Aerial Bombardment Operations

Historical aerial photographs showing bombing missions and military engagements during World War II in Europe and the Pacific.

ON THE RIGHT BEARINGS-These...

A Formation Of Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The 392Nd Bomb Group Encounters Flak After Bombing The Target At Stuttgart, Germany. 9 Aug. 1944.

Bombing of Brunswick, Germany 11 Jan 1944.

Martin B-26 Marauders Of The First Tac Af Bombing The Prepared Defenses, Including Pill Boxes, Rifles And Gun Emplacements And Other Strong Points In The Vicinity Of Royan, France, On The North Side Of The Gironde. The Huge Volume Of Smoke Rising Indicat

ON THE RIGHT BEARINGS-These...

Escarpment Gets Direct Hit -- An Artillery Shell Landing On The Edge Of This 400-Foot Japanese Held Escarpment In Southern Okinawa Sends Up A Cloud Of White Smoke. Constant Battering By 10Th Army Guns Chipped Tons Of Coral Rock And Dirt From The Cliffs From W

Two task forces totalling 109 Boeing B-17 airplanes plus part of another, Consolidated B-24 airplanes, attacked. Being covered by a smoke screen are berths of cruisers Nurnberg (1) & Leipzig (2) the Gneiseau (3), the Lutzow (4), Emden (5) U-boat

An aerial "bomber's eye" view of Rabaul, major Japaneseanese base in the Southwest Pacific, which has been hammered persistently by General MacArthur's bombing squadrons.

501S; 345G (4MII8K)-Members of Allied forces gathering up supplies dropped by parachute after occupation of landing strip at Hollandia, New Guinea. (April 26, 1944)

Some bursts in water and others in installations on southeast side of new lock gates to Adolf Hitler's Haven.

The Repeatedly Struck 9,000-Foot Yellow River Bridge Takes Near Misses From B-25 Mitchells Of The 14Th Air Force. China. 1St Bomb Group, Provisional; 2Nd Bomb Squadron, Provisional. June 24, 1944.

Boeing B-17 wing knocked off by flak during raid over Emden, Germany.

From The Large German Airdrome At Bordeaux, France, Nazi Bombers Took Off To Harass Our Shipping. This Base Loomed As A Serious Threat To Our Invading Troops And Supplies. A Formation Of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Attack On 27

Boeing B-17 on fire over Oscherlebin, Germany.

English Lancasters Hit Scholven, Germany On 22 Feb. 1945. Note RAF Bombing Formation.

ANOTHER STRING walks across the other end of the bridge, but still the vital middle hasn't been hit.

Bombing of Hollandia.

Official Us Army Air Forces Photo Distributed Thru Owi. A Typical German Strongly Defended Position In The Sangro Battle Area. It Is The Village Of Casoli, Built On A High Knoll, Now Turned Into A Fortified Position By The Germans. To Attack A Position

Bombs fall from Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 15th Air Force as they attack the railyards at Belgrade. Smoke covers practically all of the target. 17 April 1944. 463rd Bomb Group.

As the Hermann Goering Steel Works near Brunswick burns from earlier hits, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator of the U.S. 8th Air Forces approaches the target with the second wave of planes in the attack of 14 Jan 45. GERMANY.

Nettuno, Italy-Fire damages a small vessel after bombing.

Mixed load of H.E. and Incendiaries dropped in the attack on Munich, Germany.

Under this American made smoke screen lies the JU 88 repair base and airfield at Rheims in occupied France. Smoke and flame rise from the heavy concentration of bombs dropped by 8th AAF Flying Fortresses on their March 28th attack, when they hit

Bombing Of Nice, France By Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" Of The 15Th Air Force On 26 May 1944.

Bombing Over Tobera Airfield, Rabaul, New Britain.

