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Allied Air Operations in WWII

Images depict Allied aircraft in air operations, showcasing various bombers and fighter coordination during WWII, highlighting military strategies and engagements.

A Formation Of Boeing B-29 "Superfortresses", Based On Guam, Marianas Islands. May 1945.
A Formation Of Boeing B-29 "Superfortresses", Based On Guam, Marianas Islands. May 1945.
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"Rover Joe" -- A Gound-Air Tactical Method Used By Mediterranean Allied Air Forces To Coordinate Fighter-Bombers And Infantry Action In The Mountain Approaches. "Rover Joes" (Usually Former Pilots) Spot Enemy Targets And By Radio, Relay Locations To MaafThis Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber flying from its 15th AAF base in Italy, had its left rudder shot away by a 20 mm shell in an encounter with enemy fighters near Vienna, Austria. Regardless, it returned to its home base without further ado.P-51S Out Of Iwo Jima Meet Their Super Big Friends, The B-29's Over Japanesean.Their mission accomplished, these Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" of the 494th Bomb Group, fly over the Gulf of Davao in the Philippine Islands as they head for their home base. March 1945.Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the U.S. 8th Air Force's Third Air Division bomb German communications at Chemnitz marshalling yard, Germany, near Dresden on Feb 6, 1945. Cutting of rail lines here aided in shutting off the flow of supplies to theBombs Fall From Consolidated B-24 Liberator During Raid Over Wake Island On 30 April 1944. Airplanes Of The 11Th And 30Th Bomb Groups, 7Th Bomber Command, Participated In This Raid.Consolidated B-24 Liberator Wings Its Way Over Clouds During A Mission On Saarbrucken, Germany On July 16, 1944.Twenty-two Flying ofrtresses are visible in this photo of a mission on its way to bomb German installations at the airfield of Villacoublay, near Paris. Difference in altitude of different elements of the squadron is plainly seen.Cloud Hopping To Dunkirk... With Breaks In The Clouds Affording Momentary Glimpses Of The Earth These B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Winged Their Way Toward Dunkirk, France, To Take Part In A History-Making Attack. Bombers Of The 8Th AirA Formation Of Boeing B-29 "Superfortresses", Based On Guam, Marianas Islands. May 1945.Air force formations snapped while escorting bombers of the 8th Air force to or from raids on Nazi territory. This is an 8-plane formation flying in a V. It is used ordinarily while the fighters are on the way out over England, and climbing throughNew Type Flying Fortress (Boeing B-17G) enroute to Emden, Germany.North Africa-Lockheed P-38 "Lightnings" returning from patrol duty somewhere in North Africa.High In The Clouds, These Douglas C-47 Transports Of The Troop Carrier Air Division Of The 12Th Air Force, Wing Their Way Where They Will Rendezvous Over The Dropping Zones To Dislodge Their Tough And Trained Load Of Paratroopers. Italy. Code 'Cw' 76ThA formation of Consolidated B-24s, of Gen. Kenney's 5th AF Bomber Command, on their way to pay a call on the Japanese airstrip at Wewak, New Guinea. These never ending raids on Japaneseanese installations are playing an extremely vital part in weakeningTo Targets In Western Germany -- High Above The Clouds, Tight Formations Of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of Us 8Th Af Point For Western Germany, Pressing Home Their Dec. 31St 1944 Attack On Tactical Targets. 379Th Bomb Group, 1St Div., 41St Combat Wing.Air Battle over Bremen, Germany.Hq. , 8th AAF developed new bombing technique: Development of a new day bombardment technique enabling bombing thru solid cloud cover was announced by the 8th AF Bomber Command Hq. recently. The value of the new technique was tested in actualBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses carry out troop support operations south of Caen, France. The Forts used bombs on wing racks in bombing enemy troops.Mines Parachuting From A Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" Over Japaneseanese Home Waters.A formation of powerful...Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 91St Bomb Group, 8Th Af, Form A Pleasing Pattern Against This Background Of Clouds Enroute To Brunswick, Germany. 30 Jan. 1944. (Altitude 22,000 Feet).Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,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. Dunkirk, France Was The Target Of This MisA pattern of transport planes and gliders is pictured against a grey English sky as the 9th Air force Troop Carrier Command sends load after load of airborne infantry reinforcements into the area where the Yank paratroopers were dropped in FranceA Curtiss C-46 And A Douglas C-54 In Flight Near Kunming, China. 5 June 1945Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Photos with the article 'Experiences in a Mustang coffin' in the magazine Weapon Budders. Aerial recording of a Mustang. October 20, 1948. Indonesia, Dutch East IndiesA flight of Martin B-26 Marauders in take-off from desert strip during experiments with the 6 plane system in Africa.Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" Of The 2Nd Bomb Division, 8Th Air Force, Enroute To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe. 24 November 1943. 392 Bomb Group.TROOP CARRYING GLIDERS TOWED BY CARGO SHIPS ROAR OFF OVER THE FRENCH COAST DURING INVASION DAY.Photo 3 of 3: FLAK OVER MUNSTER--A heavy defense thrown up by the Nazi around the important railway marshalling yards and repair shops at Munster. Vital rail junction which handles heavy traffic to and from the industrial Ruhr. Despite this heavySilhouette of Boeing B-17 on bombing mission to Germany.Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses On A Bombing Raid Over Plenfield, Germany. 23 Feb. 1945.They're Off--Thirty Lethal missiles, pictured moments after leaving the open bomb bay of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, drop toward the German airbase at Achmer, during the April 8th attack by 8th AF heavies.Anefo photo collection. Visit Queen Wilhelmina to Ypenburg. Aviation tournament from the RAF to commemorate the Battle of Britain. Bomber flies over. September 15, 1945. YpenburgTwin Funeral Pyres mark Ober Traubling (1) and Prunfening (2) Plants on 25 Feb 44. 385th Bomb Group.Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress over Osnabruck, Germany-Blind bombing methods necessary. 91st Bomb Group.A Formation Of Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The Maaf.A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" (A/C No. 231230) Of The 91St Bomb Group Approaches The Target At Tours, France On 5 Jan 1944.Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Enroute To Their Target For The Day - Viterbo Airdrome, Italy - On 29 July 1943.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.During A Recent Strike On Japanese-Held Iwo Jima, This U.S. Army 7Th Air Force P-38 Lightning Limped Away From The Target With Its Left Engine Shot Out, Its Right Wing Badly Damaged And In Flames. Lt. Fred C. Erbels, Jr., Glenside, Penn., Nursed His Crippled PPhoto collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Departure air landing troops of Semarang. Douglas C-47 Dakota in the air. December 19, 1948. Indonesia, Dutch East IndiesBoeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 381St Bomb Group, En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe. These Fortresses Are Stationed In England.Formation Of Douglas A-26S Attached To The 386Th Bomb Group, Enroute To Bomb Enemy Installations In Europe On 7 May 1945.Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, Of The 381St Bomb Group Formation, En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe.A Formation Of 16 Douglas A-26 Invaders Of The 9Th Af Bomb Div. Leave A German Ammunition Dump In Flames (Lower Left) Near Rheinbach, 10 Miles Southwest Of Bonn. Major General Samuel E. Anderson'S Medium And Light Bombers Have Been Systematically IsolatiThis Boeing B-17 Flying ofrtress of the 15th Air force releases its bombs on the Szob railroad bridge, N. Budapest, Hungary on September 20, 1944.A Boeing B-17 Of The 96Th Bomb Group Flies Over The Marshalling Yards At Grafenwohr, Germany On 8 April 1945 As Bombs Burst On The Target.Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" now in service bombing Germany with heavy loads.In A Futile Attempt To Cover The Target, The Nazis Used Smoke Screens To Prevent North American B-25 'Mitchells' From Destroying The Installations. Europe.High Above The Two Republic P-47's Of The 353Rd Fighter Group, Parked Beside The Runway At A Base In England, A Flight Of P-47's Peels Off For A Landing.Bombs Dropped By Martin B-26 Marauders Of The 12Th Air Force Explode On The Target - A Bridge Over The Po River Near Cremona Italy. A Maruder Flies By The Smoke-Covered Target."Somewhere in France"--A Douglas C-47 of the 9th Air Service Command roaring in for a landing on the first American air field built in France. Its mission: to pick up Allied and Nazi war wounded and fly them back to Britain. This is one of manyAt Twilight A Glider, Towed By A Douglas C-47, Circled The Field At Lalaghat, India, Once And Then Headed For Broadway Field In Burma During The 1St Air Commando Force Glider Invasion Of Enemy Territory.Sky markers (irregular smoke patterns, background)- help bombardiers accomplish bombings as briefed over a cloud covered French coast dominated at higher altitudes by endless formations of Consolidated B-24, some of which are pictured here. HeavyWhite boiling smoke surges skyward from a medium tank factory at Nurnberg, Germany, about 90 miles north of Munich, as one of the attacking B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 8th AF passes overhead, 10 Sept 44.Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Three Handley Page Hampden Mk Is of No 44 Squadron RAF based at Waddington, Lincolnshire, in flight.France - This Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 15Th Air Force Makes Its Way Toward Its Home Base After Bombing An Enemy Installation, As 15Th Air Force Bombers Continue To Blast At Every Operational Factory, Oil Refineries, And Airfields.North American B-25 "Mitchell" flys over North African desert enroute to the target for the day. Note shadows cast by preceding formation. North Africa.A Consolidated B-24 Liberator of the 15th AAF comes off the target after dropping its load of bombs on the Neaubing aircraft factory, near Munich, Germany, on 19 July 1944, during the heavy bomber attacks on targets in the Munich area. A goodA considerable portion of the refresher training given fighter pilots involves flights in Dewotine 520's, a first-line combat plane used in France during the early months of fighting with Germany. Compared with fighters in use at present, they areFighter Escorts Leave A Path Of Vapor Trails As They Fly Above Consolidated B-24S While En Route To Bomb Enemy Targets Somewhere