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  • French "Forty and Eight" Railroad Car

    By the end of the 19th century, railroads made it possible to transport people and goods quickly over long distances, and this transportation revolution soon affected military operations. Armies became reliant upon railroads for supplies, and during World War I, men and supplies flowed to the

  • Flight Officer Jackie Coogan

    Jackie Coogan enlisted in the Army on March 4, 1941. When the U.S. entered World War II as a result of the Pearl Harbor attack, Coogan requested transfer to the AAF as a glider pilot because of his civilian flying experience. He was sent to glider school at Lubbock, Texas, and Twentynine Palms,

  • Forging Combat Pilots: Transition Training

    The successful completion of pilot training was a difficult and dangerous task. From January 1941 to August 1945, 191,654 cadets who were awarded pilot wings. However, there were also 132,993 who "washed out" or were killed during training, a loss rate of approximately 40 percent due to accidents,

  • Flying Bomb and Rocket Development

    The V-1 and V-2 were developed at Peenemunde, on the island of Usedom on Germany's Baltic Sea coast. The Luftwaffe and German army shared this research site, which was ideally suited to secret rocket and flying bomb testing because it was isolated, flat, and had plenty of room for flight testing

  • Flight Nurse's Creed

    I will summon every resource to prevent the triumph of death over life.I will stand guard over the medicines and equipment entrusted to my care and ensure their proper use.I will be untiring in the performances of my duties and I will remember that, upon my disposition and spirit, will in large

  • Fighters and Flak

    Bombing operations in March 1944 marked another turning point in the air war over Europe, for the Luftwaffe lost the advantage it had maintained so successfully since the fall of 1943. It still retained the capability for striking back at AAF bomber formations in force but was able to do so only

  • Feb. 20-25, 1944: "The Big Week"

    During "The Big Week," 3,300 bombers were dispatched from England and 500 from Italy, with 137 of the former and 89 of the latter being lost. Also, 28 AAF fighters were shot down by the enemy (by both flak and interceptors) in desperate defense of the hinterland.The number of U.S. personnel killed,

  • Fliers' Menace: Flak

    Note:  This exhibit has temporarily been removed from display. Although the Luftwaffe was broken, German antiaircraft fire, or flak, took an ever-increasing toll on USAAF airmen. Since fighter-bomber pilots worked at low level, flak was particularly dangerous -- if their aircraft took a mortal hit,

  • Field Order No. 58 Intelligence Annex

    Annex 2 to Field Order No 58 INTELLIGENCE 1. a. (1) (a) There have been no recent reports to determine the present anitaircraft defenses of the target. Information received from sources believed to be reliable indicates that the total of heavy and medium antiaircraft guns is under 100 for the total

  • Field Order No. 58

    HEADQUARTERS IX BOMBER COMMAND APO 683, % Postmaster New York, N.Y. 28 July 1943 FIELD ORDER NO. 58 Maps: Plotting series and topographic charts of entire area - BENGASI, CORFU, BRACOV, CONSTANTA, INSTANBUL, CYPRUS. 1. a. See Intelligence Annex. b. Friendly ground situation: no change. 2. The Ninth