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The Desert Warrior Digital Image Collection

 Collection
Identifier: SDASM-SC-30031

Abstract

The Desert Warrior was a North American B-25 Mitchell that served during World War 2. The Desert Warrior took part in operations from El Alamein across Africa through Sicily. The ship flew 73 combat missions, dropped over l0 tons of bombs, shot down 3 enemy fighters, and flown 191 combat hours. This collection of images were donated by the family of Ralph Lower, the pilot of the Desert Warrior.

Dates

  • Majority of material found within 1940 - 1941

Conditions Governing Use

The collection is open for research.

Biographical / Historical

The Desert Warrior was a North American B-25 Mitchell that served during World War 2. The Desert Warrior took part in operations from El Alamein across Africa through Sicily. The ship flew 73 combat missions, dropped over l0 tons of bombs, shot down 3 enemy fighters, and flown 191 combat hours. During that time the Desert Warior never turned back because of mechanical failure. The targets she bombed read like a roll call of Rommel's retreat across the North African desert— El Alamein. Marble Arch, Tobruk, Mersa Malruh, El Daba, Fuka, El Agheila, Tripoli, Monastir, Kasserine Pass, Tunis, Kairouan, and finally Pantelleria and Sicily. After its service in the Mediterranean theater, the Desert Warrior went on tour to promote Hi-Octane fuel acros the United States. The production of this fuel was critical to the success of the United States Aircraft during the War. This collection of images were donated by the family of Ralph Lower, the pilot of the Desert Warrior.

Extent

50 Megabytes : 31 JPEGs from a collection of documents and photos donated from a family member of the pilot of the Desert Warrior, Ralph Lower. They document the history of aircraft and its crew. They are housed on the DAMS and on the Library Server.

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated to the Museum from the family of the Desert Warrior's pilot, Ralph Lower.

Related Materials

Audio of the Desert Warrior crew can be found here: https://archive.org/details/bd-0476-100-octane-speech

Physical Description

31 JPEGs from a collection of documents and photos donated from a family member of the pilot of the Desert Warrior, Ralph Lower. They document the history of aircraft and its crew. They are housed on the DAMS and on the Library Server.

Title
The Descriptive Finding Guide for the Desert Warrior Digital Image Collection
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives Repository

Contact:
2001 Pan American Plaza, Balboa Park
San Diego 92101 USA US
(619) 234-8291
(619) 233-4525 (Fax)