Gun Camera film photos

[Peter Kassak]

Hi all,

I am looking for some advice or help, guide, how to specifically and WHERE/HOW to ask for order of a gun camera footage, photos of 15usaaf fighters. Is there any list of names and entries how to start? I can assume that not all fighter pilots had cameras on their guns...

Thank you for any help

[mayfair35]

Peter,
All fighters had gun cameras in the 15th AF. The major problem was that the camera was set for the light conditions expected at the target which in many cases was wrong. I believe some groups just used an average camera setting. In my case, gun camera film from Greece was extremely overexposed while in other instances the camera was no longer pointed correctly. On the day the war ended, I was told the room where our camera film was stored was four feet deep in camera film as pilots searched through the rolls for films of their encounters.

If you will go to Google and search for Camera Film from Fighters, you should find a collection of what is available. I noted only some film from the 82nd FG in the 15th AF in which they were said to have claimed 20+ German fighters. I did not have time to search more than a small part.

Some years ago when one of our local film makers was active, he went to Norton Air Base beside San Bernardino, California and searched for hours through their files for some of my films but found nothing. The base is now closed, and I do not know where their film was sent, but I believe it was the major storage site for combat film of the war.


Cordially, Art Fiedler

[mayfair35]

Peter, I am sorry but I used "Gun Camera film from fighters."

Art

[Peter Kassak]

Thanks Art...
This put light a bit to the puzzle and my search So we know that there may be somewhere some film I am looking for...but if the quality is OK is a question of seeing it.
One more question to you 15USAAF fighter pilot. Where there Combat Reports filled after each claim? Like 8. and 9.USAAF did? I never saw one, so I am using just Narrative mission reports.
Thanks for help.

[mayfair35]

Peter,
My apologies as I tried several times to answer your question, but I kept getting a notice that I was not logged in. It was confusing because the screen just before getting the "not logged in one" would say I was logged in. I guess at 84, I must start learning all over again!

Yes, after each encounter, if a pilot claimed a victory, probable, or damaged, there was an Encounter Report written. There were problems though. If it was a day with a lot of action, there were usually several pilots making claims. The individual you reported to would take notes and it might be a several days before the actual claim was written up. Additionally, the is no question that on occasion, my claim might be attributed to someone else and his claim mixed up with mine.

The first probable I got was about 250 miles away from base but no mission was credited unless you reached 300 miles from base. However to give me credit for the probable (gun camera film) my encounter report said that I had reached Ploesti (534 miles away), got into a big fight, turned to the right (or left), latched on to this 109, and set him on fire. It read great except it never happened! We could have corrected these reports but we never saw them before they were filed.

I hope this answers your question. If not, ask again.

Cordially, Art Fiedler

[Peter Kassak]

Hi Art,

Thank you very much. This is very interesting piece of knowledge about how the procedures were at 15usaaf. Thanks a lot...
Best regards