Aircraft Maintenance and Training

Historical scenes of pilots and ground crew working on aircraft, highlighting aircraft maintenance, training, and wartime activities.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Training

A Clean Gun Barrel Shoots Straight, As The Armorer Shown Cleaning The Guns Of This North American P-51 Mustang Of The 15Th Aaf, Well Knows. These High Altitude Fighters, Used As Escorts For The Consolidated B-24 Liberators And Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress

An American P-47 pilot, returned to an advanced 9th AF fighter-bomber station after a mission supporting allied troops in their invasion of the continent, examines a hole made in the wing of his plane by enemy fire.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Training

JOE LOUIS IN ENGLAND.After putting on a boxing exhibition at an air base somewhere in England, world's champion Sgt. Joe Louis tries the cockpit of a North American P-51 for siz. Its pilot, Col. George Peck, Detroit, Michigan, gives the Champ a few

Men Of The 91St Bomb Group Check The Instruments On The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" "Oklahoma Okie" At The 91St Bomb Group Base In Bassingbourne, England On 24 August 1943.

Capt. Herbert And Ground Crew Beside A North American P-51 Mustang Of The 20Th Fighter Group In England.

Lockheed P-38 of the 1st...

1St Lt. Quentin L. Quinn, Indianapolis, Ind., And 1St Lt. Francis W. Horne, Aucilla, Fla., Shake Hands On The Wing Of The Republic P-47 'Indiana National Bank' At An Air Base In England, After They Returned From A Mission Over Germany.

At an advanced landing strip somewhere in France members of a Republic P-47 crew charge the wing machine guns.

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group, Poses By His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Air Base Somewhere In Italy.

Crew Members Examine Damage To A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 401St Bomb Group Which Participated In A Bombing Mission Over Gaggenau, Germany, 13 December 1944.

ENGLAND-Sgt. Otto A. Sobanjo, of Hibbing, Minn., Tail Turret Gunner on a B-24, has 30 missions to his credit and holds the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters. (Kodachrome #2397).

Italy - Flight Plan Is Checked Carefully By Pilot And Mickey Operator Of Lockheed P-38 'Droopsnoot' Just Prior To Take Off.

Russian Military Men Make A Tour Of Inspection At The 2Nd Base Air Depot In Lancashire, England. 13 April 1944.

Top Turret Gunner Of A Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" At His Station In The Plane. India.

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,Transportation War

Sgt. William G. Hornung, ball turret gunner, of 6828 South Racine Ave., Chicago, Ill., works on the ball turret on his plane.

A New Plexi-Glass Nose Is Fitted With Windshield-Wipers Before It Is Installed On A North American B-25 Of The 340Th Bomb Group. The Old Nose Was Damaged By Cinders During The Eruption Of Mt. Vesuvius On 23 March 1944.

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group, Sits In The Cockpit Of His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Air Base Somewhere In Italy.

Men Of The 385Th Fighter Squadron, 364Th Fighter Group, 67Th Fighter Wing, Load Ammuntion Belts In The Wing Of A North American P-51 "Mustang" At 8Th Air Force Station F-373, Honnington, England. 22 September 1944.

Algiers, Algeria-13 July 1943. Shattered rear right rudder and stabilizer were among the more serious of the 500 holes in a Mitchell B-25 bomber, which came back from Gerbini, Sicily. Remaining members are shown examining the injured parts. Left to

Ssgt Carl Palm Of Easton, Massachusetts, And Pvt. Karl Sutherland Of Portland, Maine, Members Of The 323Rd Bomb Group, Wash Down The Plexi-Glass Nose Of A Martin B-26 At Their Base At Colne, England. 20 July 1943.

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,Transportation War

Algiers, Algeria-Cpl. Thomas W. Sapp, Woodlyane, N.J. of a Service Squadron, Repairing the landing gear door of the North American B-25 "HAWKEYE," which was shot up by a ME 109 in a mission over northern Sardinia. The gunner, S/Sgt.

