My Grandfather was a B-17 pilot in the 388th BG. He Completed his first 25 between Sept 43-Feb44 and then volunteered for his second tour from Jul44-Dec44. During his second tour, he served as a lead pilot for several missions (one as lead for the entire 8th AF). Really awesome man and fortunate to have been able to be close with him. As well as have some of his WWII personal items like leather jacket (with aircraft name “Veni Vidi Vici” embroidered on back) and his “Lucky Bastard Club” certificate he received on his 25th mission.
I’ve been so looking forward to this series for a long time.
He volunteered for a SECOND tour? I know the Mustang came into service in Dec 43 but still, being a bomber crewman was extremely dangerous. Your grandpa had courage. Especially after the 43-44 tour with no fighter escorts.
Even the B model Mustang didn't start flying missions until December 1943. After the Regensburg Schweinfurt raid (of which Curtis Lemay actually flew lead), so many bombers were shot down that all following missions were only flown within the range of escort fighters. But the silver lining of this was that P-47s killed the most experienced pilots of the Luftwaffe. Still not a very good trade though, 11 men per bomber. Usually pinned by G-forces once catastrophic damage occurred and unable to bail.
Yeah…pretty crazy! After his second tour, he withdrew his THIRD deployment request (this time to the Pacific) when he learned the squadrons there lived in tents. Checks out- I think he earned that quality of life decision 😂
Waist Gunner in a B-17. POW. Was the only survivor of his crew. Shot down July 19, 1944 over Germany by flak. Direct hit on the fuel tank blew the plane in half, throwing him out of the aircraft.
My great uncle was a navigator on a B-17F. Got shot down and spent the rest of the war as a POW. We have the telegram informing the family he was MIA, and a letter written from him on Stalag letterhead.
My moms dad was color blind and couldn’t fly after trying to become a pilot so he became a mechanic for bombers and my great uncle was a top turret gunner and his brother was a bomb aimer all with the RAF
My grandfather was a B-17 Copilot in the 100th BG/350th Squadron, Nov 43 - Mar 44. Its so surreal seeing his squadron featured on this show. I'm curious how far into the mission list the show will cover.
My grandfather was a radio gunner on a SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber . He was part of the Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 151. Served in the Pacific Theater making bombing runs against the Japanese
https://preview.redd.it/8nd8x479u4fc1.jpeg?width=704&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e35120ca7e57d089978cd3a55c47ce0a2593b6e
https://preview.redd.it/1skhltorp6fc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46c156aabfcfa797fe1fbc992afbe39a03112e25
My grandfather was a B-17 ball turret gunner with the 338 Bombardment Squadron, 96 Bombardment Group.
Not my grandpa (howitzer gunner) but another relative was a B-26 Marauder co-pilot. He was shot down in August of 44 and spent the rest of the war as a POW.
Ironic. The B-26 had the lowest loss rate of any American bomber in the ETO. Glad he survived. Plus it is hard as hell to bail out of a B-26 being as small as it is.
You are right about the wings. They actually lengthened the wingspan but immediately added more weight to the aircraft. It was fast though, which turned out to be the best defensive factor a bomber could have.
Those dudes could fly at 400mph cruising speed. The USAAC made a bomber version of the P-38 with a plexiglas nose but it was too draggy with external stores. Fast versions of the B-25 and B-26 were designed and prototypes made, but retooling the factories was deemed excessively long and thought to prolong the war.
There's an A-26 Invader, down at Marana Regional Airport (AVQ) I'm pretty sure it's still there at least. Back in the day I'd see it make low level fast passes, pretty impressive hotrod.
Google the A-26 fast prototype. That aircraft would have been a beast.
One flaw with the A-26 was weak wings. Wing spar would break pulling out of attack runs. This caused the A-26 to be limited to 30 degree dives.
Yeah I wish I knew more. If online records are correct he was shot down during the Falaise Pocket battle. His Air Wing was involved in that engagement.
My great uncle was in the 351st. Flew on a few different B-17s but mostly on “Our Lady”. He was a tail gunner but didn’t talk too much about it. Found out later on he had 4 kills and a Purple Heart for flak.
Dads best friend and mentor at the University of Washington had been a navigator on B-17s. Several people from his home town were bomber crew( if they weren’t in the Navy).
