Aerial Bombing Missions in World War II

Vintage images of B-17 bombers during WWII missions, showcasing bombing runs over strategic targets in Europe.

Emden Attack of 27/9/43.

High above the target, one B-17 Flying ofrtress lets its bombs go on the Schwechat Oil Refinery at Vienna, Austria, and joins the formation to make its way toward their 15th Air force Base, on Sept. 10, 1944.

Emden Attack of 27/9/43.

Flak Bursts Around Boeing B-17 'Flying Fortresses' Of The 15Th Air Force, Enroute To Bomb Enemy Installations At Debreczen, Hungary, 21 Sept. 1944.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Winged Their Way Toward The Target Of The Day - Berlin, Germany - 9 March 1944 As 8Th Af Bombers Continually Blasted Every Operational Enemy Factory, Oil Refinery & Airfield.

Bomb-Bay Doors Open Over Berlin, Germany - Four Of The Hundreds Of "Flying Fortresses" And Liberators Which Attacked Berlin On 6 March 1944 Approach Target Area With Bomb-Bay Doors Open.

Flying Fortress of the 8th Air Force dropping sticks of 12 bombs each on bombing targets in Germany.

Seven B-29s of the U.S. Army 20th Air force are seen here in formation en route to bomb Okayama airfield and repair base, formosa. 462nd Bomb Group and 468th Bomb Group

As Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 8th USAAF oil targets at Ploesti, Rumania, one of the Forts is hit by flak and bursts into flames a half minute before its bombs are released. Six chutes were seen leaving the plane. The plane turned over and

Air Battle over Bremen, Germany.

As Flak Bursted Dangerously Close On The Bomb Run Over Dunkirk, France, Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Opened Its Bomb Bay Door And Will Soon Be Directly Over The Target To Drop Another Load Of Bombs. B-17S Of The 452Nd Bomb Group

Two Consolidated B-24 Liberators, part of a formation of the 866th and 867th Bomb Squadrons, 494th Bomb Group, en route to bomb enemy installations on Cebu Island, in the Philippine Islands. 6 December 1944.

FOUR LESSONS IN PRECISION BOMBARDMENT--In this series of four dramatic photos is the most eloquent testimony to the hammering of enemy objectives by the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the 8th AAF (England)

Bombs, Dropped By Consoliated B-24 Liberators Of The 446Th Bomb Group, Descend On Enemy Installations At Calais, France. 5 June 1944.

ON THE RIGHT BEARINGS-These...

Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 379Th Bomb Group Escorted By A Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" Wings Its Way Toward A Target Somewhere In Europe. 7 February 1944.

Northrop P-61 'Black Widows' In Flight. Saipan, Mariansa Islands, January 1945.

Radar-Controlled Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Bomb Betzdorf, Germany, Thru Overcast. March 12 1945. An-Aps-15.

Bombing of Berlin, Germany by Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses.

Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 381St Bomb Group, En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations In Europe.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses unload tremendous amounts of bombs on German communications.

Formation Of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 91St Bomb Group, Based At Bassingbourne, England, Enroute To Germany On Another Bombing Mission To Halt The Nazis. 9 March 1944.

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.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 91St Bomb Group, 8Th Air Force, Release Their Bomb Load Over The Target At Avord, France. 5 Feb 1944, 17,000 Feet.

Republic P-47 Thunderbolts near Fighter Base, England.

After A Strafing Mission, North American P-51 "Mustangs" Snuggle Under A Wing Of A Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" For The Trip Back To Iwo Jima, Bonin Islands. July 1945.

Bombs Over Germany -- Tons Of High Explosives Drop From Bomb Bays Of Third Air Division Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses On 11 April 1945, As Smoke From A Marker Bomb Streaks Across The Sky In Pointing Out Railroad Yards At Donauworth, Germany, To The 8Th Air force

Bombs Cascade From The Martin B-26 'Loretta Young' Of The 386Th Bomb Group During A Raid On Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe, 19 April 1944.

