Resources

Air Ministry Personnel (2018). Stalag Luft I: An Official Account of the PoW Camp for Air Force Personnel 1940-1945 (An Official History). South Yorkshire, UK: Frontline Books – Penn & Sword Books Limited.
Bennett, Lowell (1945). Parachute to Berlin. New York, NY: Vanguard. (Reissued by Casemate Publishers, 2023.)
Carney, Jim (2012). “Grandpa’s War Memories Live on as College Project,” The Akron Beacon-Journal, August 13, pages B1, B4. [Public Radio Audio Interview]
Drain, Richard E. (2004). 5^th Bomb Wing: History of Aircraft Assigned.

Epperson, W. B. and Bernie Yudain, editors (1945). 483^rd Bombardment Group (H) Italy 1944-45.

Fiveash, Beth (1983). “World War II Veteran Recalls Extraordinary Story,” The Troy Messenger, October 12, page 1B.

Grimm, Jacob L. (1997). Hero’s of the 483^rd: Crew Histories of a Much-Decorated B-17 Bomber Group During World War II. 483^rd Bombardment Group (H) Association.
Hutchison, Sheryl L. (2009). Mentor Inbound: The Authorized Biography of Fred J. Ascani, Major General, USAF Retired. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
Klise, Heidi M. (2012). “History of the Fifteenth Air Force in World War II Through the Eyes of One Man: The War Story of Second Lieutenant Winthrop Sargent Worcester, Jr.” Senior Independent Study Thesis, College of Wooster, Paper 3849.
Kovarik, Eugene (1954). “Brundidge Pecan Firm Is One of U.S.’ Biggest,” Alabama Journal, November 9, page 1.
Logan, Edward F. (2006). Jump, Damn It, Jump: Memoir of a Downed B-17 Pilot in World War II. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc.
Miller, Donald L. (2006). Masters of the Air: America’s Bomber Boys Who Faught the Air War Against Nazi Germany. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Rankin, Senath and Jay W. Moore (2015). A True Flyer: Memories of a World War II Air Apache. Research Triangle, NC: Lulu.com.
Schumacher, Tobias (2018). “The ‘Hildreth Bomber’ Near Friesenhofen,” Swabian Newspaper, December 15, Leutkirch p. 17. [Original in German, translated to English.]
Stern, Donald E. (1994). 483^rd Bomb Group (H). Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Company.
The Delta Democrat-Times (1943), “Editorial: We Owe Them More … ” February 25, page 8.
The Greenville Army Flying School (1942). Greenville, Mississippi. (Houston, TX: E.M. Berry).
The Troy Messenger (1943). “Soldier Guards on Program of S.T.C. Club.” September 23, page 1.
The Troy Messenger (1944). “Pike Farmers Are Commended by P.O. Davis.” August 11, 1944, page 1.
483^rd Bombardment Group (H) Association (1989). “From the U.S. to Italy with the Flight Echelon” Newsletter, 9:4, August. As reprinted in volume 42, no. 3, September 2019.

