This is the combat diary of a U.S. Air Force P-51 Mustang pilot in Europe during World
War II. From February 12, 1944 through June 21, 1944, Harry Ankeny wrote the diary
as it happened. He completed the account covering June 22, 1944 through August 16,
1944 when he returned to Nebraska in July 1945. He used contemporaneous letters
that he had sent home to aid his memory of this later period. Harry's father was a
judge, and his court reporter, Eva A. Hannan, produced a typed copy in about 1945. In
1998, Harry's son, Bill Ankeny, scanned and OCR'd the typed copy, and it is presented here
with minimal editing. Images of a few pages of the handwritten diary are also
provided.
In addition to Harry's own experiences, the diary includes a partial listing of
aircraft destroyed by pilots of the 362nd Fighter Squadron and a roster of officers.
Harry Ankeny passed away in 2004. The entire contents of the diary are protected by copyright. Anyone interested in reprint permission should send an email request to: p51combatdiary@gmail.com.
Pagination of the typed copy has been preserved. The arrows at the
bottom of each page will take you to the next or previous page, and the underlined rows of
numbers provide direct links to each page.
