American Museum of Natural History Research Library
author: American Museum of Natural History

Lindbergh Plane (Exhibition)
birth: 1934 January 15
death: 1955
Exhibition. Opened in January 15, 1934 and closed in 1955. Located in Section 10, Floor 1 in the Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History. The Lindbergh Plane featured Tingmissartoq, the Wright-powered Lockheed Sirius seaplane flown by Charles and Anne Lindbergh as well as equipment, items, and maps used on their journeys.
Summary
The Lindbergh Plane at the American Museum of Natural History featured Tingmissartoq, the Wright-powered Lockheed Sirius seaplane flown by Charles and Anne Lindbergh as well as equipment, items, and maps used on their journeys. While intended as a temporary exhibition, the seaplane remained on view in the Hall of Ocean Life for over twenty years. The plane was donated to the Museum by Charles and Anne Lindbergh and was 27-feet long with a 750 horsepower, 9-cylinder, Wright cyclone engine. It was suspended from the ceiling in a manner to give the illusion of flight. The installation of the plane in the Hall of Ocean Life was supervised by Charles Lindbergh and Museum Director George H. Sherwood; suspension of the plane from the ceiling was conducted by Jake Schrope (5), and the installation of the 400 items in display cases was supervised by Harold E. Anthony and Roy Chapman Andrews (1, p. 1-2). The exhibition of the Lindbergh Plane overlapped with the installation of William Beebe's Bathysphere (2, 1934, p. 9). In 1937 about half of the accessory material was removed from the exhibition and placed in storage, and the plane's position was adjusted so that it no longer blocked the Hall of Ocean Life's Coral Reef Group (2, 1937 p. 40). The Museum had planned to install the plane in a planned Geographic Hall (3), however, it remained in the Hall of Ocean Life until 1955 when it was transferred to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH, followed by a move to the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum in 1959, where it remains as of 2018 (4).
The display cases featured (1, p. 1-4):
*"Emergency Equipment for Land Travel"
*Equipment for forced landings on land or water
*Flying equipment and clothing for Arctic expedition
*Maps and navigational equipment
*An outboard motor
*Water-proof, shock-proof emergency radio set
*A rubber boat and sled
*Fishing gear
*First aid equipment and protective gear
This is a condensed summary of the exhibition. For additional information, see Sources and/or Related Resources.
1933 December 21Charles and Anne Lindbergh present the plane Tingmissartoq and related equipment to the Museum
1934 January 15After a week of installation, the Hall of Ocean Life reopens with the new Lindbergh Plane exhibition
1937Approximately half of the 400 objects of "accessory material" are removed, and the plane's display position is adjusted so as not to block to the Coral Reef Group)
1955The plane is transferred from the American Museum of Natural History to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH