| Scope and Content Note |
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Beginning in 1951, the USAF began microfilming the IARCs for retired aircraft. The first group filmed were aircraft retired as of May 1951 (119 rolls of 16mm microfilm), with additional sections including retirements through September 1952 and records "out of file" (not present in the retired aircraft file) in May 1951 (6 rolls) and retirements through May 1953 and records "out of file" in September 1952 (3 rolls). In 1971 the USAF microfilmed the records through 1954 for aircraft not retired by May 1953 (approximately 70 rolls) and all active aircraft from 1955 through 1964 (89 rolls). Later these various film series were designated by the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA; Maxwell AFB, AL), which maintains the original records, as ACR (May 1951 retirements), OA (out-of-file records from May 1951, retirements through September 1952 and May 1953), AC (aircraft active as of August 1954), and ACA (1955-1964 records). Records were organized by military serial number, although some records were missorted and therefore filmed out of order. The project only encompassed the main IARC files and as a result the records maintained by the 15th SCU were filmed only in a few rare cases. Similarly the records maintained by overseas SCUs were not filmed. Thus the IARC records for wartime aircraft, particularly those transferred out of the Continental United States, remain incomplete. The NASM holdings of these records consists of duplicate copies of the ACR and OA series of films only, comprising 128 rolls of microfilm. NASM rolls are identified consistent with the AFHRA designation scheme. The follow listing gives the roll identification (ACR- or OA- number), the serial number range, and any special notes relating to the particular roll. The note "NASM M###" gives the roll identification assigned by the National Air and Space Museum in the 1960s when all microfilm in the NASM collection was sequentially numbered regardless of collection; these numbers are included for historical purposes and are cross-referenced in M-number order in Appendix 1 (page 8). For access to the AC and ACA series, contact the Air Force Historical Research Agency at: Air Force Historical Research Agency |