In One Of The Fiercest Strafing Attacks Ever Carried Out By 8Th Af North American P-51 Mustangs Against A Nazi Airfield, 2Nd Lt. Gerald J. Miller Of 71 Dayan St., Lowville, N.Y. Was High Scoring Pilot Of The 353Rd Fighter Group When He Destroyed Nine Enem

Colonel Young And Lt. Parsons Of The 439Th Troop Carrier Group In The Cockpit Of A Douglas C-47 At An Air Base Somewhere In England. 29 May 1944.

Ground Crew Repairing Engine Of The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Thunderbird'. 303Rd Bomb Group, England. 28 April 1944.

Supply men at depot shown...

While Returning In His Lockheed P-38 From A Photo Reconnaissance Mission Over Germany To Record Damage Wreaked A Few Hours Before By U.S. Air Force Bombers, Lt. Harlan Fricke Of Gardenville, Nev., Made His Debut Into The Fraternity Of Flying Men Who Have

Heaviest Flak Ever-- This Was The Unanimous Opinion Of Eighth Air Force Crew Returning From 30 November 1944 Mission To Oil Targets At Merseburg, Germany. Flight Surgeon Captain William W. Ornduff, Of Portland, Oregon, Treats A Slightly Wounded Creman, A

France - One Of The Best Records Of Destruction Compiled By Pilots Of Major General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'S 9Th Af Has Been Amassed By 1St Lt. Ralph B. Ellis, Glendale, Calif., Shown Here Adding Another Symbol On The Fuselage Of His Republic P-47 Thunderbolt

Lt. Brashere And S/Sgt. Edwards Examine A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Engine That Was Damaged During A Mission Over Enemy Territory. 381St Bomb Group, England, 24 March 1945.

Mechanics of the 81st Service Group install a new engine on the Consolidated B-24 "5000 V-Grand" at their base on Vis Island, Dalmatia. The plane was the 5000th B-24 to come off the assembly line and has landed on Vis Island twice-both times a new

Major Frank L. Martine, a 9th Air Force Air Ground Coordination officer attached to a ground unit, directs 9th Air Force fighter-bombers to targets in the Siegfried Line area. Major Martine, of 140 Roseville Ave., Newark, N.J., is shown here using

Sicily - Paratroopers Of The 82Nd Airbourne Division, Prepare For The Invasion Of Salerno, Italy, Which Took Place On The 13Th And 14Th Of September, 1943.

Over The Ether Waves To The U.S. Floats The Voice Of A Member Of The 353Rd Fighter Group Who Is Participating In A Broadcast At An Airbase In England.

Joe E. Brown, On A Tour Of Bases In China, Gets The Pleasure Of "Piloting" A Fighter Plane As Men Of The 14Th Air Force Look On Approvingly. 23 November 1945.

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group, Poses By His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Air Base Somewhere In Italy.

Crew Member Of The 303Rd Bomb Group Checks His Gun Prior To A Mission. England 9 Dec 44.

Aircraft, Burma, India &CREWS,BOMBARDIER War

This is the only hangar for the Liaison Squadron's planes. Just a windbreak for the mechanics, it is made of scrap lumber and a German tent floor. Left to right are: Cpl. Henry Brief, 351 Riverdale Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.; Sgt. Kirby L. Jensen, Albany

Pfc. Nilo Lopes, (Left) From Rio Grande Do Sul, And Pfc. Urbano Bento, From Rio De Janeiro, Ground Men With The 1St Brazilian Fighter Squadron, Attached To The 12Th Af., Inspect A Flak Hole In The Tail Section Of A Republic P-47. The Brazilian Pilot Was

Wings Over Germany Today Belong To The Allies, And A Large Number Of Them Bear The Label 'Made In The Usa'. An American Ground Crew Readying A Boeing B-29 At Borham Airbase In England.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Emergency landing of a Curtiss P40 near solo. Recently a Curtiss P-40 fighter plane had to make an emergency landing on the edge of solo. Since there was no possibility to repair the device on the spot and it was also impossible to take off on the swimy field, the aircraft was dragged to elsewhere by soldiers to become dismantled. Sergeant Major Wassing of 17 a.A.t. From Alkmaar, the device attaches to the Breakdown that the device will towing, while KPL. Jansen from Lemen (Noord-Holland) helps him a hand. April 13, 1949. Bondowoso, Indonesia, Java, Dutch East Indies

Crew Members Of A Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" Man Their Posts As The Plane Wings Its Way Toward The Target, Somewhere In Japanesean. July 1945.

