Kermit "Kert" E. Bliss, an Iowa native, discusses his experience in the 7th Photo-Reconnaissance group, 14th Squadron, 8th Air Force during World War II. Bliss talks about joining the Civilian Pilot Training Program and having difficulty passing Air Force physicals due to his height, weight, and a malocclusion. He speaks of working in a restaurant until he was called up and, at Cadet School in Vernon (Texas), discovering that one of his restaurant coworkers was the officer in charge of cadets. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he talks about a guard being put on the airplane hanger to prevent sabotage. Assigned to Photographic Reconnaissance Operational Training Unit (PROTU) at Colorado Springs, he recalls getting leave upon arrival because the runways weren't built. Bliss details the difficulties of creating a strategic reconnaissance program from scratch, including having inadequate airplanes and inexperienced crews. He describes seeing the airplane crash that killed Edward Joseph Peterson, the air base's namesake, and inheriting Peterson's job as test pilot. Bliss tells of learning as much as he could about engines, doing simulated missions for photographic training, and making up flying time by doing long flights. Sent to a base in England, he talks about photographic procedures and compares using F-5 and Spitfire aircraft. Bliss explains how pilots knew they had been detected by radar and methods to avoid German air patrols. He explains his respect for the photo-interpreters and intelligence staff and cites examples of how their work benefited the war effort: identifying enemy planes preparing to run missions, reconstructing a secret German radar site for training, and estimating buzz bomb launch sites. Bliss recalls having mechanical problems with Allison engines and having to fly home from a mission with one engine disabled. He discusses his work as crash officer and details grounding every P-38 in the world after identifying a design flaw. Bliss mentions injuring himself by falling off an airplane, doing orientation flights in England, and landing in bad weather, including using Bradwell Bay Airfield with its fog-dissipating "pots" as a recovery base. He recounts his closest call to a midair collision and explains the solitary nature of photo reconnaissance missions. He talks about a career colonel who flew an operational mission for promotional purposes and who couldn't spot any of the numerous other aircraft in the air. Bliss describes training to identify aircraft and ships and tells an anecdote about a photo reconnaissance Spitfire being mistaken for a new type of enemy aircraft. Stating, "You handled the aeroplane like it was the camera," he talks about limiting acrobatics to prevent camera damage, the range of Spitfires, and once gliding his plane to England when he ran low on gasoline. He evaluates Spitfire controls and instruments. He discusses adjusting cable tensions so that all the airplanes of his unit flew the same way, helping repair a heavy wing, and the dependability of the Spitfire engine. Bliss comments on using Very High Frequency radio, explains the "Reverse Lend-Lease" program between the British and Americans, and illustrates the incredible accuracy of the meteorology people. He relates an anecdote about a professional navigator who could not calculate with a 120 degree wind. Bliss speaks of the mix of British and American clothing his unit wore to deal with high-altitude cold, health problems pilots suffered, and adapting to the use of a pressure mask. He discusses pilot casualty rates, downed pilots who escaped or evaded capture, and a close call he had while on a mission to photograph a bombing run. Bliss talks about going home for hernia surgery and recuperative leave, hearing the news of President Roosevelt's death in the airport on the way back to England, and being stalled at a replacement depot. Bliss reports getting knowledge of classified information for photographic reconnaissance missions and seeing the photographs he took. He touches on spending weekends at Widewing (England), meeting Sarah Oliver Churchill, and shuttling enlisted men to Biarritz (France) for leave after the war had ended. Bliss analyzes the relationship between photographic reconnaissance, bomber, and fighter pilots. He explains how he evaded enemy jets and recalls how stressful leave in London was due to buzz bomb attacks. He characterizes a B-25 pilot named Kraft and describes how he was killed in action. Bliss comments on using Direction Finding stations and identifying when Germans were pretending to be English stations to mislead pilots. As a group commander after the war, he talks about dispersing his unit and eventually going home himself aboard a troop ship. Selected as a "police officer," he talks about running inspections and being in charge of keeping the ship clean despite most everyone's getting seasick. Travelling the rest of the way by train and taxi, Bliss addresses his homecoming, having three months of leave accumulated, and becoming involved with the Madison Community Center (Wisconsin). In the Volunteer Air Reserve Training program of the Air Force Reserves, he speaks of having limited work space and no equipment, earning points through meetings and correspondence courses, and having two weeks of active duty unsuccessfully trying to recruit returning Vietnam veterans to the Reserves.