Paratroop Invasion Of Southern France At H-4, D-Day, 15 August 1944.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 381St Bomb Group En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe.

Adverse weather continues over continent, but U.S. Army Air Forces Boeing B-17s attack Germany's largest Light Metal Alloy Works. (Group Leader Releases)

Boeing B-17s flying through flak.

Medium bombers are shown on their way to intercept the reported enemy undersea-craft.

Flak bursts amidst these three B-26 Marauders of the 9th Air force as they make their bomb run on ground installations at Dieppe, France. The heaviest flak bursts were around the plane at left in which the bombardier was killed and a gunner

Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 15Th Air Force With Engine On Fire, Enroute To Bomb Enemy Installations At Zwolfaxing, Austria. 8 July 1944.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 381St Bomb Group En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe, Are Silhouetted Against A Bank Of Fleecy Clouds.

Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The 8Th Air force Drop Tons Of Bombs On Enemy Installations At Zwiesel, Germany During A Raid On 20 April 1945. Note The Smoke Marker Which Has Just Passed Under The Wing Of One Of The Planes.

A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Part Of The 381St Bomb Group Formation, Heads Toward The Target - An Enemy Installation In Europe.

Escorting this Boeing B-17 of the 15th AF, as it wings its way to attack German installations and factories, is this Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter. P38's have been successfully used as fighter escort to heavy bombers accounting for a considerable

Vapor Trails Left By Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 381St Bomb Group Mingle With Clouds As The Planes Fly Toward Their Objective Somewhere In Europe.

Boeing B-17 raid on Stuttgart, Germany, 6 Sept. 1943.

A Formation Of Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The 2Nd Bomb Division, Wing Their Way Through The Sky To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe. 24 November 1944.

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,LANDINGS War

Seven Hundred Miles Off The Coast Of Japanesean, Iwo Jima Based North American P-51 'Mustsangs' Head Downward To Begin The Dirty Work. They Made Quick Slashes At Communication Centers, Strafed Airdroms, Locomotives And Airplanes.

Formation Of Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" Of The Vii Bomber Command Over Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, 3 August 1944. This Is A Practice Formation To Test New Formation Shown By Lt. Colonel Earl R. Task Of Aaf Board, Orlando, Florida.

Formations of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses on mission to Brunswick, Germany, Feb 1944. Our bombers attacked on a 700 mile front.

Consolidated B-24 Liberator of Maj. Gen. C.L. Chennault's 14th Air force attack Sinshih, Japaneseanese supply point in the Tung Ling Lake Changsha area. Note large explosions in the target area and next wave of Liberators making its run. 308th Bomb Group

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Pankelan at Krawrang. Supply is dropped to parachutes. March 13, 1948. Indonesia, Java, Krawang, Dutch East Indies

A formation of Consolidated B-24s of Maj. Gen. Nathan F. Twining's U.S. Army 15th Air force thunders over the railway yards at Salzburg, Austria. The smoke created by their bombs mingles with that from the enemy's many smudge pots.

A Formation Of Douglas C-47S Of The 9Th Troop Carrier Command Wing Their Way Over Bastogne, Belgium. 23 December 1944.

Returning from a daylight bombing assault on important synthetic oil plants and key communications centers just behind von Rundstedts lines, two Boeing B-17 Flying ofrtresses collide in mid-air and disintegrate. None of the crews of either plane

Pointing For Tokyo, Japanesean, North American P-51S, On This Mission Aren't Straying Far From The "Shepherd" (Boeing B-29) Who Takes Them Both Ways.

ITALY-A Consolidated B-24 Liberator and a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, both of the 15th Air Force fly in the same formation when they return from an attack against targets in Vienna on October 7, 1944.

Bombs From The Consolidated B-24 Liberators Fall On Nazi Installations Somewhere In Europe, 24 November 1944.

Vapor trails over Munich--Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 15th Air Force, flying high above Germany, make vapor trails in the enemy's sky. 20th bomb Sqdrn. 2nd Bomb Group.

