Escape and Evasion Reports at the National Archives

A primary source for information on the evasion of American airmen during WWII, other than books written by the airmen themselves, is the escape and evasion report (E&E), compiled by Allied military intelligence after the airmen had returned to Allied control.

According to an item on page 40 of the August 2006 issue of the AFEES newsletter, Escape and Evasion numbers exist primarily for members of the 8th and 9th Air Forces, who were debriefed in London.  They were not recorded for airmen debriefed only at group or Air Force headquarters.  Airmen liberated by Allied ground forces, Swiss internees, those who went down in the Balkans, or who became POW after evading for some time do not normally have an E&E number.

The escape and evasion (E&E) reports of American airmen and helper files of Dutch and Belgian helpers are available online, thanks to the staff of National Archives II (NAII) at College Park, Maryland.

Use the following steps to find an E&E report:

  1. Click on this link: catalog.archives.gov.id. In the search field on this page insert the airman’s name, last name first.  Then click on the magnifying glass symbol or click on your keyboard’s Enter key.
  2. Next click on the name of the airman highlighted in blue when it appears.
  3. That will bring up a grey screen for displaying the report.  You can wait for the report to appear and scroll down through the pages which appear in miniature on the right side of the screen.
  4. Or you can go ahead and download the report as a pdf file.  In the lower left part of the screen is the heading “Files Available for Download” where you can click to download the pdf file.
  5. Note that variations on how you spell the airman’s name doing your search may produce useful different results.  When I entered “Applewhite, Thomas”, the first result listed was his E&E report.  But when I entered “Applewhite, Tom”, the files on two of his helpers, one Dutch and the other Belgian, appeared near the top of the results.

(The National Archives has been scanning the files of helpers of Allied airmen. To view their files, click on the following links: Dutch: (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5709392), Belgian (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5701226), Czech (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5708536), Danish (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5708552), and Hungarian ( https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5701228).)

Note that files of some helpers of the airman may appear listed below the listing of the E&E report of the airman and may depend on how you spell the name of the airman.  For example, searching for the file of airman “Tom” Applewhite rather than “Thomas”, also produced the file of one of his helpers, Alphonse Escrinier.

Using the E&E# for a search, such as “E&E 324”, rather than his name, avoids the problem of misspelled names or whether or not a middle initial is used.  Note that sometimes airmen’s reports are combined.  For example, if searching for the report of Leroy Winter or Henry Farley, their reports are combined as 177 and 178, respectively.   To find the report, use either “E&E 177” or “E&E 177, 178”.  Using just “E&E 178” will not work.

Watch out for misspellings in the way the airmen’s names were indexed.  They may not matter as much with the latest enhancements of the National Archives indexing system, but before those changes, in searching for the airman Applewhite, I tried “Tom Applewhite” and “Thomas Applewhite” but without success.  When I tried just “Applewhite” I found him listed as “AppleWhite, Jr. Thomas B.”  Note the erroneous capital letter in the middle of his last name.

The following will provide four ways to find an airman’s E&E number: (1) the Atkinson List, (2) an alphabetical list compiled by webmaster for the first 248 reports with links to the reports, (3) a set of numerical lists of escape and evasion reports for report numbers 249-1000, and (4) Keith Janes’ excellent website, Conscript Heroes, contains a comprehensive numerical list of E&E #’s 1-2986, to be found at http://www.conscript-heroes.com/Art38-MIS-X.html.  It includes information on the airman’s unit, plane, date failed to return, and escape line.  Note that sometimes more than one airman appears on a report or his report refers the viewer on to the report of another airman who had similar experiences.

