Audio recordings and transcripts of WWII pilots?

[safe-keeper]

So I've got a combat flight sim project of mine and I want the pilot chatter to sound authentic, so I'm looking for audio recordings or at least transcripts of WWII airmen in combat.

I've done a good deal of searching, but all I seem to find is that recording of the Lancaster crew that's all over YouTube. I just imagine there must be a WWII video/audio archive somewhere that I can dig into ?

 

[Henry IX]

So I've got a combat flight sim project of mine and I want the pilot chatter to sound authentic, so I'm looking for audio recordings or at least transcripts of WWII airmen in combat.

I've done a good deal of searching, but all I seem to find is that recording of the Lancaster crew that's all over YouTube. I just imagine there must be a WWII video/audio archive somewhere that I can dig into ?

Radio chatter was very rarely recorded. As far as my google-foo goes I could only find more modern recordings or that Lancaster recording. The reason it is so famous and well known is that it is fairly unique. There was a recording of Morse code from the supply missions to China but it was not very exiting...

You can get some recordings of engine noises, if you want to get the sounds right:
https://www.344audio.com/single-post/2017/08/31/PRODUCT-REVIEW-Mindful-Audio---WW2-Aircraft aircraft engine recordings

The best I can suggest is to use recordings from movies made shortly after - many of the people involved had experiences in the war which should at least mean the dialogue and accents are going to be somewhat authentic.

 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

Radio chatter was very rarely recorded. As far as my google-foo goes I could only find more modern recordings or that Lancaster recording. The reason it is so famous and well known is that it is fairly unique. There was a recording of Morse code from the supply missions to China but it was not very exiting...

You can get some recordings of engine noises, if you want to get the sounds right:
https://www.344audio.com/single-post/2017/08/31/PRODUCT-REVIEW-Mindful-Audio---WW2-Aircraft aircraft engine recordings

The best I can suggest is to use recordings from movies made shortly after - many of the people involved had experiences in the war which should at least mean the dialogue and accents are going to be somewhat authentic.

12:00 High would be exceptional if you're doing bomber missions.

 

[safe-keeper]

Thank you both .

 

[gagenater]

Portable audio recording equipment of that era wasn't terribly compact, (minor problem) but also required very low vibration conditions to function effectively.

Set this up in a bomber with the expectation that once the plane is in the air, and in level flight that a spare crew member can make sure it's still A-OK to run and troubleshoot it to record the crew? Doable. Set it up in the cockpit of a fighter plane where the pilot can't possibly be expected to keep an eye on it while it's expected to perform high G maneuvers? Not really doable, given the cost, likelyhood of failure, and problems you would likely encounter unless you really and truly expected to get critical information out of the tapes.