World War II Bomber Formations

Aerial images of various bomber aircraft formations, including B-17s and B-29s, flying over different terrains, depicting military operations during WWII.

Death comes tumbling from the clouds on German gunners struggling to prevent Allied Troops from crossing the Volturno river in Italy. Bombs from a USAAF North American B-25 Mitchell of the Northwest African Air Forces head for enemy gun positions.

Formation Of Republic P-47 Give Fighter Cover To B-17S While On A Practice Mission Over Molesworth, England. 18 September 1943.

Their sleek lines accentuated by a gleaming sun, these 20th Bomber Command Boeing B-29 Superfortressses streak in stately formation over occupied China on their way to formosa. 462nd and 468th Bomb Group.

formation of Boeing B-17 "Flying ofrtresses" of the 381st Bomb Group en route to bomb enemy installations somewhere in Europe.

Consolidated B-24 Liberators With A Republic P-47 Escort En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations At Clastres, France, 8 August 1944.

A Formation Of 15Th Air Force Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Fly Through Flak Filled Sky Enroute To Attack The Wintershaven Oil Storage Facilities At Vienna Austria On November 19, 1944. Nearest Aircraft Is 97Th Bomb Group B-17G-Dl 44-6442.

Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 99Th Bomb Group, 15Th Air Force Leaves The Smoke-Covered Target - An Oil Refinery At Oswiecim, Poland - After Attack On 20 August 1944. (Taken By Sgt. Jack Mckenna) Filled: War Theatre #12 (Oswiecim, Poland).

Death comes tumbling from the clouds on German gunners struggling to prevent Allied Troops from crossing the Volturno river in Italy. Bombs from a USAAF North American B-25 Mitchell of the Northwest African Air Forces head for enemy gun positions.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses leave vapor trails while numerous areas activate extensive smoke screen defenses.

TEAM WORK: Perfect co-ordination of Forts and Liberators of the 8th AAF is seen in this unusual photo of heavy bombers during an attack into Southwest Germany, 30 Dec. 1943. Libs can be seen flying the lower position, with Forts seen in upper

Consolidated B-24 Liberators Drop Their Bombs On Enemy Installations At Royan, France. 15 April 1945.

A Formation Of Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The 2Nd Bomb Division, Flies Over A Blanket Of Clouds En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe. 24 November 1944.

Waist Gunner Of Escort B-29 Superfortress Watches A Trio Of North American P-51 Mustangs Flying Close-In During A Fighter Sweep To Japanesean.

Lockheed P-38 Lightnings Darting In And Out Of The Formation Was A Familiar And Welcome Sight To The Crews Of The 381St Bomb Group Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations In Europe.

The parachute attached to the landing gear, which has just been released from the glider, opens and drifts toward the Comiso Airfield. The landing gear has been dropped so that the glider will make a skid landing when it reaches its destination

Kuma class cruiser taking...

(Top)-Flak reaches high into German skies is an unsuccessful attempt to disrupt formations of Flying Fortresses of the U.S. Army 8th Air Force on their way to bomb the Messerschmitt experimental plant at Augsburg in a daylight attack. (Bottom)-Flame

Combat formation of Boeing B-17 planes.

Despite Flak Bursting All Around Them, These Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" Of The 15Th Air Force Continue In Formation To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe.

A flaming Messerschmitt 109 Nazi fighter begins a series of dizzy spins as it plunges earthward. The Luftwaffe pilot attempted to pounce on Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the U.S. Army 15th Air force over Vienna, Austria, and was hurriedly disposed

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Heading Home---These Martin B-26 Marauder medium bombers of the 9th Air force are on their way back to base, somewhere in England, after striking the German installations in the low countries.

France-Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" on fire over French Airfield en route to bomb Renault works, Paris, France.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 15th Air Force attacked the Brasov Oil Refineries on 4 July 44 sending huge columns of smoke into the air as bombs found their marks in the target area.

