Sorry if this isn't the right place but I've tried other subreddits and didn't get any answers. I also couldn't find any thing in this sub's archives.
Long story short: My dad was a child in Hungary during WW2 and he said one day a plane got shot down just outside of his village and the pilot was taken prisoner. He is pretty sure it was American.
Are there any resources I could be pointed to that could help me find records of it? Thanks!
The USAAF prepared Missing Air Crew Reports (MACR) for lost aircraft; from [the Air Force Historical Support Division] (http://www.afhistory.af.mil/FAQs/FactSheets/tabid/3323/Article/754820/missing-air-crew-reports-from-wwii-macrs.aspx):
"The information contained in a typical MACR includes a date, time, and location that the crew and aircraft were last seen or reported missing from the formation. Details about aircraft incidents were taken from statements given by crew members from other aircraft flying in the same formation. These statements usually mentioned whether any parachutes were seen to have opened and how many airmen exited the aircraft before it crashed. The names of the missing air crew member(s) were listed by crew position, rank, serial number, and known status such as MIA or POW.
Additional information included in the MACR is the aircraft AAF serial (tail) number; nickname or squadron identification letter; and the type, model, and serial number of the engine(s) or machine gun(s). The name of the assigned air base and numbered unit (squadron, group, or air force) to which an aircraft belonged also appears in the MACR."
There's a searchable index of MACRs at http://data.armyairforces.com/Data-Sets/MACR , but unfortunately the summary information is by date, aircraft type and serial number rather than location (location information could be of variable quality).
If you don't mind doing a bit of digging, Joe Baugher has compiled an extensive list of US aircraft serial numbers on [his website] (http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/usafserials.html) with potted histories. If you plug:
hungary site:http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/
into Google it will come back with all mentions of Hungary from where you can drill into particular lists. Locations seem to vary from "Hungary" to "NE of Budapest" to "8 km SW of Mosonmagyarovar, Hungary", so I'm not sure what the chances are of being able to pinpoint a particular instance. If you do find a likely candidate then the index number of the MACR should be listed, and you may be able to access it at [Fold3] (https://www.fold3.com/documents/28597484/missing_air_crew_reports_wwii/), possibly via the free trial.
Yikes that's going to be a pain to find. Your best bet would be local archives in Hungary if there are any. There were many planes that went down during WW2, so finding one in particular, especially if it wasn't a major crash. If you knew where the prisoner was kept, you might be able to find prison records. Even just googling "WW2 prisoners of war" might help.
I would go ahead and say Hungarian archives are your best bet.
The closest thing I found was this article http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/10/AR2007081001375.html