Aerial Military Operations

Historic images of military aircraft in action, including parachute drops, missiles, and vintage aerial maneuvers.

Vintage Photograph. U.S. Air Force "Rascal's" powerful rocket engine drives the missile at supersonic speed.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Departure Air landing troops from Semarang. Supplies per parachute. December 19, 1948. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Vintage Photograph. U.S. Air Force "Rascal's" powerful rocket engine drives the missile at supersonic speed.

Knatchbull M (capt the Hon) Collection The Kite Balloon on board H. M. S. Hector, Gallipoli, August 1915.

Navy Parachute Jumpers Graduate - A Class of 20 Mew who received training in Parachute jumping at Lakehurst, N.J., were graduated April 23-this photo represents the end of the course for three of them. They are dropping to earth from the Dirigible K-1. April 23, 1935. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

Balloon goes up, balloon department 3 / 2.R. South of Piratin.

Radar and Electronic Warfare 1939-1945 Aircraft Navigation and Guidance: A Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster bomber over Essen dropping WINDOW to interfere with ground gunners during a 1000 bomber raid on the city.

In order to be able to protect the staff of the groups of guided weapons HAWK in bad weather conditions, the platforms on which the launch devices are provided with a spherical nylon casing. This canopy can be folded in and folded in 40 seconds. At the Air Force they are known under the name Koni-Shelters. These shelters must be opened when firing the Missiles.

Parachute of Raoul Thörnblad on Ilug 1923 Parachuting. Raoul Thörnblad jumps with parachute at the international aviation exhibition in Gothenburg, 1923. From the Old Malmen collection.

U.S. Marines On Iwo Jima Receive Mail By Parachute -- U.S. Marines gather packages of parachuted mail dropped to them by a transport plane during their bitter fight on Iwo Jima, Japanese military outpost 750 miles (1200 kms.) from Tokyo, capital of Japan. The Marines, with strong artillery support, drove the Japanese to the northern tip of the volcanic Island in three weeks of furious fighting. By March 12, they had cut the remnants of the Japanese garrison into two small pockets, each occupying

German mine sweeps and landing boats at sea.

Battle Of Bombs Over Iwo Jima -- Quarter ton bombs from U.S. Liberators head for an Iwo Jima airstrip even as exploding Jap Phosphorus bombs from enemy interceptor planes compete for air surpremacy. Yanks landed on Iwo Jima February 19. Landing beach for the invasion can be seen. February 21, 1945. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Alcalá de Henares. 12/01/1957. Army paratroopers in mid-flight.

French Train as NATO Paratroopers at Pau. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and Personnel

Vintage Photograph. Parachutist slowly descending to ground.

A Japanese air corps is seen as drooping food and munitions from the planes for his comrades on the firing line. The picture was taken in North China, while pursuing the remnants. March 19, 1939. (Photo by The Domei News Photos Service).

Vintage photograph. Launching of US Air Force Martin B-61 Matador pilotless bomber

British barrage balloons were used during the Second World War to make German air-raids more difficult. The balloon would have metal cables attached to the blimp and ground causing potentially fatal damage to German aircrafts.

Parachute testing on the ore, about 1920 motif: A parachute is tested on the central workshops on the ore, around 1920. A man has landed on the ground with a parachute in front. Belongs to from Air Force Museum's image archive.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War British Army Airship Eta on the ground possibly in a quarry, this would offer protection against strong winds..

Anefo photo collection. Mn Merchant Navy / Anefo London series. Depth bombs board brief merchant ship. 1943. Britain

V-2 Missile Being Launched

Photo collection First World War. With the British Navy in War Time. Airship dropping a dummy bomb .. 1914-1918}

Heavy Equipment For Paratroopers - These U.S. Air Force C-119 ***** Boxcars of the 403rd Troop Carrier Wing spill out their load of heavy equipment for the men of the 187th Regimental Combat Team during a recent maneuver in Korea. The equipment dropped to the paratroopers included heavy vehicles, several jeeps, field pieces and special bundles of equipment weighing up to three tons each. Combat Cargo aircraft of the 315th Air Division have dropped the men of the 187th in combat jumps and in a number of practice jumps both in Korea and Japan. November 05, 1952. (Photo by U.S. Air Force Photo).

