Margery Watson World War II Photographs

Title

Margery Watson World War II Photographs

Description

The Margery Watson World War II Photographs is a small collection comprised of a series of photographs either taken or gathered by Margery Watson while she was employed at North American Aviation in Inglewood, California as a draftsperson between 1943-1945. The photographs are primarily small black-and-white snapshots that document NAA personnel adding a Merlin engine and performing engine tests on the prototype P-51 nicknamed "Baby" for United States Army Air Force ground crews. Some of the photographs feature group portraits of the design team with a few names indicated. There are a couple of photographs of uniformed airmen as well. One portrait of Watson standing in front of a plane, which was removed from a shadowbox including some of her tools, is also present in the collection.

Also included in the collection are several small collectible photographs of military aircraft developed by various manufacturers in the 1940s. Some photographs are affixed to album pages which have a few pieces of small ephemera glued to them as well.

Digitized Materials: The archival materials and one object, one of Watson's drafting tools, have been digitized from this collection.

Please note that materials on TMOF: Digital Collections are presented as historical objects and are unaltered and uncensored. See our Disclaimers and Policies page for more information.

Date

circa 1940s

Creator

Watson, Margery, 1926-1992

Language

All materials are in English.

Rights Holder

The Museum of Flight Archives

Rights

Permission to publish material from the Margery Watson World War II Photographs must be obtained from The Museum of Flight Archives.

Bibliographic Citation

The Margery Watson World War II Photographs/The Museum of Flight

Identifier

2017-01-05

Collection Organization

Collection Items

[French curve drafting tool used by North American Aviation draftsperson Margery Watson]
French curve drafting tool produced by Dietzgen Excello and used by North American Aviation draftsperson Margery Watson, circa 1943-1945. During her time at NAA, Watson served on the design team for the North American P-51 Mustang.

[Margery Watson with North American P-51D Mustang]
Photograph of Margery Watson standing in front of a North American P-51D Mustang aircraft, Inglewood, California, circa 1940s.

[North American Aviation personnel with "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang]
Photographic group portrait of North American Aviation personnel posing with "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang aircraft, Inglewood, California, circa 1940s. Inscription: "The whole gang. Ralles, Phil, Jack." Item from the Margery Watson…

[U.S. Army Air Corps serviceman standing in yard]
Photograph of a U.S. Army Air Corps serviceman standing in a yard, July 19, 1943.Inscription: "A/C George [Barnes?]. My Corp."Inscription on verso: "Taken at home on my furlough. 7/19/43."Item from the Margery Watson World War II Photographs album…

[U.S. Army Air Forces serviceman]
Photographic portrait of an unidentified U.S. Army Air Forces serviceman, February 1943.Inscription: "Lt. [illegible]"Inscription on verso: "Taken Feb. '43. Just like yours was."Stamped on verso: For your convenience the negative of this photograph…

[North American Aviation personnel working on "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang]
Photograph of North American Aviation personnel attaching a propeller to "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang aircraft, Inglewood, California, circa 1940s. Inscription: "Putting on the prop." Item from the Margery Watson World War II…

[North American Aviation personnel working on "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang]
Photograph of North American Aviation personnel working on "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang aircraft, Inglewood, California, circa 1940s. Inscription: "Assembly job." Item from the Margery Watson World War II Photographs album pages,…

[North American Aviation personnel working on "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang]
Photograph of North American Aviation personnel working on "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang aircraft, Inglewood, California, circa 1940s. Inscription: "Genius, 1 Req." Item from the Margery Watson World War II Photographs album pages,…

["Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang]
Photograph of "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang aircraft, Inglewood, California, circa 1940s. Inscription: "Baby' ready for an overhaul." Item from the Margery Watson World War II Photographs album pages, circa 1940s. Album pages…

[North American Aviation personnel with "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang]
Photograph of North American Aviation personnel standing in front of "Baby," a prototype North American P-51 Mustang aircraft, Inglewood, California, circa 1940s. Inscription: "Hi fellahs." Item from the Margery Watson World War II Photographs album…
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