Digitization Progress
92 months scanned — 6/1939 through 9/1945
Estimated ~300 months of total career flight records (Pilot rating Nov 1939 through retirement 1970).
Currently 24% digitized. NEW: Added Jun 1939–May 1941 (cadet training + Canal Zone operations).
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Flight Entries
2910:45
Total Flight Hours
470
Landings
53
Aircraft Types
Recent Additions
Batch 7 — Feb 2026
June 1939 – July 1940
Cadet training period & first operational assignment
12 months
165 flights
Pilot rating: Nov 28, 1939
Batch 6 — Feb 2026
August 1940 – May 1941
Panama Canal Zone operations
15 months
286 flights
International ops: Peru, Ecuador, Nicaragua
Time by Pilot Role
1824:45
First Pilot (Day)
0:15
First Pilot (Night)
671:55
Co-Pilot
119:20
Passenger / Observer
Monthly Flight Activity
Jun 1939
23:25
Sep 1939
28:55
Oct 1939
25:00
Nov 1939
24:05
Dec 1939
0:00
Jan 1940
9:05
Feb 1940
20:10
Mar 1940
27:40
Apr 1940
33:15
May 1940
37:25
Jun 1940
47:10
Jul 1940
44:20
Aug 1940
50:30
Sep 1940
30:30
Oct 1940
118:40
Nov 1940
106:00
Dec 1940
33:50
Jan 1941
41:30
Feb 1941
95:20
Mar 1941
60:55
Apr 1941
13:20
May 1941
97:50
Jun 1941
179:50
Jul 1941
50:05
Aug 1941
52:45
Sep 1941
43:25
Oct 1941
176:45
Nov 1941
57:35
Dec 1941
75:00
Jan 1942
45:30
Feb 1942
36:45
Mar 1942
26:15
Apr 1942
39:30
May 1942
67:05
Jun 1942
91:15
Jul 1942
59:40
Aug 1942
1:10
Sep 1942
3:30
Oct 1942
3:35
Nov 1942
1:00
Dec 1942
40:25
Jan 1943
55:55
Feb 1943
16:30
Mar 1943
69:25
Apr 1943
36:00
May 1943
34:20
Jun 1943
31:40
Jul 1943
50:15
Aug 1943
32:05
Sep 1943
24:15
Oct 1943
26:20
Nov 1943
21:30
Dec 1943
12:00
Jan 1944
6:05
Feb 1944
17:15
Mar 1944
24:55
Apr 1944
23:55
May 1944
29:00
Jun 1944
12:30
Jul 1944
29:35
Aug 1944
58:55
Sep 1944
23:55
Oct 1944
31:35
Nov 1944
16:00
Dec 1944
17:00
Jan 1945
16:10
Feb 1945
33:30
Mar 1945
15:30
Apr 1945
0:00
Jun 1945
43:00
Jul 1945
38:55
Aug 1945
8:50
Sep 1945
33:55
Aircraft Flown
53 aircraft types documented across the archive. New additions from 1939-1941 batches include early Canal Zone aircraft: B-17B (early Flying Fortress variant), B-18/B-18A (Bolo), O-47A (observation), A-17 (attack), and various utility/training types from the pre-war era.
TB-25D
Mitchell (Trainer) — Trainer/Medium Bomber
19
flights
71:50
hours
28
landings
T-5
Training/Transport aircraft (type uncertain) — Trainer/Transport
14
flights
60:05
hours
25
landings
TB-17F
Flying Fortress (Trainer) — Trainer/Heavy Bomber
6
flights
21:35
hours
8
landings
O-5
Observation aircraft (type uncertain) — Observation
6
flights
10:30
hours
16
landings
43M
Unknown type variant M (used for Managua flight) — Unknown
1
flights
4:50
hours
1
landings
Stations & Assignments
🇺🇸 Randolph Field
San Antonio, TX • 1939/06 - 1939/06
1
months0
flights23:25
hours🇺🇸 Kelly Field
San Antonio, TX • 1939/09 - 1939/12
4
months47
flights78:00
hours🇵🇦 France Field
Canal Zone, Panama • 1939/12 - 1942/03
36
months660
flights1454:10
hours🇵🇦 Howard Field
Canal Zone, Panama • 1941/12 - 1942/01
2
months35
flights120:30
hours🇵🇦 Rio Hato
Rio Hato, Panama • 1942/02 - 1942/02
1
months17
flights36:45
hours🇬🇹 Guatemala City
Guatemala City, Guatemala • 1942/04 - 1942/11
10
months64
flights266:45
hours🇺🇸 Geiger Field
Spokane, WA • 1942/12 - 1942/12
2
months13
flights40:25
hours🇺🇸 Biggs Field
El Paso, TX • 1943/01 - 1943/02
3
months24
flights72:25
hours🇺🇸 AAB Pueblo
Pueblo, CO • 1943/03 - 1943/04
3
months36
flights105:25
hours🇬🇧 AAF 110 APO 634
Polebrook, England • 1943/05 - 1944/03
12
months88
flights280:40
hours🇬🇧 AAF 110 APO 557
Polebrook, England • 1944/04 - 1945/03
12
months151
flights307:35
hours🇺🇸 AAF RS #2
Miami Beach, FL • 1945/04 - 1945/04
1
months0
flights0:00
hours🇺🇸 Peterson Field
Colorado Springs, CO • 1945/06 - 1945/07
2
months18
flights81:55
hours🇺🇸 Mitchel Field
Hempstead, NY • 1945/08 - 1945/09
3
months13
flights42:45
hoursCombat Missions
1944-02-09
Combat Mission No. 80 — B-17G, 1:30,
Lt. Col. at AAF 110 APO 634
1944-02-11
Combat Mission No. 80 — B-17G, 8:00,
Lt. Col. at AAF 110 APO 634
1944-04-10
COMBAT MISSION NO. 105 — B-17G, 4:25,
Lt. Col. at AAF 110 APO 557
1944-05-11
Combat — B-17G, 5:30,
Lt Col at AAF 110 APO 557
Notable Connections
Capt. Clark Gable
351st Bomb Group, Polebrook • 1943
Hollywood’s biggest star served alongside Burns at the 351st from El Paso through
Polebrook. Gable joined the group at Biggs Field in late December 1942 and flew five
combat missions from Polebrook as an observer-gunner, filming footage for the documentary
Combat America. His last combat mission was the September 1943 raid on Nantes,
where he and Burns manned nose guns together in the sea haze over the Bay of Biscay.
“Gable and I, along with a lot of others, were in the Officers Club making merry.
I was scheduled to fly at midnight to give a bombardier a go at a nighttime target.
I was well into getting up to bombing altitude when I discovered that I had brought
my gas mask along instead of the oxygen mask.”
— Robert W. Burns, on New Year’s Eve 1942 at El Paso
“When we got down into the sea haze, both Gable and I went to the nose and each
of us handled a gun, looking for any stray fighter who might find us.”
— Robert W. Burns, on the Nantes mission, September 1943
Photo: The Illustrated London News, June 1943. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Scan Batches
2026-02-17 — 20 pages
Batch 1: Feb 1944 through Sep 1945 (includes Sep 1945 supplemental)
File:
20260217112209705.pdf2026-02-18 — 17 pages
Batch 2: Jan 1944 and Apr 1943 through Dec 1943 (includes Sep 1943 supplemental)
File:
20260218132307938.pdf2026-02-18 — 10 pages
Batch 3: Jan 1943 through Mar 1943 (includes Mar 1943 supplemental)
File:
20260218132840742.pdf