AGSS-569 Albacore , Ships, Naval Vessels, Boats, Naval History, Navy

Vintage photograph. Ranger trainees making parachute jump at the US Army's Ranger Training Center

Minekt paravan.Sweden, Blekinge, Blekinge, Karlskrona, Karlskrona, External War Gogs (depicted, City)

The Royal Navy during the Second World War Ratings bringing out an inflated barrage balloon, at Greenock or Gourock. The barrage balloon is caught in a high wind and the ratings are nearly taken off their feet. It is to fly from a merchant ship that is about to leave harbour as part of a convoy, to help defend the vessel against dive bombers.

DN-SN-85-11421. Country: Unknown

Anefo photo collection. Parachutist training in Gilze-Rijen (NB). 19 May 1966. Gilze, Rijen

Vintage Photograph. "Vanguard" missile launch.

German World war one searchlight prepared in a German anti-aircraft position 1917

Artwork: "Spitfire Shot Down - French Coast" Artist: J. Thiel. Country: Unknown

Members of the 390th Missile Maintenance Squadron guide a Titan II reentry vehicle onto a trailer after its removal from a silo at site No. 570-5. Base: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base State: Arizona (AZ) Country: United States Of America (USA)

French Train as NATO Paratroopers at Pau. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and Personnel

A view of the NASA Space Shuttle Program Solid Rocket Booster Deceleration Subsystem, as it approaches its impact point during a parachute drop test at the National Parachute Test Range. Base: Naval Air Facility, El Centro State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Flying Saucers. September 07, 1955.

A stern view of a damaged Soviet Victor III nuclear-powered attack submarine under repair by crew members on deck. Country: Unknown

Anefo photo collection. Wieringermeerpolder. December 8, 1945. Noord-Holland, Wieringermeer

Photograph of a mock-up of the Little Boy nuclear weapon dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945. This was the first photograph of the Little Boy bomb casing to ever be released by the U.S. government (it was declassified in 1960).

A training bundle is dropped from a C-130E Hercules aircraft from the 345th Tactical Airlift Squadron as it flies over the drop zone. Base: Marine Corps Base, Camp Fuji State: Honshu Country: Japan (JPN)

Indian Springs, Nevada , Nuclear weapons testing, Balloons Aircraft, Civil defense. Records of the Office of Civil Defense and Defense Mobilization

Royal Air Force- 2nd Tactical Air Force, 1943-1945. A De Havilland Mosquito NF Mark XIII of No. 604 Squadron RAF prepares to taxy out onto the perimeter track in the melting snow at B51/Lille-Vendeville, France, for a night sortie.

Guerra mundial 1914-1918. Conducción de un globo cautivo alemán para la observación del frente. Año 1914.

Bofor Guns - Guns - War File. October 7, 1939.

ASPB MK 2 , Ships, Naval Vessels, Boats, Naval History, Navy

A view of a BGM-109 Tomahawk missile in flight during a land attack conventional missile operation test near the Pacific Missile Test Center, Point Mugu, California. Country: Pacific Ocean (POC)

Australian searchlight Battery in action. July 6, 1942.

Dropping almost vertically from very long range, might penetrate a gun turret and explode the cordite magazine. This image was published in 1941 in an article entitled 'How the battle-cruiser 'Hood' met her end'. 1941

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Still from film shot by the RAF Film Production Unit during the daylight raid on Essen, Germany, by over 1,000 aircraft of all bomber groups. A shower of 'Window' is dropped from an Avro Lancaster as aircraft orbit the cloud-covered target. 4,661 tons of bombs were dropped on sky-markers through the complete cloud cover, resulting in an accurate attack on the already ruined city.

Aif Lenny stillness practice work tracer bullets at 4116 ***** range (Vic.). February 01, 1940.

