B-17 Flying Fortress Operations

Images capturing crew activities around B-17 bombers, showcasing flight preparations, returning missions, and ground support under wartime conditions.

ITALY-The National pastime is the international pastime, and shown above is Cpl. Booker T. Little, 3211 Lawton St., St. Louis, Mo., catching the tosses of one of his ball playing pals.

The Crew Chief Watches The Engines Of His Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Closely For Sign Of Fire As They Are Started Up. England.

AN EIGHTH AAF BOMBER COMMAND STATION, England---Silhouetted against a sinking sun, a tired crew just returned from a successful bombing of an important German target, remove their gear from their Flying ofrtress and head for the interrogation room.

Italian Soldiers Under G.I. Supervision Shovel The Mud Off A Steel Mat Taxiway. This Is The First Step In Preparing The Taxiway For Reconstruction.

Gasoline For Lt. Gen. George S. Patton'S 3Rd Us Army Is Flown From England To Supply Dumps Near The Fast Moving Armored Columns. Here, Officers And Combat Men Unload A C-47 Cargo Plane In Germany.

Crew Members Of The 8Th Af's 457Th Bombardment Group Checking In From The Berlin Bombing Mission On 3 February 1945. England.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES-As the planes bank away from the target, Zeros (inset) close in for a kill. Once the Consolidated B-24's direction is established the Japanese will make his pass.

An oblique view of Kiska Harbor on an unusually clear day. Salmon lagoon is in the central foreground. Heavily defended North Head lies between Salmon lagoon and Kiska Harbor. Japanese fighter strip is beyond the lagoon. Two beached ships that AAF planes

ITALY-The National pastime is the international pastime, and shown above is Cpl. Booker T. Little, 3211 Lawton St., St. Louis, Mo., catching the tosses of one of his ball playing pals.

Lt. Yochem's Crew Of The 486Th Bombardment Group In England.

Pfc. Albert Kaeppner of Columbus, Ohio, and Pfc. James Gannon of Detroit, Mich., are pictured assembling one of the Stinson L-5 Observation and Liaison planes used in Artillery spotting. These tiny planes are assembled and flown directly to front

Snow plows operated by men of the Post Engineers (Utilities) remove snow from the runways at Ladd Field, Alaska, 26 February 1944.

Italy - At The 15Th Af Service Command Salvage Depot Wrecked Planes Are Stripped Of Every Usable Piece Of Equipment To Be Used On Other Planes To Keep Them Flying. Cpl. Louis J. Allison Of Gainsville, Ga., Here Uses An Acetylene Cutter On The Wing Of A P

Mechanic Repairs A North American P-51 At Manston Air Base, On Dover Coast, England.

Damage Done To Aircraft At Liangshan China Due To Enemy Attack. This Is The Home Base Of A Medium Bomber Squadron, Fighter Squadron And A Chinese-American Composite Wing.

Built From Auxiliary Gas Tank Of A Lockheed P-38 Fighter, This Sail Boat Is Seen On One Of The Many Canals Of Kunming, China. The Builders Are Seen Enjoying A Ride. L To R Are: S/Sgt Anthony A. Garra, Weatherly, Pa., And Cpl. Vernon G. Woods, Brooks, Pa

Troops Putting Gas In The Douglas C-54S Before Taking Off From Kadena Field On Okinawa, Ryukyu Retto.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Fields & Installations,SUPPLIES War

Airplanes On The Line Being Refueled At Val De Caes Field, Belem, Brazil. April 1943.

General view showing life raft launcher mounted on struts of lab plane.-NEW GUINEA

PAPUA-A Boeing B-17 Fortress on Port Moresby Airdrome.

American And Chinese Soldiers Relax Around A Campfire During The Cool Of The Evening At Hsinching Airfield, Matterhorn Project At Chengtu, China.

Fueling a plane from gasoline drums. Parnamirim Field, Natal Brazil. May 1943.

