplane Company.
For more information on this collection, please view the collection finding aid or visit Wright State University Special Collections and Archives.
