Collection Summary
Bonnalie, Allan Francis, 1893-
Allan Francis Bonnalie papers
1893-1974
05859
57.67 cubic feet + oversize (125 boxes)
University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
English
Papers, photographs, and other materials of an aviation pioneer, World War I aviator, and United Airlines executive.
System Requirements
Lindbergh parade -- film -- 8 mm.
LAMSA and Mexico promotions -- film -- 16 mm.
Flying and flight training -- film -- 16 and 35 mm.
Biography of Allan Francis BonnalieAllan Francis Bonnalie was a World War I pilot, United Airlines executive, and United States Naval Reserve officer. Bonnalie was born in Denver in 1893 and grew up in San Francisco. While attending Polytechnic High School in San Francisco, he was part of a club that built and flew gliders and airplanes. Bonnalie’s first flight was achieved on November 1, 1911. He joined the U.S. Signal Corps in 1917 and served as a pilot with the British Royal Air Force during World War I. In 1925 he joined the United States Naval Reserve and retired in 1953 with the rank of rear admiral.
Bonnalie worked as a mechanical engineer for the Southern Pacific Railroad between 1922 and 1929. He left to join the Boeing School of Aeronautics, based out of Oakland, California, Airport. In 1938, he joined United Air Lines Flight Operations, Western Division, and later became assistant director of flight operations in Chicago. From 1941-1945 he served with the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics. He returned to United Airlines in 1945 and was president and general manager of United of Mexico, Lineas Aereas Mexicanas, S.A. (LAMSA). LAMSA was sold by United in 1953 and Bonnalie became director of United's flight training program in Denver, Colorado, until his retirement in 1958. Post-retirement, he made several trips overseas for the U.S. Foreign Operations Administration (FOA) to advise foreign governments on aviation matters. Bonnalie also served on United Airlines Pilot System Board of Adjustment to resolve grievances arising from pilot contracts.
Scope and ContentCollection contains materials relating to Allan F. Bonnalie's life and his career in aeronautics. The collection includes a log book (1931-1934); correspondence (1921-1973); miscellaneous maps and charts; scrapbooks (1912-1938); materials on Bonnalie's service in World War I (1918-1921); certificates and military orders; manuscripts of writings by Bonnalie; and journals kept while traveling to Afghanistan, Bolivia and Yugoslavia for U.S. Foreign Operations Administration (1961-1962).
The collection also includes photographs, slides and glass plate negatives of airplanes, Bonnalie, his work with Southern Pacific, and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915; World War I and aeronautics posters; research materials on airways and travel (1930-1955); materials on United Air Lines and LAMSA (1947-1958); an index card file on specifications and features on airplanes and engines; and the manuscript for an unpublished autobiography entitled "A Lifetime in Aviation: The Autobiography of Allan F. Bonnalie" (circa 1974).
The collection also contains 3 16 mm films on LAMSA and Mexico; 3 16 mm and 1 35 mm films on flying and flight training; and 1 8 mm film of a ticker-tape parade in New York City after Charles Lindbergh's trans-atlantic flight (1927); and miscellaneous other materials.
Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes,
and the collection is open to the public.
Copyright Information
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright,
property, and libel laws as they apply.
Related Materials
There are no known other archival collections created by Allan Francis Bonnalie at the date of processing.
Acquisition Information
The material was received from Allan F. Bonnalie in 1975.
Processing Information
The collection was listed in 1975. The listing was updated and coded for online use by D. Claudia Thompson in June 2016.
Preferred Citation
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection
Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Access Terms
Lindbergh, Charles A. (Charles Augustus), 1902-1974.
United States. Army. Signal Corps.
Great Britain. Royal Air Force.
United States. Foreign Operations Administration.
United Air Lines, inc.
Southern Pacific Railroad Company.
Lineas Aereas Mexicanas, S.A.
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915 : San Francisco, Calif.)
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States.
Aeronautics, Commercial -- Mexico.
Aeronautics -- Research.
Naval aviation.
Transatlantic flights.
Voyages and travels.
World War, 1914-1918 -- Aerial operations.
Afghanistan -- History.
Bolivia -- History -- 1938-1982.
Yugoslavia -- History -- 1945-1980.
Mexico -- History -- 1946-1970.
Artifacts.
Journals.
Maps.
Motion pictures.
Negatives.
Photographs.
Scrapbooks.
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Bonnalie, Allan Francis, 1893- -- Lifetime in Aviation.
Politics, Government, and Law
Military
Business, Industry, Labor, and Commerce
Transportation
Businesses and Corporations
Container List
Series I. Professional and Personal Materials
110
Artifacts: Fragment of cloth from Wright Brothers Airplane flown at Kitty Hawk, signed by Orville Wright
undated
110
Artifacts and Souvenirs: Pocket Watch, Name Tag, 1918 Bullet Fragments, "Pantograph" Drawing Device, Paper Balloon, Recipe, Passenger Lists, etc.
1918-1953
6
Biographical Information: Resume, Statement of Military Service
undated
57
Biographical Information: Newspaper, "Colorado's Pioneers of the Sky," article in Empire Magazine
1969
9
Biographical Information: Printed Material (Polytechnic Yearbook, City of Oakland Periodical)
1912, 1933
Boeing School of Aeronautics:
10, 110
Books and Bulletins
1929-1936
10-13
Notes and Notebooks, regarding aviation
1923-1939
10-11
Papers on Aviation, by A.F. Bonnalie or no author
1937-1957
11
Prospectus
1937
11
Reports of Stockholders
1936-1937
5, 55, 110
Certificates and Plaques: Commissions, Diplomas, Honors, Membership
1912-1959
6
Comic Book, "Admiral Bonnalie"
undated
6
Contracts and Consultant Information: Yugoslavia, Author's Contract, International Cooperation Administration
1954-1961
1-4
Correspondence
1921, 1931-1973
109
Correspondence: Memoranda from Economic Controls Administration
1959
109
Correspondence: Memoranda to Naval Reserve Officers
1934-1952
109
Correspondence: Memoranda on Small Air Carriers in Foreign Countries
1954
109
Correspondence: Memoranda on U.S. Aid Mission to Bolivia
1943-1972
5-6
Correspondence, Personal, includes cards and invitations
1949-1952, undated
14
Early Birds Aviation Organization: Letters, Programs, Newsletters, Plaque, Membership Lists
1940-1974
55
Graphs of Airplane Performance
undated
6
Itineraries
1951-1952
6
Legal Documents, Personal: Estate of Mollie Harris
1960
15-22, 49-51, 56
Lineas Aeras Mexicanas S.A. (LAMSA) Material: Contracts, Reports, Financial Records, Memos, Airport Layouts, Scrapbook
1941-1955
Manuscripts and Other Writings, by A.F. Bonnalie:
35-37
"Air Carrier Fundamentals" by Bonnalie, Bradbury, and Johnson
1956
38
"Airport Study, The Capacity of Air Carrier Terminals" (includes research material)
undated
38
"Air Transport Development Project - Afghanistan" (includes equipments study, memorandum, charts and tables, travel vouchers, itineraries)
1962
38
"Air Transportation"
undated
38
"Air Transportation"
1937
38
"Air Transportation"
1955
38
"Air Transport Fundamentals"
1956
33
"The Airway and the Airport"
undated
38
"The Application of Air Transportation in Underdeveloped Country"
undated
31
"A Brief Chronological History of Transport Aviation"
undated
31
"The Capacity of Air-Carrier Terminals," published in Mechanical Engineering
May 1942
31
"The Challenging Future"
undated
31
"The Changing Future"
undated
34
"Chapter 1: First Develop the Power" (includes research material)
undated
34
"Chapter I: World Transportation"
1955
34
"Chapter 3: Airline Revenue"
undated
34
"Chapter III: The Story of Air Transportation" (2 versions)
undated
38
"Chapter 7: The Aircraft Power Plant"
undated
34
"Chapter 7: An Introduction to Air Carrier Operations"
undated
34
"Chapter VII: Location"
undated
34
"Chapter VIII: The Cost-Revenue Relationships in Air Tranportation"
undated
34
"Chapter 8: A Discussion of Some Factors of Equipment Design" (includes research material)
undated
33
"Chapter 8: Route and Airway - Location and Design"
undated
33
"Chapter 9: The Air Carrier Terminal"
undated
34
"Chapter 10: Progress Report on Equipment"
undated
34
"Chapter 11: A Discussion of Some Factors of Equipment Design"
undated
34
"Chapter 12: Route Performance of the Transport Airplane"
undated
20
"Corporate and Legal History of United Air Lines, Inc. and Its Subsidiaries, 1946-1955, Chapter VII - Lineas Aereas Mexicanas, S.A."
