Original U.S. WWII POW Stalag Luft III Uniform Group of Lt. Ira Middaugh, 337th Bomb Squadron, 96th Bomb Group - Shot Down in B-17F “Mary R.” in 1943

Original Items. One-of-a-Kind Group. This is a great uniform grouping attributed to Lieutenant Ira Middaugh, who was a co-pilot on the B-17F “Mary R” in the 337th Bombardment Squadron, 96th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. On July 26th, 1943, he and his crew were shot down over Eindorf, near Walsrode, Germany when an enemy aircraft knocked out two of their engines. Middaugh was taken as a prisoner of war, and kept in the POW camp Stalag Luft III.

The grouping includes:
- Middaugh’s summerweight tan officer’s uniform jacket with a gorgeous bullion 8th Air Force patch on the left shoulder, and four overseas stripes on the left cuff. There are US & AAF collar insignia and 1st Lieutenant bars on each shoulder board. There is a set if Sterling Pilot wings over the left breast pocket. The interior has a few tags and the name MIDDAUGH is written in the interior right sleeve.
- Middaugh’s winterweight OD green officer’s uniform jacket with an AAF patch on the left shoulder and US & AAF collar insignia. There are 1st Lieutenant bars on the shoulders and a set of Sterling pilot wings over a blue rectangle stitched over the left breast pocket. Below this is a two-place ribbon bar with the Air Medal with 2 OLCs and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal with three campaign stars. The original belt is retained. There is no name in this uniform.
- Middaugh’s U.S. Officer’s visor cap with the AAF wrap-around chinstrap. Tag inside for A. Jacob & Sons of Baltimore, Maryland. No size tag but roughly a 7.
- Binder with printed research about Middaugh. No original documentation, just reprints. 

It should be noted that both of the uniform jackets have bars for 1st Lieutenant, while Middaugh was only ever a 2nd Lieutenant. These bars may have been added later. 

Stalag Luft III (German: Stammlager Luft III; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force personnel. The camp was established in March 1942 near the town of Sagan, Lower Silesia, in what was then Germany (now Żagań, Poland), 160 km (100 mi) south-east of Berlin. The site was selected because its sandy soil made it difficult for POWs to escape by tunnelling.

It is best known for two escape plots by Allied POWs. One was in 1943 and became the basis of a fictionalised film, The Wooden Horse (1950), based on a book by escapee Eric Williams. The second breakout—the so-called Great Escape—of March 1944, was conceived by Squadron Leader Roger Bushell of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was authorised by the senior British officer at Stalag Luft III, Herbert Massey. A fictionalised version of the escape was depicted in the film The Great Escape (1963), which was based on a book by former prisoner Paul Brickhill. The camp was liberated by Soviet forces in January 1945. The site of the former POW camp is now the 'Stalag Luft III Prisoner Camp Museum'.

Ira Middaugh was born on November 29th, 1921 in Scio, New York. He enlisted in the Army on November 13th, 1940 in Olean, New York. He was commissioned as an officer and trained as a pilot, being assigned to the 337th Bombardment Squadron, 96th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force. He traveled overseas and conducted several missions in the European Theater. On July 26th, 1943, he and his crew were shot down over Eindorf, near Walsrode, Germany when an enemy aircraft knocked out two of their engines. Middaugh was taken as a prisoner of war, and kept in the POW camp Stalag Luft III. He was later moved to Nuremberg-Langwasser. He was liberated in July 1945 and returned home. He passed away on February 25th, 1973 at the age of 51.

A lovely uniform grouping, ready for further research and display.

Approximate Measurements:-
Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 25”
Shoulder to shoulder: 16"
Chest width: 18.5”
Waist: 17.5"
Hip: 19"
Front length: 31"

Collar to shoulder: 10"
Shoulder to sleeve: 25”
Shoulder to shoulder: 16"
Chest width: 19”
Waist: 18"
Hip: 19"
Front length: 32"