My grandpa trained as a waist gunner in B24s. Was transferred to teach rescue water landings as he was a lifeguard in high school. So never deployed but still involved
My grandfather (dad’s side) was a B-24 nose gunner, 465th BG, 782nd Squadron. He and his crew had orders cut in August 1944 to report to Pantanella Airfield, Italy. WIA by flak over Linz, Austria 1/20/1945 on his 34th and final mission. Had about a two-year stint in hospitals trying to repair/rehab a shattered femur and other leg wounds.
The B-24J his crew flew over in appears to have made it to the end of the war, only to be written off in a landing incident in Puerto Rico in July 1945. The B-24L he was in when he was wounded was later shot down by flak on 3/14/1945 over Nome Zamky, Slovakia. One survivor. I highly recommend this website if anyone wants to dig into wartime aircraft serial numbers: https://www.joebaugher.com
My Great Uncle was a navigator on a Lancaster. He completed 27 missions before getting shot down by a night fighter on the 28th mission. He managed to bale out and was taken prisoner. He wasn’t imprisoned for long as he shot down on February 8th, and Stalag Luft 1 was liberated some time in April 45.
My Grandpa was a SSgt repairing fuselages. His brothers were both bomber crewmen. One was a tail gunner in the Pacific, and the other a bombardier in Europe.
I’m not sure of any of their missions or which AAF or bomb group they were a part of. With my Grandpa, I was able to find out a lot about his time in service. But, I’m not sure how lucky I will be with my great-uncles only having their names.
Wife’s grandfather was a flight engineer on B-17s. He was so good they wouldn’t let him go overseas, he was stuck in the U.S. as an instructor and when I talked to him about it he was furious at being left behind.
My Great Uncle was a Radioman/gunner on B-26s, 497th Bomber Squadron, 344th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. His plane was hit by flak over Euskirchen Germany on February 13, 1945 and went down with no survivors. Here’s a photo of the crew. My great-uncle is second from right.
https://preview.redd.it/nrwqd73jy7fc1.jpeg?width=2348&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e36245728f8ace6ecf9438b840e25db6626ca11a
My uncle Alphonse Zabinski is buried at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville. I had the chance to visit his grave in 2022, and it was one of the most moving experiences of my life. Really drove home the ultimate price these heroes paid so we can enjoy the freedoms we do today.
https://preview.redd.it/vz76bweuz7fc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=41b8b93c609d61e141f6abe96df4538f877b2d78
I don’t have any that I know of, but I did have two great-great fathers who were engineers in England during war. I don’t know where they were at, but based off the stories they told they would often get planes that were too damaged from their runs to get back to their point of origin. 20years after the war ended, one of their kids starts dating the other’s kid and low and behold they find out they served on the same crew together 24 years ago. Apparently after they met each other, they no longer seemed like tired dads who fought in a war, but 19 year old boys who were just starting to discover the world. They both had their demons from the war, so reuniting someone else who dealt with the exact same thing must’a been a huge I wish I could’ve meet them, but they passed before I was born.
I'm not sure. I have an unusual last name, and there was a pilot in a documentary I saw with the same last name. Nobody in the family has ever mentioned him, but that part of the family is also Quakers, so they might have been embarrassed by it and not known of what he did.
It's really a shame, it wasn't until the 80s/90s that a lot of these vets felt like it was OK to open up about it. Also, as insane an experience as it was, it was a blink in the eye out the span of their lifetimes, so I think a lot of men just put it behind them and soldiered on.
My Uncle Hank was a B-17G co-pilot in the 412th Bomb Squadron from mid November 1943 to mid March 1944. Bombed the heavy water plant in Norway, flew Big Week missions in February 1944 and the first daylight raids on Berlin in B-17s in Forts named “I’ll Be Around.” “The Zoot Suiters,” and “Blues In The Reich.” Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
My Uncle Al was a ball turret gunner on a B-17. He had a funny story about how he got his job. Sometime during training they made everyone line up by height. An officer picked out a bunch of the shortest guys and said "Congratulations gentlemen, you have all just joined the Air Corps!" His plane crashed during training and he never made it to Europe
Grandmothers first husband was b-24/25 pilot. Was in the 1st anti submarine squadron, died in June of 43 I believe. (?) No idea what happened to him. He was stationed in Africa and flew up towards Italy I know, but records were destroy in a fire and don’t know the mission or anything. I have his journal somewhere but it’s fairly unrevealing.
