Aerial Bombing Missions in WWII

Historical aerial photographs documenting bombing missions and targets in Japan and Germany during World War II.

LE TRAIT SHIPYARD: One of the first successful missions in the present campaign, this mission still stands as a notable example of Martin B-26 bombing. Thirty-three planes dropped one hundred sixty 500 lb. GP bombs from 11,000 ft. on 4 August. The

Japanese Battleship Of The Kongo Class Lying In Port At Kure, Japan Just Before Being Hit By Bombs From Boeing B-29 Superfortresses Of Major General Curtis E. Lemay's 21St Bomber Command During A Five-Pronged Strike On June 22, 1945.

LE TRAIT SHIPYARD: One of the first successful missions in the present campaign, this mission still stands as a notable example of Martin B-26 bombing. Thirty-three planes dropped one hundred sixty 500 lb. GP bombs from 11,000 ft. on 4 August. The

Koriyama Chemical Company - During Raid North Of Tokyo - 11 April 1945.

Oil Storage Depot At Hitzacker, Germany, Received Direct Hits From Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of Us 8Th Air force On April 7 1945.

Freight Cars, Right Center, With Mustangs Calling The Signals, Were Victims Of Our Artillery At Prum, Germany Last Winter.

Bombs Bursting At Tachiarai, Japan.

High above the smoke and dust, a Martin B-26 Marauder of the Tactical Air Force heads for home, leaving the rail bridge over the Rhone River at Arles, in Southern France, shattered with direct hits.

Arado plant, during bombing.

Sawadden (Sau Watten) Germany.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Carpeted by the bombs of the 15th Air Force, the airdrome at Centocelle, northeast of Rome, got a pounding two days before the Allied landings on 22 Jan. 1944. It was the job of strategic Air Force to support the ground operation by ploughing up

B-26 Damaged, USAAF Attack on Lille-Vendeville. The wings, motors, and forward part of the fuselage of a B-26 Martin Marauder medium bomber of the U.S. Army Air Forces Plunges earthward after being hit while on a mission over Nazi-occupied Europe.

Bombs from Flying Fortresses of the Northwest African Air Forces fall on the Sedes airfield. 8 miles southeast of Salenika, Greece. Hits were made on aircraft fuel storage dumps, hangars, and administration buildings.

Bomb bursts on the airfield at Eleusis Airdrome, Athens, Greece, leave a pattern of disaster to this enemy installation after a raid by the 98th Bomb Group, September 1944.

Bombs Dropped From Boeing B-29 Superfortresses Of The 468Th Bomb Group, 20Th Bomber Command, Plaster The Japaneseanese Airdrome At Kagi On The Island Of Formosa, During A Raid On 14 January 1945.

EUROPE-Automatic cameras mounted in the ships attest the accuracy of the bombing of a Douglas A-20 Havoc formation. Clouds of black smoke boil up from the target, an enemy fuel dump located at the intersection of several roads in a ofrest.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Hits cut the RR line at Acqualagna, Italy.

Bomb damage to Kalamaki Airdrome, Athens, Greece after a raid by planes of the 98th Bomb Group. September 1944.

LIBERATORS STRIKE AT BRUNSWICK--Soaring high in huge billows, smoke from industrial targets at Brunswick rises above the city after Liberators of the U.S. 8th A.F. had attacked it on 8 April 44. Heavy concentrations hit two Messerschmitt component

Flame and smoke spurt skyward from the village of Kleinhau, Germany after 9th Air Force P-38 Lightning fighter-bombers attacked the area recently. Because this sector constituted an important barrier in the path of U.S. ground forces, Maj. Gen. E.R.

This is how the greater Berlin district looked from Flying Fortresses and Liberators of the U.S. Army 8th Air Force as they roared over the heart of Hitler's domain during their large-scale attack. The bombers escorted by relays of USAAF fighters

Bomb craters on the runway at Lipa Airfield, Luzon in the Philippine Islands, make it impossible for the Japanese to use the strip. 14 February 1945.

Bologna, Italy-DURING: This rail center, probably second most important in Italy, was attacked by B-17s which dropped tons of 500-lb.

Rostock, Germany-Northern half of Heinkel-Flugzeugwerke Factory after 25 Aug 44 attack by 8th Air Force heavy bombers. Large assembly shop (lower right) is severely damaged. Smaller shop next to it is slightly damaged. In center of picture two flight

Almost hiding the target from view, bombs from attacking U.S. 8th AAF heavy bombers plunge toward the rail marshalling yards at Ghent, Belgium, during the 22 June 44 attack.