The above escape and evasion reports reflected the experiences of American escapers and evaders funneled back to the U.S. through London.  There was another set of escapers and evaders whose escape and evasion reports were compiled at Ft. Hunt, VA.   Some had escaped or evaded from western Europe but most were from the following countries, including Albania, Bulgaria, Burma, China, Greece, Italy, New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Rumania, Solomon Is.,  Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Yugoslavia, USSR, etc.  These reports use numbers 3-680, overlapping the numbering system above but are for entirely different people.  These reports are available on microfilm CD’s from the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) at Maxwell AFB in Alabama.  To see a list of the men whose reports are in this category, see the WWII escape and evasion Information Exchange. and its pg. 4 compiled by Warren B. Carah, and part of the Conscript Heroes website.  Note that report numbers 3-50 have no names of the men, the reports not yet having been made available to the public.

  1. Atkinson List

One aid to finding such a report is the list of American airmen with their Escape and Evasion report numbers compiled by Leslee Atkinson, which is part of the Atkinson papers at the National Museum of the United States Air Force (NMUSAF), Dayton, Ohio.  Click the following title, List of American airmen with E&E nos. by Atkinson AR.2009.064 index AFEES (1), to open the pdf file of the Atkinson list.  The reports are organized alphabetically by the first letter of the last name and then in numerical order by the E&E report number.  Atkinson was a French Air Force officer who, with Ralph Patton, was instrumental in bringing together airmen and their helpers after the war that led to the creation of the Air Forces Escape and Evasion Society.

The Atkinson list is part of the Atkinson papers located at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Wright-Patterson AFB, near Dayton, Ohio.  The papers were donated to the Air Force Library in 2009 by Renee Atkinson, widow of Leslee Atkinson.  (See pg. 26, Sept. 10, 2011, Vol. 23, No. 3, U.S. Air Forces Escape and Evasion Society, Fall 2011 Communicator.) Our thanks to Lonna McKinley, CA, Museum Manuscripts Curator, at the NMUSAF for providing the list.

2. List Compiled by the Webmaster

For the first 248 E&E reports, see the two following lists, the first in alphabetical order and the second in order by E&E number.  In the latter list, each listing provides access to the report on the NARA website.