Consolidated B-24 Liberator Bombers Of The 15Th Af Leave A Patter Of Vapor Trails High Above The Railyards At Muhldorf, Germany On March 19 1945. Heavies Of The 15Th Af Are Continuously Hammering At The Enemy As The Air Offensives Against The Enemy Reach

With A Background Of Vapor Trails, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Wing Their Way Over Nazi-Occupied Territory Enroute To Their Target For The Day - German Airfield At Chateaudun, France, 28 March 1944. 8Th Air Force Attacks On Vita

U.S. Consolidated B-24 over Cognac, France.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Aircraft, SINGLE,CONSOLIDATED War

A parachute is attached to the landing gear which was just been released from the glider, airborne over Comiso Airfield, Sicily, during 52nd Troop Carrier Wing maneuvers in 1943. The gear has been dropped so that the glider will make a skid landing

A Heavy Concentration Of Bombs, Dropped By Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The 392Nd Bomb Group Explode On The Braunkahle Synthetic Oil Works At Magdeburg, Germany During A Raid On 3 March 1945.

After dropping its bomb on Japanese installations in the small village of Ising, located about four miles north of the Gulf of Davao on Mindanao in the Philippine Islands, this Consolidated B-24 "Liberator"of the 494th Bomb Group, leaves the target

A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 91St Bomb Group Comes In For A Landing At Bassingbourne, England After Successfully Completing Another Mission Over Enemy Installations On 20 August 1944.

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. Martin Baltimores of No. 232 Wing RAF of the Tactical Bomber Force, head return to their base at Celone, Italy, after bombing enemy gun positions near Lanciano in the Sangro river battle area. Baltimore Mark IV, FA591 H, of No. 223 Squadron RAF flys in the foreground.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Aircraft, SINGLE,BOEING War

Bombing Of Railroad Yards At Szolnok, Hungary, By Consoldiated B-24 Liberators Of The 15Th Air Force On 6 Feb 1944. Four Of The Liberators Shown Leaving The Smoking Target.

Rangoon Assault - As The Chutes Of Three Gurka Paratroopers Open Up Over Their Dropping Zone Near Rangoon, Three More Gurkhas Stolidly Step Out Of Usaaf C-47'S Of The Combat Cargo Task Force, Eastern Air Command. This Is Precision Jumping In The Airborne

EUROPE--Nazi AA rocket zooms between Boeing B-17 Nacelles.

Coming Back From Pounding The Railroad Yards At Linz, Austria, A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" (Top) Lost Its Formation In The Murky Weather. Sighting A Formation Of Consolidated B-24 Liberators, The Fortress Pilot Pulled His Bomber Next To The Wing Plan

Forts Ride Again! This Formation Of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Enroute To Blast German Targets As Part Of The General Plan To Pulverize All Vitally Important War Objectives. Berlin, Germany, Was The Target Of This Mission, 22

North American P-51 "Mustangs" weave through formations of Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses" bound for Merseburg, Germany. 95th Bomb Group.

Consolidated B-24 Liberators over Germany. 392nd Bomb Group.

As the temp of war increases and an avalanche of Allied power descends on the Axis, units of the re-armed and reorganized French air force, operating as part of Lt. Gen. Ira C. Eaker's Mediterranean Allied Air forces and flying American-built Martin

Flak was thick as Boeing B-17s made their bomb run at Politz, Germany, 25 Aug 44.

Led By Commanding Officer, Colonel Chester A. Coltharp, North American B-25's From The 345Th Bombardment Group Head Out For The China Sea In Search Of Reported Northbound Japanese Convoy. Squadrons Fly Formation To And From Target For Mutual Protection.

North American B-25 Mitchell bombers of the 13th AAF are pictured here winging their way over the Rataval supply area, New Britain, after having dropped their bombs on this target for the day. A large fire can be seen on the shore of Talili Bay

Douglas C-47's enroute to Finschhafen, N.E. New Guinea, carrying supplies for a fighter group. 18 December 1943.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Winged Their Way Towards The German V-2 Launching Sites In Occupied France, As The Heavy Bombers Continued Their Daily Poundings Of Nazi Military Installations, 26 March 1944. Taken By S/Sgt Jack S. R

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Ereveld Tjililitan. "U-brigade says goodbye to her killing". Escadrille hunters of military aviation flies in formation about the ereveld. November 8, 1946. Batavia, Indonesia, Jakarta, Dutch East Indies

Kuma class cruiser taking...