Paris France-Full weight of attack within 1,000 yards of C.A.M. finishing shop--fire under way.

France - More Bombs Fill In And Build Up On The First Bomb Strikes. This Target, The Le Pouzin Oil Storage Facilities, Was Attacked Previously To Aug 6, 1944.

Bomb bursts from Northwest...

Republic P-47 Thunderbolts Of The Us 12Th Af Blasted Two Targets At Once When They Struck At This Railroad Bridge And Overpass At Camposampiero, North Of Padova, Italy. Smoke And Dust From The Bombs Indicate That This Latest Blow At This Choice Target Wa

The Toshien Oil Refinery In Formosa Was Blasted And Obliterated In A Matter Of Minutes, By B-24 Liberators Of The 'Ken's Men' 43Rd Group. Towers Of Smoke Arose 10,000 Feet Into The Air.

Initial bombs strike near the rail marshalling yards at Ludwigshafen, opposite Mannheim on the Rhine river, Germany, 11/5/44 as U.S. 8th Air Force align their bomb sights on repair shops, rolling stock and other units there.

90 percent of the track lines have been severed and considerable damage has been done to rolling stock at the Rouen locomotive repair shops and marshalling yards, about 70 miles northwest of Paris in the U.S. 8th Air Force heavy bomber attack, 8 July

Bombs away over Turin. A perfect bomb load released from a Boeing B-17 over the Po River. The main target, the ball bearing works is obscured beneath the smoke and explosions.

ON THE RIGHT BEARINGS-These...

After dropping their bombs on enemy installations at the Licanan Airdrome on the Southern part of Mindanao, Philippine Islands on 19 February 1945. Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" of the 494th Bomb Group turned for a run over the Penal Colony nearby.

Bomb Damage To The Worgl Railroad Bridge, Austria, After A Raid By The Planes Of The 14Th Fighter Group, 20 April 1945.

Partially covered by cloud, the aircraft assembly plant at Kothen, near Dassau, is shown after the 20 July attack by U.S. 8th AF heavies. Several large buildings have received direct hits and considerable damage has been done to tracks and rolling

Railway Yards And Storage Buildings Are Targets For Boeing B-29 Superfortresses Attacking Kuala Lumpur.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Bombs From Us 8Th Air force Heavies Are Shown Hurtling Down To Blast And Shatter The Waggun Me 110 Main Assembly Plant At Brunswick. The Plant Is In The Direct Path Of The Bombs Which Caused Probably Destruction To Virtually Every Building. This Assault Took P

Bombing Of Aircraft Factory At Schwechat Airdrome, 8 Miles S.E. Of Vienna, Austria, By Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" Of The 15Th Air Force On June 26 1944. Here One Of The "Liberators" Is Seen Over The Smoking Target.

Airfield at Cognac, France-All large hangars and at least 9 bombers destroyed or damaged (Dec. 31, 1943).

Bombing Of Wiener Neustadt, Austria, 24 May 44.

The 7,000 by 3,800 ft. Siegfried Line defense area before Zweibrucken was blasted by 1st Tactical Air Force American and French Martin B-26 Marauders during two-day period, March 15-16, 1945, in closely coordinated air-ground operation with U.S. 7th Army

Tripoli, Tripolitania, Libya-Shipping and amphibian planes in Tripoli Harbor felt the brunt of the U.S. Air Force bombs in this raid. Small boats can be seen standing by a battleship to take off those aboard as bombs rain down close by. Upper right

Compact clusters of bombs erupt on road junctions and rail lines at Pont L'Eveque, France, as the American heavy bombers continue their support of ground troops.

Bomb Bursts Can Be Plainly Seen As Martin B-26 Marauders Of The Tactical Air Force Attacked The Railyards At Campo Di Marte, Italy.

GOOD VIEW OF BREMEN---Aided by perfect visibility, bombs of the 381st Bombardment Group strike at submarine pens and harbor installations at Bremen, Germany, 30 Mar. 45. This was one of several targets hit by a force of more than 1400 Consolidated

More Work For The German Engineers -- And More Delay Of Supplies For Nazi Troops In Italy -- Were The Results Of This Attack By U.S. Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, Flying With The Desert Air Force, On A Rail Diversion In Northern Italy. This Target Has Been

Zwischenahn A/F, used by the ME 163 rocket propelled fighters. Area between Ems and Weser Rivers 15 Aug 44. GERMANY

After bombing. Hits blanket entire yard, cutting main lines in 20 places, damaging majority of 700 freight cars.

