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Cody Dailey
9/28/2006 8:07:58 AM | All I can say is......AWESOME.
I love it.
I just wish my father's crew had their photo taken while in England (but I looked at each picture..just to make sure) 🙂
Would it be possible to submit their crew photo from training for inclusion in the site somewhere? Also have photos of the A-2 Flight Jacket "Tail-End Charlie" and a couple of individual shots of my dad at Deenethorpe.
Cody Dailey
Son of S/Sgt. JB Dailey
Tail Gunner on board Tail-End Charlie/Morning Star, aircraft number: 42-31730, piloted by George Sombart (August 1944-January 1945)
615th Squadron, 401st BG
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Kele
9/28/2006 9:16:36 AM | Send them on -
Can you identify all the crew members in the photo? If so, we might be able to put it in the PFG as well.
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Cody Dailey
9/28/2006 9:28:29 AM | Yes, all are identified (including one extra person, who is also identified). Apparently, one crew member was reassigned prior to the move to the 401st. I will email them to you later this afternoon (I have to remove it from a frame in order to scan).
Thanks!
Cody Dailey
Son of S/Sgt. JB Dailey
Tail Gunner on board Tail-End Charlie/Morning Star, aircraft number: 42-31730, piloted by George Sombart (August 1944-January 1945)
615th Squadron, 401st BG
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Paul Bellamy
1/27/2008 3:09:16 PM | I'm slowly chugging through the NA galleries, noting the subject of each and adding it to this spreadsheet file for easy (HA!) cross-referencing.
Hopefully, when it's finished, we can use it to go straight to the image we want, be it of a particular aircraft, squadron, location, crew, etc.
I've attached the basic file covering photos 1-100 below. It's a bit rough and ready at the moment, I started it really for my own reference initially and haven't tidied it up much yet. If you could try it and see if it works that would be great.
All the best,
Paul
EDIT: Looks like .xls (Excel) files are currently blocked for upload. If anyone wants a copy e-mail me and I'll pass it on. Sorry.
Paul Bellamy
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EDanaII
1/28/2008 9:28:13 AM | Paul,
Upload it as a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file. Anyone using Excel (or other tool) can import it back into a spreadsheet.
Two cents.
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Paul Bellamy
1/28/2008 11:23:19 AM | I just found out CSV files are not allowed either I'm afraid. 😞
Paul Bellamy
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EDanaII
1/28/2008 11:38:26 AM | Hmmm.... uploads may not actually be enabled.
Here's a final suggestion: copy and paste the CSV into a post. It is nothing more than text, after all. Anyone wanting to use it can then copy and past it into a CSV document (a text file that simply ends in .CSV) and then import it into Excel. That might be a little bit of work, but, at least, if they need the info, they can get to it that way.
Two more cents.
Edited to add: Actually, the above should be a last resort. Can you upload the file to another server and then link it here? You should probably try that next.
Ed.
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Paul Bellamy
1/28/2008 1:53:51 PM | Right, I've got the current file uploaded to a bit of spare webspace I have.
The .xls file indexing the first 257 photo's should be HERE.
Make sure you save it and open in your spreadsheet application, rather than opening it in your web browser.
It's still rough, but I'm buried under a pile of reference books and papers at the mo. 😉
Let me know how you get on, have fun.
TTFN,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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swinny
1/28/2008 3:56:15 PM | Hello Paul
I hope I don't interfere anything , if you need more information about the pictures I would love to help you.
I have allmost every picture on your list and all with a lot of information on it, about crew , plane and even the date.
I have about 400 pictures of the 401st
Andy
_______
 My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Paul Bellamy
1/28/2008 4:05:50 PM | Any info you have would be great Andy...... especially the dates and captions.
All I have to work with is the 401 website, the NA gallery and the Blue Book, plus the base plan and a few loose papers from years back.
The uploaded file now covers photos 1-180 to varying degrees.
TTFN,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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swinny
1/28/2008 4:11:09 PM | Well Paul
I would love to help you , all the pictures and additional info on them I found on footnote.com
Its a great site especially for pictures and MACR.