S/Sgt. William E. Boyett, 110 East Lynch St., Durham, N.C., and Pfc. Donald J. Niece, 1226 1/2 Patterson St., Eugene, Oregon, at the 15th AF Service Command salvage depot in Italy. Pressure cleaning instruments taken from wrecked planes to be used to

16Mm Motion Picture Developing Machine At The General Staff Aerial Photo Processing Lab Of The 65Th Fighter Wing, Saffron-Walden, Essex, England.

Bomb Damage At The Fortezza Marshalling Yards In Italy, By The 15Th Air Force Bombers.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 381St Bomb Group, En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe, Leave Trails Of Condensing Vapors As They Wing Their Way Toward The Target, Somewhere In Europe.

"Okay for take-off" signals Capt. Andrew D. Turner, 1000 Westford St., NW, Washington, D.C., to his crew chief. Capt. Turner, who flies a North American P-51 Mustang with the 332nd Fighter Group, 15th Air Force, Italy, is commanding officer of his

Crew Of The 453Rd Bomb Group Pose Beside A Consolidated B-24 Liberator At An 8Th Air Force Base Somewhere In England.

Crew Members Of The 92Nd Bomb Group Stand In Front Of A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress". 8 September 1942, England.

German plane left by the Germans at Gala Airport, Sicily. 13 July 1943.

Post exchange of Bombardment Group, Benina Field, Bengasi, Libya.

A Douglas C-47 of the 9th Air force was the first plane to land on the runway of a captured German Airfield somewhere in France.

Europe-Gun camera photo...

Strafing attack by Republic P-47 in the European Theatre.

Aircraft, Burma, India &RECREATION War

One more train that won't be comin' 'round the mountain any more. Engine steams ominously as bullets from Republic P-47 hit the boiler.

Martin B-26 Planes Being Refueled At Rufisque Airfield, Rufisque, French West Africa. June 1943.

Bombing of bridge near Kaifeng, China on 24 June 1944. Circle indicates damage to the main bridge. 308th Bomb Group.

Operations Building. Atkinson Field, British Guiana. April 1943.

Long shot of two Republic P-47's (with the M-10 and M-33 mounted) on the line, ready for the take-off.

Columns of black smoke billow up from the oil refinery at Brux, Czechoslovakia after bombs from planes of the 95th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force, have struck their target on 12 May 1944.

Bombs Dropped By Planes Of The 341St Bombardment Group, 491St Bombardment Squadron, 14Th Air Force, Fall Toward Their Target At Samshui, China On October 20, 1944.

In striking contrast to the snow-covered Alps beneath them, these Consolidated B-24 Liberators wing their way on a mission into German territory.-Italy

Ignoring the howls of a...

Soldiers back from the front arriving at Heliopolis Airfield, Cairo, Egypt. June 1943.

Evacuation scene at Suichwan airfield, China, which was over taken by the Japaneseanese ground forces in January 1945. This picture, taken 21 January 1945, shows the loading of equipment and baggage on Curtiss C-46 transport planes.

Gas Is Unloaded From Consolidated B-24 At Nanning Air Base In China. These Bombers Brought In Gas For The Fighters. 16 November 1944.

One 20 mm shell hit this wing flap, cut this jagged gash, and made a hundred tiny holes.

Damaged Planes Were In The Hangar At Detmold, Germany, Undergoing Repairs When U.S. Air Force Hit Installation. The 120Th Regiment Of The 30Th Division, 9Th U.S. Army Moved In To Occupy Sector Afterward.

Philippines - Soliders Of The 6Th Service Group Tow A Consolidated B-24 Liberator From Its Revetment For A Last Minute Check Before A Mission.

Major General C.L. Chennault, Retiring Commander Of The 14Th Af, Accepts A Scroll, Signed By Every Officer In The 'Flying Tiger' Headquarters, From Lt. Thomas F. Mcmullan, San Angelo, Texas, Secretary To Brigadier Gen. Albert F. Hegensberger, Chief Of Sta

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,Transportation War

BEAT UP---As Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the U.S. Eighth Air Force began their attack March 24, 1945 on the Rheine airdrome, they passed over the rail yards hit a few days before. The vital choke point is practically obliterated.