Alphabetical Index to E&E Reports #’s 1-248

  • Adams, Richard D., Cpt., #26
  • Aguiar, William, S/Sgt, #82
  • Aquino, Joseph M., S/Sgt, #227
  • Austin, H.W., Jr., 1st Lt, #185
  • Ballinger, Olof M., 1st Lt, #248
  • Bell, Cecil Earl, Sgt, #85
  • Bennett, Charles A., 1st Lt, #223
  • Berry, James Lyle, S/Sgt, #238
  • Bertrand, Rene O., Pvt., #34
  • Bieger, John W., 2nd Lt, #133
  • Biggs, Robert E., 1st Lt., #41
  • Blackwell, George F., Sgt, #97
  • Blakeney, Robert, S/Sgt, #149
  • Boren, William T., Maj., #194
  • Bossinger, George A., T/Sgt, #174
  • Boyle, John T., 2nd Lt, #138
  • Breuer, Charles, 2nd Lt, #204
  • Brohard, Marius L., S/Sgt, #132
  • Brooke, Russell, 2nd Lt, #241
  • Brown, Dewey C., Jr., 2nd Lt, #165
  • Brown, Lester Jr., S/Sgt, #52
  • Browning, Herbert M., T/Sgt, #191
  • Buice, John Frank, T/Sgt, #202
  • Burdick, Clayton H., T/Sgt, #240
  • Cagle, Joseph W., Sgt, #215
  • Canaday, Denver M., S/Sgt, #160
  • Carl, Floyd M., S/Sgt, #246
  • Carpenter, John Leroy, #100
  • Carrol, Albert V.H., S/Sgt, #123
  • Carter, Grant, T/Sgt, #213
  • Chichester, Stanley R., 2nd Lt, #205
  • Chonskie, Edward F., Sgt, #121
  • Cimini, James T., Sgt, #106
  • Claytor, Roy F., 1st Lt, #120
  • Cole, Clifford E., Maj., #119
  • Cole, Edgar Boyd, Maj., #50
  • Conroy, Robert Thomas, 2nd Lt, #61
  • Contopidis, Homer, 2nd Lt., #42
  • Corcoran, James A., T/Sgt, #199
  • Cornwall, Joseph E., S/Sgt, #125
  • Cowherd, Ford C., T/Sgt, #124
  • Cox, Arthur B., Jr., T/Sgt., # 47
  • Cox, Vincent J., S/Sgt, #219
  • Crooks, William B., Jr., 2nd Lt., #2
  • Crowe, William F., S/Sgt, #83
  • Cucinotta, Anthony F., S/Sgt, #71
  • Cunningham, Richard M., 2nd Lt, #131
  • Darcy, Michael F., S/Sgt, #167
  • Davitt, Richard Stewart, S/Sgt, #99
  • Delvento, Pasquale J., S/Sgt, #184
  • Demetrios, Karnezis, 1st Lt, #126
  • Derosier, Sylvion, Pvt., #35
  • Des Rochers, John M., T/Sgt, #193
  • Devers, Sidney, T/Sgt., #17
  • Diminno, Albert D., S/Sgt, #187
  • Dones, Isabelino, S/Sgt, #146
  • Douthett, Lorin F., 2nd Lt, #232
  • Dunbar, John L., 2nd Lt, #90
  • Eastman, Harry L., S/Sgt, #112
  • Elliott, George G., S/Sgt, #161
  • Erickson, Gordon B., F/O, #65
  • Evans, George W., 2nd Lt, #55
  • Fahncke, Kenneth F., S/Sgt, #225
  • Farley, Henry R., S/Sgt, #178
  • Faulkiner, Russel R., 1st Lt, #172
  • Fegette, Iva Lee, S/Sgt, #32
  • Fink, Leonard J., 2nd Lt, #180
  • Fink, Phillip J., S/Sgt, #113
  • Fisher, Charles A., S/Sgt, #141
  • Fitzgerald, Allen Michael, Sgt, #60
  • Fleszar, Mike, T/Sgt, #216
  • Ford, Carey Bernard, S/Sgt., #49
  • Frazier, Melvin L., S/Sgt, #159
  • Funk, Leroy A., S/Sgt, #94
  • Gallerani, Bruno M., T/Sgt, #93
  • Genz, Raymond A., S/Sgt, #171
  • George, Ashworth, S/Sgt, #66
  • George, John W., 2nd Lt., #102
  • Gise, William John, Jr., 2nd Lt., #15
  • Glouderman, George H., F/O, #57
  • Gordon, Bruce W., 2nd Lt., #21
  • Graff, Warren E., F/O, #130
