Martin Jensen Papers, 1927-1990

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Jensen, Martin
Title
Martin Jensen Papers
Dates
1927-1990 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.38 cubic ft. (2 boxes)
Collection Number
10025
Summary
The Martin Jensen Papers contain correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, telegrams, and technical reports related to Martin Jensen's career in aviation and as a pioneer aviator.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Martin Jensen was a pioneer aviator. He was born in 1900 in Jamestown, Kansas. He joined the U.S. Navy in World War I and after the war was a barnstormer and stunt pilot, crossing the country in a biplane that he designed. In 1924, he established the Jensen Flying School at Dutch Flats Airport in San Diego. In 1925, he completed a coast-to-coast flight in an OX-5 Jenny. He placed second in the 1927 Dole Trans-Pacific Air Race, a race from Oakland to Honolulu in which ten pilots died. He piloted the Aloha, an airplane designed by Vance Breese in San Francisco. In the same year he transported the MGM Studios lion, Leo the Lion, in a specially built Ryan airplane. The publicity flight was to go from California to New York, but Jensen crashed in a remote area in Arizona. He was unhurt and the lion was transported to New York by truck. Jensen developed the Jensen trainer for his own Jensen Aircraft Corporation, which he lost in the stock market crash in 1929. After that he was Dean of Aviation and taught aeronautics at Beckley College in Pennsylvania, and he also did show flying for the "New York Daily News" and Tidewater Oil Company. In 1935, he joined Langley Aircraft as first vice president. He worked on the design of a plastic molding known as the Langley Process. In 1940 he went to work for Vincent Bendix at the Bendix Aviation Corporation. In 1944, Vincent Bendix established Bendix Helicopters. As a Bendix designer, Martin Jensen devised the Bendix Model J single-seat helicopter, which used a system of coaxial rotors driven by a 450hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 piston engine. In 1951, he joined Douglas Aircraft. He retired in the mid-1960s in the San Diego area. During his retired years, he spent considerable time researching aircraft wing designs. Jensen died in San Diego on February 8, 1992.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Martin Jensen Papers contain photographs, telegrams, scrapbooks, correspondence, and newspaper clippings about the 1927 James D. Dole Derby Trans-Pacific Air Race in which Jensen took second place to Arthur Goebel. Material also relates to subsequent events related to this race including reunions. There are also photos and newspaper clippings about the 1927 MGM publicity flight in which Jensen piloted a specially designed aircraft that held the MGM mascot lion. There is correspondence, reports, articles, and other printed materials on Jensen's aeronautical developments and other technical issues related to aviation including the Langley Process, wing designs, and helicopter designs. There are photos of Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh. There is a small amount of material including correspondence and photographs related to his personal life. Also included are copies of some of the donor correspondence Jensen had with the director of the American Heritage Center in the late 1980s that give autobiographical details to Jensen's life.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Preferred Citation

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Martin Jensen Papers, 1927-1990, Collection Number 10025, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Box 1 is arranged alphabetically by folder title. Box 2 contains oversized material.

Related Materials

Related Materials

There are no known other archival collections created by Martin Jensen at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition Information

The Martin Jensen Papers were donated by Martin Jensen between 1985 and 1990.

Processing Note

Processing Information

The collection was processed by John Richard Waggener in February 2007.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Folder
1 1 Biographical Material 1956-1987
1 2-3 Correspondence - General 1945-1989
1 4 Correspondence - Technical 1939-1989
1 5 Correspondence - With the American Heritage Center (information about aviation that was copied from the Jensen donor correspondence file) 1985-1990
1 6 Dole 1927 Trans-Pacific Air Race - Correspondence and Related Documents 1927-1987
1 7 Dole 1927 Trans-Pacific Air Race - Newspaper Clippings 1927-1987
1 8 Dole 1927 Trans-Pacific Air Race - Telegrams 1927-1928
1 9 Newspaper Clippings 1927-1987
1 10-11 Photographs 1927-1987
1 12 Publications - Books (related to Jensen) 1971-1976
1 13 Publications - Brochures, Programs, Printed Matter (some relate to Jensen) 1929-1986
1 14-15 Stories about aviation and personal life by Martin Jensen 1978-1988
1 16-17 Technical Reports 1944-1988
2 1 Certificate, and two full-page newspaper articles (one about the Langley Process and one about Martin Jensen breaking an endurance record) 1929, 1946, 1972
2 2 Tabloid that contains a story about the 1927 Dole Air Race 1972
2 3-4 Two large scrapbooks that contain newspaper clippings and documents about the 1927 Dole Air Race 1927

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Aeronautics - United States.
  • Aircraft industry - United States.
  • Airplane racing - United States.
  • Helicopters - United States.
  • Transcontinental flights -United States.
  • Transpacific flights.

Corporate Names

  • Bendix Corporation
  • Jensen Aircraft Corporation

Form or Genre Terms

  • Photographs.
  • Scrapbooks.