Bob Campbell, archivist for the 406th Fighter Group WWII Memorial Association, is the son of a 406th pilot. The Pima Air and Space Museum is adding a 406th exhibit.

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As World War II fighter pilot Jack Yarger flew low over German soldiers in France, strafing and dropping bombs, he found himself staring down the barrel of a German tank's cannon.

The tank fired and Yarger's cockpit filled with smoke. As he flew over the English Channel he wasn't sure if he'd make it back to England. But he did.

"I was scared to death," Yarger said about most of the 114 missions he flew. "I felt vulnerable all of the time."

The leather flight jacket Yarger wore on his missions will be part of a display in preparation at the Pima Air Space and Museum, 6000 E. Valencia Road.

The exhibit, which should be completed by the end of 2007, will commemorate World War II pilots in the 406th Fighter Group. It will feature photographs, personal items and memorabilia donated by the group's members.

The 406th already has its archive, which includes group members' wartime souvenirs, at the museum.

Now because of a donation from Maggy Grossetta, widow of 406th commanding officer Anthony Vincent Grossetta, the museum will be able to catalog and archive the souvenirs and create a permanent display.

The museum's curator, Scott Marchand, said the archive provides a window into what fighter pilots experienced in World War II.

"It (the 406th) had a good solid combat record that's a good representation of what these units were going through during the war," he said.

The 406th Fighting Group primarily provided air support for Allied forces on the ground.

Bob Campbell, board member and archivist for the 406th Fighter Group WWII Memorial Association, said the group participated in historic moments such as D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge.

Yarger said the reason members of the 406th Fighting Group decided to archive some of their personal possessions was to make them available for people interested in history.

If the items were kept in the family, future generations might not realize the significance of them, might store them in the attic or even throw them away.

Marchand will have the responsibility of sifting through the archive and creating an exhibit that represents the personal and historical experiences of the pilots.

"It's more of an art than a science," he said.

The museum will hire a trained professional to organize and catalog the archive. The catalog will include a software database that will sort the items so they're easier to access. Anything in the archive will be available for loan to people with a legitimate research interest, Marchand said.

Campbell, whose father was a pilot in the 406th, sent a letter to the group's surviving members requesting that they send photographs, letters or other historical items that could benefit the archive and exhibit.

Campbell said the fighter group has a significant place in Tucson history because Grossetta, its commanding officer, who died in 2003 at age 89, was a Tucson pioneer and one of the founders of the Pima Air and Space Museum.

For that reason, he said, it seemed natural for the 406th's archive to end up at the museum.

Maggy Grossetta said she made the $70,000 donation to honor the contribution the 406th Fighter Group pilots made for their country.

Nearly half of the group's pilots died in combat, Yarger said.

He joined the group along with two of his friends, and one of them got shot down and died on a mission. It could've been any one of them, he said.

The aviators had little time to grieve. "You can't sit down and cry your eyes out because there's a war going on," he said.

Yarger said he was elated to learn that the Grossetta family had agreed to donate the money for the exhibit.

"I was very jubilant about their agreement to fund the operation," he said.