In Europe. July 1944.Two Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses"Of The 401St Bomb Group In Flight Over England, 12 April 1945.Bombing Of Oil Refineries At Moosbierbaum, Austria By Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortresses"On 28 August 1944. One Of The 'Fortresses' Is Shown Leaving The Target. Smoke Screen Partially Cover The City And Surrounding Area.Balikpapan, Borneo, N.E.I., From Which The Japaneses Formerly Drew 7,000,000 Barrels Of High Octane Gas And Oil Every Year, Lies Burning Under A 13Th Aaf Liberator Attack. The 'Jungle Air Force' Put Balikpapan Under Land-Based Attack In September 1944 And HasConsolidated B-24 of the 376th Bomb Group, 9th Air Force returns to an air base near Bengasi, Cirenaica, Libya, after the Ploesti, Roumania raid.Douglas A-26 Invaders In Flight Over France.Perfect formation is one of the secrets of accurate bombing patterns, tremendously difficult to achieve in the turbulent winter weather over Europe now. These Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 15th AF accomplished this perfect formation in theirThe Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Winsome Winn' Part Of A 381St Bomb Group Formation En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations In Europe - Flies Over The Patchwork Landscape Near Ridgewell, England. 31 August 1943.Aircraft, Burma, India &Aircraft, LANDING, North American WarAn Iranian Air Force Lockheed P-3F Orion maritime surveillance aircraft in flight over the Strait of Hormuz. Country: UnknownNorth American B-25 Mitchells of the 12th AAF on their way to attack the harbour and enemy transport at Split, Yugoslavia.Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Short Stirling Mark I, W7429 'LS-J', of No. 15 Squadron RAF based at Wyton, Huntingdonshire, photographed while in flight from another aircraft of the Squadron.Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Fighter Command Spitfire VBs of No 92 Squadron, May 1941.With one engine trailing smoke, this flak damaged Marauder of the U.S. Army 8th Air Force, slowly drops out of formation after the raid on Amsterdam-Schipol airdrome Holland. When this occurs, part of the fighter escort remains with the straggler toFormation of Lockheed P-38s in Italy.Photo 1 of 3: BOMBARDIER-TO-PILOT, "BOMBS AWAY!"--and with this terse message over the interphones the important rail and communication center of Munster, in northwestern Germany, shudders under the fierce impact of another tremendous attack by8Th Air Force Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 381St Bomb Group Wing Their Way Over Fleecy Clouds To Strike At Enemy Installations In Europe.Bound For Balkan Targets, P-51 Mustang Pilots Climb High Over Yugoslavia. Pilot Of Aircraft No. 7 Is Benjamin Davis.Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 15th Air Force form up on their way to continue the air offensive against strategic hun targets deep in enemy territory. This photo was taken from the tail gun position of a preceding fortress. ITALY.A Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress delivers its load of high explosive and incendiary bombs over the city of Nurnberg, Germany, during the U.S. 8th AF attack on the car-packed marshalling yards, repair shops and main railway station, 20 Feb. 1945. MostFormation Of Republic P-47 Give Fighter Protection To Bombers While On A Practice Mission Over Molesworth, England. 18 September 1943.Formation Of Curtiss C-46 Commandos Passes Over A 9Th Troop Carrier Command Base Somewhere In France. 21 March 1945. 9Th Air Force 313 TcgFrench Train as NATO Paratroopers at Pau. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and PersonnelMission #2-St. Omer-ofrt Rouge, France-Flak bursting around Martin B-26's over France.Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1940-1945. Hawker Hurricanes of No. 261 Squadron RAF take off from Ta Kali, Malta, to intercept incoming enemy aircraft.Two Curtiss P-40S Of The Famed 'Flying Tigers' Ready Takeoff From An Airbase On Umnak Island, Alaska.A Formation Of Marianas Islands Based Boeing B-29'S Fly High Above The Pacific. Capable Of Carrying A Larger Bomb Load Farther Than Any Other Plane In World War Ii, The "Superfortresses"' Brought The War To The Japaneseanese Homeland.Berteaux, Morocco-North American B-25's of the 310th Bomber Group on a mission over Axis held North African territory.They Bomb Berlin. - ***** in flight.The men pictured in this series are members of crews of Stirling bombers which have attack Berlin. February 1, 1943. (Photo by British Official Photograph)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 northwards along the Adriatic coast of Italy to bomb enemy gun positions near Lanciano in the Sangro River battle area.A Curtiss P-40 Approaches The Field For A Landing At Kunming, China, After A Mission. September 1942.A Boeing B-29 "Superfortresses"' (A/C No. 224471) Of The 468Th Bomb Group, Xx Bomber Command, En Route To Its Home Base After Bombing Enemy Targets At Anshan, Manchuria. China.Boeing B-17 raid on Stuttgart, Germany, 6 Sept. 1943.Close-Up Of P-51 Mustang Fighter Escorts For 14Th Af C-47 Over China. 24 August 1945.Bombing Of A Railroad Bridge Over The Rhone River At Arles, France, By Martin B-26 "Marauders" Of The French Air Force.THREE PLANTS.. THREE SMOKE COLUMNS--At Hamburg, burning oil refineries send up clouds of smoke as three of the attacking Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the U.S. 8th AAF pass over the target area. 23 June 1944.