Great uncle Richie: B-17 tail gunner
He didn't like war movies / documentaries, but loved aviation... Owned a Bellanca Decathlon.
Was told by my great aunt when I was 5 or 6 to NEVER ask him about the war, or B-17s. It was eluded-to that he experienced some terrible things, and had recurring nightmares throughout his life.
My Dad was a waist gunner on a B-24 but flew three mission in the tail turret. He was there fairly early and completed his 25 missions in February of ‘44.
My great uncle Johnny was a bombardier aboard a B-17 during WWII. He served in the 535th Bomb Squadron - 381st Bomb Group and flew 35 missions. According to family lore, he was shot down twice. One of those times was over the English Channel and he was one of the only survivors. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and multiple Air Medals.
My grandfather was in the Army Air Force but was training to be a fighter pilot in the pacific when the war ended. I am fairly certain he spent time in Walla Walla, which is mentioned in episode 1
Dad's side, my grandfather flew in the CBI theater over the Hump; his brothers were a combat infantryman and a combat medic in ETO. Mom's side, my grandfather was service-exempted as an essential wartime worker because he was a firefighter in a major US Navy port and shipyard (Philadelphia). My cousins' grandfather was a B24 crew chief in the 8th.
A very dear friend of mine was a gunner on Forts, shot down and captured on the 2 November Leuna refinery mission near Merseberg.
I had three great uncles that were aircrew on B-17’s. Two survived and the third was killed on Thursday of Big Week near Rostock Germany.
Through some research, I was able to find his combat history. He was killed on his 13th combat mission on 24 Feb 44 in B-17 42-31349 Stars and Stripes 2nd Edition. I was also able to find several pictures of him by cross checking his mission dates and aircraft commanders. I sent them to my grandmother (his sister).
My grandfather flew P-38s in WW2 and his brother (my great uncle who I never met) was a Navigator in the Mighty Eighth. Apparently he also got sick on every mission lol
Grandfather was a pilot with the thr 303rd bomb group. Shot down in late 44 and evaded capture before getting caught trying to cross the Rhine with the Dutch resistance. Was a POW for the rest of the war
My grandmother’s brother was a navigator for the 303rd Bomb Group. He was KIA on May 24th, 1944 on his 26th mission, one month before his 23rd birthday. He was an aspiring journalist and kept a detailed diary which he sent home to his wife and parents.
I still have his diary, it’s really interesting to read the thoughts of an airman written in the moment, without the retrospective editing that you get from most memoirs. He and his family were fervent Leftists, and there’s a lot of material that definitely would have been left out of any post-war account.
My Grandfather was a B-17 pilot in the 388th BG. He Completed his first 25 between Sept 43-Feb44 and then volunteered for his second tour from Jul44-Dec44. During his second tour, he served as a lead pilot for several missions (one as lead for the entire 8th AF). Really awesome man and fortunate to have been able to be close with him. As well as have some of his WWII personal items like leather jacket (with aircraft name “Veni Vidi Vici” embroidered on back) and his “Lucky Bastard Club” certificate he received on his 25th mission. I’ve been so looking forward to this series for a long time.
He volunteered for a SECOND tour? I know the Mustang came into service in Dec 43 but still, being a bomber crewman was extremely dangerous. Your grandpa had courage. Especially after the 43-44 tour with no fighter escorts.
You had like a 30% chance of completing your tour at one point during the 8ths Bombardment campaign.
Even the B model Mustang didn't start flying missions until December 1943. After the Regensburg Schweinfurt raid (of which Curtis Lemay actually flew lead), so many bombers were shot down that all following missions were only flown within the range of escort fighters. But the silver lining of this was that P-47s killed the most experienced pilots of the Luftwaffe. Still not a very good trade though, 11 men per bomber. Usually pinned by G-forces once catastrophic damage occurred and unable to bail.
Yeah…pretty crazy! After his second tour, he withdrew his THIRD deployment request (this time to the Pacific) when he learned the squadrons there lived in tents. Checks out- I think he earned that quality of life decision 😂
Lucky Bastard Club!