Flying to the outskirts of Rome itself, AAF Flying Fortresses of the 15th Air Force pound the Centocello airdrome, southeast of the Eternal City, leaving smoke billowing upward from this on hangars, administration buildings, barracks, the runway

Where Australians are advancing in New Guinea: An aerial view of the track along the rugged sea coast, down through ravines where patches of palm trees grown and across gigantic patches of kunai where Australians Forces are advancing along the north

An oblique photograph taken from a Martin B-26 Marauder shows the German communications center of Neaukirchen ablaze following an attack by 9th Bomb Division medium and light bombers. The town was attacked with 375 tons of incendiaries and high

A Consolidated B-24 over the target after dropping its bombs on Salamaua, a major Japaneseanese base on the North coast of New Guinea. Bomb burst may be seen on narrow Isthmus on which Salamaua is built, with great clouds of smoke rising from the

These two Boeing B-17 Flying ofrtresses of the 15th AF are part of a formation heading for the south main marshalling yard at Linz, Austria, on 25 Feb. 1945. They are participating in a supreme air efofrt to smother all existing German transport

Where The Japaneses Fought Hardest -- This 2-Pronged Ridge In The Middle Of A Flat Valley Is Typical Of The Defensive Positions Manned By The Japaneses In Their Last-Ditch Stand On The Southern Tip Of Okinawa. Dark Spots In The Ridge Are Caves From Which The Enemy

Aerial View Of An Airfield At Gardelegen, Germany. 10 May 1945.

Over one hundred parachutes laden with guns, ammunition and food for units of the Maquis, float down onto an open patch of country deep in France recently. Three of the many U.S. 8th AF bombers which dropped supplies continuously to supply the Maquis

Center of Duren, Germany was erased by RAF on 16 Nov. 1944 while 8th AF hammered outskirts. Photo was taken two days later.

Dagua Airdrome, New Guinea

Fourteen 250-pound bombs, in formation, head down to the target area at Munich, Germany, during the attack by U.S. 8th AF Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses.

Smoke Rises As Bombs Dropped By Planes Of The 95Th Bomb Group Burst On The Erkner Ball Bearing Plant At Berlin, Germany On 8 March 1944.

Destroyer Escort, Frigate Class Keels Over After Attack By North American B-25S Of The 345Th Group, On 6 April 1945, Near Amoy, China.

Result of fire bombs dropped by 9th Air Force Republic P-47s on 28 Sept. 1944 on Metz Fort, France.

The glider pictured here at Best, Holland, was just one of many used in the invasion of Southern Holland, 18 September 1944. Note the unloading platform.

Turbulent Smoke Hovers Over The Junkers Aircraft Components Plant At Halberstadt, Germany As Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" Of The 303Rd Bombardment Group, 8Th Air Force Put The Finishing Touches To Their 30 May 1944 Attack.

Bombs Burst On I.G. Farbenindustrie, Huge Chemical Plant, At Ludwigshafen, Germany On 5 Nov. 1944 As Planes Of The 100Th Bombardment Group, 8Th Air force, Carry Out Their Mission.

Bombing of Oschersleben, Germany.

IMPORTANT RAIL LINK--At the marshalling yards in Osnabruck, smoke and flames spout upward as Flying Fortresses of the U.S. Eighth AAF chalked up another one on May 13, 44, with hits on rolling stock, repair shops, and locomotive sheds. A steel plant

Kuma class cruiser taking...

Pre-Strike Photo Taken Of Osaka, Japan, On February 27, 1945, Before The City Felt The Aerial Blows Of The 21St Bomber Command Under Major General Curtis E. Lemay. The River Is The Shin Yodo.

Marshalling Yard At Courtrai, Belgium Prior To Attack Of 26 July 1944.

Nagoya - Dense Clouds Of Smoke Roll Up From Nagoya, Japan During A B-29 Superfortress Raid On The Mitsubishi Aircraft Engine Plant. The Attack Was An Operation Of The 21St Bomber Command Of The U.S. Army 20Th Air Force.

More And More Bombs Struck Enemy Installations At The Beachhead In Southern France As Martin B-26 Marauders Of The Tactical Air Force Smashed At Targets That Would Impede The Advance Of Our Ground Forces. Bombs Falling In This Picture Will Add More Confu

Gun camera records battle---In this series of three photos taken from the motion picture gun camera of an 8th Air Force fighter plane, the end of an FW-190 appears to American pilots as they get on its tail. (Center) The FW-190 appears to American

Herewith are pictured incidents of the Battle of the Bismarck Sea, in which Allied bombers destroyed a 22 ship Japaneseanese convoy, with an estimated loss to the enemy of 15,000 lives and 90,000 tons of shipping. 12 of the ships were troop transports and

Falling Bombs, Smoke Markers, And A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 8Th Air Force'S 92Nd Bombardment Group Over Berlin, Germany On May 19, 1944 Are Evidences Of The Air War Being Waged Against The Axis.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses making trails while on a bombing mission over Frankfurt, Germany.

