Biographical / Historical
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Related Materials
Contributing Institution:
San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives
Title: The Desert Warrior Digital Image Collection
Identifier/Call Number: SDASM.SC.30031
Physical Description:
50 Megabytes
31 JPEGs from a collection of documents and photos donated from a family member of the pilot of the Desert Warrior, Ralph
Lower. They document the history of aircraft and its crew. They are housed on the DAMS and on the Library Server.
Date (bulk): 1940-1941
Abstract: The Desert Warrior was a North American B-25 Mitchell that served during World War 2. The Desert Warrior took part in operations
from El Alamein across Africa through Sicily. The ship flew 73 combat missions, dropped over l0 tons of bombs, shot down 3
enemy fighters, and flown 191 combat hours. This collection of images were donated by the family of Ralph Lower, the pilot
of the Desert Warrior.
Physical Description: 31 JPEGs from a collection of documents and photos donated from a family member of the pilot of the Desert Warrior, Ralph
Lower. They document the history of aircraft and its crew. They are housed on the DAMS and on the Library Server.
Language of Material:
English
.
Biographical / Historical
The Desert Warrior was a North American B-25 Mitchell that served during World War 2. The Desert Warrior took part in operations
from El Alamein across Africa through Sicily. The ship flew 73 combat missions, dropped over l0 tons of bombs, shot down 3
enemy fighters, and flown 191 combat hours. During that time the Desert Warior never turned back because of mechanical failure. The
targets she bombed read like a roll call of Rommel's retreat across the North African desert— El Alamein. Marble Arch, Tobruk,
Mersa Malruh, El Daba, Fuka, El Agheila, Tripoli, Monastir, Kasserine Pass, Tunis, Kairouan, and finally Pantelleria and Sicily.
After its service in the Mediterranean theater, the Desert Warrior went on tour to promote Hi-Octane fuel acros the United
States. The production of this fuel was critical to the success of the United States Aircraft during the War. This collection
of images were donated by the family of Ralph Lower, the pilot of the Desert Warrior.
Conditions Governing Use
The collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to the Museum from the family of the Desert Warrior's pilot, Ralph Lower.
Related Materials
Audio of the Desert Warrior crew can be found here: https://archive.org/details/bd-0476-100-octane-speech
Subjects and Indexing Terms
North American B-25 Mitchell
North American B-25 Mitchell "Desert Warrior"
World War, 1939-1945
War Bond Drive
Lower, Ralph