Subject: Aircrew casualities
From: Guy Alcala
Date: 10/3/03 11:45 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:
ArtKramr wrote:
Subject: Aircrew casualities
From: Juvat
Date: 10/1/03 9:36 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:
After an exhausting session with Victoria's Secret Police, Guy Alcala
blurted out:
I've just retrieved a copy of Roger Freeman's "Mighty Eighth
War Manual," which...
...is a great resource. Couple years ago down at the Archives at
Maxwell, I heard a resident PhD War College staffer discuss Freeman's
work with one of Art's contemporaries. I chimed in how I thought the
"War Manual" was his best (at least my favorite)...the good doctor
scrunched up his forehead, "but it's just tactics and formations..."
I just smiled...different strokes I guess.
Juvat
Just curious. Did Freeman actually fly missions with the 8th?
Nope, he was an English kid who lived near one of the bomber bases during
the war, and spent a lot of time hanging out there (the ground crews let
him). Since then he's become unquestionably the foremost historian of the
8th AF, although his aviation interest extend somewhat beyond that -- do a
google or amazon.com search on Roger A. Freeman. ISTR that he's also
involved in the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library in Norwich, England -
http://www.2ndair.org.uk/new%20pages/library.htm
Guy
In a previous post you quoted Freeman on how parachutes were handled in the
eigth. The descriptions you gave were in direct contradiction to my experiences
in the 9th. I never flew with the 8th, so I won't comment, but the idea that
aircrews flew with their harnesse and chutes off and, "had to go look for them
before bailing out" defies logic as well as my expereinces. We flew with our
chutes on for the full length of the missions. Would never think of flying
otherwise. That is why I asked if he actually flew missions with the 8th. It is
interesting to find out he never did.
Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer