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Aircraft Maintenance in War Zones

Images depict military aircraft maintenance activities, showing crews working on fighter-bombers. The mood is industrious, with depictions of machinery, tools, and personnel in military settings.

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,ARMAMENT War

S/Sgt. J.T. Sipkovsky Of Lorain, Ohio, Inspects An American Consolidated B-24 Liberator Bomber, Captured By The Germans And Left On The Airdrome At Salsburg, Austria As They Hastily Retreated.

Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses"Of The 401St Bomb Group On Line At An 8Th Air Force Base In England, 19 March 1945.

Portrait with aircraft on the ground Portrait of military in front of airplane FVM J 23 on the ore.

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Coastal Command A No 220 Squadron Fortress IIA seen 'bombing up' with depth charges at Benbecula, in the Outer Hebrides, May 1943.

A Pilot Of The 9Th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron Poses In The Cockpit Of His Lockheed F-5 At An Air Base Somewhere In India.

Air Transport Command Mechanics Work On An Engine Change For A Martin B-26 In The Nose Hangar On Wideawake Field, Ascension Island. 16 July 1943.

A Consolidated B-24 of the 394th Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group "Bomber Barons," is put "under wraps" for the night at an air base on Borneo, Netherlands East Indies. July 1945.

Anefo photo collection. Visit Princess Juliana 322 (Dutch) Squadron Raf Deanland. Princess Juliana Squadron Leader C.L.M. Van Dinenburg Squadron Spitfires. September 26, 1944. Deanland, Britain

Battle damaged Curtiss P-40 somewhere in North Africa. Note the scars left by a 20 mm. cannon shell and machine gun bullets (circled).

This German FW 190 crash landed on a 9th AF base of the 404th Fighter Group on the Continent during a raid on New Year's Day. Mechanics of the field fixed up the plane and painted it bright red and decorated it with American markings. The

RAF Bomber Command Aircrew of No. 405 (Vancouver) Squadron RCAF board their Wellington Mk II at Pocklington, July 1941.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Flying Officer V C Woodward of 'B' Flight, No. 33 Squadron RAF, dons his parachute beside his Hawker Hurricane Mark I, at Fuka, Egypt. Woodward, a Canadian, had, by this time, shot down six enemy aircraft, and was to gain a further 19 victories before he left the Middle East Theatre in September 1941.

Ground Crew Personnel Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group Make Repairs To A Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Airfield Somewhere In Italy.

Sgt. William R. Zieman Of Chicago, Illinois Chalks Up The 121St Mission On The North American B-25 "Old 59" At An Airbase Somewhere In China. 491St Bs

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. WAAF flight mechanics pull the chocks away from a Miles Martinet TT Mark I target tug of No. 289 Squadron RAF, on a hard standing at Turnhouse, Midlothian.

Lt. Cecil F. Hoover, of 1204 Locust St., Des Moines, Iowa., navigator on "Wistful Vista" said, "When the flak hit us a minute and a half before reaching the target it was like somebody kicking us in the groin with pointed shoes. It hurt all over. A

Consolidated B-24 Of The 458Th Bomb Group Arrives At Air Base After Completing 200Th Mission Somewhere In England.

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command Supervised by a warrant officer member of staff (left), two bomber pilots are seen climbing into an old Wellington bomber in early March 1945, at an RAF rehabilitation centre for injured aircrew at Loughborough.

A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 379Th Bomb Grouip At An Airfield In England. 14 April 1944.

Loading Bombs On A North American B-25 Mitchell.

Mechanics Of The 14Th Air Force Work On A Republic P-47 At A Base Somewhere In China. 14 August 1944.

Hoffmann Photographs 1933 Adolf Hitler's official photographer, and a Nazi politician and publisher, who was a member of Hitler's intimate circle.

A Consoldiated B-24 "Liberator," One Of The Group Monitors Formation Ship Of The 2Nd Bomb Division, 8Th Air Force, At An Airbase In England. 1944. 445Th Bg

Anefo photo collection. Marvo. June 26, 1949

Line Up Of Curtiss C-46 'Commandos' At A 9Th Troop Carrier Command Base Somewhere In France. 21 March 1945.

Enemy on Kiska.

RAF Fighter Command 1940 Hawker Hurricanes of No. 32 Squadron at Hawkinge, 29 July 1940.

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1944-1945. Flight Lieutenant J L Lowther of No. 43 Squadron RAF prepares to take off in his Supermarine Spitfire Mark IX from Nettuno, Italy, helped by the ground crew. Lowther, from Brisbane, Australia, is being assisted by (left to right); Leading Aircraftmen W Ashfield of Birmingham, P Hayles of Wembley, A Torrance of Kirkcaldy and S Massey of Aberdeen. Note the small Squadron badge painted on the nose below the exhaust stubs.

In one of the most unusual action series of the air war, this ill-fated Martin B-26 Marauder of U.S. 9th Air Force was photographed by cameraman of a Combat Camera Unit just before and during the catastrophe which occurred as the armada of medium

The Luftwaffe 1939-1945 Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6/U2 (W.Nr. 412951) 'White 16' of 3./JG 301, one of two aircraft which landed in error at Manston on 21 July 1944. Both fighters were on a night 'Wilde Sau' operation against RAF bombers. The pilot of this aircraft was Leutnant Horst Prenzel, Staffelkapitan of 3./301. The aircraft was flown by the RAF until it was written-off in a take-off accident on 23 November 1944

Photo of the wreckage of a Douglas C-47 at Biskra, North Africa which burned after a direct bomb hit by German planes. 15 January 1943.

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Coastal Command De Havilland Mosquito NF IIs of 'B' Flight, No 333 (Norwegian) Squadron, attended by ground crew in a dispersal at Leuchars, Fife, October 1943. The aircraft on the right is DZ754/'F'.

A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 91St Bomb Group Takes Off From Bassingbourne, England Enroute To Antwerp, Belgium On Another Smashing Raid Over Nazi Installations. 4 May 1943.

A Salvage Crane Picks Up This North American P-51 Mustang While Mechanics Repair The Landing Gear So It Can Be Towed Away. Italy.

The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" "Green Hornet 2Nd" Of The 381St Bomb Group Stationed At An 8Th Air Force Base Near Ridgewell, Essex County, England, 30 May 1944.

The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'In Like Errol' Of The 381St Bomb Group Stationed At An 8Th Air Force Base Near Ridgewell, Essex County, England, 6 September 1944.

C-47 transport planes of the 6th Troop Carrier Squadron lined up on Wau, New Guinea, landing strip during unloading operations. Planes are based at Ward's Drome, Port Moresby, New Guinea. April 1943.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Maintenance,MISCELLANEOUS War

Royal Air Force- Italy,the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. A Handley Page Halifax Mark II of No. 148 (Special Duties) Squadron RAF receives a final engine check at Brindisi, Italy, before taking off on a supply-dropping mission to Yugoslavia. Parachute canisters containing supplies for the Yugoslav National Liberation Army can be seen loaded into the bomb bay and wing cells of the aircraft.

S/Sgt. Mcgary L. Edwards Of Elkins, West Virginia, Crew Chief In The 99Th Fighter Squadron, 332Nd Fighter Group, Was Caught Unaware By An Army Air Force Photographer As He Worked Away On A Curtiss P-40 "Warhawk" At A Forward Base In Italy. 23 March 1944.

Mechanics of the 38th Bomb Group replace a motor of the North American B-25 "Scat" at Garbutt Air Field, Townsville, Australia. 11 November 1942.

This picture shows the captured Japaneseanese Zero plane coming in for a landing. The rising sun of Japanesean may be seen on the right wing.

Close formation flying is the secret of success of American daylight assaults against Europe, for in so flying, each bomber afofrds mutual protection to the others. The basic element of all bomber formations, whether large or small, is the element

Spitfire Mk.1's, of "Battle of Britain" fame. Over 1,200 Spitfires had been delivered to the R.A.F. the outbreak of the Battle of Britain The speed of the Mk.1 was 362 m.p.h. and it had eight machine-guns. January 1, 1939.

June 21, 1943 - Douglas SBD 'Dauntless' dive bomber balanced on nose after crash landing on carrier flight deck,.

Demonstration Photo Of The New P-38 Gas Tank Ambulance, Designed For Fast Evacuation Of Wounded.

RAF Bomber Command Aircrew and ground staff with a Vickers Wellington of No. 75 (New Zealand) Squadron at Feltwell, circa October 1940.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. A pilot of No. 6 Squadron RAF stands by his Hawker Hurricane Mark IID at Shandur, Egypt. This view shows the 40mm Vickers anti-tank cannon fitted to the Mark IID, which the Squadron employed to good effect in the fighting in North Africa.

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South East Europe, 1942-1945. An Avro Anson Mark I, probably of No. 4 Aircraft Delivery Unit (Middle East), used to transport ferry pilots back to their base after delivering aircraft to front line units, parked at Capodichino near Naples.

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Farm labourers stack a load of late hay by a dispersal at Elvington, Yorkshire, in which Handley Page Halifax B Mark II Series I (Special), DT807 'KN-R' 'Rita', of No. 77 Squadron RAF is standing.

Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses"Of The 401St Bomb Group Peel Off For Landing At Their Home Base In England After Bombing Enemy Installations At Dresden, Germany On 23 April 1945.

Italy -- Easter Specials Out Of Blockbusters Is One Way The 15Th Af Is Going To Celebrate The Holiday Over Nazi Held Territory. Two Ordnance Men Of A Consolidated B-24 Liberator Group Speckle The Eggs. Left To Right: Sgt. Leebert C. Wise, Bedford, Ky.,

ITALY--Thirteen is an unlucky for the Germans. Between missions, while pilots eat and are briefed, mechanics and armorers swarm over these Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter-bombers flown by a famous French Squardron. The plane at left, although it

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. A Hawker Typhoon Mark IB of No. 56 Squadron RAF being serviced at Matlask, Norfolk.

305th Bomb Group. Airfield-Thurleigh, England.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. The nose of Vickers Wellington B Mark III, (possibly HF482) 'JN-A' 'A for Apple', of No. 150 Squadron RAF at Blida, Algeria, showing a bomb tally indicating 16 completed missions, and nose artwork depicting Captain Reilly-ffoul, a villainous character in the 'Just Jake' cartoon strip by Bernard Graddon, which appeared in the Daily Mirror throughout the war.

North American B-25's of the U.S. Army Air Force in North Africa, in flight.

On A Mission To The Shipbuilding Yards At Monfacone, Italy, This Consolidated B-24 Liberator Was Hit By Bombs Jettisoned By An Airplane Above It. The Port Inner Propeller Was Cut Clean Off; A Gaping Hole Was Made In The Fuselage And The Top Of The Mid-Up

Royal Air Force- Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Air Force, No. 38 Group RAF. A Handley Page Halifax Mark V of No. 298 Squadron RAF preparing for take off at Tarrant Rushton, Dorset, with an Airspeed Horsa glider in tow, during an airborne exercise.

Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940. Bristol Blenheim Mark IV, N6227 'XD-M', of No. 139 Squadron RAF, undergoes an engine overhaul at Plivot. Note the armourer (foreground) who has just removed the forward-firing .303 machine gun from its mounting in the port wing for examination.

The Royal Navy during the Second World War The crew; pilot, observer, and air gunner, report to the Commanding Officer on getting out of their Supermarine Walrus aircraft on board the aircraft carrier HMS ARGUS. Note the member of the ship's crew in the cockpit.

Republic P-47 Thunderbolts of the 354th fighter-bomber group dispersed in a revetment bordering the runway at a front line Ninth Air force field. FRANCE.

Lt. Mcclure Standing Beside His North American P-51 Mustang, The 'Miss Priss'. England. 1 August 1944.

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command No 76 Squadron Halifax, W7805/MP-M, being bombed-up at Linton-on-Ouse, 3 April 1943.

Using A Jeep As Workstand, Mechanics Of The 14Th Air Force Work On The Engine Of A Lockheed P-38 While Others Refule The Plane At A Base In China. 2 August 1944.

British former prisoners of war prepare to board an Avro Lancaster B Mark I, PB934, of No. 582 Squadron RAF at Lubeck, Germany, for repatriation to the United Kingdom.

The Duchess of Kent with General Doolittle, sees a fortress land from its mission over Germany with its front blown away. The crew were all uninjured.H.R.H. The Duchess of Kent visits 305 group of the U.S. away 8th. Air force and sees fortresses return from a mission to fassberg Aerodrome, just north of Brunswick, Germany. May 28, 1945. (Photo by Sport & General Press Agency, Limited).

An Douglas A-26 "B" Soars Into The Air From A Landing Strip Somewhere In France Where It Has Been In Use Against Targets On The Western Front With The Other 9Th Air Force Bombers, Martin B-26S And Douglas A-20S.

2nd Lt. Marcos Coelho Magalhaes, is 21 years old, has been in the Brazilian Air Forces for four years and is now flying a Republic P-47 with the First Brazilian Fighter Squadron in Italy. Lt. Coelho is a graduate of Escola de Aeronautica, the

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Operation TORCH: Air Marshal Sir William Welsh (far right), Air Officer Commanding Eastern Air Command, arrives at Bone, Algeria, for a visit to No. 322 Wing RAF, accompanied by his Senior Air Staff Officer, Air Commodore G M Lawson (third from right). Second from right, and almost obscured by Welsh, is Group Captain C H Appleton, the Station Commander at Bone and Commander of No. 322 Wing, who was to be seriously injured by a bomb splinter during a German air raid a few nights later.

Five men in a Dingy.Left to Right: 1st Lt. Rockwell Rasmussen, Red Top, Minn., T/Sgt. Rollie Hill of Leroy, W.Va., 2nd Lt. Lloyd H. Keller of Greenville, Pa., S/Sgt. Price Dougherty of Winchester, Ky., and S/Sgt. Leland Fleming of Woodward, Okla.

After The First Bombing Mission Over Tokyo, Japanesean, A Gunner On One Of The Boeing B-29 "Superfortresses"', Which Participated In The Raid, Cleans His Guns. Saipan, Marianas Islands, November 1944.

Royal Air Force- Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1940-1945. Ground crew refuelling a Supermarine Spitfire Mark VC(T) from a petrol tin at Ta Kali, Malta.

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.

The Indian Air Force and Royal Indian Air Force, 1939-1945. The crew of a Bristol Blenheim Mark I of No. 3 Coastal Defence Flight get into their aircraft before taking off ona patrol. Photograph was probably taken at Dum Dum, India, following the unit's withdrawal from Burma.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Aviation day military aviation at Kemajoran airport. Mitchell B-25 bombers at Kemajoran airport. March 9, 1947. Batavia, Indonesia, Jakarta, Kemajoran, Dutch East Indies

Aftermath Of A Crack-Up Of A Lockheed P-38 (Ac #42-12595). Iceland, 2Nd Service Group, 3 February 1944.

Royal Air Force Training Command, 1939-1940. Trainees manhandling a Fairey Battle to the hangar at No. 2 School of Technical Training, Cosford, Shropshire.

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

Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1940-1945. Mechanics lower the port inboard Bristol Pegasus engine of a Short Sunderland of No. 230 Squadron RAF, onto a maintenance scow in Aboukir harbour, for servicing on shore.

Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection

Royal Air Force- Italy,the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. British soldiers and Yugoslav partisans transferring parachute containers and bundles of supplies from a lorry to Handley Page Halifax Mark II, BB338 'M' of No. 148 (Special Duties) Squadron RAF at Brindisi, Italy, before it takes off on a supply dropping mission to the Yugoslav National Liberation Army. BB338 was lost while returning from a similar operation on 5 December 1944.

Republic P-47D-22-RE Thunderbolts, including (2N-U, serial number 42-25904) nicknamed 'Lethal Liz II', of the 50th Fighter Group, 81st Fighter Squadron, with cows at Carentan Airfiled (A-10), France, Summer 1944. (s/n 42-25904 (50th FG, 81st FS) lost Aug 17, 1944. MACR 8500. s/n 42-26063 (50th FG, 81st FS, *Jean*) interned in Switzerland Oct 15, 1944). The 50th FG with 81st FS and 313rd FS was based with P-47D at Giebelstadt airfield, south of Würzburg/Germany from 20 April 1945 to 21 May 1945. Also the 417th Night Fighter Squadron with Northrop P-61A/B Black Widows was based at Giebelstadt from 24 April to 21 May 1945.

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.

Berteaux, Morocco-North American B-25's of the 310th Bomber Group off from a North African airfield to bomb Axis held territory.

The Royal Navy during the Second World War The Flight Deck Officer signals to the pilot of a Grumman Wildcat of No 881 Squadron Fleet Air Arm that he is cleared to land on HMS ILLUSTRIOUS in the Indian Ocean. He is giving the 'Cut Engine' signal

Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection. Damaged Avro Lancaster of No. 101 Squadron RAF (identified by squadron code SR on fuselage) at Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire, after a successful crash-landing on returning from a raid to Augsburg on the night of 25/26 February 1944.

A versatile Douglas A-20 Havoc light bomber of the 9th USAAF is shown coming in for a landing ofllowing a recent attack against enemy targets on the continent. Recently added to the 9th Air force's highly mobile bombing fleet, the A-20's will aid in

North Africa-Too busy with bombing missions to take advantage of regular messing facilities, members of the Earthquakers bomb group are served coffee and doughnuts beside the plane.

Palo Cathedral now being used as a hospital for the wounded. Palo, Leyte, Philippine Islands.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Visit Minister Romme to Grote Oost Makassar, Menado, Ambon, Flores, Surabaya. Dr. C.P.M. Romme at the Mitchell B-25 with registration sign N5.243 of the 18th squadron, the plane with which he made the tour through East Indonesia. January 24, 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Easter Services of 9th U.S. Air Force in North Africa, 1943 Chaplain Capt. Nathan S. Hardin officiating.

Poll photo collection. Repatriation service India. At the airport at Ataka (Egypt). December 1945. Ataka, Egypt

Large Rubber Lift Bags Are Used To Aid In Jacking Up A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Whose Landing Gear Has Collapsed. The Lift Bags Are Rolled Beneath The Wing And Inflated Until The Necessary Pressure Is Exerted To Raise The Wing. Rubber Was Chose As

A pilot of the 90th Photographic Reconnaissance Wing, poses in the cockpit of his Lockheed F-5 at an air base somewhere in North Africa.

Inside A 353Rd Fighter Group Hangar At A Base In England, North American P-51'S And Republic P-47S Are Carefully Checked And Repaired By Maintenance Crews. 26 June 1945.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses over clouds at Frankfurt, Germany. 306th Bomb Group.

Royal Air Force- 2nd Tactical Air Force, 1943-1945. Two engine fitters, Aircraftman 1st class S Smith of Berkhamstead and Corporal G Drew of Dinton near Salisbury, give a daily inspection to a Taylorcraft-Auster Mark IV of 'B' Flight, No. 658 (AOP) Squadron RAF, in a field near Materborn, Kleve, Germany. Aircraft of the Squadron flew artillery spotting sorties in the area for 30 Corps of the British Army.

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