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Wally Schirra's Set of (5) Flight Logs

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:15,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD
Wally Schirra's Set of (5) Flight Logs

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Auction Date:2018 Apr 19 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
One-of-a-kind set of five of Wally Schirra’s personal “Aviators Flight Log” books documenting his career as a Navy pilot and NASA astronaut, dated from 1947 to 1969. These meticulously maintained logbooks offer an intimate glimpse into Schirra’s fabled career as a fighter pilot, military test pilot, and one of NASA’s original seven astronauts. The five volumes include:

January 1947–February 1953: the logbook is signed inside more than 70 times by Schirra (most “W. M. Schirra, Jr.”) to certify the accuracy of the logs. This significant book records his time as a fighter pilot in Korea, beginning on June 22, 1951, where he notes in the “Remarks” column: “First flight to Korea.” On the following day, he recorded his “First Combat Mission” over Yonan. The following pages are rife with details on his exploits as a fighter pilot during 90 combat missions. A few original photographs, as well as some Asian currency, are loosely laid into the logbook.

March 1953–January 1954 (marked “duplicate”): the sparsely filled logbook is signed inside ten times by Schirra, and records various test flights and air show appearances over a ten-month period.

March 1953–September 1958: the extensive logbook is signed inside more than 70 times by Schirra, and records his lengthy list of qualifications and achievements, as well as a summary of his experience on different types of aircraft. Schirra records detailed remarks throughout the log.

October 1958–May 1967: the extensive logbook is signed thirteen times by Schirra, after which he moved to using a stamp with his initials “WMS.” Most notably, this book logs much of his NASA career. On July 28, 1959, he records a flight on a NASA TV-2, and in the remarks writes, “NASA—with Glenn.” In August 1960, he records a flight with Alan Shepard to and from Cape Canaveral on a T-33A—“Shep & Me to Cape” and “Return from Cape.” On May 5, 1961, he records his duty as the chase pilot in a F106A for the first American manned spaceflight, Mercury-Redstone 3. In the remarks, he notes: “Chase MR-3. Shep aboard!” Schirra’s first spaceflight is logged on October 3, 1962, recording the aircraft model as his “Sigma 7” capsule, serial no. “NASA 16,” with a total pilot time of “9.3” hours. In the remarks, he notes, “Cape to Kearsarge,” logging the launch from Cape Canaveral to the recovery by the USS Kearsarge. The names of many of his astronaut associates—“Major Cooper,” “Slayton,” “Shepard,” “Armstrong,” “White,” “Stafford,” and “Eisele”—appear in remarks on many of the pages that follow. On December 15, 1965, Schirra records his Gemini flight, logging the aircraft model as “Gemini VI,” pilot time as “26” hours, and remarks, “Stafford, Orbital flt.”

June 1967–June 1969: the final logbook is signed only on the final page, “Retired from U.S. Navy and N.A.S.A as of 1 July 1969, Walter M. Schirra,” and records his flights over the course of a two-year period, mostly in NASA T-38 jet trainers. Like the previous logbook, many of the remarks include the names of his fellow astronauts. His Apollo 7 mission is recorded on October 11–22, 1968, with the model recorded as “Apollo 7,” and total pilot time of nearly eleven days denoted as “260.1” hours. A biographical questionnaire about his aviation career, filled out in Schirra’s hand, is loosely laid into the logbook.

In overall very good to fine condition, with wear and repairs to the spines of some of the books. Accompanied by a letter of provenance from his daughter, Suzanne Schirra. The logbooks are contained within a custom-made clamshell case.

Schirra graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1945, and served out the end of WWII aboard the USS Alaska. Following the war he trained as a pilot at NAS Pensacola and joined a carrier fighter squadron, becoming just the second naval aviator to log 1,000 hours in jet aircraft. He flew 90 combat missions during the Korean War, mostly in F-84s, and was credited with downing one MiG-15 and damaging two others. Schirra received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in Korea.

After his tour, Schirra served as a test pilot, testing weapons systems including the Sidewinder missile and the F7U-3 Cutlass jet fighter. Schirra once famously evaded his own Sidewinder when it doubled back on his jet. He also helped evaluate the F-4 Phantom II fighter and other aircraft for naval service.

In 1959, Schirra was one of the 110 military test pilots selected as candidates for NASA’s Project Mercury. On April 2, 1959, he was named as one of the original ‘Mercury 7’ astronauts. He went on to become the first person to go into space three times, in a celebrated career spanning the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. Extensively documenting every flight he made over the span of two decades, these logbooks offer remarkable insight into the life and career of one of America's greatest aviators.