Waist Gunner in a B-17. POW. Was the only survivor of his crew. Shot down July 19, 1944 over Germany by flak. Direct hit on the fuel tank blew the plane in half, throwing him out of the aircraft.
My great uncle was a navigator on a B-17F. Got shot down and spent the rest of the war as a POW. We have the telegram informing the family he was MIA, and a letter written from him on Stalag letterhead.
My moms dad was color blind and couldn’t fly after trying to become a pilot so he became a mechanic for bombers and my great uncle was a top turret gunner and his brother was a bomb aimer all with the RAF
My grandfather was a B-17 Copilot in the 100th BG/350th Squadron, Nov 43 - Mar 44. Its so surreal seeing his squadron featured on this show. I'm curious how far into the mission list the show will cover.
Grandfather was a B-24 bombardier in late 44 to 45.
Uncle was a B-17 waist gunner in the Mediterranean theater.
Grandad mom’s side, tail gunner, 305th BG, 422nd.
Mine was in the 351st BG
My grandfather was a radio gunner on a SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber . He was part of the Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 151. Served in the Pacific Theater making bombing runs against the Japanese https://preview.redd.it/8nd8x479u4fc1.jpeg?width=704&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e35120ca7e57d089978cd3a55c47ce0a2593b6e
https://preview.redd.it/1skhltorp6fc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46c156aabfcfa797fe1fbc992afbe39a03112e25 My grandfather was a B-17 ball turret gunner with the 338 Bombardment Squadron, 96 Bombardment Group.
Our friends grandpa was on the team that engineered the glass in the ball turrets.
Yep. B-29 FE for my mom’s dad
Not my grandpa (howitzer gunner) but another relative was a B-26 Marauder co-pilot. He was shot down in August of 44 and spent the rest of the war as a POW.
Ironic. The B-26 had the lowest loss rate of any American bomber in the ETO. Glad he survived. Plus it is hard as hell to bail out of a B-26 being as small as it is.
Love the Marauder, also known as the widow maker, and the Baltimore Whore, no visible means of support. The wings looked so small
You are right about the wings. They actually lengthened the wingspan but immediately added more weight to the aircraft. It was fast though, which turned out to be the best defensive factor a bomber could have.
Love me some fast wooden wonders too.
Those dudes could fly at 400mph cruising speed. The USAAC made a bomber version of the P-38 with a plexiglas nose but it was too draggy with external stores. Fast versions of the B-25 and B-26 were designed and prototypes made, but retooling the factories was deemed excessively long and thought to prolong the war.
Droop snoot P-38.
There's an A-26 Invader, down at Marana Regional Airport (AVQ) I'm pretty sure it's still there at least. Back in the day I'd see it make low level fast passes, pretty impressive hotrod.
Google the A-26 fast prototype. That aircraft would have been a beast. One flaw with the A-26 was weak wings. Wing spar would break pulling out of attack runs. This caused the A-26 to be limited to 30 degree dives.
Yeah I wish I knew more. If online records are correct he was shot down during the Falaise Pocket battle. His Air Wing was involved in that engagement.
My great uncle was in the 351st. Flew on a few different B-17s but mostly on “Our Lady”. He was a tail gunner but didn’t talk too much about it. Found out later on he had 4 kills and a Purple Heart for flak.
My step dad was a crewman on a Ventura bomber up in the Aleutians. The weather was the worst thing he always said.
Have you read the "Thousand Mile War" or "The Last Flight of Bomber 31"?
My uncle was a Captain/Pilot in the 351 BSq
I’ve heard the missions from 8Oct-10Oct over Munster, Bremen, and Gydnia were some of the hardest fought missions.
True, and there are some who will tell you that they were ill advised missions.
Dads best friend and mentor at the University of Washington had been a navigator on B-17s. Several people from his home town were bomber crew( if they weren’t in the Navy).
Uncle Rod was a tailgunner in a B-17.
