Imperial War Museum appeals for help with a new web project seeking to tell the history of American Air personnel in England during World War Two.

An ambitious crowd sourcing project that records the stories of men and women of the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) who served in England during the Second World War has been launched online by the Imperial War Museum in Duxford.

Called the American Air Museum website, the new project encourages members of the public to add their memories and knowledge to a vast database of images collected by East Anglian aviation historian Roger Freeman (1928-2005), who amassed more than 15,000 prints and slides depicting American air personnel in England. 

Launching with 5,000 images from the Freeman collection, many of which have not been seen publicly before, organisers hope web visitors will recognise people or places in the photographs or have vivid memories of American personnel in their local town or village.  

Even keen amateur researchers of Second World War history are invited to contribute facts and figures to make the website a growing resource for future generations. More images will be added in stages to the website, which includes a sophisticated searchable and editable database...

1. Pilot Lieutenant Colonel Elliot ‘Pete’ Vandevanter (1917–1974), base Commanding Officer (on the left) and co-pilot Major Preston Piper (1916–1992), his deputy, 385th Bomb Group © IWM.
2. This photo belonged to Charles Jackson, part of the 467th Bomb Group who flew B-24 Liberators from Rackheath. It is captioned ‘Daddy and a bunch of “Sloppy Joes”’ and shows American airmen sharing a social moment. Jackson (1922–1996), 467th Bomb Group at Rackheath, is third from the left, top row © IWM.