Night Fighters of World War II Historical Collection

The collection is composed of official records of the Night Fighters Association incorporated in 1951, the WWII Night Fighters organization incorporated in 1984 which dissolved in 2001, as well as personal papers from members of various night fighter squadrons. A series was established for each individual donor to the collection, most of whom were night fighters. These papers are not comprehensive, but among these individual series are pilots' tests and certificates, squadron reports, individual flight records, rosters, transfer orders, unpublished chronologies of the 6th and 417th Night Fighter Squadrons, photographs, and some miscellaneous material.

Series XV contains official records and financial records of the Night Fighters Association and the WWII Night Fighters organization, including articles of incorporation, minutes, newsletters, and correspondence. The collection also includes cassettes and a reel-to-reel tape of the 1978 Night Fighters Reunion held in Dayton, Ohio, and a taped interview with Gordon T. Timmons, who was at one time, commander of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron. SERIES DESCRIPTION

I. Kent Blyler Papers, Undated A poem which Mr. Blyler found in his old diary. He maintained the diary while stationed on Guadalcanal with the 6thNight Fighter Squadron.

II. Robert W. Boucher Papers, 1943-1946 Pilots' tests and certificates, squadron reports, individual flight records, photographs, and miscellaneous material. Mr. Boucher served with the 421st and the 548th Night Fighter Squadrons.

III. Don Dessert Papers, 1976 An article copied from Air Classics, August 1976, titled,"Night Lightning." Mr. Dessert is mentioned in the article.

IV. Dick Ehlert Papers, 1942-1944 First draft of a chronology taken from Mr. Ehlert's diary.It gives a good account of his experiences as a night fighter in the Pacific. He was a member of the 6th Night Fighter Squadron.

V. Joe Gonzales Papers, 1943 A copy of a chronology of the 417th Night Fighter Squadron.It gives a good account of their training, and experiences while being transported overseas. Many of the men in the squadron are mentioned, as well as their ranks. The chronology ends abruptly,the rest having been lost.

VI. Edward F. Jones Papers, 1944-1945 Rosters, transfer orders, and commendations pertaining to Mr. Jones' participation in the military.

VII. George R. Ludlow Photographs, 1945 Three photographs of German concentration camp victims at Furth, Germany.

VIII. William C. Odell Papers, 1942 One copy of an Individual Flight Record and one copy of a page from a diary. The two pages seem to indicate that there was a night fighter squadron in existence as early as April, 1942.

IX. Earl Tigner Photographs, 1945 Photographs of Iwo Jima and the 549th Night Fighter Squadron which was stationed there. A CD containing digital copies of these images was added to the series in 2006.

X. Thomas C. Tillman Papers, 1970-71 Several papers pertaining to the retirement and death of Thomas Tillman, an award that he received in 1970, and a pamphlet containing his biography.

XI. Gordon T. Timmons Interview, 1978 An interview with Gordon Timmons, who was at one time,commander of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron. He also served with the 421st Night Fighter Squadron. The interview was conducted by Susan Smith sometime between June 30, and July 2,1978.

XII. Night Fighters' Reunion, June 30, - July 2, 1978 Two cassette tapes and one reel-to-reel tape of the speeches made at the reunion. The reel-to-reel tape is a duplicate of the cassette tapes. The speakers include Jimmy Doolittle, Colonel Richard Upstromm, who is the director of the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio (as of October 1981), and individuals who served as night fighters.

XIII. Gary Olson Drawings, 1988 Donated in 2006 by Earl Tigner, this series contains four black ink drawings of aircraft flown by Night Fighter programs.The drawings are #74 of a limited production series. The four aircraft include the Northrop P-61B, the Douglas P-70, the deHavilland Mosquito, and the Bristol Beaufighter.

XIV. Earl Tigner Books on P-61 Donated in 2006 by Earl Tigner, this series contains four books about the Northrop P-61. These books are being cataloged into the Archive's Reading Room collection.

XV. WWII Night Fighters Records Donated in March 2005, this series consists mainly of financial records of the organization. Also included are correspondence.

XVI. Frank Bosch Papers, 2005. These papers were donated by his wife in 2005. They consist of material relating to the Night Fighters Association. This series contains some issues of the Night Fighters Newsletter,correspondence, articles pertaining to the Night Fighters, and rosters of the men who served in the various Night Fighter Squadrons.

XVII. William Graham Papers These materials were donated to the archives in 1999. Items in this series consist of photographs, a brief biography of William Graham, and some of his records.

Series XVIII: Richard Dawson Papers, 1942-1945. These materials were donated by his son Peter Dawson in 2017. This series includes Richard Dawson’s enlistment papers and special orders, dated April 1942. It also includes 11 photographs of the 415th Night Fighter Squadron, of which Richard Dawson was a member, serving in North Africa, Italy, France, and Germany, from 1943-1945.

Series XIX: Night Fighters’ Reunion, 2007. These materials were donated by Peter Dawson in 2017. This series includes digital photographs and video from the Night Fighter 2007 Reunion, held at the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania, September 17-18, 2007. The materials appear to have been created and originally distributed by Richard H. Ziebart, who organized the reunion. The materials include 4 video DVDs featuring speakers at the reunion, 1 DVD of over 400 digital photographs, and 1 CD containing a PDF of reunion photographs. There is also a newsletter, which includes page-by-page captions for the photographs included in the PDF.