1963
8
"DC-8 Notebook" (printed)
1958
31
"The Development of Air Transportation, Chapter 2" (includes research material)
1928-1932
31
"The Development of Air Transportation Equipment"
undated
31
"The Dimensions of Flight"
undated
31
"A Discussion of the Economics of Airline Equipment Design"
1934
31
"A Discussion of Trends and Developments of Transportation, Chapter 1"
1955
31
"Dissent by A.F. Bonnalie, 29 Jan. 1971" (regarding hearing on airline accident before Federal Aviation Administration)
1971
61
"Elementary Principles of Airline Passenger Transportation" (reprints)
1938
31
"Flight Plan '56"
1956
31
"Follow the Beam," published in Western Flying
November 1932
31
"The Fundamental Dimensions of Transportation"
undated
31
"Gadgets and Safety" and "When Does a Safety Device Mean Safety?"
undated
31
"Importance of Technical Aviation Training" (Boeing School of Aeronautics)
1937
32, 39
"Jet Air Transport"
1961-1965
33
"Lecture Outline on Air Transportation"
undated
111
"A Lifetime in Aviation: the Biography of Allan F. Bonnalie" as told to Wayne Lundberg
undated
34
Manuscript Outlines: "Airline Economy"; "Chapter Organization"; "Outline of Aviation Science"; "Air Transportation"
undated
33
"Random Comments"
undated
33
"Rough Notes on the Development of Air Transportation Organization and Facilities in Under-Developed Countries"
1954
61
"Safety and Economic Aspects of Flight Simulators" (preprint and reprints)
1956
33
"Safety and Reliability of Air Transportation"
undated
33
"Some Airline Fundamentals" (includes research materials)
undated
33
"Some Economic Factors of Airline Personnel Training," "Theory of Flight," and miscellaneous material on air transportation
undated
39
"Some Notes on the Margin"
undated
33
"Something About Cosmology and Other Prospective Sciences"
1960
33
"Summary of Progress in Air-Carrier Ancellary Equipment"
undated
33, 61
"Toward Economic Airline Equipment" (includes research material and preprint)
1939
33
"Trained Personnel for Airlines," published in Professional Engineer
November 1935
33
United States Airlines
undated
33
World War I Service of A.F. Bonnalie
undated
52, 54
Map of Route to Cabin Belonging to A.F. Bonnalie; Topographic Survey of Area
1955
6-7
Military Papers: Certificates, Letters, Orders, etc.
1918-1945
5-6
Miscellaneous Personal
1931-1972
6
Newspaper Clippings: Biographical
undated
72
Notebook: Aeronautical notes
undated
40
Notebook: Afghanistan Trip
1962
40
Notebook: Bolivia Trip
1962
72
Notebook: Spanish Language Studies (2 items)
undated
40
Notebook: Yugoslavia Trip
1961
9,71
Notes, regarding aviation
undated
6, 9
Pilot's Log Books of A.F. Bonnalie
1911-1951
64
Report: "Aviation Training Center Study Jugoslovenski Aerotransport" (2 studies)
1961
64
Report: "Report of Air Survey Team, Indonesia"
1960
40-42, 58, 115
Research Material, regarding Air France, aviation, aeronautical engineering, flight operations, personnel, defense, etc.
