Browse Collections (58 total)

Crews shot down over enemy territory faced grave danger. If they survived Airmen hoped to evade capture using their escape kits (which included a silk…

View the items in POW

The most famous of all 343 missions flown by the 44th Bomb Group on August 1, 1943. Called Operation Tidal Wave - the goal was to hit oil refineries…

View the items in Ploesti Low-Level Mission

Heavy bombers flew in formation, mostly commonly in "the combat box" conceived early in the air war. It consisted of multiple 12-bomber groups flying…

View the items in Formations in Air

The ordnance company at Shipdham was responsible for handling every bomb - inspecting, arming, moving to the airfield, and loading them into bombers -…

View the items in Ordnance & Bomb Store

The Control Tower was a standard feature at all 8th Air Force bases during WWII.

All missions were orchestrated from the Control Tower, and it was…

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10-man crews typically manned B-24s. This included four officers and six enlisted men. Crews were typically referred to by the Pilot’s last names.…

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A bomber was officially known by a serial number, but its nose art told of its identity - its personality. Crews gave their bomber a moniker, which…

View the items in Nose Art