A flight of four 9th Air force Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, returning from a mission against German targets, make the approach to their base at a low altitude. The 9th's fighter-bombers have been active in eliminating or neutralizing German

Flying ofrtresses of the 8th Air forces on way to Germany.

Bombing of communications at Stifone, Italy.

A Formation Of Consolidated B-24 Liberators Fly Over Hamburg, Germany, During A Bombing Raid On Enemy Installations There. 6 Oct. 1944.

A Formation Of Consolidated B-24 Liberators Roars Over A Blanket Of Clouds En Route To Their Target Somewhere In Europe. 2Nd Bomb Division, 24 November 1944.

The Repeatedly Struck 9,000-Foot Yellow River Bridge Takes Misses From A 14Th Af B-25 Mitchell. Note The Anti-Aircraft Tower Near The Bottom. China. 1St Bomb Group, Provisional, 2Nd Bomb Squadron, Provisional. June 24, 1944.

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

North American P-51 Mustangs, Used As Tactical Reconn Planes For The Mediterranean Allied Air Forces, Wing Their Way In Formation, To Their Objective In Northern Italy. These Swift Unarmed Fighter Planes Have Been Partially Responsible For The Successes

Led by Commanding Officer, Colonel Chester A. Coltharp, B-25's from the 345th Bombardment Group of the 5th A.F. based in the Philippines, head out for the China Sea in search of a reported northbound Jap convoy. Squadrons flew in formation to and

Formation Of Boeing B-17S Somewhere Over England. 17 March 1943.

A formation of Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" of the 866th and 867th Bomb Squadrons, 494th Bomb Group, leaves the target-an airdrome on Cebu Island in the Philippine Islands-and heads for home base on Angaur Island in the Caroline Islands. 6 December

Combat formation of Boeing B-17 planes.

A tight cluster of bombs on Leghorn harbor, dropped by a formation of Martin B-26s of the 1st Tactical Air Force. Leghorn is in the path of the Allied advance in Italy. The missiles were dead on the target, destroying two 400 ft., merchant vessels

Douglas C-47 Skytrains, 12 Af Troop Carrier Wing, Loaded With Paratroopers On Their Way For The Invasion Of Southern France, 15 August 1944.

A Lone Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 381St Bomb Group Wings Its Way To Attack An Enemy Installation In Europe. As It Floats Majestically Along Over Fleecy Clouds It Is Not Alone; There Are More - Many More - Above, Behind And In Front Of It.

Republic P-47 In Flight Over Europe.

Formations Of Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses"Of The 379Th Bomb Group Wing Their Way Toward Their Home Base In England After A Raid Over Enemy Occupied Europe. 13 May 1944.

A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 381St Bomb Group Is Pictured Against A Backdrop Of Vapor Trails Left By A Preceding Formation, En Route To Bomb Nazi Installations, Somewhere In Europe. Far In The Distance, Barely Visible, Is Another Group Of Plane

Rockets Away -- First photograph of a secret rocket firing device on North American's F-86D Sabre Jet has just been released by the Air Force. Capable of shooting down the world's biggest bomber, 24n"Mighty Mouse" rockets can be fired automatically from a launching pod which retracts into the plane's fuselage. A combat-loaded F-86D recently set a new world's speed record of 698.5 miles per hour. Photo was taken on firing range at Edwards. March 19, 1953. (Photo by Official Air Force Photograph).

ITALY--Consolidated B-24 Liberators head for Vienna, Austrial S/Sgt. Richard L. Troger, of Hutchinson, Kan., 15th Air Force Aerial Photographer, took this picture of vapor trails from the attacking formation. Diagonal vapor trails are from Lockheed

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