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Historic Aerial Bombing Missions

Dramatic aerial views of bombing operations, showing smoke clouds, military aircraft, and terrain impacts. Captures the intensity and significance of WWII air assaults.

B-29's Erase Japanese War Plants

This Photo Was Taken During The Bombing Of Lutzkendorf, Germany By RAF Bombers On The Night Of 8/9 April 1945. The Light Streaks Running Across The Picture Were Caused By Fires And Lights Showing Up On The Film During The 8 Second Exposure, Before And Af

BREACHHEAD LANDINGS. Men...

This Fuel Dump Going Up In Flame At Milan, Italy, After An Attack By Republic P-47 Thunderbolts Of The U.S. 12Th Air Force. At Least Eight Hits On The Target Caused This Giant Bonfire. Fighter-Bombers Of The Twelfth Patrol Went Deep Into Enemy Territory T

The U.S. 8th AF joined the other Allied Air Forces Feb 22, 1945 in a simultaneous attack of huge proportions against communications lines at key points throughout Germany. The heavy bombers flew lower than usual to increase accuracy and confuse the

A Consolidated B-24 Liberator leaves the target at Ora, Italy, smoking after an attack by Liberators of the 15th Air Force. 1944.

Strike Photo - Kobe, Japan - June 5, 1945.

Air Transport Command Area Photographed From Round Hill On Ascension Island. 10 July 1945.

A 31-car German supply train stopped by 9th AF fighter-bombers near Nettersheim, Germany, seven miles east of Schleiden. A direct hit and several near misses by 500 pound bombs obliterated the engine and leading cars, as shown in this 67th Tactical

Bombing Of The Marshalling Yards At Alessandria, Italy, By Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The 15Th Air Force, 30 April 1944.

PFF Bombing of Beach heads 1000 yards ahead of Invasion forces. FRANCE

Gelsenkirchen, Germany, 27 miles west of Dortmund, on the Duisburg-Hamm railway has several times been the target of bombing missions of the U.S. Army 8th Air Force, out to blast Nazi communications into nothingness. Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses

Cub Airstrip On Beasely Field Directly Across From Ie Shima. These Are Vultee L-5 'Sentinels' Of The 157Th Liaison Squadron, 3Rd Air Commandos, That Made The Long Trip From Laoug, Luzon, Philippine Islands, To Okinawa, Ryukyu Retto. 9 July 1945.

Many direct this were scored on the target, resulting in terrific explosions.-La Spezia, Italy.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Germany - 3Rd Army Engineers Assemble A Pontoon Bridge From The East Or Bridgehead Side Of The Rhine. The 1St Tanks And Vehicles Were Ferried Across On Pontoon Sections Whcih Were Later Formed Into A Bridge. The Operation Was Carried Out Under Continuou

A merchant vessel or transport, about 300 to 350 feet long, probably afire amidships. The ship was armed with three guns.

Collection of World War I Photographs, 1914-1918 that depict the military activities of British and other nation's armed forces and personnel during World War I.

Rjuken Attack, Norway (Nov. 16, 1943) Boeing B-17 crashes into sea. (Probable bomb explosion ahead).

Early P.R. shows large fires burning 6 Aug 44 near the Opel P-Plane factory. (Berlin Area)

A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 381St Bomb Group Goes Down Over Europe. The Formation, En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations, Encountered A Heavy Flak Barrage As They Neared The Target.

Smoke visible 150 miles rises from Balikpapan oil refineries in Borneo, after Consolidated B-24 Liberators attacked recently.

Strafing & Bombing Missions Were At Times Carried Out Ar Altitudes So Low Taht Several Of Our Attacking Airplanes Were Destroyed By Japanese Land Mines.

U.S. Ground Forces, barred from advancing by an enemy troop barricade in the village of Merken, Germany, provided damage assessment data for crewmen of 9th Air Force Martin B-26 Marauders who bombed the hamlet, near Duren, Germany, 28 Nov 44.

Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomb-strikes on Tokyo, Japan. 16.7 square miles of the city are shown destroyed in this picture. The destroyed areas were industrial centers in the city. Widespread damaged was the only effective way to knock-out

A private celebration of Independence Day was held by the crew of a U.S.A.F. Consolidated B-24 who caught this Japaneseanese cargo vessel near Vanimo, on the northeastern border of Dutch New Guinea. The first bombs dropped were near-misses off the stern

Arrow Points To The Wrecked Plane, As Finally Located From The Air By Searching Sister Ship. This Photo Gives An Idea Of The Bleak And Unfriendly Terrain, Shoreline Jagged With Mo0Untains, In Which The Pilot Managed To Make A Successful Crash-Landing. (

Lockheed F-5A flashes past enemy installations at 300 ft., on pre-landing Recce flight near Anzio, Italy.