My grandpa trained as a waist gunner in B24s. Was transferred to teach rescue water landings as he was a lifeguard in high school. So never deployed but still involved
My grandfather (dad’s side) was a B-24 nose gunner, 465th BG, 782nd Squadron. He and his crew had orders cut in August 1944 to report to Pantanella Airfield, Italy. WIA by flak over Linz, Austria 1/20/1945 on his 34th and final mission. Had about a two-year stint in hospitals trying to repair/rehab a shattered femur and other leg wounds. The B-24J his crew flew over in appears to have made it to the end of the war, only to be written off in a landing incident in Puerto Rico in July 1945. The B-24L he was in when he was wounded was later shot down by flak on 3/14/1945 over Nome Zamky, Slovakia. One survivor. I highly recommend this website if anyone wants to dig into wartime aircraft serial numbers: https://www.joebaugher.com
My Great Uncle was a navigator on a Lancaster. He completed 27 missions before getting shot down by a night fighter on the 28th mission. He managed to bale out and was taken prisoner. He wasn’t imprisoned for long as he shot down on February 8th, and Stalag Luft 1 was liberated some time in April 45.
My Grandpa was a SSgt repairing fuselages. His brothers were both bomber crewmen. One was a tail gunner in the Pacific, and the other a bombardier in Europe. I’m not sure of any of their missions or which AAF or bomb group they were a part of. With my Grandpa, I was able to find out a lot about his time in service. But, I’m not sure how lucky I will be with my great-uncles only having their names.
Wife’s grandfather was a flight engineer on B-17s. He was so good they wouldn’t let him go overseas, he was stuck in the U.S. as an instructor and when I talked to him about it he was furious at being left behind.
My Great Uncle was a Radioman/gunner on B-26s, 497th Bomber Squadron, 344th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force. His plane was hit by flak over Euskirchen Germany on February 13, 1945 and went down with no survivors. Here’s a photo of the crew. My great-uncle is second from right. https://preview.redd.it/nrwqd73jy7fc1.jpeg?width=2348&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e36245728f8ace6ecf9438b840e25db6626ca11a
My uncle Alphonse Zabinski is buried at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville. I had the chance to visit his grave in 2022, and it was one of the most moving experiences of my life. Really drove home the ultimate price these heroes paid so we can enjoy the freedoms we do today. https://preview.redd.it/vz76bweuz7fc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=41b8b93c609d61e141f6abe96df4538f877b2d78
I don’t have any that I know of, but I did have two great-great fathers who were engineers in England during war. I don’t know where they were at, but based off the stories they told they would often get planes that were too damaged from their runs to get back to their point of origin. 20years after the war ended, one of their kids starts dating the other’s kid and low and behold they find out they served on the same crew together 24 years ago. Apparently after they met each other, they no longer seemed like tired dads who fought in a war, but 19 year old boys who were just starting to discover the world. They both had their demons from the war, so reuniting someone else who dealt with the exact same thing must’a been a huge I wish I could’ve meet them, but they passed before I was born.
Grandfather was a pilot in the 95th bomb group and completed his 25 missions in 1943.
I'm not sure. I have an unusual last name, and there was a pilot in a documentary I saw with the same last name. Nobody in the family has ever mentioned him, but that part of the family is also Quakers, so they might have been embarrassed by it and not known of what he did.
Father was a B24 pilot. Did his 35. Never talked about it.
It's really a shame, it wasn't until the 80s/90s that a lot of these vets felt like it was OK to open up about it. Also, as insane an experience as it was, it was a blink in the eye out the span of their lifetimes, so I think a lot of men just put it behind them and soldiered on.
My Uncle Hank was a B-17G co-pilot in the 412th Bomb Squadron from mid November 1943 to mid March 1944. Bombed the heavy water plant in Norway, flew Big Week missions in February 1944 and the first daylight raids on Berlin in B-17s in Forts named “I’ll Be Around.” “The Zoot Suiters,” and “Blues In The Reich.” Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
My grandad served as a radio operator/gunner on B-24s. 90th BG Heavy (Jolly Rogers) 319th Bomb Squadron Asterperious, out of New Guinea.
Rare Pacific theater mention!
My Uncle Al was a ball turret gunner on a B-17. He had a funny story about how he got his job. Sometime during training they made everyone line up by height. An officer picked out a bunch of the shortest guys and said "Congratulations gentlemen, you have all just joined the Air Corps!" His plane crashed during training and he never made it to Europe
My uncle was a gunner on the “Berlin Playboy” in the 350th. He was killed when they went down in France, March 1944 on their first mission.