Damage being done on Rome/Littoria Marshalling yards- (A)-Large Explosions & fire from hits on ammunition cars. (B)-Hits on Car Shop. (C)-Destruction of Hangar.

Kuma class cruiser taking evasive action while being attacked by Consolidatede B-24 "Bomber Barons" of the 13th Air Force in the Sulu Sea off Negros Island, P.I. Four direct hits caused fires and explosions amidships. The cruiser sank three hours

Aircraft, Burma, India &PSYCHOLOGICALWARFARE War

Boeing B-17 Stuttgart, Germany Mission-6 Sept. 1943: A "Fort" of the low element (larger image plane left) flies by as another Boeing B-17 (smaller image) in cloud, spirals down, out of control, after having been hit by flak, near the target.

Bombs from Consolidated B-24's drop on Frankfort on the Main during one of the several heavy poundings to shake this important German industrial & transportation center early in Feb. In this attack, 800 heavy bombers, accompanied by 100's of fighters

Bomb bursts from Northwest African Air Forces Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses completely blanket Italian heavy cruiser and its protecting torpedo boom in La Maddalena harbor.

In Three Heavy Attacks, General Macarthur'S Bombers Demolished Or Irreparably Damaged 288 Enemy Planes On Japaneseanese Airfields At Hollandia. Here Consolidated B-24 Liberators Fly On After Pulverizing A Dispersal Area.

Yokahama, May 29, 1945, After 21St Bomber Command Mission. Smoke And Flames Pour Out Of The Great Japanese City.

THE DEVASTATING HOLLANDIA ATTACK. These continued attacks ran the total score up to 288 enemy planes destroyed. This daring close-up shows a parachute bomb after dropping from a U.S. Army 8th Air Force plane.

In addition to applying a five-point procedure of air blockade against Hollandia, planes of the 5th Air Force kept our landing forces supplied by parachute during the early days of the occupation of this vital enemy base in Dutch New Guinea. Bomb

Aerial mosaic of the coastal village of Ulamaingi, which lies 3 miles southwest of Cape Gloucester. The U.S. Marines captured the town to extend the perimeter of their lines.

Smokejumpers: In Action - Washington. Photographs Relating to National Forests, Resource Management Practices, Personnel, and Cultural and Economic History

Aerial view of Chu Lai Airfield in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The image shows a fuel farm in the lower right corner of the frame, with A-4 aircraft parked between temporary revetments. This photograph is part of the Defense Department's collection and was taken by the Marine Corps.

In a raid on Oct. 21, Flying Fortresses of the NAAF attacked the important railway viaduct two miles northwest of Terni, Italy. This photo shows a bomb falling from one of the B-17's and other bombs bursting across the viaduct.

Momote airdrome on Los Negros Island, east of Manus Island in the Admiralty group, makes an odd pattern on the ground when seen from a US Fifth Air Force bomber flying at high altitude. Los Negros Island, the latest addition to the long list of Japanese

Rjuken Attack, Norway (Nov. 16, 1943) Boeing B-17 crashes into sea. (Probable bomb explosion).

Bombs Dropped By Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 91St Bomb Group, 8Th Air Force, Burst On The Target Of The Day -- Tours, France. 5 Jan 1944 (Altitude 20,300 Feet).

12th Reconnaissance Sqd. 67th Rec. Grp. New Type Panel, Altitude 500 ft.

With Installations Burning Fiercely, This Is The Picture Presented At Regensburg, Germany During Attack On 25 Feb 1944 By Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group, 8Th Air force. Taken By S/Sgt. F. Ferreri.