Taken from an 8th Air Force Bomber Command Boeing B-17 Fortress during an attack on the important port of Emden, 2 October, 1943, shows three Flying Fortresses over the target for "bomb away." In the foreground two sticks of bombs just begin to nose

Bursts Of Deadly Flak Explode Around A Formation Of B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group During Their Mission Over Berlin, Germany, 9 March 1944. The Flak Appears As Innocent Puffs Of Smoke But Each Burst Showers Approximately 1400 Jagged Piece

Boeing B-29 Superfortresses of the 20th Bomber Command fly over the Himalayan Mountain range in an area now commonly referred to as "The Hump". Photo was taken enroute to target Japanesean, 11/21/44. In this photo cloud formations obscure

Silhouetted against the glow of the rising sun, Consolidated B-24 Liberators stand silently at their dispersal points. On the ground, they look like a bath-tub with wings, but in the air they are deadly fighting machines.

Air Battle over Bremen, Germany.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress of the 452nd Bomb Group, over Bremen, Germany.

Flying Fortresses of the US Strategic Air Force winging their way over Germany to drop their missiles on the Messerschmitt works in Brunswick. 385th Bomb Group.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 381St Bomb Group En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations In Europe Leave Vapor Trails In The Sky. Note Flak Bursting Around Planes.

A flight of 9th Air Force Douglas A-20 Havoc light bombers, their job of bombing a wooded area complete, leave the smoking target and start for home. The supply dump, located in the Forest de La Ferte behind the German defense line in western France

This remarkable photo was made at the instant flame billowed out from a Martin B-26 Marauder of the U.S. Army 8th Air Force, the result of a direct hit by Nazi flak while the U.S. formation was somewhere over France. The fire, which nearly envelopes

Vapor Trails Are Left By These Consolidated B-24 Liberator Bombers Of The 15Th Air Force As They Fly Over An Enemy Target In The Vienna Area On September 10, 1944.

Boeing B-17 airplanes of...

A Douglas A-26 Of The 386Th Bomb Group Approaches The Target, Amid Bursting Flak, With Bomb Bay Doors Open During A Raid On Enemy Installations Somewhere In Germany On 20 Arpil 1945. A Preceding Formation Can Vaguely Be Seen In The Background.

Continuing Their Pounding Of Communications And Road Links, Bridge Busting Martin B-26 Marauders Of The Tactical Air Force, Smash At The Rail Bridge At Parma, In Northern Italy. A First Pattern Of Bombs Has Already Found Its Mark As A Following Cluster Wh

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 381St Bomb Group, Flying In Close Formation, Wing Their Way Toward The Target Somewhere In Europe. In The Foreground Is The B-17 'Rotherhithe'S Revenge'.

Bombs Burst On The Oil Refinery At Ploesti, Rumania, During An Attack By Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The 15Th Air Force. The Target Is Partially Obscured By A Smoke Screen.

Hit By Flak After Completing Its Bomb Run Over Porto Santo Stefano, Italy, On 12 May 1944, This Consolidated B-24 Liberator Of The 15Th Air Force, Flew With Its Formation For Seven Minutes After Losing Part Of Its Tail, Then Split 'S' Anumber Of Times, E

8Th Air Force Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Winged Their Way Over Fleecy Clouds To Strike At Brunswick, Germany, 15Th March 1944. Brunswick Was Hit And Hit Hard By The 'Flying Forts'. Taken By S/Sgt. George H. Haggerty.

German Messerschmitt 110 Comes In For An Attack On Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Somewhere In Germany.

Consolidated B-24 Liberator Of The 15Th Air Force Fly Over Smoke Covered Target - An Oil Refinery At Blechhammer, Germany. 7 August 1944. 464Th Bomb Group. War Threatre #12.

One of the attacking Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the U.S. 8th AF leaves the rail yards at Aschaffenburg, Germany burning in the background as the heavies head for home after successful attacks on Nazi communications for the seventh consecutive

Rjuken Attack, Norway (Nov. 16, 1943) Boeing B-17 coming out of dive into long glide.

Consolidated B-24S And Boeing B-17S Of The 8Th Af Meet High Over Germany On 25 February 1945.

9th Air force North American P-51 "Mustangs" in flight formation.

North American P-51 Mustangs Test Their Wings Over Saipan In Preparation For The Move To Iwo Jima.

At Ijmuiden, Holland, Son of Satan again led the formation that left harbor installations ablaze after showering them with thousand pounders.

The Wellington, of the R.A.F. Rescue Service, is joined by a Fairchild amphibian as they fly low over the water in search of a R.A.F. bomber crew, forced down in the Mediterranean off the coast near Sollum, Egypt.

