Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs)

What's in these records?

Typically a MACR gives some or all of the following kinds of information about each crew member:

• Name
• Rank
• Service number
• Crew position
• name and address of next of kin

The report also usually indicates the following:

• Army Air Forces organization to which the aircraft was assigned
• Place of departure and destination of the flight plan
• Weather conditions and visibility at the time of loss
• Cause of crash
• Type, model, and serial number of the aircraft and its engines
• Kinds of weapons installed and their serial numbers

Some case files include the names of persons with some knowledge of the aircraft's last flight. In some cases these are rescued or returned crew members. Most reports do not contain all of the above information, especially those prepared in 1943 and in 1947.

Ordering Copies

Do you know the MACR number?

For more information on researching and accessing MACRs, please see:

• Records Relating to Personal Participation in World War II: American Military Casualties and Burials (Reference Information Paper 82)
   
• Missing Air Crew Reports (MACRs) of the U.S. Army Air Forces, 1942-1947, descriptive pamphlet of NARA's microfilm holdings (M1380).
   
• Missing Air Crew Reports (MACR), 1942-1947, in NARA's online catalog.
   
• Missing Air Crew Reports, WWII, on Fold3.
   
• Missing Air Crew Reports database