National Air and Space Museum Archives

Robert L. Liles Photography Collection Finding Aid

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.2013.0062
Dates:
1941-1970
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.45 Cubic feet
[1 letter document box]
Repository:
Robert Lee Liles (June 13, 1920 - August 16, 2013) served in the U.S. Air Force from 1940 to 1970. After retiring from the Air Force, he worked as a safety engineer. Liles died in 2013. The Robert L. Liles Photography Collection consists of digital copies of thirty-six photographs from Robert Liles' service in the Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force from 1940 to 1970.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection consists of digital copies of thirty-six photographs from Robert Liles' service in the Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force from 1940 to 1970, including training as an aviation cadet, World War II, and post-war service.

Arrangement

Arrangement
...

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Robert Lee Liles was born on June 13, 1920 in Webb City, Missouri. In November 1940, he left college to join the Army Air Corps. Liles finished his flight training at Kelly Field, Texas. He was commissioned in July of 1941 and was assigned to the 77th Pursuit Squadron of the 20th Pursuit Group. In 1942, Liles joined the 16th Fighter Squadron in Karachi, India (now Pakistan) before its deployment to southeast China. During his service with the squadron, Liles, in his P-40 Warhawk "Duke", had five confirmed aerial victories and five "probables". In July 1943, now a major, Liles was appointed to command the 16th Fighter Squadron. In 1944, he was awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry. After the war, Liles held various command and staff positions, including command of the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing from 1966 to 1968. He retired as a colonel in 1970. Liles then worked as a safety engineer until he retired again in 1988. Robert Lee Liles died in Montgomery Village, Maryland on August 16, 2013.

Administration

Author
Allan Janus
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Barbara Mansfield, Gift, 2013.
Processing Information
Arranged, described, and encoded by Allan Janus, 2021.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Preferred Citation
Robert L. Liles Photography Collection, Acc. 2013.0053, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
United States Air Force Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
World War, 1939-1945 -- India Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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