T/Sgt. Donald T. Rowland, Mccook, Neb.; Pvt. John Kainrad, Diamont, Ohio And S/Sgt. Ernest L. Neiswinger, Clay City, Indiana Install Supercharger On Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Forced Down At Dawlish England After Crossing From France On One Engine. Ma

Chaplain (Captain) Raphael Weisenbach, Catholic Chaplain Of The 602Nd Aircraft Control And Warning Squadron At Darmstadt Reads His Missile Prior To Departure From Rome, Italy At The Conclusion Of A Recent Air Force - Army Pilgrimage To The 'Holy City'.

THOSE P-39 AIRACOBRAS-being used by a Negro fighter group operating with the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces msut be kept in good condition mechanically. That's where S/Sgt. James McGee, of Marianna, Ark., comes in for his offering. He has served

Air-Ground teamwork, successful in subduing the cities of Aachen and Metz, starts with small units of such as this. Maj. Frank L. Martine, 140 Roseville Ave., Newark, N.J. (center) with mike, a 9th Air Force joint air-ground operations officer

Aircraft, Burma, India &MEDICAL, EVACUATION,Air War

Major E.E. Bankey Of The 364Th Fighter Group, 67Th Fighter Wing, Poses On The Wing Of His North American P-51 'Lucky Lady Vii' At An 8Th Air Force Base In England. 23 March 1945.

Close-up of Col. Troy Keith in his plane just before taking-off on a bombing mission over Sicily. Although Col. Keith is Commanding Officer, he is his own squadron leader and flys the missions himself. Col. Keith is Commanding Officer, he is his own

Aircraft, Burma, India &CREWS,GUNNER War

Plane Ground Pick Up System Used By Pack Artillery Reconnaissance, 3Rd Prov. Pack Battery In Italy. The Bag Is Suspended Between Poles By A Cord And Picked Up By The Hook Reel System. 14 Dec. 1943.

A Tired Pilot And North American P-51 "Mustangs" On The Line At Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands. The Boys Suffered Most Just From The 8-Hour Rumba Of Seat Against Seat.

Aircraft, Burma, India &MEDICAL, EVACUATION,Air War

The Shankin Twins, Courtney (Left) And Earl (Right) Of 1367 E 52Nd St., Chicago, Ill., Are Crack Naviagors In A Consolidated B-24 Liberator Group Of The 15Th Aaf In Italy. They Came Overseas And Together They Finished Their 50Th Mission, A Bombing Missio

MADEMOISELLE FROM OLD ALGIERS applies fabric to the door frame of a Stinson NC type Liaison aircraft. The plane is part of a shipment recently delivered to the French Air Force under Lend-Lease. Mademoiselle Kechand, and expert aircraft

Capt. Nachowitz And Crew Of The 439Nd Troop Carrier Pose In Front Of Their Douglas C-47 At An Airbase Somewhere In England. 5 July 1944.

Pvt. Benny P. Greggs of Charleston, S.C., and Pfc. Chris Naplos of Chicago, Ill., disassemble the firewall of a B-26 while Pvt. Hiram Grow of Columbus, Ind., overhauls a 110-volt power unit for an energizer at the 4th Air Depot engine overhaul

S/Sgt. John P. Quinlan of Yonkers, New York, tail gunner on the Boeing B-17 "THE MEMPHIS BELLE" holds the lucky horseshoe which has accompanied him on all 25 missions, England, 7 June 1943.

Bombardier On The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Hell'S Angels, At His Post. 303Rd Bomb Group, England. 6 June 1943.