Machine gun crews of the 8th U.S. Marines holding night firing practice here yesterday. Tracer bullets which enable the gunners to check the accuracy of their aim, form patterns in the night sky. October 1, 1941. (Photo by Wide World Photo).;Machine gun crews of the 8th U.S. Marines holding night firing practice here yesterday. Tracer bullets which enable the gunners to check the accuracy of their aim, form patterns in the night sky.

Japan/USA: Japanese night raiders are greeted with a barrage of anti-aircraft fire by the Marine defenders at Yontan airfield. Battle of Okinawa, May 1945

Invasion drawing by Capt. Creekmore.

***** Against The Locust - ***** of Locusts in the air. October 3, 1939. (Photo by British News & Feature Picture Service)

These pictures of parachute troops under instruction have been obtained at a secret R.A.F. station in Britain where the army and air force are collaborating in training.One of the parachute troops about to land. The man is controlling his direction of landing and has his knees raised ready for shock of landing. July 20, 1955

A complete 57 mm grenade (explosive and pushing load) with a cross-section of the same model. The grenade head consists of a steel core. (abbreviation: AP = armor piercing) armor-drilling ammunition for the drawn 6-ponder anti-tank gun. The steel grenade head is equipped with light track. (T = tracer)

Observation balloons in the section of the 4th K.U.K. Army.

Anefo photo collection. Parachutist training in Gilze-Rijen (NB). 19 May 1966. Gilze, Rijen

The Fury Leaves - The Sound Behind - The Nike is launched at white Sands proving ground, N.M., from an area where three more of the faster than sound anti-aircraft Guided Missiles are ready to take off. The army announces that the first Nike battery is being installed at FT. Meade, MD. and that the missile is designed to track down and destroy invading enemy aircraft. This launching test was made last March 12 and released by the Army in Washington today, Dec. 17. December 17, 1953. (Photo by AP

A bow view of the nuclear-powered attack submarine CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI (SSN-705) sliding down the ways at the conclusion of the launching ceremony. Base: Naval Submarine Base, Groton State: Connecticut (CT) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Anefo photo collection. Registration day 4 day. Landing Belgian parachutists. July 20, 1953. Nijmegen

Photograph of a British observation-officer's parachute being tested prior to his take-off in a kite-balloon. Such balloons remained tethered to the ground and were used by artillery batteries to observe the surrounding landscape and find their targets. Date: 1916

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Fighter Command The last moments of a Dornier Do217 over Dieppe on 19 August 1942, as recorded by Sergeant Helge Sognnes of No 331 Squadron. A member of the bomber's crew can be seen escaping by parachute, moments before the aircraft plunged into the sea.

The Front Behind the Front. Vice Admiral Russell R. Waesche (right), U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, and Captain Norman B. Hall, Chief of Coast Guard Port Security Division, inspect Washington, D.C. waterfront safety measures as a Coast Guard fireboat pours out hundreds of gallons of water. The demonstration marked the conclusion of two years successful port protection by the Coast Guard. Charged with the responsibility of protecting the nation's ports through which the ever increasing flow of invasion supplies, munitions and men passes, the Coast Guard has handled this vital wartime assignment without a single major loss in addition to carrying out the duties of convoys and landing invasion troops abroad.

Japanese Kamikaze or suicide pilot drives his aircraft into an American aircraft carrier in the Pacific circa 1944/45. World War Two.

DF-SN-86-11665. Base: Vance Air Force Base State: Oklahoma (OK) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Photo collection First World War. Canadian Official Photographs Tasks at The Front. A kite balloon. 1914-1918}

Vintage Photograph. The Nike Hercules the US Army's surface to air guided missile on launcher at White Sands Proving Grounds, New Mexico.

Training Paratroops: Volunteer Shock Troops Of Britains Airborne Forces. Night drooping. Remarkable flashlight picture A paratroop making a night descent.Parachute troops constitute a powerful surprise factor and are usually employed in conjunction with airborne or mechanised troops in the main ground ***** or in rear of the enemy lines. They are aimed for their specific task with weapons and equipment dropped on their landing area.Paratroops training by R.A.F. instructors of Army Co-operation Command, a highly specialised undertaking is done first synthetic ground apparatus and later from static balloons and 'planes. March 08, 1943. (Photo by British Official Photograph).

