Connections 2002

Saturday:
Using The USAF Archives

by Russ Lockwood


The three people who staffed the Archives on Saturday, and I am embarrassed to say that I cannot remember their names to save my life, were the most helpful folks you could ever ask for. Not only were they patient with my questions--and let me say that finding information in the Archives is a bit more intimidating on first pass than in the regular library--but they suggested alternative avenues of research.

I showed up at 8:15am on Saturday to start digging in the archives. Now, you have to understand archives for the entire USAF is quite a bit of info, and the Friday tour noting that WWII documents were limited could have put a damper on the process. However, I pressed on.

I had a basic idea of what I wanted, but I basically meandered my way through the computer system, then picked up the microfiches to see the original records. Some of these were very faint, and copies didn't work well. For example, I picked up a map of a tactical bombing run by a B-26 squadron, but the entire map was too faint to see on the copy. I asked them to retrieve the original documents. All you have to do is fill out a form.

Lo and behold, after a while, a box full of original material from 60 years or so ago came to me. I had to sign for it, but what wonders appeared within. There, after poking through much of the material, was the map--lightly drawn in pencil (which is why it did not register on the microfiche copy. No problem, except that it was stapled to an inch-thick stack of documents.

Handling these documents is a "sacred honor." OK, so that's a little overblown, but these are the records of achievements of men at war. So, I'm not just going to see if the stack will bend enough to photocopy the map. I asked the archivist for help. He carefully pried the staples out and then pried the map away from the other pages. I dutifully photocopied it and put everything back.

Later, after working through multiple rolls of microfiche (you could spend an eternity working through these--everything just seems so damn interesting when you've never seen this info before), I wanted some photos. These are harder to find. Some are on the microfiche, but they obviously will not copy out right. So, I asked for the originals.

Back they came in a couple boxes, and the best part was that while I found most of what I was looking for, I found a considerable number of other marvelous photos absolutely by chance. There is a light table in the corner where they will allow you to take a picture of a picture. I had my digital camera and tried it out. I had never done this before as the camera was brand new and the set up new as well. The camera screwed into the post, the photos were placed under glass, I had one light on, and the digital image looked OK as I snapped off a few. The problem was that I would never know until I got home.

Note to researchers. If you do this, install the software on your laptop so you can relly see what the images look like. I shot off several shots that looked fine on that 1.5-inch screen on the back of the camera, but were blurry in large scale. Go figure. In any case, I crossed my fingers and hoped it would all come out OK. Most of them did, but some were slightly off with a faint frid pattern. I have no idea why some photos and not all of them, other than perhaps some photos did have a faint grid of some sort on them.

I found some interesting pieces of info--comparison of P-47, P-38, and P-51 effectiveness in bombing rail lines--as well as bread and butter operational orders, charts, and so on. Maps were especially helpful in determining flak and fighter damage/losses, as they have a small formation box with circled results.

And that's how I spent four hours at the archives. I could have easily spent four days poking through such an operation. If you ever go to the Archives, make sure you do preliminary work first--especially identifying the group and squadron numbers. That will speed you in finding information.

Time ran out, but four hours of intense research sans breakfast made for a giddy MagWebber. Besides, the three other Connections folks who came to use the Archive were leaving and the staff had done enough to help me get started. Time to let them go home, and time for me to head back towards Atlanta to catch a morning flight the next day. I never did get to any battlefield, but the Archive was a great source of information and you'll see some of it appearing in the future on MagWeb.com.

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