FORTS FIRE NAZI PROPELLER PLANT---Approximately half of the Heddernheim Vereinigte Deutsche Metallwerke, an important producer of metal aircraft propellers near Frankfurt, was heavily damaged by the Flying Fortress attack of October 4, it was

A Column Of Black Smoke Rises From A Freighter Which Is Burning Furiously After An Enemy Bombing Attack On A Convoy Lying Off The Coast Of Italy Near Paestum, 14 Sept. 1943.

U.S. Reinforcements land in the SolomonsAmerican reinforcements and supplies were carried by landing barges to Guadalcanal Island in the Solomons. In the back-ground is Honderson airfield, built by the Japanese but captured and improved by the Americans. February 22, 1943. (Photo by Interphoto News Pictures).

Results Of A 9Th Aaf Bombardment Attack On Homburg, Germany. A Large Electrical Appliance Factory Was Totally Destroyed, And The Marshalling Yards Were Badly Damaged. 14 March 1945.

Collection of World War I Photographs, 1914-1918 that depict the military activities of British and other nation's armed forces and personnel during World War I.

Slipping like ghosts over occupied Europe, these Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the U.S. 8th Air Force leave wispy contrails as the only evidence of their passing on the way to blast the Nazi submarine docks and yards at Bremen.

Lae, New Guinea, Bombing. 31 May 1943.

R.A.F. Bomber Command Attacks Berchtesgaden - Lancasters of R.A.F. Bomber Command flying over the target area at Berchtesgaden - already billowing with clouds of dust and smoke during the daylight attack on 25.4.45., Picture taken when Lancasters of R.A.F. Bomber Command attacked targets at Berchtesgaden in daylight yesterday. April 25, 1945. (Photo by British Official Photograph).

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 381St Bomb Group, En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe, Lay A Carpet Of Vapor Trails As They Speed Toward The Target.

A Flight Of Six Navy B-34 Lockheed Venturas In The Philippines, Attached To Brigadier General Earl W. Bares' Jungle Air Force Fighter Command, Did This To Brunei Town In Western Borneo, N.E.I., With Fire-Bombs.

Description: Bombs bursting on forts at Tale. 1,000 ft. OBS OFR O Gayford. Location: British Somaliland Date: 1919 africa

Despite A Flak Filled Sky, This Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 15Th Air Force Makes Its Way Toward The Oil Refinery At Schwecat, Vienna, Austria On February 14, 1945. Neither Flak, Snow Or Cold Weather Can Stop The Heavies Of The 15Th Air Force Fro

Missing

Aerial View Of The Beachhead At Normandy, France Taken 12 June 1944 From A Plane Of The 386Th Bomb Group.

Bombs, Dropped By Consolidated B-24'S Of The 494Th Bomb Group, Burst On The Target Area On Corregidor Island In The Philippines, In February 1945. The Target Was Gun Positions On The Western End Of The Island.

Flames Spread Through The City Of Tarumiza, Kyushu, Japan After Bombing By The 499Th Bomb Squadron, 345Th Bomb Group.

On The Morning Of 7 June 1945, 132 Aaf Fighters Consisting Of P-38 'Lights', P-47 'Thunderbolts', And P-51 "Mustangs", Dropped 31,680 Gallons Of Napalm On A Hill Near Mt. Pearl In The Philippine Islands. Following The Last Wave Of Fighters, 32 A-20 'Inva

A Japanese Phosphorous Bomb Explodes Beneath Boeing B-29's Of Major General Curtis E. Lemay's 21St Bomber Command During A Recent Mission Over Kagamigahara, Japan, Site Of A Huge Air Depot Approximately 30 Miles North Of Nagoya. Two Large Plants Of The K

Brazilian Pilots Of The 12Th Af Attacked This German Convoy Near Modena, Italy, With Excellent Results. Several Of The Vehicles Are Burning And Some Are Obscured By A Flash From An Explosion. One Vehicle Turned On The Side Road In Time To Escape The Att

Strafing And Depth Charge Attack By B-25 Mitchells On A Probable Japaneseanese Picket Boat Off The Coast Of Paramushiru, In The Kurile Islands.