  • Green, Francis M., S/Sgt, #105
  • Greene, Frank W., S/Sgt, #51
  • Greene, Roscoe F., 2nd Lt, #87
  • Grodi, Wilmont C., 1st Lt, #156
  • Hager, Joseph M., S/Sgt, #84
  • Haltom, Louis L., 1st Lt, #76
  • Hamblin, Oscar Klass, T/Sgt, #210
  • Harding, Donald E., T/Sgt, #111
  • Harkins, Francis X., 2nd Lt, #115
  • Harnly, William E., 2nd Lt, #182
  • Harrison, Kee Hastinas, Capt, #91
  • Hartigan, William Robert, 2nd Lt, #231
  • Hartin, Forrest D., 2nd Lt., #5
  • Hartung, Frederick A., Jr., T/Sgt., #20
  • Hawes, Harry A., 2nd Lt, #211
  • Hess, John F., S/Sgt, #150
  • Hickerson, Glenn E., S/Sgt, #147
  • Hildebrand, Kenneth Gilbert, T/Sgt., #18
  • Hoehn, Duglas C., 2nd Lt., #38
  • Hollingsworth, Dal O., Cpt., #1
  • Hollingsworth, Leroy S., Cpt.,#4
  • Hooker, Billy J., F/O, #226
  • Hoover, Charles H., 2nd Lt, #195
  • Houghton, Jon H., S/Sgt, #53
  • Houser, Ralph E., T/Sgt, #197
  • Hughes, John K., 2nd Lt, #157
  • Hunt, Tom J.E., 2nd Lt, #81
  • Jaworowski, Alfred A., Sgt, #208
  • Jett, Joseph W.B., T/Sgt, #151
  • Johnson, Merle, 2nd Lt, #220
  • Johnston, Allen G., 2nd Lt, #212
  • Jones, Miles B., T/Sgt., #29
  • Judd, Frank E, T/Sgt. #3
  • Judy, Leland G., S/Sgt, #188
  • Kelly, Howard W., 2nd Lt., #30
  • Kimotek, Frank, S/Sgt, #134
  • Klein, Ellis H., S/Sgt, #192
  • Kneale, Adelbert D., Jr., 2nd Lt, #158
  • Koening, Bernard H., T/Sgt, #63
  • Kramer, Alfred, 1st Lt, #128
  • Kreitenstein, Norman, T/Sgt, #181
  • Kuberski, John H., S/Sgt, #56
  • Kylius, Robert E., 2nd Lt., #45
  • Lawhead, Duane J., S/Sgt, #245
  • Lee, Dale V., S/Sgt, #152
  • Leuhrs, Jack O., T/Sgt., #40
  • Long, Vern P., T/Sgt, #166
  • Loudenslager, Niles D., S/Sgt, #80
  • Lowell, Ford D., 2nd Lt, #164
  • Maddox, Harold Barnes, T/Sgt, 207
  • Maher, William P., 2nd Lt, #118
  • Manos, Joseph Emanuel, S/Sgt, #234
  • Marandola, Anthony, S/Sgt, #209
  • Markland, Dale, S/Sgt., # 48
  • Marshall, Herman, T/Sgt, #74
  • Martin, Roy A., S/Sgt, #77
  • Martin, William C., S/Sgt, #78
  • Maslanka, Edward L., 2nd Lt, #222
  • Matthews, Joseph G., 1st Lt, #117
  • Mayo, Thomas Palmer, 1st Lt., #23
  • Mays, Robert L., 2nd Lt.,#6
  • McDermott, Mark L., 2nd Lt., #12
  • McElroy, James D., 2nd Lt, #203
  • McKee, John R., 1st Lt., #10
  • McKee, Ralph D., 1st Lt, #89
  • McMath, James G., 2nd Lt, #183
  • McNemar, Charles H., T/Sgt, #110
  • McTaggart, Elmer E., Cpt., #37
  • Middledorf, William I., 2nd Lt, #114
  • Milasius, Peter P., S/Sgt, #73
  • Minnich, Martin G., 2nd Lt, #229
  • Minor, Walter E., Sgt., #43
  • Monser, George S., S/Sgt, #169
  • Moore, Kenneth R., Sgt, #214
  • Moriarity, Ernest T., Sgt., #24
  • Muir, Robert D., S/Sgt, #217
  • Munday, James S., 1st Lt., #104
  • Mundell, Robert F., T/Sgt, #153
  • Murray, Fred Lenton, T/Sgt, #206
  • Murray, Keith W., 1st Lt, #196
  • Myers, Edwin R., T/Sgt, #135
  • Nelson, Robert E., 1st Lt, #170
  • Nicholls, Robert W., S/Sgt, #145
  • Nichols, Donald Lee, 2nd Lt, #75