MEMMINGEN RAID

Erickson, Charles W. (2013). “More on the Memmingen Mission: Charles W. Erickson’s Personal Experience.” 483rd Bombardment Group (H) Association Newsletter, 36:3, September, 5-6.
483rd Bombardment Group – Official Records – Microfilm roll B0642, Maxwell AFB, Alabama (provided by B. Guttery) – Proposed First Citation folder (for the Memmingen Airdrome mission).
Halder, Daniel (2017). The Fiercest Air Battle Over the Allgau: Four Americans Follow in the Footsteps of Their Father and Grandfather in Legau,” Lindau Newspaper, October 27. [Original in German, translated to English.]
Hauber, Ludwig (2020). “A B-17 Pilot Recounts: My Toughest Combat Mission,” Flugzeug Classic, July, 61-68. [Original in German, translated to English.]
Hauber, Ludwig (2020). “Fate of a B-17 Crew: A Horrible Bloodbath,” Flugzeug Classic, October, 15-21. [Original in German, translated to English.]
Haulman, Daniel L. (undated). “The Battle of Memmingen, July 18, 1944.” Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air Force Historical Research Agency.
Haulman, Daniel L. (2008). “Tuskegee Airmen-Escorted Bombers Lost to Enemy Aircraft.” November 26.
Haulman, Daniel L. (2010). “A Tail of Two Missions: Memmingen, July 18, 1944 & Berlin, March 24, 1945,” Air Power History, 57:4, Winter, 27-33.
Haulman, Daniel L. (2011). “The Tuskegee Airmen and the ‘Never Lost a Bomber’ Myth,” The Alabama Review, 64:1, 30-60. (A pre-publication version of the manuscript is available here.)
Haulman, Daniel L. (2012). “The ‘Other’ Red Tails,” Air Power History, 59:4 (Winter) 38-45.
Haulman, Daniel L. (2018). “Fifty-Two Misconceptions About the Tuskegee Airmen.”
Heuberger, Willi (2004). July 18, 1944: Air Battle Over Buchenberg. Buchenberg, Germany: Local History Association of Buchenberg, Buchenberg History Booklets No. 1, July [Original in German, translated to English.]
Lollar, Kevin (1994). “Milk Run Becomes Nighmare,” News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), July 18, 30.
Otto, Steve (1981). “Memmingen Raid Turned Into a Nightmare for the 483rd,” The Tampa Times, October 28, B-1, B-2.
Rider, Richard L. (2013), “Memmingen on the Ground,” 483rd Bombardment Group (H) Association Newsletter, 36:3, September, 6-7.
Zdiarsky, Jan (2017). “Memmingen 18-7-1944.” INFO Eduard, 15-3

WEBSITES

15th Air Force: https://15thaf.org/index.htm
15th Air Force: http://www.frankambrose.com/
483rd Bombardment Group (H) Association: https://15thaf.org/5th_BW/483rd_BG/default.html
Air Force Historical Foundation: https://www.afhistory.org/
Air Force Historical Research Agency: https://www.afhra.af.mil/
Army Air Corps Library and Museum: https://www.armyaircorpsmuseum.org/
Army Air Force Collection: https://aafcollection.info/index.html
American Air Museum in Britain: https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/aircraft/42-107008 and https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/unit/483rd-bomb-group
Aviation Cadet Training Program (USAAF): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_Cadet_Training_Program_(USAAF)
B-17 Bomber Flying Fortress: https://b17flyingfortress.de/en/b17/42-107008-flak-off-limits/
Foggia Airfield Complex: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foggia_Airfield_Complex
Greenville Flyers: https://www.greenvilleflyers.com
Hanger Thirteen: https://hangarthirteen.org/
HistoryHub: https://historyhub.history.gov/
How to Fly the Boeing B-17 ‘Flying Fortress’ – Flight Operations Video: https://youtu.be/QL-zRFEt9lI
HyperWar: A Hypertext history of the Second World War: https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/
Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library – World War II Operational Documents: https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4013coll8
Library of Congress, Activities of 15th U.S. Air Force in Italy During World War II: https://www.loc.gov/item/2005679449/
Lockbourne Air Force Base (Ohio Exploration Society): https://www.ohioexploration.com/miscellaneous/historical-lockbourneafb/
Memoirs of WWII: https://www.memoirsofwwii.com/
Memphis Belle: https://memphisbelle.com/
Museum of Aviation: https://museumofaviation.org/
Museum of Flight: https://www.museumofflight.org/
National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/
National Museum of the USAF: https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/
National Prisoner of War Museum (Andersonville): https://www.nps.gov/ande/planyourvisit/natl_pow_museum.htm
National WWII Museum: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/, https://www.ww2classroom.org/ and https://www.ww2online.org/
World War II Flight Training Museum: https://wwiiflighttraining.org/
Online resources (behind paywalls) include: Newspapers.com, fold3.com, ancestry.com and NewspaperArchive.com

P.O.W. CAMP

Albrecht, Martin and Helga Radau. Stalag Luft I in Barth: British and American Prisoner of War in Pomerania 1940 to 1945 [Translated Title] (Germany: Thomas Helms Verlag Publishing).
Barth Hard Times (1945), Vol. 1, No. 1, May 5.
Birmingham [AL] News (1944). “Where Interned Boys Await Release.” August 13, page B-1.
Considine, Jim. Stalag Luft 1 videos and interviews.
Culbert, James H. “Images of Stalag Luft 1 and Vicinity.”
International Bomber Command Centre, Digital Archive.
Online Museum of Prisoners of War.
Peenemunde Historical Technical Museum.
Stalag Luft I, Registered Support Association in Germany.
The National WWII Museum – Liberation of Stalag Luft 1 and Operation Revival.
‘POW WOW‘ newspaper (Stalag Luft I):
392^nd Bomb Group, Stalag Luft 1.
Videos of Evacuation of Stalag Luft 1 prisoners.
Welcome to POW Camp Stalag Luft 1 Barth Germany.
World War II – Prisoners of War – Stalag Luft 1.

FACEBOOK GROUPS

B-17 Flying Fortress Database: https://www.facebook.com/b17flyingfortress.de
Fans of the B-17 Flying Fortress: https://www.facebook.com/groups/9261317727
483^rd Bombardment Group Heavy: https://www.facebook.com/groups/923392188102686/
Foggia Airfield complex (Italy): https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100070899618692
Memphis Belle Memorial Association: https://www.facebook.com/groups/B17MemphisBelle/
Stalag Luft 1 POW Camp – Barth, Germany: https://www.facebook.com/groups/184371338851459

GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

Missing Air Crew Reports, National Archives – Hildreth crew: #6953.
Collection of Foreign Records Seized: Downed Allied Aircraft Report, National Archives, Record Group 242 – Hildreth crew: ME-1616.
Assistant Chief of Air Staff, Intelligence, Historical Division (1943), Initial Selection of Candidates for Pilot, Bombardier, and Navigator Training, Army Air Forces Historical Studies, No. 2
Army Air Forces, Aviation Psychology Program, Research Reports:
- DuBois, Philip H., editor (1947). The Classification Program, Report No. 2.
- Melton, Arthur W., editor (1947). Apparatus Tests, Report No. 4.
- Guilford, J.P. and John I. Lacey, editors (1947). Printed Classification Tests, Report No. 5.
Army Air Forces Statistical Digest, World War II
Ashcroft, Bruce (2005). “We Wanted Wings: A History of the Aviation Cadet Program.” HQ AETC Office of History and Research.
B-17 Bombing Formation Training Film.
B-17 Flying Fortress Bombing Mission Film.
Burwell, Robert R. (1957). “Historical Review of Aircrew Selection: Development of Psychologic Selection of Pilots in the United States Air Force and Predecessor Organizations in the United States Army.” Air University, School of Aviation Medicine USAF, Randolph AFB, Texas.
Commanding General of the Army Air Forces [H.H. ‘Hap’ Arnold] (1945). “The Mediterranean Theater,” Second Report of the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces to the Secretary of War. Washington, DC: War Department, February 27, 37-47.
England, Arthur O. and Harry Laurent, Jr. (1945). “What is Classification,” Headquarters, AAF Eastern Flying Training Command, Maxwell Field, Alabama. Reprinted in The Journal of Experimental Education (1946), 14:4, pp. 317-333.
Ennels, Jerome A., Robert B. Kane and Silvano A. Wueschner (2018). Cradle of Airpower: An Illustrated History of Maxwell Air Force Base 1918-2018. Montgomery, AL: Air University Press.
Kooker, Arthur R. “The Foundations of a War Training Program,” Chapter 14 (pp. 454-487) in Craven, Wesley Frank and James Lea Cate, Editors, The Army Air Forces in World War II, Volume Six, Men and Planes. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1983.
483rd Bombardment Group – Official Records – Microfilm roll B0642, Maxwell AFB, Alabama (provided by B. Guttery).
483rd Bombardment Group Archive, Museum of Aviation, Robbins AFB, Georgia.
Little, Donald D., editor (1968). Combat Crew Rotation: World War II and Korean War, Historical Studies Branch, USAF Historical Division, Aerospace Studies Institute, Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, January.
Palmer, Allan MD (1944). “Survey of Battle Casualties, Eight Air Force, June, July and August 1944,” in Beyer, James C. , Editor, Wound Ballistics (Washington, DC: Medical Department, United States Army), 547-611 . [See Table 184 on page 558 for battle casualties by B-17 crew positions. Here is a chart derived from that table, but see alternative data analysis].
Stuttgart Army Air Field (1943). Final Approach: Class 43-H. Stuttgart, Arkansas: Stuttgart Army Air Field.
The Corps of Aviation Cadets of the Pre-Flight School for Pilots, Maxwell Field, Alabama (1943). Preflight: The Class of 43-H. Montgomery, AL: The Paragon Press.
The Greenville Army Flying School, Greenville, Mississippi (1942).
The Latest Poop (biweekly newspaper), 483rd Bomb Group.