1931-1959
56
Scrapbooks: Miscellaneous Personal and Professional (4 items)
1912-1938
20
Scrapbook: Presented to President Aleman of Mexico, regarding LAMSA
1950
56
Scrapbook: Stamp Album
undated
6
Scrapbook: U.S. Air Service Aircraft Data Book
circa 1917-1918
109
Specifications for Airplanes
undated
109
Speech by A.F. Bonnalie to Air Force Cadets
1958
109
Technical Papers by Bonnalie, regarding airline safety and capacity
1941, 1959
United Airlines:
57
Calendars
1956, 1958
23
Contracts, Air Mail
1934
23
Contracts with Pilots
1948-1970
23
Flight Plans, Schedules, and Time Tables
1936-1972
22, 24-30, 109-110, 112
Manuals, Newsletters, Reports, and other Printed Material
1940-1963
7, 9, 56
World War I: Orders and Communications, Maps and Charts, Manuscript, Diagrams, Printed Material, Scrapbook
1918-1919
9
World War I: "War Aces" Periodical
1932
Series II. Visual and Audio Visual Materials
118
Collage: Four Relics of the Wright Brothers (photo of first flight with piece of original fabric, photo of original drawing of first plane, side-view of plane in flight, photo of original hanger and fragment of wood from it)
circa 1903
54-55
Drawings: "A" Frame Cabin
1960-1971
53-55, 114
Drawings: Aviation-related equipment; Hybrid auto-airplane; unidentified
1935-1968
74
Drawings: Bonnalie as First Lieutenant; Augustus Post
1918, 1948
43-46
Lantern Slides, Glass: Airplanes; Air Races; Aeronautical Engineering, History of Naval Aviation; Commercial Aviation; Bicycles; Aircraft Engines
1902-1952
54
Lithographs by Charles H. Hubbell of aviation subjects
undated
Motion Pictures:
73
"Lindberg's Transatlantic Flight"; "New York City Parade" (8mm)
undated
73
"Training for Aviation" (35mm)
undated
73
"Boeing School of Aeronautics," R.A. Graham, film #269 (14 minute, 16mm)
undated
73
"Mexico #1"; "Mexico #2: Taxco, Acapulco #1, Acapulco Divers #2, Taricutin Volcano" (16mm)
undated
73A
"Air Chute Jumpers Train on Ground"; "Landing Speed Determination Test Film"; "Learn to Fly in the Fog" (35mm)
undated
56
Boeing School of Aeronautics Activities (16mm)
undated
57
"LAMSA, Skyway to Mexico" (16mm, color)
undated
57
National Parks, etc. (16mm)
undated
56
"Early Aviation" (16mm)
undated
73
"Air Transportation, Behind the Scene of a Coast-to-Coast Flight" (35mm film strip)
undated
75A, 75B, 75C, 117
Negatives, Glass Negatives, and Interpositives
undated
Photographs - Aviation:
76
Aerial Views
undated
76
Aero Design Aircraft
undated
76
Air Mail Service
circa 1920s
76
Airplane Construction
undated
76
Airplane Engines and Controls
undated
76
Bi-planes (unidentified)
undated
76
Boeing Aircraft
undated
76
Boeing Aircraft - 707
undated
76
Boeing School of Aeronautics
1929-1938
76
Boeing School of Aeronautics - Glider and Experimental Aircraft
1930-1933
76
Burgess Aircraft
1912-1914
76
DeHavilland Aircraft
undated
76
Dirigibles
1932, 1964
76
Douglas Aircraft
1958, undated
76
Early Birds (Organization)
1963-1970
76
Early Flight
circa 1900-1928
76
Experiment (unidentified)
undated
76
Fairchild Aircraft
undated
76
Farman Aircraft
undated
76
Flight School (unidentified)
undated
76
Fokker Aircraft
circa 1918
76
Ford Aircraft
1930, undated
76
French Aircraft
undated
76
Gliders - Germany
undated
76
Hamilton Aircraft
undated
76
Hybrid Auto-Airplane
undated
76
Lineas Aereas Mexicanas (LAMSA)
1945-1952
77
Lineas Aereas Mexicanas (LAMSA) - Crash
1945-1952
77
Lineas Aereas Mexicanas (LAMSA) - Personnel
1945-1953
77
Lockheed Aircraft
undated
77
Martin Aircraft
undated
77
Miscellaneous Aviation-related
undated
77
Pilots and Other People
1910-1942
77
Polytechnic High School Aero Club (San Francisco)
1911-1912
77
Seaplanes
1925-1964
77
Sopwith Aircraft
circa 1918
77
Soviet Union Aircraft
1929
77
United Airlines
undated
77
United Airlines - Airplane Interiors
1938-1958
77
United Airlines - Executives and Personnel
1938-1958
77
United Airlines - Flight Operations
1938-1940
77
United States Navy
1945, undated
77
World War I Aircraft
1917-1918
77
World War I Aircraft with Bonnalie and Others
1917-1918
77
World War I - People
1917-1919
77
Wright Aircraft
1902-1914
77
Wright Aircraft - Model B
1910-1912, undated
77
Wright, Orville and Wilbur
1909-1946
77
Wyoming Air Service Aircraft
undated
Photographs - Personal:
74
Birds in Flight (probably San Francisco Harbor)
undated
74
Bonnalie, Allan F.
1893-1971
74
Bonnalie, Allan F. and Military Groups
1929-1940
74
Bonnalie, Allan F. and Others
1928-1971
74
Bonnalie, Allan F. with Family and Friends
1937-1947, undated
74
Bonnalie Cabin (Evergreen, Colorado)
1956-1958
74
Bonnalie Homes and Neighborhoods (includes Falls Church VA and Oak Park IL)
1940-1943
74
Dancers and Nudes
undated
74
Mexico
1947-1951
74
Miscellaneous
undated
74
Niagara Falls (?)