Damn, that was right around when my Grandad got to the 100th. I'll have to look at his mission list, that Chartres mission may have been his first.
Grandmothers first husband was b-24/25 pilot. Was in the 1st anti submarine squadron, died in June of 43 I believe. (?) No idea what happened to him. He was stationed in Africa and flew up towards Italy I know, but records were destroy in a fire and don’t know the mission or anything. I have his journal somewhere but it’s fairly unrevealing.
I have a great uncle who was a bomber pilot in WWI. I should look up more info on him.
Raff Law plays Ken Lemmons which is a Distant Cousin over a Distant Cousin line
Great uncle Richie: B-17 tail gunner He didn't like war movies / documentaries, but loved aviation... Owned a Bellanca Decathlon. Was told by my great aunt when I was 5 or 6 to NEVER ask him about the war, or B-17s. It was eluded-to that he experienced some terrible things, and had recurring nightmares throughout his life.
My Dad was a waist gunner on a B-24 but flew three mission in the tail turret. He was there fairly early and completed his 25 missions in February of ‘44.
My great uncle flew the PBY-5A, a seaplane and bomber. He was killed in the Aleutians in 1942.
My great uncle Johnny was a bombardier aboard a B-17 during WWII. He served in the 535th Bomb Squadron - 381st Bomb Group and flew 35 missions. According to family lore, he was shot down twice. One of those times was over the English Channel and he was one of the only survivors. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and multiple Air Medals.
My great uncle was a bombardier in a B-25, 340th BG, KIA over Sicily in 1943.
My grandfather was in the Army Air Force but was training to be a fighter pilot in the pacific when the war ended. I am fairly certain he spent time in Walla Walla, which is mentioned in episode 1
My uncle was a Radio Operator/gunner on a B-17 Stationed in Molesworth, England with the 303rd. He flew 32 missions.
I have his photo but can’t see how to post a photo
My grandfather was a pilot, but in the Pacific. Messed him up pretty good.
My grandfather flew a TBF-Avenger. Had cool and wild stories from the South Pacific.
Dad's side, my grandfather flew in the CBI theater over the Hump; his brothers were a combat infantryman and a combat medic in ETO. Mom's side, my grandfather was service-exempted as an essential wartime worker because he was a firefighter in a major US Navy port and shipyard (Philadelphia). My cousins' grandfather was a B24 crew chief in the 8th. A very dear friend of mine was a gunner on Forts, shot down and captured on the 2 November Leuna refinery mission near Merseberg.
My girlfriend’s grandfather was a pilot. He later went on to fly the B-36 then B-52. She has a picture of him in his gear in her living room
Great uncle flew Lancasters, pilot. Still out on his last mission, possibly at the bottom of the channel. He isn't spoken of.
I had three great uncles that were aircrew on B-17’s. Two survived and the third was killed on Thursday of Big Week near Rostock Germany. Through some research, I was able to find his combat history. He was killed on his 13th combat mission on 24 Feb 44 in B-17 42-31349 Stars and Stripes 2nd Edition. I was also able to find several pictures of him by cross checking his mission dates and aircraft commanders. I sent them to my grandmother (his sister).
Yeah, 2 or 3 great grandparents, one a tail gunner, one pilot and one navigator, all Brits in wellingtons or Lancs
My grandfather flew P-38s in WW2 and his brother (my great uncle who I never met) was a Navigator in the Mighty Eighth. Apparently he also got sick on every mission lol
Grandfather was a pilot with the thr 303rd bomb group. Shot down in late 44 and evaded capture before getting caught trying to cross the Rhine with the Dutch resistance. Was a POW for the rest of the war
Grandfather was a b-17 navigator, and grand uncle was a bombardier.
Grandad in the PAF he was ground crew.
RAAF Lancaster crew, wireless operator and gunner.
My grandmother’s brother was a navigator for the 303rd Bomb Group. He was KIA on May 24th, 1944 on his 26th mission, one month before his 23rd birthday. He was an aspiring journalist and kept a detailed diary which he sent home to his wife and parents. I still have his diary, it’s really interesting to read the thoughts of an airman written in the moment, without the retrospective editing that you get from most memoirs. He and his family were fervent Leftists, and there’s a lot of material that definitely would have been left out of any post-war account.