BACKGROUND MATERIAL

American National Red Cross, Prisoners of War Bulletin.
Arct, Bohdan (1988). Prisoner of War: My Secret Journal, Squadron Leader B. Arct, Stalag Luft 1, Germany 1944-45. Exeter, Devon UK: Webb & Bower.
Armstrong, Roger W. (1991). U.S.A. The Hard Way: An Autobiography of a B-17 Crew Member. Orange County, CA: Quail House Publishing Co.
Beltrone, Art and Lee Beltrone (1994). A Wartime Log: A Remembrance From Home Through the American Y.M.C.A. Charlottesville, VA: Howell Press, Inc.
Bozung, Jack H. (1947). The 15th Over Italy. Los Angeles: AAF Publications Company.
Carlson, Lewis H. (1997). We Were Each Other’s Prisoners: An Oral History of World War II American and German Prisoners of War. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Coalter, Robert (2020). Rigor Mortis: The Machine and His Men, The Story of B-17 Flying Fortress 42-5233 in World War II.
‘Combat America’ with Clark Gable (1944) [USAAF ‘Training’ Movie of 351st Bombardment Group (Heavy)]
Comer, John (1989). Combat Crew: The True Story of One Man’s Part in World War II’s Allied Bomber Offensive. New York, NY: Pocket Books
Dye, John Thomas (1962). Golden Leaves. Los Angeles, CA: The Ward Ritchie Press.
Dyreborg, Erik (2006). The Captured Ones: American Prisoners of War in Germany, 1944-1945. New York, NY: iUniverse, Inc.
Fyler, Carl (1995). Staying Alive: A B-17 Pilot’s Experience Flying Unescorted Bomber Missions by 8th Air Force Elements During World War II. Leavenworth, KS: J.H. Johnston III.
Greening, Charles R. (undated). Not as Briefed. St. Paul, MN: Brown & Bigelow.
Hess, William N. (2003). B-17 Flying Fortress: Units of the MTO. Osprey Combat Aircraft No. 38, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing.
Jablonski, Edward. Flying Fortress: The Illustrated Biography of the B-17s and the Men Who Flew Them.
James, B.A. (1983). Moonless Night: The Second World War Escape Epic. South Yorkshire, UK: Penn & Sword Books Ltd.
LaHurd, Christopher M. (2012). A Story of One: Walking the Path of a World War II Airman. Bennington, VT: Merriam Press. Reprinted as: World War II: Dispatches to Akron (2009). Charleston, SC: The History Press.
Lienemann, Donald H. (2003). Miracles Do Happen: A B-17 Navigator’s Story. Kearney, NE: Morris Publishing.
Mahoney, Kevin A. (2013). Fifteenth Air Force Against the Axis: Combat Missions over Europe During World War II. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
McGarry, James M. (1995). In and Above the Olive Groves: The Personal Remembrances of a World War II B-17 Pilot. Ballston Lake, NY: Gregory McGarry.
Mosenthin, H. Glenn (2015). “Stuttgart Army Airfield: A Photo Essay.” Grand Prairie Historical Bulletin 58 (April), 38-43.
Neilson, Robert P. (2017). A Bomber Pilot’s Story: The George H. Neilson World War II Memoirs. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
Neufeld, Michael J. (1995). The Rocket and the Reich: Peenemunde and the Coming of the Ballistic Missile Era. New York: Free Press.
Perry, George F. (1990). “For You Der Var Iss Ofer.” Portland, OR: George Perry.
Rankin, Senath and Jay W. Moore (2015). A True Flyer: Memories of a World War II Air Apache. Research Triangle, NC: Lulu.com.
Reimer, K.C. (2006). A Sad Story But True. Johnston, IA: Gold Star Museum.
Rice, Rondall (1999). “Bombing Auschwitz: US 15th Air Force and the Military Aspects of a Possible Attack.” War in History, 6:2 (April 1999), 205-229.
Richard, Oscar G. (2000). Kriegie: An American POW in Germany. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press.
Soale, Brandon (2011). From Foggia to Freedom: First-Hand Accounts of the Airmen of the 15th Air Force During World War II. Camden, OH: Crab Apple Books.
Sroda, Becky and Albert G. Williams (2003). Falling Down for the Count. Victoria, B.C.: Trafford Publishing.
Stiles, Bert (1952). Serenade to the Big Bird. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company (reprinted Acadia Press, 2017).
Stout, Jay A. (2003). Fortress Ploesti: The Campaign to Destroy Hitler’s Oil. Havertown, Pa: Casemate Publishers.
Tillman, Barrett (2014). Forgotten Fifteenth: The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler’s War Machine. Washington, DC: Regency History.
Yarnhub, Inside the B-17 Flying Fortress video.
Zemke, Hubert, as told to Roger A. Freeman (1991). Zemke’s Stalag: The Final Days of World War II. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.

