An interactive archive of images and information
The American Air Museum website records the stories of the men and women of the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) who served their country from the UK in the Second World War. It also records the memories of the British people who befriended them. Browse, edit and upload your own photographs and memories to help us build an online memorial to their lives.
Donate to the American Air Museum
Make a donation to the American Air Museum and help us to tell the stories of Americans who flew from Britain.
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Meet Lewis N Ellis
Discover individual stories from within the American Air Museum's expanding archive.
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Meet Jack Preston Rencher
Discover individual stories from within the American Air Museum's expanding archive.
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Meet John R Sole
Discover individual stories from within the American Air Museum's expanding archive.
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Meet Joseph A Maldjian
Discover individual stories from within the American Air Museum's expanding archive.
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Getting started
Hints and tips on using this interactive archive, how to create an account and what to do next
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Project partners
The site has been supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and individuals in the UK and the US
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The Roger Freeman Collection
The Roger Freeman Collection consists of approximately 15,000 prints and slides
The Archive
At its peak strength in 1944, USAAF employed 450,000 Americans in Britain. Most of us will immediately think of fighter pilots or bomber crews, but the majority of USAAF’s men and women were engaged on a much wider range of tasks, all of which were necessary to keep the aircraft flying. Nearly 30,000 never made it home. Discover their stories by browsing our archive.
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People
Stories of the people who served, and the civilians who remember them.
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Aircraft
Explore pages devoted to the individual aircraft flown by the men of the US Army Air Forces.
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Places
Find out about the geography of the air war: where people came from, and where they lived and worked.
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Missions
Explore the missions that the airmen flew over Europe. Find out where they went and what they did.
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Units
Every person belonged to a unit – a group of people organised together to do a job. Find each unit here.
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Media
Look at photographs of the Americans in Britain, and add your own to the archive.
