The following is a Lunch Box Lecture given by Seth Pardon at the National WW II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana that I attended in the fall of 2013 commemorating the 70th anniversary of Black Week.
Casualties in the 8th Air Force were never higher than during the Autumn of 1943. The month of October, in particular, was especially bloody. Raids on the German cities of Bremen, Marienburg, Munster and a second visit to the Kugelfischer ball-bearing factory at Schweinfurt resulted in the losses of 148 B-17s in a matter of seven days. The 8th Air Force teetered on defeat and the German Luftwaffe never came as close to victory ever again.
Manager of Research Services Seth Paridon discusses the four important bombing raids through the use of veteran oral histories and archival film footage.
I was happy to of found this lecture on the Eighth Air Force in WWll I stumbled on this sight because I was looking up Munster and the B-17 mission of 1943. For a long time now I’ve been looking for footage or interviews of the airmen that took part in this October 10 1943 and it’s very difficult. I. Have footage of this mission from the National Archives and it’s very poor footage and short Shows the 94th bomb group being attacked and lots of guns shooting and tracers in every direction. Shows just seconds of the intense moments in combat that they don’t talk about in the interviews, so I liked the men of the 100th speaking and I’ve never seen that interviews before, How can I get a copy for myself? I used to go to the 100th BG Reunions and met most of the originals Rosie was a real Hero and in Houston I gave him a vhs tape of original footage/ color of the 100 in England. Another member gave me a tape before I ended up giving it to Rosie. I’ll never forget it he gave me a hug anyway I loved the lecture and I think war is a bad bad option but what can you do when someone that crazy is on a destructive way of life for the world has no choice but to snuff him out I know how important ww2 was to stop the production of that country in progressing any further. I’ve also have some neat dvds of Munster Westfalen during ww2 and the end results of the wrong way of going about things. Footage of Munster in ruins 1945 That city produces many films/dvd And they are fun to watch. Normal nice people turned into evil citizens who put a mad man in power because of there bad economic conditions and the way for them to get out of it. Sure wasn’t a very good idea after all.
Thank you for your comments, Sergio. Is this what you are looking for? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcf9QmItPNY
Have you read my book?