Trailing smoke, a Liberator bomber of the U.S. Army 8th AF loses altitude while another Consolidated B-24, upper right, "stands by," probably to offer the protection of its guns. This photo was made during a mission over Germany, the target

9th Air force Douglas C-47's are lined up on a German Airfield somewhere in France which was captured by American forces. Other cargo planes are overhead arriving with more supplies for Allied forces.

Bomb Damage Caused By The 15Th Af Bombers To The Marshalling Yards In Muldorf, Germany.

Trying to escape his burning aircraft, German airman runs through snow. He is partly hidden by tail of plane.

North American B-25 landing on strip at Woodlark Island, Papua, New Guinea, Oct 27, 1943.

Sgt. Thomas T. Crabtree, Crew Chief, Relaxes In A Douglas C-47 Of The 1St Air Commando Group. The Plane Is Loaded With Pipe, Each Length Weighing Approximately 200 Lbs. And Will Be Used To Furnish China With Much Needed Gas And Oil Pumped Through Burma F

Shown washing up in front of their dugout home on the Anzio beachhead are (left to right) Pfc. Anthony R. Carpino, of 358 East St. Dedham, Mass., and Sgt. Tom J. Cradick, of 4922 Highland Ave., St. Louis, Mo. Both are members of an aviation engineers

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses bombing target in Schweinfurt, Germany.

The Pilots Of The First Three Republic P-47 'Thunderbolts' To Arrive At Kunming, China Are, Left To Right: Lt. S.R. Jenkins, Colonel Philip B. Klein, Lt. Dee S. Finley. 20 April 1944.

Smoke And Pyrotechnic Target Identification Bombs Fall, Along With General Purpose Bombs, Toward The Target At Berck-Sur-Mer, France, During A Mission By Planes Of The 8Th Air Force'S 44Th Bombardment Group On June 3, 1944.

CHINA-After careful study of aerial-photographed targets of China's boiling eastern front, Maj. Gen. C.L. Chennault, Commanding General of the fourteenth Air force, briefs key members of his staff on the next projected blow to the Japaneses.

Yehudi Menuhin plays his violin for wounded soldiers in hospital in New Guinea.

England - The Crew Of A Boeing B-17 Looks At A Badly Damaged Right Horizontal Stabilizer, Practically Shot Off When Nazi Fighters Broke Through To Their Formation During An 8Th A.F. Bombing Attack Upon Nienhagen And Hildensheim, Germany. Despite The Dama

American bombers and fighters are bombing and strafing Japaneseanese camouflaged barges on which the enemy is continuously attempting to land food and supplies at scattered bases throughout the Southwest Pacific area. In this Fifth Air Force photo four

One of the last South China Air Bases of the 14th Air force. It was evacuated and blown up 19 November 1944 under the pressure of Japaneseanese advances in central and South China, both from the Liuchow area on the North and the West river area

There Aren't Enough Automobiles In China For 'Spot' To Chase, But This Popular Mascot Of The 'Assam Dragon' Squadron Down On The Salween Front Has Solved His Problem Nicely - He Chases Airplanes. According To One Of His Favorite Soldier Pals, Sgt. Harry

View Of Allied Precision Bombing Of Belfort Railway Yard Hub. Buildings Along Side Suffered Little Damage.

Sgt. Clark E. Hilliard, Minturn, Colorado, cleans up empty shells from bombardier's compartment after a raid, beginning the routine that follows mission.

Major General Carl Spaatz, Commanding General Of Air Forces, Etousa, Of Earlville, Pennsylvania Decorates Airmen At Their Base In England. Officers Who Received The Distingushed Fkying Cross Are 2Lt Richard F. Starks, Midway, Ky.; 1Lt Frank R. Beadle, Gr

Hitler's armed trawlers are pretty inoffensive looking scows when viewed through a Thunderbolt gun sight as this picture from the automatic camera in the wing of the P-47 flown by Lt. Edgar J. Albert, 36 Plymouth Rd., Stamford, Conn., show. Bullets

Men of the 38th Bomb Group have a hillbilly get-together at Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea.