You have to pay for it , I did that , but its worth every euro cent
Andy
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My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Jackie Sharp Sheflin
1/28/2008 6:10:07 PM | Andy,
Have you seen Mark Brotherman (I think that is his first name) collection on Webshots? He has 2 military albums. One is "Military airplanes" and the other is titled "8th Air Force" I am not sure what is identified and what is not.
Here is the link if you would like to check his albums out:
http://community.webshots.com/user/brotherman103
Jackie
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EDanaII
1/28/2008 11:50:08 PM | Hey Paul?
How are your M$ Access skills? Just curious.
Ed.
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Paul Bellamy
1/29/2008 7:47:12 AM | Hi Ed,
Sadly, my database skills are pretty poor at the moment, but I'm learning slowly.
Once I feel more confident I'll transfer the contents of the spreadsheet into a database, which should improve things somewhat.
The spreasdsheet version is already becoming bloated and unweildly, and I've hardly started! 😉
All the best,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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EDanaII
1/29/2008 9:39:00 AM | Yes, but who needs database skills when you know someone who has them? 🙂 I slapped this together last night. It is based on the Excel file you are working on and should only be considered "beta" as I've only done the lightest of testing on it. When I'm finished with it, you should be able to search on Aircraft, Crew, Mission, etc... Let me know if you find it useful. 🙂
Next, I'll be working on loading your Excel data into Access, but it may be a couple of days before I can get to it.
Ed.
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EDanaII
1/30/2008 9:56:31 AM | Updated my file to include all 271 Aircraft of the 401st. Is that count right, or did I miss any? Information was "scraped" from this page.
Will update it later in the week with Paul's information.
Current version may be found here: Version 0.2
Ed.
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swinny
1/30/2008 10:10:04 AM | Hello Ed
I would like to open your list but what program do I need ?
Andy
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My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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EDanaII
1/30/2008 11:43:22 AM | You need either Microsoft Access (expensive) or Open Office (free). With M$ Access, you should be able to use it easily. Open Office, on the other hand, is a little more tricky, but not too difficult with a little help.
However, what I'm doing is a bit technical. When I'm done, using Paul's data, it will (in theory) allow you to do searches on 401st data, like "show me all the images of the 'Hula Girl'" or, even better, "show me all the images of all the planes that Joseph Del Torto" served on. In addition, you should be able to ask questions like "what missions did both Del Torto and Reardon participate in?" or "who participated in the Hula Girl's last mission?"
However, as I mentioned, it's technical. I'm not saying this to discourage you; I'm more than willing to help you figure it out. Just beware that a learning curve would be involved.
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swinny
1/30/2008 1:10:02 PM | Ok thanks Ed
I think I made a mistake , I have MS access 2007, I will try it again.
That would be a really great database.
But I don't think there will be a picture of Hula girl on it :mrgreen:
Thanks for the explanation
Andy
p.s. it works great now , looking really great.
_______
My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Paul Bellamy
1/30/2008 2:42:21 PM | I'll carry on plugging away at the spreadsheet.....
257 photos (Crews and Nose Art sections currently) listed so far HERE.
I've got a basic database compiled from them, but it won't accept URLs as valid entries. Sigh.
TTFN,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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swinny
1/30/2008 4:12:06 PM | Hey Paul
Looking at your new list , I dont think I can add more to it.
Your first list looked so empty , I thought I could tribute some more.
Nice work
Andy
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My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Paul Bellamy
1/30/2008 6:13:54 PM | Thanks for that Andy,
I've been filling the list up with the captions from the site you pointed me towards, nice find.
The hardest part of this task is the time it takes for each line, at one point I was down to 5 lines an hour.
While writing this up I have the following windows open:
The master spreadsheet.
The individual NA Gallery photo.
Crew lists.
Aircraft list.
NARA captions (Footnote).
Also on hand:
Blue Book
Forts of the Triangle 1st.
Various other books.
I'm going to have a problem toward the end of the project though, many of the photos in the Informal and Miscellaneous galleries don't have captions listed on the Footnote site.
All the best,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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swinny
1/30/2008 7:14:53 PM | Haha Paul 😃
I am trying to imagine how your desk would look like.
I am downloading all the 401st pictures from footnote with the description.
It has taken me about 3 weeks now and I am only half way .
If I have them all I will see if I can help you with it.
I now have about 180 pictures downloaded.
