During the height of the Cold War the USSR’s military air arm earned the country international renown and the respect of US military officials. The same can hardly be said of the USSR’s domestic aviation service. The state-run airline monopoly, Aeroflot, was widely derided, rather, for its awful service, poorly maintained planes, and dicey safety [...]

In the years that surrounded the turn of the 19th century, aeronauts (led above all by the French) toured the European Continent, hosting public displays of their daring for those wishing to observe the new science of ballooning. Of all the balloonists practicing the craft, perhaps none was more well-known than André-Jacques Garnerin. [click here [...]

[Note: This morning, I published the following op-ed in the "View" section at insidehighered.com If you wish to comment on the piece, head over there and join the fray!]
Digital publishing has been a hot topic for some time, but it’s received a good deal of attention as of late thanks to a series of [...]

In July 1989 historian and Auburn University professor James R. Hansen published an article that quickly became an instant classic for historians of technology and, more specifically, historians of aviation. Titled, “Aviation History in the Wider View” and appearing in the leading scholarly journal Technology and Culture, Hansen’s article served as a much-needed critique of [...]

If you haven’t stopped by the DotA Poster Gallery lately, you should. I’ve added five new posters (and commentary) to the collection. The new ones appear on page 2 of the gallery.

“Citizen! The Society of Friends of the Air Fleet calls you to its ranks!
Come and enroll as a member of the Society!” (c. 1923)
The brainchild of Leon Trotsky, the “Society of Friends of the Air Fleet” (ODVF) was founded in the spring of 1923 to enlist citizens in the task of developing “Red” aviation. This [...]

“If each of the 130 million citizens living in the USSR donated only a single kopeck to strengthen the air fleet, the government would have enough money to build fifty airplanes! Citizens! Enroll in the Society of Friends of the Air Fleet!” (c. 1923)
Appearing at a time when the country’s economic and industrial infrastructure had [...]

“We have today 1,000,000 members. Our goal is to have 3,000,000 members in ODVF by 14 July 1925. You should be in the ranks of the 3,000,000!” (1924)
ODVF was but the first in a series of official “voluntary” organizations created in the 1920s by Bolshevik leaders to channel citizens into working on behalf of Party-mandated causes. [...]

“3,000,000 members in ODVF by 14 July 1925–you should be among them!” (1924)
Another poster dedicated to expanding the ranks of the voluntary society.

“The ABCs of Dobrolet”
Modeled after contemporary reading primers, this poster sought to eradicate “aeronautical illiteracy” among Soviet Russia’s peasant population by introducing viewers to aviation-related terms and the many new organizations created by Soviet officials.

“Wings of the Soviet Republic” (1923)
One of the first propaganda posters produced in support of the campaign to build Soviet aviation, this placard urges “Workers, Peasants, Red Army Soldiers! Everyone assist our Air Fleet!”

[No caption] (c. 1925)
Combining the traditional genres of the rhymed couplet (chastushka) and the woodcut (lubok), this ODVF recruitment poster tells the story of how a young peasant lad named Petya becomes a Red aviator. Constantly repeated in Soviet propaganda of the 1920s, the “peasant into pilot” motif was a transparent metaphor of Russia’s revolutionary [...]

“Aviokhim destroys locusts. Join Aviokhim.” (1925)
In an effort to win peasant support for building the Red Air Fleet, Communist Party propaganda during the 1920s focused on the ways in which aviation would be used to benefit the rural economy, increase production, and raise living standards. Typical of the times, this poster advertises Aviakhim’s ability to [...]

“We will build the dirigible squadron named for Lenin!” (1931)
In the aftermath of the 1931 tour of the Graf Zeppelin across the USSR, the Soviet government launched a campaign to build a native fleet of “Red zeppelins” intended to rival the Germans’ efforts. Aside from this well-known poster (which was reproduced in numerous languages spoken [...]

“Youth — to airplanes” (1934)
Employing the photographic montage techniques that characterized the artistic movement known as Constructivism, this poster’s transposition of soaring airplanes and smiling young men communicated the importance of aviation to the Soviet Union’s future and the importance of youth to the future of Soviet aviation.
The airplane appearing overhead with [...]