Gi Ingenuity Takes Strange Twists - Gi Gadgets Have Saved Many Hours And Made Tedius Tasks Easier. Here, M/Sgt. Maynard V. Gibbs Of Portland, Mich., Demonstrates An Electric Screw Driver Which He Made From Parts Of Damaged Top Turret Ammunition Motor. E

Combat crewmen make final check-up of personal equipment and discuss points brought out during the briefing. The bombers nose is covered with a tailored tarpaulin to keep the plexiglass clear of frost which might obscure the pilot's vision. The

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,Transportation War

Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection

An Armorer Installs A .50 Cal Machine Gun In The Nose Of An 8Th Air Force Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" At The 1St Strategical Air Depot Near Honington, England. 1943.

Tripolitania, Libya-Armorers bring up new loads of bombs to prepare British Boston Bomber for another raid against the Axis armies.

ENGLAND-Straining against the escape hatch of the Boeing B-17 Flying ofrtress "THAT'S ALL JACK," a wounded crewman is being gently removed from the plane by medical personnel, to be placed in a nearby ambulance. He was hit by flak during a

2Nd Lt. Herbert B. Hatch Of Stockton, Calif. A Lockheed P-38 Lightning Fighter Pilot Of The Mediterranean Allied Afs In Italy, Proudly Points To The 5 Swastikas On The Nose Of His Plane, That Proclaim His Victory Over 5 Hun Aircraft That He Shot Down In A

Detachment 101, an enigmatic Allied intelligence and special operations unit during World War II, played a pivotal role in the Burmese theater. Operating deep in the jungles of Burma, their mission was multi-faceted, encompassing guerrilla warfare, espionage, and sabotage against Japanese forces. Comprising a diverse group of individuals, from OSS agents to indigenous fighters, they effectively disrupted Japanese supply lines, gathered critical intelligence, and supported resistance movements.

Radio room of the 507th AAA Command Post, Manila, Philippine Islands. Radio's are used during combat to maintain communications with higher headquarters in the event that wire installations are knocked out.

Two officers of the 452nd Bomb Group examine a demolished Boeing B-17 on Poltava Airfield, Ukraine, Russia. Having just completed its first shuttle-bombing mission from England, this B-17 was destroyed on the ground in a perfectly timed and well

Flight Nurse, 2nd Lt. Elizabeth Dodd, Glassport, Ind., and 2nd Lt. Kathleen Dial, Florence, Ala., load a man, wounded on Manus Is., into an Army Douglas C-47 ambulance plane.

Mechanics S/Sgt. Lawrence R. Billemay (left) of Anahuac, Tex., and M/Sgt. Richard Williams of, Scranton, Pa., shown working on the nacelle of "Flak Alley."

Ground crew is shown installing new elevator to horizontal stabilizer damaged by flak over Germany. ENGLAND.

T/Sgt. Laurence M. Vaughn, 376th Bomb Group, Ninth U.S. Air Force radio operator on one of the B-24 "Liberators" which raided the Ploesti, Roumania, oil fields, takes carrier pigeons aboard his plane. The birds are used to carry messages in event

A Corporal Assigned To The Armament Section Of The 612Th Bomb Squadron, 401St Bomb Group, Unloads Bombs Under The Fuselage Of A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" England, 8 January 1944.

L. to R: Sgt. C.E. Salmon, Penn., Waist Gunner; Cpl. Troyanaski, Michigan, Tail Gunner; S/Sgt. S.R. Taylor, Penn., Radio Operator and Waist Gunner. Combat Crews manning stations.

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group, Sits In The Cockpit Of His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Air Base Somewhere In Italy.

Capt. George P. Bishop, San Antonio, Texas, Squadron Navigator On A Consolidated B-24 Liberator Used A Deicer Tank To Hold The Fuel Oil That Feeds Into A 55 Galloon Sunken Drum In His Fireplace.

