WARBIRDS
Aircraft Recognition Drawings of Both World WarsWarbirds is a collection of 600 original aviation drawings by Sam Matheny. Matheny was from Akron, Ohio, and served in the Army Air Forces during World War II. During the war he drew hundreds of his own recognition cards showing Allied and enemy aircraft. Each drawing is about the size of a baseball card and includes a hand-drawn image of combat aircraft along with hand-written specifications. The drawings cover all the major fighter, bomber, and navy aircraft of the Axis and Allies in WWII. Matheny also drew many combat aircraft from WWI and the inter-war years. Warbirds arranges Matheny's original drawings in panels that show the development of aircraft from the earliest biplane days of World War I through the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II. Together this air force of drawings depicts the whirlwind of advancement in aviation technology and warfare during a short time. As folk art Warbirds is an extension of Air Strokes; with the artist hailing from Akron, Warbirds is also an extension of our Town Hall.
Warbirds
Aircraft recognition drawings of both World Wars
Flocks of Warbirds
Some of the 600 aviation drawings in the Warbirds exhibit
Early Birds
Aircraft of World War I and the Inter-War Years
Flocks of Warbirds
Some of the World War II drawings in the Warbirds exhibit
Early Birds
Four of the WWI German combat aircraft shown in Warbirds
Enemy Birds
Four of the WWII German combat aircraft featured in Warbirds
Friendly Birds
Four of the WWII American combat aircraft in Warbirds
The Flip Side
Sam Matheny drew his aircraft recognition drawings on whatever cardboard material was on hand. He drew a German Focke-Wulf 187 on the back of this 1941 "Double Play" baseball card.