WW2 Archives - Flight Journal

A formation of colorful AT-6 Texans line up for a photo pass.

The AT-6 Texan — from the Cockpit

The best indication of how good a trainer the AT-6 Texan was/is can be seen by the fact that here we are forty years into the jet age and there are still countries around the world using the North America aerial classroom as first-line trainers. As recently as five years ago, major air forces still […]

Monday Mustang Story

One thing we often forget is that war is always fought by kids and, in the case of WW II aviators, that meant they were also extremely inexperienced. When I flew my first fighter, which happened to be the Mustang, I was 29 years old and had nearly 2,500 hours of flight time in a […]

Treasures from the Deep — The USS Lexington gives up its Secrets

On March 4, 2018, billionaire Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder and Seattle Seahawks owner, made another huge nautical find: the USS Lexington, which was lost at the Battle of Coral Sea 76 years ago. The fleet aircraft carrier, the first to be sunk by opposing carrier aircraft in World War II, was found near Australia […]

What is the Aircraft?

Attached is a picture of my father (tall fellow standing) on an aircraft that appears to be shot down. My father immigrated from Denmark and joined the Canadian Army, 9 Canadian Field Squadron R.C.E.,formed in England April 1943. I know he was serving during the campaign in Italy. This picture came to my attention just last week […]

New Film Chronicles Secret WWII Training

Heroes on Deck, a one-hour documentary featuring secret World War II pilot training missions on Lake Michigan, will have its world premiere today in Kalamazoo, Mich. The film, written, executive produced, and directed by Emmy Award-winning and Kalamazoo College alumnus John Davies, “Heroes on Deck” tells the story of a little known chapter of United States […]

Bomber Crew: A Day in Their Lives

B-17 crewmen remember the German missions Aboard each of the thousands of B-17 Flying Fortresses that left the soil of England bound for targets in Europe were 10 young men. Outwardly, they were no different from any late-teen or early-twenties boy you’d meet anywhere in America. Same faces, same names, same youthful vigor and sense […]