British Generals 1939-1945 Lieutenant General F A M (later Sir Frederick) Browning, commanding the British Airborne Corps, standing by a Douglas Dakota of RAF Transport Command at Lyneham,Wiltshire, after being flown back from the Normandy battlefields.

Army soldier preparing to disembark from a helicopter, US Marine Corps

North Africa-Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" radio operator, who, in his "spare time" is also a machine gunner. Between keeping his ears to the Boeing B-17 "pulse," and fighting off obtrusive enemy fighters, Sgt. J.M. Drabant of Homestead, Penna., is

Lt. Lucille V. Tarneyand T/Sgt. Marshal Morley make up one of the teams aboard each Troop Carrier transport used by air evacuation units of the 9th AF. The flying nurse and her aide cares for soldier patients who are flown from advanced areas to

Detachment 101, an enigmatic Allied intelligence and special operations unit during World War II, played a pivotal role in the Burmese theater. Operating deep in the jungles of Burma, their mission was multi-faceted, encompassing guerrilla warfare, espionage, and sabotage against Japanese forces. Comprising a diverse group of individuals, from OSS agents to indigenous fighters, they effectively disrupted Japanese supply lines, gathered critical intelligence, and supported resistance movements.

T/Sgt. Patrick M. McAttee of Smith Mills, Ky., veteran of 27 missions, holder of DFC and Air Medal with three clusters, gets in a practice session in a rear turret trainer. Sgt. McAttee has three German planes to his creidt, and flew the tough

Capt. Robert F. Thomas Of Merced City, Ca., Commanding Officer Of The 107Th Tactical Squadron Alongside His Plane With One Of The Remote Control Cameras He Uses. Eschwege, Germany, 14 April 1945.

AN ADAVANCED NORTH AFRICAN AIR BASE--The crew of "Seasweep" North American B-25 Mitchell bomber of Major General James H. Doolittle's Bomber Command, have completed their 50th mission. Left to right are: Lt. Wm. J. Hartman

Lt. Harmon Smith, Navigator Shot Down On Bombing Mission Over Germany, On Jan. 7, 1944, Reads An Article On The Stars And Stripes While Evacuation Plane Takes Him Home.

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Armourers check over a mixed bomb load of three 1,000-lb MC bombs and small bomb containers (SBCs) filled with 30-lb incendiary bombs, loaded into the bomb-bay and wing cells of a Handley Page Halifax Mark II of No. 405 Squadron RCAF at Pocklington, Yorkshire.

Mormon farmer working on FSA (Farm Security Administration) cooperative drill, Oneida County, Idaho. While the members of the cooperative live in Snowville, Utah, some of them farm in Oneida County, Idaho. 1940. Photographs. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection. Idaho , Oneida County

Sweating Out Gas On A Return Trip From Japanesean, This Tight-Lipped B-29 Commander Is Watched By His Flight Engineer In The Background.

Navy-RAAF Exercises - L/A/C's Dennis Rumball and Pat Thornton both of Perth working on air compression at the nose wheel of a Neptune bomber with a native team of airstrip helpers. October 22, 1954. (Photo by Gordon Herbert Short/Fairfax Media).

Co-Pilot 2Nd Lt. F.N. Dibble, Bronxville, N.Y. And 1St Lt. J.M. Smith, Austin, Texas At The Controls Of "Our Gang" A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 324Th Bomber Squadron, Bassingbourne, England, Just Before The Take-Off On Another Bombing Mission Ov

Lt. Col. Francis S. Gabreski, U.S. 8th AAF Fighter Pilot from Oil City, Pa.

S/Sgt J.J. Mcgrath, Kansas City, Missouri And S/Sgt. W.B. Moles, Tuscon, Arizona, Both Of The 16Th Fighter Squadron, 51St Fighter Group, Make Necessary Repairs To The Engine Of A Curtiss P-40 While Working Under A Shelter During The Rainy Season At An Air

Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection

Is it relief that brings smiles to the faces of Nazi Generals Cramer and John Von Broitch as they start from Allied headquarters following capture in the Bizerte area

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group, Stands On His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Air Base Somewhere In Italy.

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