Bombing of Cassino on March 15, 1944.

An allied invasion barge...

Aerial Bombing Description: Aerial photograph of bombing raid over Wangerooge in the North Sea. Date: World War Two beach, plane, germany, airplane, aircraft, aviation, craters, northsea, lancaster, bomber, aerialphotography, friesland, bombing, raf, robbins, avro, militaryaviation, secondworldwar, aerialphotograph, wangerooge, lowersaxony, royalairforce, avrolancaster, lancasterbomber, 8991, bombercommand, airministry, rafbombercommand

Rising smoke casts its shadow across the Czechoslovakian landscape as a Consolidated B-24 Liberator of the slugging 15th Air Force comes off the target area at the pardubice Oil Refinery during attack on 24 August 1944. A good concentration of bombs

A USAAF Liberator raid on Visces Airdrome, 10 miles south of Budapest, left these three Nazi planes buring along the perimeter of the field. Each plume of black smoke is from a burning airplane which was hit during the attack that destroyed many

Freighter "C" is bracketed by explosions, while the water around Freighter "D" is kicked up by strafing from Douglas A-20s at Manokwari, New Guinea. (Taken 9 June 1944)

Bomb Damage In Otaka, Japan.

Allied landing craft along...

IT NEVER REACHED NEW YORK. Lt. Walter J. Seb looks over the remains of the plane that the Nazis said would bomb New York--the HE 177. This airplane had four engines but only two propellers. All four engines were utilized only on take-off or in

BLAZING END FOR FW-190-This series of four sensational photos clipped from the motion picture gun camera record of a U.S. 8th AAF fighter plane, shows the downfall of an FW-190 during a recent aerial encounter near Kassel in German. (1) Lined up

Pictured through the nose of a Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Japaneseans sacred mountain, Fujiyama, marks the course of the giant planes on their way to bomb the war production centers at Tokyo.

Site Of Hydroponics Garden On The Ascension Island, 15 January 1945.

Collection of World War I Photographs, 1914-1918 that depict the military activities of British and other nation's armed forces and personnel during World War I.

Nightshot. .

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Landing in Djambi; Before the departure of Palembang. Aerial recording. From a Dakota. A black plume is visible. December 30, 1948. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies, Sumatra

A village near Dong Ha, in Quang Tri Province is completely destroyed by Marina mortars during Operation Saline II. The photograph captures the aftermath of the explosions and fires that resulted in the destruction of a North Vietnamese Army bunker. The image was taken on March 12, 1968, and is a 35mm negative. It is a Defense Department photo taken by Marine Corps Corporal Brown.

Aerial View Of The Railroad Yards At Brunswick, Germany. 10 May 1945.

A Jap bomber explodes (right center) while parachute bombs fall on other Jap planes on Vunakanau airdrome at Rabaul in the first, and greatest, attack made by American and Australian planes on that enemy base. At least 177 Jap planes were destroyed or damaged in the attacks. October 17, 1943. (Photo by Fifth Air Force).

A Bomb Dropped By A Plane Of The 463Rd Bomb Group, 774Th Bomb Squadron, 15Th Af, Falls Toward A Biouac Area In Bologna, Italy, As A Formation Of Medium Bombers, Flying Much Lower, Also Seeks Out Its Target. October 12 1944.

Photograph of Flares Being Fired at Night with Ground Placement of Artillery Visible.

B'29S Erase Japanese War Plants

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Salatiga. Holidays II-2 R.V.A .. Failed recording. October 8, 1947. Indonesia, Java, Dutch East Indies, Salatiga

Silhouette of Boeing B-17s during raid on factory at Brussels, 15 Aug. 1943.

A Bulldozer, Operated By A Member Of The Aviation Engineers, Clears Hard Stand Area For Boeing B-29 "Superfortress". In The Background, A Ground Crew Repairs Two Of The Engines On One Of The Huge Planes Based On Guam, Marianas Islands, 24 March 1945.

Two FW's take evasive action in trying to avoid Lt. Mills on July 28th, 1943.

Aerial view of a part of the area affected during the flood disaster of 1953. Note: The description of this photo is not yet complete and will be supplemented on the basis of the data available at a later stage. However, of many photos of the flood disaster 1953, the location is unknown.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Aerial photos volcano (Merapi?). Volcano (Merapi?). June 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Boeing B-17F 20 mm hole in co-pilot's windshield.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 381St Bomb Group, En Route To Bomb Enemy Installations At Frankfurt, Germany.

