By: EAA
This piece originally ran in the April 2025 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
Every pilot wants to have clear vision when flying, but would you wear these hard contact lenses circa the 1940s? Donated to the EAA Aviation Museum by Rick Chamberlin, these lenses belonged to his uncle Mark Carnell, an American citizen who joined the Royal Canadian Air Force before the United States entered World War II. Mark had tried to join the U.S. Army Air Corps but was denied entry due to his poor eyesight. He was eventually repatriated and allowed to join the U.S. Army Air Forces later in the war. A testament to how determined Mark was to fly, he wore these hard contact lenses while performing bombing missions over Europe. Unlike the soft lenses we’re familiar with today, these are haptic or scleral lenses and are probably made of both glass and plastic.