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  • A-2 Jacket with Art

    A fine example of "jacket art," this A-2 was worn by the donor, a bombardier-navigator on the actual B-26 "Shootin In," which the museum's Marauder is painted to represent. The patch on the front of the jacket is the insigne of the 556th Bomb Squadron, the unit to which the original aircraft was

  • Down to Earth: USAAF Tactical Strike in Europe

    The ground attack operations of the USAAF's 9th Air Force in western Europe and 12th Air Force in southern Europe crippled enemy air power, paralyzed enemy mobility and destroyed enemy units and materiel. Their efforts played a key role in the defeat of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.Tactical Air

  • Col. Joseph Laughlin

    Col. Joseph Laughlin excelled both as a fighter-bomber pilot and as a commander, leading the 362nd Fighter Group from August 1944 until the end of the war. Although the hazardous nature of their missions caused heavy losses -- it was nicknamed the "362nd Suicide Outfit" -- they provided timely and

  • Col. Hubert "Hub" Zemke

    This A-2 flight jacket was issued to the donor, Col. Hubert "Hub" Zemke, when assigned to his first active duty unit, the 8th Pursuit Group at Langley Field, Va., in 1937. He wore it while demonstrating the P-40 in England and the Soviet Union in the spring and summer of 1941. Zemke also wore it

  • Long Cold Flights and Long Cold Days

    Attempting to stay warm during the long missions in the cold cockpit of the P-38, many pilots in Europe chose to wear the Army winter combat jacket that was popularly known as a "Tanker Jacket." 2nd Lt. John Carroll of the 55th Fighter Group was wearing this jacket when he was shot down over Holland

  • WWII Relics from the Polders

    In their long-range project to acquire additional land, the Dutch pumped the water from various sections of the Zuider Zee. Upon pumping a section dry, they often discovered the remains of aircraft (British, German and American) that crashed into the water during World War II. In some instances they

  • "Lady Be Good"

    At 2:50 p.m. on April 4, 1943, 25 B-24Ds of the 376th Bomb Group took off from their AAF base at Soluch, Libya, for a high-altitude bombing attack against harbor facilities at Naples, Italy. All planes but one returned safely to Allied territory that night -- the one missing was the "Lady Be

  • Luftwaffe Regains Superiority

    A turning point in the air war occurred the second week of October 1943 when the AAF made a series of major efforts against the enemy. On Oct. 9, 352 bombers flew along the Baltic Sea north of Germany to bomb targets in Poland and East Prussia; although some results were spectacular, 8 percent of

  • Heavy Bombers

    In the summer of 1943, the U.S. began building up its heavy bomber forces in Europe at a more rapid rate, and greater numbers of B-17s and B-24s were dispatched against targets inside Germany. However, whenever they flew beyond the range of their P-47 escort, however, they risked being mauled by

  • AAF Fighter Escort

    Early in 1943, the 4th Fighter Group, composed of the three former Eagle Squadrons, converted from the Spitfire to the P-47, a newly-developed AAF fighter with greater range. On March 10, the P-47 became operational when several made a fighter sweep over Europe. On April 8, two additional P-47