Twas the day before Christmas, and the Nips on Clark Field in the Philippines weren't liking it a bit. Here's a portion of the former American airdrome, currently Japanese, rendered unservicable by hits scored in a raid by a Fifth Air Force

Coastal Defenses At Brest, France, Under Bombardment By Allied Planes. 26 August 1944.

Two Days Before The Allied Landings On 22 January, The Strategic Air Ranged Over Central Italy, Ploughing Up Every Airdrome That The Hun Might Use To Oppose Our Beachhead. Here, Centocelle Airdrome Is Being Worked Over The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses

B-26 Marauders Of The Tactical Air Force On 3 March Attacked The Ostiense Railroad Yards, On The South Side Of Rome, A Major Railhead Supplying The German Effort At Anzio And Cassino. The Bobing Was Concentrated And Accurate. About 200 Railroad Cars Were

HEAVY TRAFFIC ON THE INVASION BEACHES. .. This is how the beaches of Normandy looked on D-Day from one of the 9th AF Marauder medium bombers which went out in close support of Allied ground troops. Bombing from lower-than usual altitudes

Dunkerque, France (Stereo Pair) Anti-tank walls shown in this vertical stereo pair are constructed across the ends of streets next to beaches as a defense against landing parties. Those shown in photos, near Dunkerque, are several feet thick.

One of the raids by the U.S. Army 15th Air force on Budapest resulted in this destruction of the Nagyar Oil Refinery in the Hungarian capital. The refinery, a source of Nazi oil, was hit by bombs from B-24 Liberators.

TACKLING THE NAZIS IN MARSEILLES, show how Army Air Forces confined their destructive blows to the strategic submarine pens and airfield. Administration buildings and hangars are covered by bomb bursts at Istre Le Tube airfield during raid.

Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers of the U.S. Army 15th Air Force, of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces, strike at the Athens/Eleusis airdrome in Greece, an important Nazi bomber base.

DURING; Half obscured, this air base at Grasseto, Italy, was attacked by Boeing B-17s on 21 July.

A Usaaf Base In China - Giving Direct Support To The Chinese Troops, 308Th Bomb Group Lays A Pattern Down On The City Of Changsha, Which Was Captured A Few Days Previous By The Japaneseanese Who Were Using It As A Supply Base For Further Operations.

Japanese-Held Lungling, China Was Left Smoking And Burning After An Attack By Bombers Of The 69Th Wing, 14Th Air Force. Trenches (Left, Background) Are On A Fortified Hill Overlooking The City.

Neilson Field, Luzon Island, P.I. now captured, looked like this after carrier strikes and before 13th AF attack on 6 Jan. 1945.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Bombing of marshalling yards at Ploesti, Rumania by Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the 15th Air Force, on 24 April 1944. Note enemy's attempt to cover the target with a smoke screen.

Clouds of dense smoke obscure hangars and workshops at Vechta airdrome 24 Mar 45 as U.S. 8th AF heavy bombers pressed home their attack. This was part of the assault to neutralize the Luftwaffe while troop carriers and transports dropped paratroops

Bombing results on Bengasi...

Fragmentation bombs fall toward Malacky Airdrome, Czechoslovakia to add to destruction being wrought by bombs which have already hit the target, during a radi by planes of the 449th Bomb Group, 719th Bomb Squadron, 15th Air Force, on September

Untouched As Yet--- Nestled In The City Of Brunswick Are The Wilkewerke Ag Engineering Plant, As Miag (Wilhelmitor) Me-110 Components Factory And Nearby Railway Yards And Passenger Station. They Are Shown Here Moments Before Us 8Th Aaf Consolidated B-24

On the 20th of June 44 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses and Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the U.S. Army 8th Air Force successfully attacked and severely damaged 14 strategic targets inside Germany. Two crude oil refineries at Hamburg, Germany, are by

Smoke from fires & explosions drifts across the harbor at Naples during an attack by Flying Fortresses of the U.S.A.A.F. (April 4). About 100 aircraft took part in the attack.