  • Normile, Joseph P., 2nd Lt, #58
  • Penly, Robert H., T/Sgt, #67
  • Perkins, Asbury Lee, T/Sgt, #221
  • Perrica, Frank R., 2nd Lt, #64
  • Peterson, Theodore, M., 1st Lt, #69
  • Polk, Jefferson Davis, S/Sgt, #109
  • Potvin, Samuel E., T/Sgt, #101
  • Pulcipher, Ralph R., 1st Lt, #168
  • Purcell, Thomas Q., ____, #148
  • Quirk, Josep F., Jr., Sgt, #247
  • Rader, Wayne S., 2nd Lt, #137
  • Ransom, Glen F., 2nd Lt, #163
  • Resseguie, Frank B., 2nd Lt, #228
  • Richardson, Herschell L., S/Sgt/ #176
  • Roach, Harry E., Jr., 2nd Lt., #44
  • Robertson, Archibald L., 2nd Lt, #116
  • Robinson, Allen N., S/Sgt, #103
  • Roper, Grandy W., 2nd Lt., #27
  • Rosio, Joseph, 2nd Lt., #54
  • Rothrock, Clarence H., Sgt, #144
  • Rowland, Henry Cabot, 2nd Lt, #243
  • Ruby, Edward C., T/Sgt, #108
  • Ruppe, Eldon T., 2nd Lt., #22
  • Ryan, Jack E., 2nd Lt, #136
  • Ryan, John L., Cpt., #25
  • Sarnow, Henry P., 2nd Lt, #230
  • Schowalter, Gilbert, 1st Lt., 8
  • Scott, John M., T/Sgt, #70
  • Scott, William E., _____, #173
  • Senlawsky, Peter, S/Sgt, #239
  • Sharpless, Claude, S/Sgt, #162
  • Shipe, Paul F., S/Sgt, #237
  • Sigle, Michael P., S/Sgt, #201
  • Slattery, Dennis E., T/Sgt, #186
  • Smith, Robert E., 2nd Lt., #7
  • Spaarks, Gerald A., S/Sgt, #189
  • Spence, John W., 2nd Lt., #16
  • Spevak, Edward J., 1st Lt, #59
  • Steinmetz, Arthur, _____, #233
  • Strandberg, Clarence W., T/Sgt, #236
  • Swanson, Ernest V., S/Sgt, #198
  • Swap, Arthur M., 2nd Lt, #127
  • Tafoya, Salvadore, S/Sgt, #72
  • Temple, George W., 2nd Lt, #142
  • Templeton, Lawrence H., S/Sgt, #86
  • Teraberry, Phillip Frederick, S/Sgt, #200
  • Theiss, Bertram R., 2nd Lt, #218
  • Therrien, Norman Peter, T/Sgt., #14
  • Thompson, Harold E., 2nd Lt, #242
  • Tilbury, Harold E., S/Sgt., #33
  • Toney, James Robert, ____#19
  • Trost, John S., 2nd Lt., #28
  • Turner, David Hamilton, Jr., 2nd Lt., #98
  • Tyler, Albert P., T/Sgt, #139
  • Vickless, William H., S/Sgt, #129
  • Vogel, Robert, S/Sgt, #143
  • Vogel, Sebastian L., S/Sgt., #13
  • Wagner, James L., S/Sgt, #140
  • Wagner, Norman R., Sgt, #175
  • Walls, Raymond Earl, S/Sgt., #39
  • Walters, Joseph J., S/Sgt, #224
  • Warth, Charles J., S/Sgt, #235
  • Watson, Cody Lisry, 1st Lt, #62
  • Watts, Floyd Bentley, 1st Lt, #92
  • Wells, Glen, T/Sgt, #79
  • Wemheuer, Joseph E., 2nd Lt., #36
  • Wetzel, William C., 1st Lt, #88
  • Whalen, Arthur T., S/Sgt, #190
  • Whitby, Ray L., S/Sgt, #154
  • White, John, S/Sgt, #95
  • Whitman, William A., T/Sgt, #31
  • Williams, Jack E., 2nd Lt., #9
  • Wilson, Claiborne W., T/Sgt., #46
  • Wingerter, Frank J., S/Sgt, #68
  • Winter, Leroy R., T/Sgt, #177
  • Winters, August, 1st Lt, #179
  • Wissenback, Erwin D., T/Sgt., #11
  • Woodside, Merle Elsworth, 2nd Lt, #244
  • Woodstock, Joseph S., S/Sgt, #96
  • Zelanak, Michael G., S/Sgt, #107
  • Zimmerman, Wesley L., T/Sgt, #155
  • Zioance, John, S/Sgt, #122