ONLINE WWII PERSONAL HISTORIES

Frank Ambrose and 15th Air Force: http://www.frankambrose.com/
J.D. Coogler: https://www.polkcountymemorialmuseum.com/2019/07/19/test/
Charles E. Cushing: http://www.tampapix.com/cushing.htm
Francis R. Gerald: http://digitallibrary.jccc.edu/digital/collection/WWII/id/484/rec/9
Wagner Melching: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/albums/72157690177694885/
Parke W. Moewe: https://www.danielsww2.com/page27.html
Thomas A. Parks, Jr. – A Box of Old Letters: WWII, Family Stories & Strange Tangents: https://aboxofoldletters.com/
Allen E. Penrose: https://www.gocolumbia.edu/library/stories/penrose/penrose.php
Stanton Rickey: https://b17alliance.com/living-history/
Leon Waldman: https://youtu.be/Gs82YgHYwNM?feature=shared
Len Walker (including Stalag Luft I): https://youtu.be/Yb8eZWBzYR8?feature=shared
Harry Whye: https://bellevue.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01BUN_INST/1jbe57m/alma991004455297007376
Winthrop Worcestor: https://www.ideastream.org/news/grandpas-war

THANKS

We extend our thanks to all the people who helped us make this website as complete as possible, including those individuals, organizations or websites cited in these pages as well as K. McAdams, J. Crawley, B. Crawley, M. Rowland, J. Hattaway, M.A. Swearingen, J. H. Hildreth’s family, J. Deters, S. Haugh, P. Butler, D. Marano, D. Pedersen, J. Hollis, P. Bunke, B. Guttery, R. Benedett, M. Whye, J. Peck, and others. Timothy Parrott provided translation services. A special thanks is extended to the National Personnel Records Center of the National Archives for providing Personnel and Medical Records.

We are honored that the United States Library of Congress includes this website in its Local History and Genealogy Web Archive.

NOTICE: Web links can change and may become corrupted, so user beware. This website has no responsibility to update or protect against any links.