But it is a great site especially for MACR`s
Andy
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My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Kele
2/1/2008 8:43:41 PM | For those of you who are cataloging the National Archives collection -
http://www.401bg.org/401bgweb/NA_photos_index/
Has scanned images from the index cards describing each of the photos in the NA collection.
Once it is compiled it would be great to integrate into the website.
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EDanaII
2/2/2008 9:01:32 AM | I'm not sure what to do with those files, Kele. They list as an octet-stream but there is no way to tell what application to use with them.
What we need, as Don has already discussed with you, is the Access file, usually an MDB file. With that, I suspect, I can do, with the right query, we can generate Paul's cross-references in seconds. I'll write you an email about this too.
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Paul Bellamy
2/2/2008 9:08:47 AM | Hi Ed,
They appear as .TIFFs to me.
All the best,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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EDanaII
2/2/2008 9:36:44 AM | Damn. That'll learn me to depend on Windows. Rebooted my computer into "Hackintosh" mode and, sure enough, it loads as a TIFF. Not sure it helps you though, as best I can tell it's the same information that is in the 401st database.
Ed.
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Paul Bellamy
2/16/2008 9:22:24 AM | Good news,
I've now got the free time to get back to compiling the photo index, and I've got internet access again too. 😃
I've started on the Flight gallery, and right away discovered an small error.
The photo shown below is titled as 59329-A AC, which is a really good formation photo captioned
"Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses enroute to bomb enemy installations in Germany. 401st Bomb Gp. 48153 'Q' has 'Mickey' radar."
Unfortunately, the photo above isn't 59329-A AC, but is actually the previous photo in the Archives, 59329 AC, captioned
"8th AF Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress over Mannheim, Germany, 1 Feb. 1945."
Here's a screen grab of what 59329-A AC should look like, sorry for the poor quality.
I've tried to ascertain which Group the aircraft in the current photo belonged to.
Without being able to see the Group letter in the 1st Air Division Triangle clearly, I went through the mission lists for all the 1AD Groups.
1st Combat Bomb Wing:
91BG: Mannheim
381BG: Mannheim
40CBW:
92BG: Ludwigshaven
305BG: Ludwigshaven (Primary Target) Bombed Mannheim (Secondary Target)
306BG: Not Known
41CBW:
303BG: Mannheim
379BG: Mannheim
384BG: Mannheim
94th CBW:
351BG: Ludwigshaven (Primary)
401BG: Ludwigshaven (Primary) Pferzheim (High Sqdn alternative target)
457BG: Ludwigshaven.
If anyone has a higher resolution copy of this photo it should be possible to read the Group letter to correctly ID the unit. Have you downloaded this one from Footnote yet Swinny?
Incidentaly, do we have higher-resolution versions of the other NA Photos on file?
All the best,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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swinny
2/16/2008 5:54:15 PM | Yes Paul
I have this picture.
You're first picture with the single plane , I think I can see clearly a J in the triangle 351st BG
I downloaded all the pictures from footnote , but unfortunately they are still updating the site and I do not have all the pictures.
I now have 393 photo`s of the 401st with a very good resolution of 4560 x 3565 pixels.
The picture A-59329 AC :
I can very clearly see the triangle S with the Q and 48153 its the aircraft of 1st Lt F.R. Boddin and crew 44-8153 SC-Q (PFF Ship) .
The other ships are from left to right :
triangle S with the C
triangle S with IW-N 1st Lt H.V. Nielson and crew 43-38738 IW-N Becomin' Back
triangle S with IW-F
The plane in front of the picture there is a triangle S on the wing.
I hope I could help you with this.
If you need some High resolution photo`s , don't hesitate to ask.
Andy
_______
My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Paul Bellamy
2/16/2008 7:41:06 PM | Thanks Andy,
I'll send you the photo numbers that I need hi-res copies, simply so I can read the markings. 😉
Regards the misplaced photo, if you can read J in the triangle that opens up a whole new can of worms, as the 351st weren't supposed to be on the Mannheim mission either, other than a secondary target. (It's only a few miles from Ludwigshaven after all)
Best wishes,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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swinny
2/17/2008 4:55:35 AM | Well Paul , the more I look at it , the more I am curtain its a J
Andy
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My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Paul Bellamy
2/17/2008 12:59:08 PM | I concur,
Rotating the photo and stretching it to restore the shape of the triangle shows it clearly to be a J.