Consolidated B-24 Liaison plane which carried RAAF Aerial Observers over Brown Beach, on D-Day, 10 June 1944. Labuan Island, Borneo, N.E.I. (Note damaged Japaneseanese plane in foreground).

The North American P-51 'Mr. Hell' Of The 458Th Bomb Group, On A Bombing Mission Over Bielsfeld, Germany. 24 Feb 1945.

Bombs from 9th AF Douglas A-20s (Havoc) fall on pilotless flying bomb launching site in the Pas De Calais area. Many of these sites are being knocked out by the 9th Air Force light and medium bombers.

A Large Formation Of Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The 866Th And 867Th Bomb Squadrons, 494Th Bomb Group, Enroute To Bomb Enemy Installations On Cebu Island In The Philippine Islands, Fly High Over Fleecy Clouds. 6 December 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.

Lockheed P-38 Lightnings Dart In And Out Of A Large Formation Of 381St Bomb Group Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations In Europe.

Boeing B-17 Formation Over England.

Leaving the coast of France after plastering Nazi targets with high explosives, Douglas A-20's (Havoc), light bombers of the 9th AF head for England and their home bases.

Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 381St Bomb Group Wing Their Way Over Checkerboard Landscape, En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations In Europe.

A Formation Of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 91St Bomb Group, 8Th Af, Enroute To Target Of The Day -- Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany. 18 March 1944. (Altitude 24,000 Feet).

Silver Wings--Four Flying Fortresses of the U.S. 8th A.A.F. are silhouetted as they roared toward the Reich capital city of Berlin on April 29th.

Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" of the 494th Bomb Group, fly over Mindanao, en route to bomb Japanese installations around the Mintal Airdrome, located just a few miles west of the city of Davao on Mindanao in the Philippine Islands. March 1945.

Europe - Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Drop Bombs On Enemy Installations.

Bombing of Mont de Marsan by Consolidated B-24 Liberators.

First Allied Bomber In Eto To Complete 200 Missions, 'Flak Bait,' Leads Other Martin B-26 Marauders Of The 332Nd Bombardment Group To Magdeburg, Germany On 17 April 1945, On Its 200Th Sortie. It Participated In The Pre-Invasion Aerial Offensive, Flew Two

Martin B-26 Marauders Of The 12Th Af Returning Home After A Bridge Busting Mission Near Florence, Italy.

ofrtress vs. flak U.S. 8th AF-Flying ofrtresses striking heavily at German targets in France ofught their way thru enemy flak opposition to bomb their targets & return with loss of only one ofrtress. This remarkable photo shows the density of enemy

Explosions among grounded aircraft and cratered runways were results of 6 Nov. 1944 FEAF strike at Lahug, Cebu Island, Philippine Islands.

Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" of the 494th Bomb Group, fly high over the Gulf of Davao, Mindanao, in the Philippine Islands, en route to bomb Japanese installations in the small village of Ising located four miles north of the Gulf. 24 February

A Smoke Screen Covers The Target At Kiel, Germany, As A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 3Rd Air Division. 19 March 1945.

Averaging A Mission Every 36 Hours For The Past 10 Months, The 9Th Af Martin B-26 Marauder 'Death Watch' Group, Commanded By Colonel Gerald E. Williams, Presque Isle, Maine, Hae Flown More Than 200 Missions Against German Supply, Communication And Other T

Flak Barrage: These Were Some Of The Formidable Defenses That Were Poured Into German Skies To Take Its Toll On The B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group On 9 March 1944. The Flak Appears As Innocent Puffs Of Smoke But Each Burst Showers Approx

High above the clouds, with smoke trailing from its engine, this Nazi ME-109 was hit and shot down over occupied Europe on Nov 11, 1943, by Maj. Glenn E. Duncan, Houston, Texas, U.S. Army 8th Air Force.

Prior to 24 Aug 44, the only two German destroyers in French waters were the "Elbing" (foreground) and "Seetier" (background). Off Le Verdon, RAF Beaufighters caught them in rocket and cannon attacks. Returning aircrews reported a huge explosion.

Forts Ride Again...This Formation Of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Enroute To Blast German Targets In France As Part Of The General Plan To Pulverize All Vitally Important War Objectives. Nazi Airfield At Bordeaux, France, Was The

A Douglas C-47 Of The 9Th Troop Carrier Command Drop Supplies Over Bastogne, Belgium. 23 Dec. 1944.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, flying through one of Hun's Heaviest AA defenses. (Dec 16, 43). 95th Bomb Group.