Installations At Orleans-Bricy Airdrome, France Are Destroyed By Bombs Dropped By Planes Of The 303Rd Bombardment Group, 8Th Air Force During A Mission On 5 Feb 44.

A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 323Rd Bomb Squadron, 91St Bomb Group Was Completely Destroyed When Fire Broke Out During Landing At The 91St Bomb Group Base In Bassingbourne, England On 5 April 1944. The Plane Burned On The Runway. (A/C No. 513.)

Pedro Miguel/Locks - Smoke Screen Tests, Aerial Photograph.

Members Of The 2Nd Service Group Battle The Ravaging Fire And Smoke Of A Martin B-26 (Ac #43-34142) Which Crashed Somewhere In Iceland. 21 June 1944.

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,GLIDERS War

Balloon wrecked by Krupp gun

Historic photographs of the Norfolk Naval shipyard located in the Fifth Naval District. Operating under the Department of Defense and the Department of the Navy.

A fuel dump left and the Charon-Kanoa sugar refinery right send up dense columns of smoke hundreds of feet in the air past a low-lying layer of cumulus clouds. Numerous other fires started by shelling and bombardment of enemy military installations by ships and aircraft of the Pacific Fleet may be seen in this aerial view. August 1, 1944. (Photo by U.S. Navy Photo).

Historical demonstration of Japanese Navy off Yokohama. The illumination, showed by the participated warships in the grand historical review, on the very evening of the day. August 25, 1933. (Photo by Shimbun Rengo News Photos).

Bombs Dropped By Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 99Th Bomb Group, 15Th Air Force, Burst On The Steel Works At Bergamo, Italy. 7 June 1944.

'A Cent Cinquante Metres au-dessus du Combat ; Notre vague d'assaut progresse ; au loin on voitfuir de petits groupes d'allemands', 1916. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume 1" L'Illustration, Paris, 1924.

The Campaign in Sicily 1943 The Drive for Messina 10 July - 17 August 1943: The successful German rear guard action towards the end of the campaign enabled over 100,00 Axis troops and a large quantity of equipment to be evacuated to Italy from Messina. An aerial photograph shows one of the last German ships to leave Messina on fire after being bombed by the Royal Air Force off the Sicilian coast.

Enemy supply ship blows up with terrific pyrotechnics under direct bomb hit from Northwest African Allied Air Forces, in Sicilian Channel, Spring 1943. Ship was in route to Tunisia.

Bursts & smoke screen, 7/29/43.

CORREGIDOR FLAMES-Corregidor Island, symbol of heroic U.S. resistance, rocks with American bombs for the first time as 13th AAF B-24 Liberators open the attack on the fortress guarding Manila Bay. Well-aimed bombs, exploding at the mouth

K-14 Camera Sights Installed In Airplane In England. 18 August 1944.

Photographs depicting military activities in France, May - June 1940. Included photographs of Rommel, Guderian, Dreuz, Bottcher, Italian General Garaboldi, Lucie Rommel, shots of Rommel with Hitler. Photographs of equipment and troops arriving and in action, from the personal collection of Rommel.

Atom Bomb Burst Over Nagasaki, Japan On 9 Aug. 1945. Two Planes Of The 509Th Composite Group, Part Of The 313Th Wing Of The 20Th Air Force, Participated In This Mission; One To Carry The Bomb, The Other To Act As Escort.

After the attack on Bratislava, smoke spiralled 18,000 feet into the air and returning crewmen of the 15th AF who made the attack said they could see the smoke from 150 miles away.

Key road junction at Whalen, near Duren, Germany, looked thus on a white Christmas before 8th AF began bombing road target.

Vapor trails from Republic P-47 airplanes.

Night Action On Cassino Front In Italy -- Flashes light up the hills as artillery of the Allied fifth army and guns of German forces entrenched in the mountains open up during night action in the Cassino sector in Western Italy. March 23, 1944.

ANOTHER VICTIM: Included in the toll of nearly 115,000 tons of Japaneseanese merchant marine and warship power sunk or damaged in Simpson Harbor November 2nd was this 3,800-ton freighter-transport (17) shown as it received a direct hit amidships.

Direct hits are visible upon at least 42 aircraft of which 17 are transports and 3 are Me-323's. 6, probably more aircraft caught fire immediately. Dispersed aircraft are well covered by bomb bursts. Two large fires probably fuel stores on the

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