About Me
Hello, I’m Mike Voisin, curator of the AAF Collection. Since November 2006, the Army Air Forces Collection has been a growing collection of documents from the World War II era.
These documents are generally not available on the Internet. I wanted to share them for their historical and educational value. I found many items in my late father’s footlocker, in which he kept mementos from the war. Other items were contributed by people like you. If you have similar material from your own collection, or that of your parent’s or grandparent’s, I hope you will consider sharing it here. Please see How-To: Contribute Items for details.
If you find the information on this website useful, please make an optional, small donation. It will help defray the cost of maintaining this website.
Mr. Voisin,
I would like to ask you a question about these flight yearbooks. I’m extremely new to doing research for WWII and I’m currently working on locating information about my grandfather who was a pilot in WWII. I do not want you to look through volumes of books or anything, but I would like to know the following:
1) I noticed on the bottom of my grandfathers picture this was written: Squadron 5 Flight E Class 44-C (Eagle Pass TX). I know you have the books for 44-E and 44-D and would like to know where I can find 44-C?
2) I know you can look up information about the planes they flew but when I try looking up the specific numbers on the tail of the plane (which are extremely small) I just get generic information. Is there a better way of obtaining more information?
3) I know my grandfather was a part of the 449th Bomb group 718th. How can I locate other pilots in his squadron to find more information?
I know these are probably very stupid questions, but I’m a rookie at all of this. Thank you for your time
Lauren Washington
Hi Lauren,
Eagle Pass 44-C is not yet in the collection. Perhaps someone will contribute a copy in the future, so check back, or join my notification mailing list (on the home page). You might also find a copy for sale on eBay, or you can contact a library or veteran’s museum near Eagle Pass.
Numbers on individual planes are usually the army serial numbers. You’ll want to look up the type of aircraft in general, like the Vultee BT-13 Valiant, to learn about them. If you look through the other Eagle Pass class books, you’ll probably see what type of planes they flew. If they’re not mentioned by name, you can probably compare pictures with those on Wikipedia. I don’t think you’ll find anything of substance about any individual trainer aircraft of a given type. As for bombers like B-17s, there are websites that list those by serial number, date of manufacture, etc.
As for specific bomb groups, there are a number of websites devoted to particular ones. If there’s not one for the 449th, you may be pointed in the right direction from another similar group.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
Hello Mr. Voisin –
Your collect is priceless, and I appreciate your having dedicated so much time to the project.
I am writing a book and would like to include photos from “Slipstream”, Garner Field, edition 43-D. May I have your permission?
I return, I have a copy of the “Bee Tee” from Gardner Field, class of 43-B. That is not currently in your collection, and I would be glad to scan it and send to you.
Many thanks,
Robert Richardson
Yes, by all means.
Mr. Voisin,
My grandfather trained at the Pampa Army Air Field and also the Lubbock Army Air field (I may not have the names correct) and was a member of the photography team. I have a small box of photos that may be of interest to your site – there are photos of guys in training, playing baseball or football, and other misc things. Oh, also some photos of his time in the India theatre. These photos have not been scanned but are actual photos. I simply want to donate them to an organization who can use them and archive them. Would you recommend your site for that or another?