I'm talking about the American bomber crews stationed in Europe.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
How much free time did they usually have?
Did they have to eat what the army provided? Could they eat outside in civilian areas?
Where they all housed in one area/building?
If they were housed in one building, were teams all in one room, or did they all have separate, close together rooms?
How did they receive mail? Who handed it out? Was mail from the opposing side allowed if the member had family from there? Or was that strictly banned?
After missions, were they examined for any injuries?
Did bomber crews practice flying together even though they weren't on mission?
How long did it usually take for a crew to complete twenty five missions?
Thank you!
I'm assuming you are asking about bomber crews. The pilot, co-pilot, and bombardier were officers. The rest of the crew were enlisted men. Officers and enlisted men did not eat together, nor did they sleep in the same building. They could eat civilian food when on leave from base, military food were pretty much all that was available on base. An American serviceman would not have received mail from relatives living in Germany because the Nazis would have been very suspicious of mail addressed to an Allied country. POW's were allowed to write home, and their mail was handled by the Red Cross. Military personnel usually report their own injuries and do not need to be examined after routine missions. They did receive regular medical checkups from Army doctors.
The film 12 O'Clock High was accepted by veterans of the 8th Air Force as presenting an historically accurate background for the story being told.
As for the mail, it had to be sent to an APO (army post office) address and could be censored. Out going mail was usually opened and censored. This is frequently mentioned in the literature of the time.