Robert F. Wells papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: MSS 25

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection includes four scanned digital photographs of Robert Wells, Neil Armstrong and other members of the Purdue Aero Modelers Club during the late 1940s. The original photos were not donated. It also includes an autobiographical essay by Robert F. Wells.

Dates

Creation: 1948 - 2013

Copyright and Use Information

Copyright held by Purdue University or orginal creator. Consult with Purdue University Archives and Special Collections prior to reproduction of materials.

Access Information

The collection is open for research.

Biographical / Historical

Robert F. Wells was born in Clinton, Missouri on November 29, 1926. As a teenager, Wells took flying lessons throughout high school. After finishing high school, Wells joined the Army Air Forces during World War II. In 1946, Wells enrolled at Purdue University to study aeronautical engineering. Wells was active in the Purdue Aero Modelers club, which is where he befriended fellow club member Neil Armstrong. Wells graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering and married Sally Schumacher in 1950.

Wells was an aeronautical engineer and project manager for several companies throughout his career. He worked at Cessna, Douglas Aircraft, Lear Aircraft, North American Aviation, and Space Technology Laboratories (STL) / Thompson Ramo Wooldridge (TRW). Some of the notable projects he worked on included the F-86, F-100, X-3, X-15, B-70, Apollo missions, and the Orbiting Geophysical Observatory (OGO) satellite.