Pillars of smoke towered 3000 ft., after napalm attack by 5th AF fighters, despite the fact that four inches of rain drenched the Ipo area (Luzon, P.I.) just prior to the strikes. Some 5th AF pilots even managed to plop their bombs into cave mouths

Bombs from Flying Fortresses of the 15th AAF blast the airfield at Kalamaki, south of Athens, Greece, in a raid on 6 Dec. 1944.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 91St Bomb Group, 8Th Air Force, Enroute Toward Cognac, France, Fly At 18,000 Altitude - High Above The Heavy Cloud Banks. 31 Dec. 1943.

Smoke from bomb hits covered almost entire length of runway at Jesselton Airdrome, North Borneo, on 17 Dec. 1944. One of the Japaneseanese concrete runways in the entire Pacific, it was hit by 23 Consolidated B-24 Liberators from the Fightin' 13th AAF's

Denzig under attack.

Out Of Box

A B-17 Flying Fortress of the 15th AF drops its bombs on a railroad bridge at Vipiteno Italy.

Irreparable Damage To Germany'S Important Marshalling Yards Such As The One At Osnabruck Was Achieved By Such Bombing By The Us 8Th Air force & The RAF.

Vapor-trail footprints of the grim and bloody air battle now being fought in the sky over Germany. BATTLEFIELD--1943--These majestic clouds are serenity itself, but above them can be seen the vapor-trail footprints of the grim and bloody air battle

Mission accomplished! Direct hits were made on hangars and headquarters building of the airfield, numerous planes were destroyed on the ground, and an oil dump was blown up.

Bengasi Harbor, Cirenaica, Libya, November 6, 1942.

Bombs Away, And How -- Fragmentation Bombs, Part Of The Heavy Load That Was Let Loose On The Memmingen Airdrome In Southern Germany By Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 15Th Aaf, Are Shown Here On The Way To The Target During The Heavy Bomber Attack Of

HQ., 8TH AAF DEVELOPES NEW BOMBING TECHNIQUE: Development of a new day bombardment technique enabling bombing through solid cloud cover was announced by AF Bomber Command headquarters recently. The value of the new technique

Columns Of Black And White Smoke Pour From The Empire Dock, Singapore, Malay Peninsula, After An Attack By B-29 Superfortresses.

This Picture, Snapped On A Mission By Martin B-26 Marauders Against A German Troop Concentration West Of Velletri, Shows A Narrow Escape By One Of The Medium Bombers From The Explosives Of Its Own Formation. The Near Accident Resulted When The Plane'S Pi

Hawaii - Pa Lehua Artillery Spur through Pali, Aerial Photograph.

Smoke covers Kalamaki Airdrome, Athens, Greece after a raid by planes of the 99th Bomb Group. September 1944.

Smoke Billows From Bomb Bursts At Fiume, Italy, On 20 February 1945 After Bombing By The 343Rd Bomb Squadron, 98Th Bomb Group.

CHINESE SEARCH for PIECES OF BOMBER WRECKAGE--The crew of this particular one of Gen. Doolittle's Tokyo raiders jumped to safety. Parasol carrying soldiers of the Chinese Army seek to salvage whatever is left of value.

Aerial View Of Lockheed P-38 "Lightnings" Parked At An 8Th Air Force Base In England. Note The Auxiliary Fuel Tanks Alongside The Parking Area. 1943.

Tokuyama, Japan During The Strike Of May 10, 1945.

JU 88 blows up on a German airdrome after being shot up by an American airman. (Upper left)-Effect of U.S. Army 8th Air Force bullets are seen at once on this Nazi JU 88 as the American swoops over the airdrome. (Upper Right)-View from the U.S.

Collection of World War I Photographs, 1914-1918 that depict the military activities of British and other nation's armed forces and personnel during World War I.

Bomb Damage In The German Army Hq, Caused By Bombs From 367Th Fighter Bomb Group.

Another of the Axis vital supply centers feel the weight of American bombers. Bomb bursts may be seen on the dock area of Athens/Piraeus during a recent raid by Flying Fortresses.

Bombs from Fortresses higher up caught by the camera as they enter the cloud cover over Wilhelmshaven.

Normandy, France (top) A truck, loaded with ammunition or gasoline is under attack by two fighters (Republic P-47) second of which took this picture. (Center) The truck is at the start of its explosion from hits inflicted by the first plane which is

Messerschmitt Me-110 in center of picture is target for Republic P-47 pilot, in this unusual gun camera picture.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

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