Szarawarski, Chester, ENG '49, Diary,, August 9, 1944-February 2, 1945.

A photocopy of Szarawarski's 70-page diary chronicling his 35 mission tour of duty as a B-17 co-pilot and pilot in the Eighth Air Force, 305th Bomb Group (Heavy), 365th and 364th Bomb Squadrons, based at Chelveston, England. Includes a letter from Szarawarski to Dr. G. Kurt Piehler describing the document and his war experience.

The 43 dated entries generally cover only his missions, although the August 1944 entries detail his assignment to the 365th Bomb Squadron, subsequent transfer to the 364th, practice missions and leaves. Most of the mission entries include the following information: intended targets (primary, secondary, tertiary); bombload; fuel load; take-off and landing times; position in formation (with illustrations); flight paths; aircraft name and number; weather; fighter coverage; crew changes; damage reports; squadron losses; mission success assessment; enemy resistance (fighter and flak).

Szarawarski flew the following missions:

8/12/44, airfield at La Perthe, France.

8/13/44, crossroads at Louviers, France, in support of ground troops (possibly the Falaise Gap).

8/14/44, target of opportunity, a field in Belgium (original target, a jet factory in Stuttgart, Germany).

8/18/44, bridge near Liege, Belgium.

8/24/44, I.G. Farben synthetic oil plant at Merseburg, Germany.

8/26/44, synthetic oil plant at Buer, Germany, in the Ruhr Valley.

8/27/44, tank/truck factory in Berlin (1000 plane raid)

>8/30/44, Kiel, Germany.

9/3/44, chemical factory, Ludwigshafen, Germany.

9/11/44, target of opportunity, Friedlos, Germany (original target, synthetic oil plant in Merseburg, Germany).

9/12/44, synthetic oil plant, Ruhland, Germany.

9/13/44, synthetic oil plant, Merseburg, Germany.

9/25/44, rail yard, Frankfurt, Germany (secondary target).

9/26/44, marshalling yards, Osnabruck, Germany.

9/27/44, marshalling yard, Koln, Germany, (original target, Ford truck factory, Koln).

9/28/44, synthetic oil plant, Magdeburg, Germany.

10/2/44, ordnance warehouse, Kassel, Germany.

10/5/44, marshalling yards, Cologne, Germany.

10/9/44, marshalling yards, Schweinfurt, Germany.

10/26/44, dropping chaff to counteract radar for raid on Muenster, Germany.

11/5/44, marshalling yards, Frankfurt.

11/9/44, marshalling yards, Saarbrucken, Germany (original target, fortress at Metz, France, in support of ground troops).

11/16/44, area near Aachen, Germany, in support of ground troops.

11/29/44, dropped bombs before reaching the target.

11/30/44, synthetic oil plant, Merseburg, Germany (secondary target).

12/31/44, Kaiserslautern, Germany (secondary target).

1/1/45, accidentally bombs Kassel while trying to hit a locomotive works at Gottingen, Germany (secondary target).

1/3/45, marshalling yards, Modrath, Germany.

1/6/45, bridges on the Rhine River.

1/7/45, railroad bridge, Koblenz, Germany (secondary target).

1/10/45, marshalling yards, Cologne (original target, airfield, Gymnich, Germany).

1/15/45, railroad bridge near the frontlines in Southern Germany.

1/17/45, railroad marshalling yard, Paderborn, Germany.

2/1/45, Mannheim, Germany.

2/3/45, government buildings in Berlin (1000 plane raid).

In the diary, Szarawarski discusses the following issues: tensions between pilot and co-pilot; difficulties (vertigo, fatigue, boredom, bad landings) associated with flying; the strategic bombing campaign; transition from co-pilot to pilot; drinking and gambling; possible friendly-fire incidents; mental casualties "going flak happy;" bombing on radar; formation flying; equipment malfunctions; rumors in the military and combat.