1941
55, 57A
Oversize
undated
74, 116
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (San Francisco, California)
1915
116
People
before 1930
116
People
1930s
116
People
1940s
116
People
1950s-1970s
117
People
undated
117
People - "Nancy" on Envelope
1948-1950
117
Places (Unidentified)
1936, 1938
117
Places (Unidentified)
1940-1941
117
Places (Unidentified)
undated
117
Places (Unidentified Cave)
undated
117
San Francisco Earthquake(?)
circa 1906
117
Ships and Boats (probably San Francisco Harbor)
undated
117
Tractor
undated
117
Yosemite National Park
1933
117
Zoo
1939
Photographs - Southern Pacific Railroad:
117
Lucin, Utah
1920s
117
Palisade
1920s
117
Quarries - Santa Margarita and Cushing
1920s
117
Southern Pacific - Engines, Machinery, etc.
1922-1929
117
Wilmington (California) Tie Treating Plant
1924
47
Slides (Color): Airplanes; Washington D.C., California, Virginia, New Orleans, Niagara Falls; Mexico; etc.
1945-1949
118
Watercolor: "Mexicanos" (in celebration of 15th anniversary of LAMSA, depicting a quinceañera dance)
1949
118
Watercolor: "Elevando Al Cometa" (cartoon of 5 men flying a kite labeled "LAMSA")
1948
Series III. Printed Materials and Technical Writings
52
Atlases: Aviation; United States and Canada Highways; World
1931-1936
109
Book List: Parks Air College
1942
78-80, 110
Books: regarding Aluminum, Aviation, Boeing School of Aeronautics, Commercial Aviation, Economics, Engineering, Weather, World War II, etc.
1911-1962
109
Bulletins: Flight Safety Foundation
1954
62, 87
Catalogs: Aeronautical Engineering, Models, Books, etc.
1917-1970
57
Calendars
1939-1962
63
Directories: Aviation, Air Races
1931-1955
85, 88-108
Government Documents: Air Mail, Civil Aeronautics Administration, Engineering, Motor Vehicle Transportation, National Parks, Naval Aviation, Navigation, Policies, etc.
1923-1966
49-55, 58, 113-114
Maps, Charts, Blueprints: Aviation, Airways, Roads, Geographic, Weather, etc.
1915-1965
58
Miscellaneous Information about Various Aviation Companies: Royal Dutch Airlines, Lockheed, Lufthansa, Polish, Pan American
1933-1939
8-9
Newspaper and Magazine Clippings
1917-1969
72
Notebooks: Douglas Aircraft; Curtiss Wright
1931-1940
9
Notes Extracted from Aeronautical Publications
undated
30, 79, 81-87, 109-110
Pamphlets: Aircraft and Aviation, Military Aviation, Air Transportation, Flying Boats, Nuclear Weapons, etc.
1930-1972
9, 85
Pilot Handbooks: from Pratt and Whitney, Curtiss-Wright, Stanaco, etc.
1935-1955
57A, 110-111
Posters and Prints: Airplanes; Aviation History; World War I; etc.
undated
6, 61, 63, 110
Preprints and Reprints of articles (not by Bonnalie), regarding aviation, navigation, sea power, economics, transportation policy, etc.
1925-1970
60
Proceedings of Aeronautical Conferences
1941, 1953
59-60
Programs of Aeronautical Meetings, Air Races, etc
1933-1970
52
Record Book: Bitasora de Vuelos
1950
58, 64-71
Reports and Occasional Papers (not by Bonnalie), regarding aeronautical engineering, commercial aviation development, flight operations, Boeing School of Aeronautics, aviation company annual reports, etc.
1933-1968
58, 61, 109
Speeches (not by Bonnalie), regarding commercial aviation, aeronautical engineering, supersonic transport, wartime operations, baggage handling, etc.
1939-1970
71, 109
Technical Papers (not by Bonnalie), regarding aviation and aerodynamics
1940-1960
109
Thesis: "Possibilities of Stratosphere Flights," Boeing School of Aeronautics
1937
81
Thesis: "Trayectoria de Despegue del Douglas DC-3A-S163G"
1949
81
Thesis: "Tren de Atenizaje"
1950
52
Time Tables for various airlines
1935-1962