Aviation and Aerospace Archives Initiative announce second edition of guide

The Aviation and Aerospace Archives Initiative (AAAI) is pleased to announce the online publication of the 2nd edition of the Guide to the Archives of UK Aircraft Manufacturers. This enlarged, updated and easily searchable edition is designed for historians, archivists and others to find out where original archive material can be found. An essential for anyone wanting to find amazing material for their aero history project, whether you are looking for material on interwar Gloster aircraft, the technical reports issued by the Royal Aircraft Establishment or documents related to airships and balloons, search their new website at https://ukaeroarchives.wordpress.com/.

The updated edition covers over 110 UK-based businesses for which archives survive that have at some point manufactured powered heavier-than-air (fixed-wing and rotary-wing) and lighter-than-air (balloons and airships) aircraft that were capable of carrying people. It also includes material held by 70 archives, libraries, museum and private collections, including all of the major aviation collections including the RAF Museum, the Science Museum, BAE Systems Heritage and Leonardo SPA. The guide also covers trade and professional bodies, past and present, which represented the interests of aircraft manufacturers and their employees or which supported aeronautical research.

The continuing challenge is to add less easily discoverable archive collections to the guide and the AAAI encourages everyone to let them know about any collections of documents, pamphlets, films, photographs or publication produced by an aircraft manufacturer that we have so far missed. Once informed, they will add the details to the Guide. For further information on how to contribute to the survey see Contributing to the guide.