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Home » Collections » 460th Heavy Bombardment Group Society papers, 1943-2015
Institute on WWII and the Human Experience
Collection ID: 02.01.0046

460th Heavy Bombardment Group Society papers, 1943-2015

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Location of this collection:
Institute on WWII and the Human Experience
116 Honors Way
Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA
Restrictions:
This collection is open to all researchers.
Terms of Access:
Permission to publish, exhibit, or broadcast works from the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience must be requested and granted in writing by the director of the Institute. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Institute on World War II as the owner of the physical items and the copyright holder. Possession of a copy of an item does not constitute permission to publish, exhibit, or broadcast it. The Institute on World War II and the Human Experience reserves the right to refuse permission to individuals and publishers who have not complied with its policies. Permission fees must be paid before images are provided. Please contact the director of the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience for current publication and duplication rates.
Preferred citation:
460th Heavy Bombardment Group Society papers. The Institute on World War II and the Human Experience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_01_0046.

Collection description

Summary

Extent:
41 boxes
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:
460th Heavy Bombardment Group Society papers. The Institute on World War II and the Human Experience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. http://purl.fcla.edu/fsu/WWII_01_0046.

Access and Use

Conditions Governing Access:

This collection is open to all researchers.

Terms Of Use:

Permission to publish, exhibit, or broadcast works from the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience must be requested and granted in writing by the director of the Institute. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Institute on World War II as the owner of the physical items and the copyright holder. Possession of a copy of an item does not constitute permission to publish, exhibit, or broadcast it. The Institute on World War II and the Human Experience reserves the right to refuse permission to individuals and publishers who have not complied with its policies. Permission fees must be paid before images are provided. Please contact the director of the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience for current publication and duplication rates.

Background

Scope and Content:

The collection of the 460th Heavy Bombardment Group Society contains a unit history of this B-24 U.S. Army Air Corps Group, 55th Wing, 760th, 761st, 762nd, 763rd Squadrons and Group Headquarters, which served in the Italian Campaign. This collection primarily focuses on the memory of the war and those who served in the 460th. Included is a listing of the airmen who were held as prisoners of war, including their squadrons, positions on the plane (e.g. pilot, gunner), the date, mission, and what country or stalag in which they were held. Also included is a booklet, "Remembering the 460th Bomb Group (H)," which contains photographs, personnel lists, and maps, and was prepared as a gift from Duane and Betty Bohnstedt to their members. There are mission lists, target details, flight records, and crew searches. The collection includes issues of the society's veterans' association magazine, "Black Panther" from mid-1990 to their final issue, December 2005.

Additionally, there are copies of diaries, personal files, memoirs, and wartime letters assembled and sent to Bohnstedt by various crew members. An oral history of Bohnstedt is included. Correspondence is included with members that gave to his collection, as well as his accounts of personal research and travel while assembling this collection.

Biographical / Historical:

The collection was assembled by Duane and Betty Bohnstedt, who conducted extensive research on the 460th Bombardment Group by contacting its members and traveling to original station sites. Duane ("Sparky") was part of the 460th, a B-24 group, which was part of the 55th Wing, Fifteenth Air Force, stationed in Spinazzola, Italy, from February 1943 until May 1945. Duane was 19 when he joined and served with ordnance.

Duane and Betty Bohnstedt combined their skills and experiences to thoroughly preserve the history of the 460th. Duane has a degree in Art and Betty was an experienced writer. Together they became historians and archivists of their own collection. They published a history of the 460th, along with editing and publishing a newsletter for the 460th Bomb Group Society.

Note written by Jordan Bolan

Acquisition information:

Duane and Betty Bohnstedt

Donation

Collection inventory