Seeking Military Records for Walther Grunder

Hi Reagan,

I hope this site is helpful in your search.

List of B-17 Flying Fortresses of this bomb squadron, which are in the database of this website

https://b17flyingfortress.de/en/bs/414th-bomb-squadron/

Best Wishes,

Alice

Hi again,

I found more information for you.

https://www.97bg.org/grunder-walter-g5543-97bg.cfm

You can apply for Walther Grunder's military records at this website. sometimes spelled Walter.

https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records

Best Wishes,

Alice

Reagan,

Dose Walther possibly remember what the name of his aircraft was? Dose family happen to know. There were many B-17s and many have crew lists but a majority of the ones I'm seeing are from roughly 1943-1944 for the 414th BS. Saw an article that Walther said possibly 1945 this was in a Connecticut newspaper.

Any additional information would help.

Thanks,

Elliot Schneider

Reagan,

Here is a list and names of some B-17s 414th BS aircraft but not sure which one he was on.

Smokey Stover

Ther-N-Bak

Old Ironsides

Sweet Adeline

Kan Do

Snoozin Susan

Sweet Chariot and Gen. Jimmy Doolittle

Yankee Doodle

All American

Stinky Jr.

Hell’s Kitchen

Pistol Packin Mama

Marquerite

Strictly Baggage

Sixty-Fifty

Tird Burd

Reluctant Dragon

Thanks,

Elliot Schneider

Dear Ms. Grunder,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

We searched the National Archives Catalog and located a series titled World War II Combat Operations Reports, 1941 - 1946 in the Records of the Army Air Forces ( Record Group 18) that includes 29 file units of the 97th Bomb Group for 1942 to 1945. For access to and/or copies of this/these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.

Many of the additional historical and operational records of the 414th Bomb Squadron & the 97th Bomb Group have been microfilmed by the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA). RDT2 has a copy of the microfilm. We searched the Air Force History index to the microfilm and located 26 files that pertain to the 414th Bomb Squadron plus 48 files that pertain to the 97th Bomb Group. Please read the brief Abstract to determine which records you are interested in and click on the specific PDF icon. In the PDF listing, the IRISREF is the microfilm reel number and note the FRAME and FRAMELST numbers for the location on the reel. Since the reel number begins with A or B, please contact RDT2 for access to them. Information about the plane should be noted in the reports.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

Once you know the specific plane of interest, the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution has custody of a microfilm copy of the Air Force and Army Air Force aircraft history record cards.  The cards list a plane's serial number, place of manufacture, and manufacturer's contract number, and may include information for each month that the plane was in service, the place of assignment, cumulative flying hours, and any repairs or accidents.  They cover information from the date the plane was put into service to the date it was destroyed or withdrawn from service.  For access to the microfilm, please contact the National Air and Space Museum Archives, 14390 Air & Space Museum Parkway, Chantilly, VA 20151 or email NASMRefDesk@si.edu.

We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!