GERMANY-A huge explosion reaches skyward from the area near the I.G. Farbendustrie chemical plant in the river front district at Ludwigshaven as one of the attacking Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the U.S. 8th AAF roars overhead on May 27, 1944.

A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress of the 8th Air Force over on its back out of control following damage done to the tail by flak. Other fortresses continue on to bomb Merseberg, Germany's synthetic oil plant-2 Nov 44.

Undaunted by heavy concentration of flak bursts, these Boeing B-17 Flying ofrtresses of the 15th Flying ofrtresses of the 15th Air force fly onward to bomb an enemy installation in Hungary. Heavy bombers of the Allied Air forces continue to strike

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 91St Bomb Group, 8Th Air Force, Enroute To Bomb Target At Croisette, France. 14 January 1944. (Altitude 12,000 Feet).

MAJESTY AND STRENGTH: Like a battleship of the sky, an 8th AAF Liberator is on its way home after attacking a Nazi airbase on 21 February 44. Fighter contrails can be seen as the "Pea shooters" dart in and out seeking enemy aircraft that may be

A Formation Of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 15Th Af Enroute To Bomb Oil Refinery At Blechhammer, Germany. 4 Oct. 1944.

Szony Refinery, Budapest, Hungary-During attack on 14 June 1944 by heavy bombers of the 15th AF. Szony is a new refinery, gets crude oil from local Hungarian fields. Shown here is a Consolidated B-24 Liberator near target.

Two Martin B-26 Marauders of the 9th Air force frame a flight of their sister ships returning from a mission along the French-German border in support of the U.S. Third Army. The medium bomber in upper foreground has operated in the ETO

One of the deadly Martin B-26 Marauder's of the 9th AF roars over the channel at a low altitude to blast gun installations and coastal defenses while landing craft steam toward the French coast. These Marauder's kept up an incessant bombardment while

BERLIN DAMAGE--Flak over Berlin, March 18, 1945, during the more than 1,300 heavy bomber attack on rail and industrial targets in the capital city of the Reich, was responsible for the torn wing tip on the U.S. Eighth Air Force Boeing B-17 Flying

ON THE RIGHT BEARINGS-These...

Japanesean - One Wing Gone, A Boeing B-29 Superfortress Hurtles Down In Flames After A Direct Flak Hit.

With A Background Of Feathery Vapor Trails Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Droned Steadily Over Germany Territory Enroute To Their Target, Gablingen, Germany. 16 March 1944. 8Th Air Force Attacks On Vital Nazi Installations Helped

Bombs, Released By Douglas A-20'S Of The 410Th Bomb Group, Cascade Down On Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe.

THE LIBS LETHAL LOAD begins to tumble earthwards toward the Erkner ball bearing factory, vital link in German aircraft production producing much of the total bearing production for the Luftwaffe. This attack, on March 8, was the most concentrated of

Bombing at levels less than 10,000 feet, Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the U.S. Eighth Air Force pounded Nazi communications centers throughout Germany 22 Feb 45, in a large scale daylight operation. Here a Liberator passes over the burning

A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Enroute To Its Target For The Day -- Viterbo Airdrome, Italy - 29 July 1943.

Lockheed P-38 of the 1st...

Burning Liberator Disintergrates in Air: A victim of a direct hit by flak, these two photos graphically portray the final plunge of a B-24 Liberator of the U.S. 8th AF during the March 20th attack on Frankfurt. One of the six bombers which failed to

On the morning of 19 February 1945, twenty-five Consolidated B-24's of the 494th Bomb Group based on Angaur Island in the Carolines, took off for a cooperation raid on the Licanan Airdrome in the Southern part of Mindanao, Philippine Islands.

A Part Of A Heavy Bomb Group Of The 15Th Air Force Strikes At The Enemy's Oil Reserve In Vienna, Austria, As Consolidated B-24 Liberator Flies Over The Smoking Target.

North American B-25's on line somewhere in the Western Desert, Egypt.

Smoke Rises From The Strike Of The Bombs As The North American B-25 Mitchell Of The 12Th Af Pulls Out After Bombing A Germany Army Headquarters 25 Miles Northeast Of Verona, Italy. One Building Was Destroyed And Three Seriously Damaged.

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