TTFN,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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swinny
2/25/2008 6:47:01 AM | Hey Paul
Looking at all the photos I downloaded ( I have 455 still need 124 but they are coming ) I was wondering about the numbers they used on the actual picture.
Like 65585AC e.g. if you put all the number in order from low to high , I notice that all the dates are random.
So there is no order in them , do you know why ?
Its most likely that the lowest number is the first picture taken , but thats not so.
The first ever picture is 65485, 65547 , 65624 , 65634 , 65635 or 65636 they are all from 26 nov 1943.
Is there some explanation for ?
Thanks ,
Andy
_______
My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Paul Bellamy
2/25/2008 9:41:20 AM | The AC numbers seem to have been allocated when the photos were archived after the war, presumably in the order they arrived at wherever they were indexed.
For example, in the 401st photos, some of them are in squadron blocks:
65427 to 65431A are all 612BS
65431B to 65436 are all 613BS
65436A to 65438A are all 614BS
65439 to 65440B are all 615BS (with the exception of one possibly erroneous caption)
Another series of consecutive numbers covers many of the photos used in the Blue Book, so they can be assumed to have arrived in one batch after publication. The captions on them seem to bear this out.
Hope that helps,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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swinny
2/25/2008 10:27:46 AM | Thank you Paul
I didn't know that, so if I want them in a good order I have to see the dates that comes with every photo.
OK I can work with that
Thanks
Andy
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My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Paul Bellamy
2/25/2008 6:50:22 PM | No problem Andy,
I've heard that not all the content on Footnote is available at any given time.
Hopefully this is why I've been getting a lot of "No such record found" returns on many of the NA photo numbers.
I've also noticed the dates on the captions aren't always entirely accurate, those that are wrong are usually a day either side of the independently documented dates.
All the best,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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swinny
2/26/2008 3:37:01 AM | Hey Paul
Yes that is correct , not all the pictures are on footnote.
But they are updating every day.
Of the 579 photos ( according to the number of photos on the 401st page ) , I already have 455 , so I am missing still 124 photos , but they are coming for sure.
Too bad the dates aren't always correct , I wanted to depend on them.
I am now downloading all the MACR of the 94 planes that didn't make it home, I want to dedicate a website to that.
Every MACR exist of about 20 to 40 pages, and I want to make a page of each plane with photos of the archive collection.
Do you know if this has already being done ?
Because I think it will take me months to do that , but thats no problem, i will enjoyed that.
Andy
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My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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donaldbyers
2/26/2008 9:33:21 AM | No Andy it has not been done. My page list each squadron plane info with dates and MACR number and that is it. I know of no other site that has included the real info from the MACR.
Don
Sgt. Donald C. Byers, 613th Bomb Squadron, Togglier, 42-97344 Carrie B II, KIA 08/24/1944.
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swinny
3/12/2008 2:03:47 PM | I am ready collecting all the MACR`s except for 5 , they cant be found.
Now my job starts in making a story about every MACR and trying to add photos to them.
It will be a long journey but I cant wait starting with it.
Andy
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My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Jackie Sharp Sheflin
3/12/2008 3:42:27 PM | Andy,
What kind of story are you looking for for each one?
Jackie
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swinny
3/12/2008 4:38:44 PM | Well Jackie, first of all I will make a brief story about everything I can find in the MACR.
Like dates , time , causes , names , eyewitness reports etc..
Hopefully I can add some pictures to each MACR.
It would look something like this : http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/macr.htm
Andy
_________
My adoption graves http://www.remember-our-heroes.nl/us_401stBG.htm
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Paul Bellamy
4/6/2008 7:42:38 AM | Sorry all,
The indexing of the NA Photo Gallery is on hold until the pages come back online.
Anyone know where they've gone?
TTFN,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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EDanaII
4/6/2008 9:21:18 AM | According to Kele, the system crashed when she was uploading some files. I can only assume that this crash destroyed some files on the server, resulting in the current state.
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Paul Bellamy
4/6/2008 9:26:16 AM | Thanks for the info Ed.
All the best,
Paul
Paul Bellamy
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