'Un Zeppelin abattu a Revigny; La fin de la chute: la carcasse est silhouettee par la masse des flammes; des lambeaux d'enveloppe en feu parsement le sillage', 1916. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume 1" L'Illustration, Paris, 1924.

WW1 - A depiction of a close aeronautic encounter between a aeroplane and balloon hidden from each other in the cloudy sky. The airmen from both air vehicles wave to one another despite the potential danger and collision. Date: 1916

Illustration depicting the British army using Henry Coxwell's captive balloon. Henry Coxwell (1819-1900) an English aeronaut. Dated 19th Century

March 1912. Lieutenant Abiador Cheutin and his airship Evolving in the military review of Vincennes (Paris).

A party of riggers working on the tailplane of a Supermarine Spitfire of No. 601 Squadron at Lentini West, Sicily, 7 September 1943. A party of riggers working on the tailplane of a Supermarine Spitfire of No. 601 Squadron RAF at Lentini West, Sicily.

The Consolidated B-24 "Liberator," 'Come Closer', At An Airfield On Kwajalein, Marshall Islands, July 1944.

Atomic Bomb Explosion Mushroom Cloud Nuclear Radiation Danger Weapon

Sweden, Blekinge, Blekinge, Karlskrona, Karlskrona, external marina (depicted, town).Sweden, Blekinge, Blekinge, Karlskrona, Karlskrona, External War Gogs (depicted, City)

A complete 76.2 mm grenade (explosive and pushing load) with light track. Ammunition for the 17-square. On the right are the separate parts of the grenade head. This concerns an armored grenade. In the grenade head, a smaller grenade is mounted for better ballistic properties and a larger weft effect on the armored goal. (abbreviation: ADPS = Armor-Piercing Discarding-Sabot)

China: Chinese Nationalist Army officers study a map of Chongqing (Chungking) and the surrounding region during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chongqing, March 1939

Anefo photo collection. Transfer rocket launcher in Germany. Superior sea shey maker, sheek, calmeyer. October 10, 1961. Germany

French patrol airship on reconnaissance duty, First World War, photograph from the magazine L'Illustration, year 75, no 3860, February 24, 1917.

MA_I.037291

Royal Air Force Balloon Command, 1939-1945. An instructor of No. 1 Balloon Training Unit at Cardington, Bedfordshire, shows trainee balloon-operators how to 'bed down' a kite balloon, using a scale model.

"How far that Little candle throws his beams! -- But there were no candles like this in the time of Shakespeare. The Gigantic shaft of light, tested at Hains point by The Edison Memorial Committee, was visible 75 miles from Washington and represented a strength of 300,000,000 candle power. Although the committee sought to determine the maximum illumination of the searchlight of the 26oth coast artillery, battery a, it is not planned to use so powerful a beam when the proposed permanent memorial to Thomas Edison is erected. The Potomac river can be seen in the foreground above, with the Washington monument at the left. The bureau of engraving and printing is a picturesque group of engraving and printing is a picturesque group of golden dots in the center, and the Majestic dome of the capitol is visible at at the right. November 21, 1931. (Photo by International News Photo).

AS-11 Fulton , Ships, Naval Vessels, Boats, Naval History, Navy

Rear view of a Howitzer bombing during war, 105mm Howitzer, Solomon Islands

Searchlights throwing up shafts of light over the London skyline in September 1914, on the look out for German Zeppelin aircraft. The Tatler comments that, 'What with darkened streets, public-houses closed at eleven o'clock, soldiers everywhere, and searchlights flashing in all directions, London presents at the moment an aspect which is enough to startle the oldest inhabitant and to bring before us in some small measure the reality of war.' Date: 1914

Naval Weapons Center. Side view of A CBU-78B Gator anti-tank weapon mounted on a stand during a disassembly test. Base: Nav Weapons Center, China Lake State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

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