Peenemunde, Germany-Electrolytic Plant after bombing. This photo shows installations still smoking from mission of 25 Aug 44. Two main electrolysis buildings have each sustained numerous direct hits. Three smaller buildings have been severely damaged

The railway marshalling yards of Verona, Italy, one of the most important targets in Italy, is well covered by bombs during raid by Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 15th AAF on 28 January.

P-Plane Underground Storage Site At Nucort, France. (Left) Before The Strike (Center) During Attack By Us 8Th Af On 22 June 1944 (Right) After Attack Showing Extensive Cave-Ins.

Consolidated B-24 Liberator...

Blackout at Gotha, Germany comes a moment later, as ME-110 component factory is flattened.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Bombs, dropped by planes of 451st Bomb Group, burst on the Eleusis Airdrome, Athens, Greece, September 1944.

Several Direct Hits Have Considerably Damaged The Triangular Junction At The Sarreguemines Marshalling Yards In Occupied France By The Attack Of 8Th Usaaf Heavy Bombers On 1 May 44. One Locomotive Shed Is Almost Completely Destroyed, At Least 2 Direct Hi

In a compact cluster, 8th AF bombs blast key road junction at Whalen, near Duren, Germany, helping block German communications to the front.

Japanese Industrial City Aflame - Fires Spread Through Oita, Japan During A Night Incendiary Raid On July 16, 1945. Oita With A Population Of 77,000, Is The Largest City On The Inland Sea Coast Of Kyushu And Is The Distribution Center For Both Rail And Water-

The freshly-broken cluster spreads out (arrow) as the frags head for the Ciampino South airdrome.

During A Bombing Raid On 4 Aug 1944 By Planes Of The 306Th Bomb Group, 8Th Air force Long Columns Of Smoke Rise From The Arado Fleugzeugwerke Factory In Anklam, Germany, Which Produced Component Parts For German Fw-190 Fighter Planes.

Lechfeld Airfield, Germany-six of seven hangars at this jet-propelled plane base were severely damaged.

At Sens-Troyes near Dijon, France bursting bombs almost cover the key rail bridge there as 8th USAAF heavy bombers attacked. This was part of the process to disrupt Nazi communications east of Paris.

Photo taken at night of Mont by the 10th Photo Reconnaissance Group of the Ninth Air force, using Douglas A-20 Havocs equipped with cameras and flares especially designed for night photography. Twenty-two vehicles are headed southwest into town

The Nazi airfield at Chateaudin in occupied France was pounded by Flying Fortresses of the U.S. 8th AF on March 28. Two large concentrations in the north and northwest sections of the field hit hangars, dispersal areas, and barracks.

Bombing of Hollandia.

Fight to the last--like an adder protecting it's nest, an FW-190 viciously attacked a damaged Flying Fortress going down after successful bombing of the Oschersleben factory producing Focke-Wulf fighters. Attacked by 8th AAF heavies pictures brought

Castelnuovo, Italy Junction-Four attacks isolated battlefield from this direction.

More He And Ib Bombs Drop Toward Ulm Marshalling Yards In Germany From Planes Of The 8Th Air force On 25 Feb. 1945.

Location: On East Coast Route between Ancona and Pescara; MR point C0349. Attacks: 1) 24 March. 15 B-24 Liberators dropped 39 tons of bombs. Reconnaissance showed road bridge severed and railroad line cut by pair of craters on each end of bridge.

Hitting Southern France For The First Time During The War, North American B-25 "Mitchells" Of The Tactical Air Force, Scored Direct Hits On A Huge Road Link Across The Var River, 10 Miles North Of Nice, France. Great Puffs Of Smoke Billowed High Into The

Headed For Home, The Martin B-26 Marauders Of The First Tactical Air Force Leave A Job Only Partly Completed -- The Rail Bridge, With Its Single Rail Track, Escaped Serious Damage From This Raid. Italy.

Installations At Halberstadt Airfield, Germany Are Blanketed With Bomb Bursts And Bombs Continue To Fall To Add To The Devastation, During This Mission Carried Out On 5 Aug. 1944 By Planes Of The 8Th Air force 34Th Bombardment Group.

BEFORE: After we destroyed the plant at Bremen, the Nazis shifted machinery to Marienburg. More than 40 of FW-190's were assembled at Marienburg.

Heavy Incendiary Damage To Large Sections Of Urban Area. Yokohama, Japan.

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