Personal Narrative Film, Video Manuscript/Mixed Material Photo, Print, Drawing Norman C. Adams Collection
Veterans History Project Service Summary:
- War or Conflict: Vietnam War, 1961-1975; World War, 1939-1945; Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps; Air Force
- Unit of Service: 93rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force; 22nd Bomb Group, 15th Air Force
- Location of Service: England; North Africa; United States
- Highest Rank: Major
- Collection Number: AFC/2001/001/47493
A December 8, 1941 enlistee, Norman Adams chose the Army Air Force, with dreams of becoming a pilot. Though he washed out of pilot school, he did get to train on the new Norden bombsight as a bombardier. (He demonstrates how the Norden works at the end of his interview, which was conducted in an aviation museum.) Flying missions over Italy, he felt confident that the flak would never catch up to his plane. In the bombing raids over Ploesti, Romania's oil fields on August 1, 1943, Adams' luck ran out. After his plane lost two engines, he survived a horrific crash landing that killed several of his crew. Adams' luck returned when he was released after only 14 months in captivity, and he was home for Christmas 1944. By the end of the war, he decided to re-enlist, flying Cold War missions for SAC and remaining in the Air Force until 1967.
Interview / Recording
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PlayWhy he chose to be in the Air Corps; trained at March Air Base in Riverside, CA; had two brothers in service; pilot training in Arizona; washed out of pilot training; fastest way to get commission was as bombardier; graduated December 30, 1942; trained on Norden bombsight, "a super piece of machinery;" much security involved in using it; joined his crew at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson; two weeks' leave before shipping out; he got married in that time. 00:07:02.6 - 00:13:43.2
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PlayMay 1943, went to North Africa; flew missions out of Bengazi, Libya, over Italy; bombed railroad yards in Rome; about 30 aircraft in formation; didn't use his training on Norden, as he was following the leader on when to drop bombs; his plane was first to shoot down a jet aircraft over Europe; never thought they would get shot down. 00:16:38.4 - 00:20:00.4
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PlayMission on which they were shot down: bombing oil fields in Romania at low level; well-planned, but lead crew approached target from wrong direction; his plane's wrong turn took them up a heavily fortified railroad track; was lucky to survive crash, as he was in nose of plane, most dangerous place to be in B-24; untangled himself; pulled two gunners out; captured by German, who took him to a gun emplacement and watched the enemy shoot at other B-24s; 110 survivors assembled, taken to a makeshift POW camp in the mountains. 00:20:23.1 - 00:30:50.1
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PlayCamp was in retirement area for railroad workers; treated well; Romanians were guarding them, more guards than prisoners; ate same food as guards; saw American planes fly over; never interrogated about Norden bombsight; Germans knew all about him already; barber smuggled radio in and they listened to Allies' progress; D-Day happened on his birthday; one morning, no guards; commandant told them Germans were pulling out; took off for Bucharest; Romanians declared war on Germany, so the prisoners laid low for a couple of days; B-17s came into Bucharest to pick them up; one officer in POW camp had been collaborator; Adams and others flown to Britain to testify against him in court martial; got home for Christmas 1944. 00:33:10.2 - 00:41:58.6
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PlayBy time war ended, he had decided to re-enlist; had tried teaching and didn't like it; bombardiers learned navigation and radar operation; assigned to B-36s and B-52s; flying airborne alert SAC missions between Puerto Rico and Africa, carrying nuclear weapons to be used on assigned target in the USSR; flew B-36s during the Korean War; flew B-52 Gs during Vietnam War; in both cases, those planes were not involved in combat. 00:43:37.6 - 00:48:38.6
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PlayDemonstrating the Norden bombsight; did not have one on board on the crash mission, as they were flying low; explains some photos from the Ploesti mission. 00:58:30.8 - 01:07:15.9
About this Item
Title
- Norman C. Adams Collection
Names
- Adams, Norman C.
- Hill, Barry S.
- Paul, Sue
- Warhawk Air Museum
Home State
- Idaho
Headings
- - Adams, Norman C.
- - World War, 1939-1945 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Army Air Forces/Corps.
- - Prisoner of War -- United States
- - Korean War, 1950-1953 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Air Force.
- - Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Personal Narratives
- - United States. Air Force.
Repository
- Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Gender
- Male
Status
- veteran
Service History
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World War, 1939-1945
- Branch of Service: Army Air Forces/Corps
- Unit of Service: 93rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force
- Location of Service: England; North Africa; United States
- Highest Rank: Major
- Dates of Service: 1941-1967
- Prisoner of War: Yes
- Entrance into Service: Enlisted
- Military Status: veteran
- Service History Note: The veteran was a prisoner of war in Romania for 14 months.
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Korean War, 1950-1953
- Branch of Service: Air Force
- Unit of Service: 22nd Bomb Group, 15th Air Force
- Military Status: veteran
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Vietnam War, 1961-1975
- Branch of Service: Air Force
- Military Status: veteran
Materials
- Manuscript: Transcript [1 item] -- Transcription of video recording (collected 2005-10-07)
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Oral history interview (collected 2005-10-07; 2006-08-31)
- Video: DVD [1 item] -- Reference copy (collected 2005-10-07; 2005-10-07)
Collection Number
- AFC/2001/001/47493
Cite as
- Norman C. Adams Collection (AFC/2001/001/47493), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
Online Format
- image
- video