Oral History Interview with Robert Owens, May 31, 2012 Metadata

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Title

  • Main Title Oral History Interview with Robert Owens, May 31, 2012

Creator

  • Interviewee: Owens, Robert
    Creator Type: Personal

Contributor

  • Interviewer: Metzler, Ed
    Contributor Type: Personal
  • Interviewer: Sesling, Michael
    Contributor Type: Personal

Publisher

  • Name: National Museum of the Pacific War
    Place of Publication: Fredericksburg, Texas

Date

  • Creation: 2012-05-31

Language

  • English

Description

  • Content Description: The National Museum of the Pacific War presents an oral interview with Robert Owens. Owens joined the Navy in 1943, aspiring to be a fighter pilot. He enrolled in the V-12 program but by 1944 there was declining interest in pilots with as little experience as he would have had, so he volunteered for gunnery school. He joined a PBY4-2 Privateer crew in Florida as a turret gunner and deployed to the Philippines. Flying over the South China Sea and along the coastline of Indochina, his crew was often accompanied in the air by nonconfrontational Japanese fighters. On one mission over a targeted ship, however, Owens's crew flew too closely to the lead plane and struck a column of water splashing up from their bomb. This caused engine trouble and made them an easy target for nine aggressive enemy fighters. The crew escaped after shooting down three Oscars and diverted to Palawan for an emergency landing. In their haste to lighten the load on the damaged plane, they tossed out their life rafts before crossing the sea. Fortunately, they arrived without incident. After 23 combat missions in both the PBY4-1 and 4-2, Owens returned home and became an engineer for Lockheed.
  • Physical Description: 46 p.

Subject

  • Library of Congress Subject Headings: World War, 1939-1945
  • University of North Texas Libraries Browse Structure: People - Individuals
  • University of North Texas Libraries Browse Structure: Military and War - Wars - World War II
  • Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms: Interviews
  • Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms: Oral histories
  • Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms: Personal narratives
  • Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms: Autobiographies
  • Library of Congress Genre/Form Terms: Biographies
  • Keyword: WWII
  • Keyword: United States. Navy
  • Keyword: World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations, American
  • Keyword: PB4Y-1 Liberator (Patrol Bomber)
  • Keyword: PB4Y-2 Privateer (Bomber)
  • Keyword: World War, 1939-1945 -- Vietnam
  • Keyword: Aeronautics, Military -- Accidents
  • Keyword: Combat
  • Keyword: Aerial gunnery

Primary Source

  • Item is a Primary Source

Relation

  • Oral History Interview with Robert Owens, May 31, 2012 - ark:/67531/metapth1610012

Collection

  • Name: National Museum of the Pacific War Oral History Collection
    Code: NMPW
  • Name: National Museum of the Pacific War Digital Archive
    Code: NMPWA

Institution

  • Name: National Museum of the Pacific War/Admiral Nimitz Foundation
    Code: NMPW

Rights

  • Rights License: by-nc-nd
  • Rights Statement: Commercial use is prohibited without permission from the National Museum of the Pacific War.

Resource Type

  • Text

Format

  • Text

Identifier

  • Accession or Local Control No: OH03529
  • Archival Resource Key: ark:/67531/metapth1606206
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