The Archives Division Staff is ready and willing to answer your questions on aviation and space flight, or to assist with your research project. To aid you better, we have a few tips:

Check available resources first.

Many questions that we receive could be answered by a quick visit to the local library, a check of an encyclopedia, or some quick surfing on the web. We have some useful links; others can be found on search engine sites like Google and Yahoo.

Be as specific as possible.

Try to narrow down the range of your question or project before you contact us. If your request is is too broad, we may ask you to try to focus your research. See what we mean with these samples of reference requests!

Be realistic in your expectations.

We're committed to assisting everyone who contacts us, but because of the volume of reference requests that we receive, we're only able to devote a limited amount of time to each request. A request for information on the P-38, the P-40, and the P-51 would be a better sort of question than to ask for information on every American fighter aircraft of World War II, for example.

Please allow plenty of time for a response.

Depending on the number of reference requests we're currently working on, it can take from 2 to 3 weeks to reply to an individual request. Orders for photographic reproductions, and copies of technical drawings can take significantly longer. If you're working on a project for school, please remember that we aren't able to email copies of documents or photographs - if the report's due tomorrow, better head for the library!

Contacting the NASM Archives REFERENCE DESK:

CALL US at 202-633-2320, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The Reference Archivist on duty will be happy to answer brief questions by telephone; for more involved questions we will ask you to send a written request.

FAX US at 202-786-2835.
Please state your request as clearly and specifically as possible, and remember to include your full mailing address on your fax. Replies may require 2 to 3 weeks, and are sent via postal mail.

E-MAIL US via our E-mail Inquiry Form.
Please state your request as clearly and specifically as possible, and remember to include your full postal mailing address in your e-mail. We may be able to answer BRIEF questions via e-mail, but more involved questions will be answered via postal mail. If you would like to attach an image to your message, please contact us via the E-mail Inquiry Form first for instructions. Replies may require 2 to 3 weeks, and are sent via postal mail. We are not able to send documents, photographs or technical drawings via email.

If you're interested in making a donation of archival material to the Archives Division, please see our donations FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).

Write us via postal mail:

Archives Division
Room 3100, MRC 322
National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012

Please state your request as clearly and specifically as possible, and remember to include your full mailing address with your letter. Replies may require 2 to 3 weeks, and are sent via postal mail.

OR VISIT US in our Reading Room by appointment for more in-depth research.

See Planning a Visit to the National Air and Space Museum Archives.