Found in the December 1942 issue of Air Force, the official service journal of the US Army Air Forces (formerly the Air Forces News Letter)… An Old Bag of Bolts The saga of a globe-trotting B-24 by Major Ben H Pearse, Air Transport Command, USAAF She was blessed with an assortment of names. To many she was Old ’76. Some called her Red Cap and … Continue reading Old Bag Of Bolts
Flight From Colditz by Tony Hoskins Published by Frontline Books (Pen & Sword Books), 2016. I used to think I was well-informed for knowing that the World War Two POWs of Offizierslager or “Oflag” IV-C – the infamous Colditz Castle – had built a two-man glider in the attic of their prison before they were liberated by the 1st US Army in April 1945. And … Continue reading Over the walls
As so often happens, I was prepping a post on one topic when I spotted something completely different. In this case, a short but poignant article from the October 18th, 1945 issue of Flight magazine… Missing Airmen One of the biggest jobs now facing the Royal Air Force is the effort to trace missing airmen. Since the beginning of the war in Europe there have … Continue reading Without a trace
Another ‘Stringbag’ story for you… Late in July of 1942, Royal Navy Sub-Lieutenant L.F. Thompson counted himself lucky to be assigned a seat in one of four Fairey Swordfish I aircraft being ferried from Halifax, Nova Scotia to San Francisco, California. If nothing else, flying over 3,00 miles at a sedate 125 mph or so promised to be an adventure. And then there would … Continue reading On a String and a prayer
Early on the morning of September 27th, 1943, the distinctive baritone thunder of a Merlin engine rose over the base of No.410 Night Fighter Squadron RCAF, at Coleby Grange, Lincolnshire. This was a Mosquito base, so the sound of a single Merlin was nearly always bad news. A Mosquito was difficult enough to land with both turning. But the crew of this particular … Continue reading Close Call
Andreas Feininger . . . a sequel to the previous article, Works of Art Another of Alfred T Palmer’s superb staff photographers at the United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a young freelancer with a very bright future – Andreas Feininger (1906 – 1999). Over his lifetime, Feininger created an enormous portfolio of famous images, including many iconic photos of New York City in the 1950s and 60s, … Continue reading Works of art, too
Featured image: Library of Congress P&P, LC-USW36-24 The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was essentially a propaganda agency, promulgated by Franklin D Roosevelt on June 13th, 1942 as a unification of several domestic information agencies. Many Americans were bewildered by their rapid progression from Great Depression, to Arsenal of Democracy, to co-belligerent in a global conflict. So Roosevelt charged the OWI with using … Continue reading Works of Art
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