A Consolidated B-24 rolls down the runway at the airstrip built by the Seebee's 40th Construction Battalion on Los Negros, Admiralty Islands. Both army and navy planes landed on the field.

Entire 201st Mexican Fighter Squadron, FAEM, in the squadron area on Porac, Clark Field, Luzon, P.I.

Having delivered its bomb load over Hitler's Germany, this Flying Fortress attached to a Bomb Group in the 15th AAF stationed in southern Italy, plows her path over the watery runway in a sea spray landing at base. Recent rains don't keep these

GOING OUT ON A WING AND A PRAYER, Catholic Chaplain leads crew in prayer prior to take-off in their Consolidated B-24 Liberator.

FROM AN ADVANCE MARTIN B-26 BOMBER BASE IN THE 12TH AIR FORCE, Dec. 3, 1943: USAAF Martin B-26 Marauders on their way to bomb the railroad sheds and marshalling yards at Arezzo Italy. In foreground is the spinning propeller of

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses on way to bomb Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

These key men of the "Black Death" Marauder Group ofllowed their old commander, Col. Gerald E. "Gerry" Williams, to the ETO all the way from the Caribbean, in order to get a crack at the Nazis. They are left to right: M/Sgt. Harold G. Anderson

Okinawa, Ryukyu Retto -- Rocket Charge Of A Japanese Baka Plane With Jet Detached And Lying Alongside The Propelling Charge.

Lt. Bruce K. Slonneger, Washington, Ill., in the cockpit of his Curtiss P-40 for take off.

Here comes the hits and the eight guns in the leading edges of the "Thunderbolt" wings are already setting fires that spell the end of one more of Hitler's best.

1st Lt. Turpin, navigator, shooting the sun. Marrakech, Morocco. May 1943.

Smoke And Pyrotechnic Target Identification Bombs Fall, Along With General Purpose Bombs, Toward The Target At Salzbergen, Germany During A Mission By Planes Of The 8Th Air Force 44Th Bombardment Group On Aug. 26 1944.

Capt. Charles Joyce Of Winchester, Mass., B-29 Pilot Of The "Raidin' Maiden", 793Rd Squadron, 468Th Bombardment Group, 20Th Bomber Command, Waving From The Pilot's Compartment Of His Plane. He Holds The Air Medal And Is Credited With 6 Combat Missions.

Bomb Damage Done To Passau Marshalling Yards In Germany By 15Th Af Bombers.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Fields & Installations, War

Aerial view of Japanese gun emplacements on Vunakanau, Rabaul, New Britain before attack by USAAF bombers, October 1943.

Bombing Of Shipping - Kiska Harbor, Aleutians,, August 10, 1942.

Battle of Wilhelmshaven, Germany. (Boeing B-17's in foreground).

Bomb Damage In The Marshalling Yards At Althenkirchen, Germany.

Fires roar on Kweilin Airfield as buildings were fired before evacuation. The structures were soaked with gasoline before being fired. 308th Bomb Group Base

Crew Of The 'Goon': Front Row, L To R. 1St Lt. D.J. Palmer, Trenton, Nj S/Sgt. Cj Chirieleson, Washington, D.C. T/Sgt. R.M. Kirk, Alpha, Ill. Capt. J.S. Edney, Chapel, Hill, N.C. Back Row, L To R. T/Sgt. A.L. Fleharty, Cozad, Neb. Capt. S.J. Skousen, Tha

Street scene, Marrakech Field, Marrakech, Morocco. June 1943.

Aerial view of landing operation on French coast shows three LSTs stuck in shallow water a couple of hundred yards off shore. A line of tanks and vehicles scuttles through heavy surf. Soldiers jam beaches as others swim ashore.

Officers And Men In England, March Forward To Receive Thier Medals From Major General Carl Spaatz, Commanding General Of The Air Forces, Etousa, Of Earleville, Penn. Medals Given Were Distinguished Flying Crosses And Order Of The Purple Heart.

Radar Installation, type 270D located on Roberts Ridge between Conquer Point and Witchcraft Point, looking S.S.W.

Capt. Russell, examining a set of negatives, showing the results of a recent bombing and strafing mission.

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