Numerical Index to E&E Reports #’s 1-248

3. Numerical List of Escape and Evasion Report Numbers

Report Nos. 249-319

Report Nos. 320-385

Report Nos. 386-445

escape-evasion-reports-index-002.jpg (1696×2608)

Report Nos. 446-499

Report Nos. 500-559

Report Nos. 560-624

Report Nos. 625-689

Report Nos. 690-750

Report Nos. 751-815

Report Nos. 816-880

Report Nos. 881-944

Report Nos. 945-1000

(4) Keith Janes’ excellent website, Conscript Heroes. His website contains a comprehensive numerical list of E&E #’s 1-2986, to be found at http://www.conscript-heroes.com/Art38-MIS-X.html.  It includes information on the airman’s unit, plane, date failed to return, and escape line.

 

 

 

4 thoughts on “Escape and Evasion Reports at the National Archives

  1. Hello,

    I have a copy of a handwritten report EE430 for Robert Southers, which unfortunately is hard to read. Do you have a typed transcription of it please? If not, can you recommend someone to transcribe it for me please?

    1. Dear Sim Smiley,

      I viewed the E&E 430 report for Robert Southers that National Archives II has posted online (see https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/national-archives-research/escape-evasion-reports-available-on-line/). Except for the first three pages which are easy to read, the remainder is typical of E&E reports, consisting of hard-to-read notes taken by an aide present during the interview. I know of no one who could do a better job of transcribing it than yourself. As you learn more about Souther’s experiences, more of the notes will make sense. I have checked the following:

      1. The 8th Air Force Museum website has posted websites for the different bomb groups. Some Bomb Groups still have active websites but 94th BG of Mr. Southers does not. There may be some websites related to the 94th that I am not aware of.

      2. If you have not seen the E&E 430 posted on the Internet by National Archives II, go to https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/national-archives-research/escape-evasion-reports-available-on-line/ for instructions on how to access it.

      3. There may be an additional document, known as the Appendix C, that was part of Mr. Southers’ file, that is not shown with his E&E report. It would be worth asking National Archives II or a private researcher to search for it. See https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/national-archives-research/appendix-c-part-of-escape-and-evasion-reports/ for more information on the Appendix C. See
      https://wwii-netherlands-escape-lines.com/research/national-archives-research/hiring-a-professional-researcher/ for information on hiring a professional researcher to search for it.

      4. I checked the website of the Comet Line, the biggest escape line used by Allied aviators (see http://www.evasioncomete.org/aListe.html) but Southers is not listed, so his helpers were probably not part of the Comet Line.

      5. The website of Franck Signorile at http://www.aide-aviateurs-allies-ww2.fr/ has a reference to Southers at http://www.aide-aviateurs-allies-ww2.fr/RechercheEvades. He is mentioned along with other evaders and the names of several helpers. You might want to contact Mr. Signorile for further information and advice.

      6. I see that one of the evaders listed on Mr. Signorile’s website with Southers was Feingold. This is likely to be the father of Rick Feingold, who can be contacted at rickfeingold at att.net. Mr. Feinigold has been an active researcher of his father’s experiences and is a member of AFEES. Rick may be able to help fill you in on Mr. Souther’s experiences.

      Best wishes,
      Bruce Bolinger
      Webmaster

      1. I am grateful for your thorough reply, it is all very helpful. My apologies for not acknowledging sooner!

      2. Hello,

        Could you please tell me where to get copies of a folder that I spotted in the following finding aid “Air Force Academy Library Holdings MS54”?

        Thank you

        Sim Smiley

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