Robert J. Collier Trophy

The Army Air Service received American aviation’s highest honor, the Collier Trophy, in 1924 for the Around-the-World Flight.

Robert J. Collier Trophy

Robert J. Collier, publisher and early president of the Aero Club of America, established the Collier Trophy in 1911. The Army Air Service received American aviation’s highest honor, the Collier Trophy, in 1924 for the Around-the-World Flight. Collier Trophy winners represented the technological and operational advances that formed the foundation for modern aviation, which included the following:

1925—metal propeller
1927—radial engine
1929—NACA low-drag cowling
1933—variable-pitch propeller
1934—successful blind flying
1935—streamlined Douglas DC airliners

The National Aeronautic Association of the U.S.A. continues to award the trophy annually for “the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year.”

Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

Photo Number: SI 95-8195

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Robert J. Collier Trophy

Robert J. Collier Trophy