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Historic Military Aircraft Operations

Images of historic aircraft like the P-51 and B-24, depicting ground crew and aircraft in wartime settings from the 1940s.

Air Borne Reserves For The Battle Of Meiktila - Reserves For Seventeen Divisions Were Flown From Palel, India To Meiktila, Burma, Through The Efficient Efforts Of The 1St And 2Nd Air Commando Groups. Here, Some Members Of The Airborne Engineers Set Up

Porte & Hallett on "America"

"Frank" a 15th AAF group mascot, looks on approvingly at the nose decorations on "Howling Wolf," a Consolidated B-24 Liberator, based in southern Italy, one of the many 15th AAF heavy bombers howling over German territory. "Adolph" is much more

The Battle of Britain Boulton Paul Defiant Mk Is of No.264 Squadron, July 1940.

Capt. Walkter T. Stewart, Ship'S Pilot.

The War in the Far East- the Burma Campaign 1941-1945 Air Force Operations: Airmen fit a long focus camera onto a photo-reconnaissance Mosquito.

FRANCE-French civilian women employed by the American Red Cross are shown serving the first batch of coffee and doughnuts cooked up for Yanks stationed at a 9th Air Force base formerly operated by the Luftwaffe.

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. Supermarine Spitfires of No. 111 Squadron RAF undergoing maintenance at Comiso, Sicily. 'JU-R' in the foreground is a Mark IXE, the other aircraft being Mark VCs.

Loading aviator bombs 2.7.18. .

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943 Captured Fiesler Storch commandeered by the Air Officer Commanding, Western Desert, Air Vice Marshal A Coningham, as his personal communications aircraft. Photograph was probably taken at Air Headquarters, Ma'aten Bagush, Egypt.

Fleet Air Arm Trials, Aboard HMS Victorious. 23-25 September 1942. A Seafire about to land on the flight deck.

Captain Russell C. Cedoz of the Third Marine Division in Vietnam is seen using an aerial camera to capture images of enemy positions and terrain features. This photograph, taken by Cpl. J.G. McCullouch, was released by the Defense Department.

Repair Crew Of The 353Rd Fighter Group Pose Beside A North American P-51 "Mustang" At Their Base In England. 4 September 1944

March 1945-- A crashed JU 88 lies on the edge of an Airstrip being built for use of 9th Air Force fighter bombers somewhere in Germany. 9th Air Force planes are now operating from bases in Germany that were built by the IX Engineer Command.

A Douglas A-20 'Havoc' Of The 410Th Bomb Group, Despite The Snow-Covered Airfield, Prepares To Take Off On Another Mission From Its 9Th Air Force Base In France. 11 January 1945.

German plane C.L. 111 A 3892/18 brought down in the Argonne by American machine gunners, between Montfaucon and Cierges, France, U.S. Army Signal Corps, October 1918

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Captured Messerschmitt Bf 110D 'The Belle of Berlin' in British markings on a landing ground in North Africa. This aircraft served with II/ZG76 in Iraq and was captured after crash-landing near Mosul in May 1941. It was used as a communications aircraft and later as a unit 'hack' by No.267 Squadron RAF.

A Fourteenth Air Force Base In China -- A "Ting Hao" Deal! And The Chinese Soldier Agrees, Too, As He Emphasizes His Point With The Popular Gesture Of His Thumb. Climaxing Over 17 Months Overseas As A Fighter-Pilot With The Famous "China Blitzers" Squad

The Color Guard Of The 17Th Bomb Group 'Presents Arms' As The Deputy Wing Commander, Colonel Hoyt L. Prindle, Kennett, Mo., Affixes The Unit Citation Award To The Group'S Standard At Tavaux, France. The Action For Which The Group Was Cited Took Place On

An Ohka Model 11 being disarmed. Possibly the I-13 captured April 1, 1945 at Yontan airfield

07/24/1926. Melilla. Inauguration of the Captain Herraiz airfield. 1.- Generals Sanjurjo (A), Castro Girona (B), Goded (D); Colonel Kindelan (E) and Commander Gallarza (F) during the Campaign Mass. 2.- the mass celebrated at the altar installed on an airplane. Photo: zarco.

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. A sergeant armourer checks the fuze of a 1,000-lb GP bomb before it is winched by hand into the bomb bay of a Short Stirling of No. 218 Squadron RAF at Downham Market, Norfolk.

Anefo photo collection. The "Dirk U. Stikker Trophee" awarded by Sir Edmund Hudleston (left) to Lieutenant Colonel H. J. Vermeulen (right), Commander. April 27, 1964

''La Capitulation Allemande; Le depart du capitaine allemand von Geyer qui, le 11 novembre, porta de Tergnier a Spa, en avion, le texte des conditions d'armistice', 1918. From "L'Album de la Guerre 1914-1919, Volume 2" L'Illustration, Paris, 1924.

Members of the 402nd Combat Logistic Support Squadron prepare an F-105 Thunderchief aircraft for restoration at the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center. The 402nd is rebuilding the F-105 under battlefield conditions during exercise Proud Saber. Base: Davis-Monthan Air Force Base State: Arizona (AZ) Country: United States Of America (USA)

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.

BRITISH AIRCRAFT IN ROYAL AIR FORCE SERVICE, 1939-1945: HAWKER HURRICANE. (CL 3480) Hurricane Mk.IV, KZ188 'C', of No. 6 Squadron RAF being refuelled, amid other aircraft of the Squadron, on a dispersal at Prkos, Yugoslavia. Copyright: © IWM. Original Source: http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205211812

Royal Air Force- France 1939-1940. Fairey Battles of No. 88 Squadron RAF being prepared for action on the snow-covered airfield at Mourmelon-le-Grand.

Composite Photo Of Nicknames On Consolidated B-24S. 'Thumper', 'Snowball From Hell', 'Lakanooki' And 'The Bad Penny'. China-Burma-India.

'Un sous-marin allemand peche par les Anglais; d'apres un cliché pris par les correspondants de "L'Illustration"et don’t le Chief Censor de l'Amiraute autorise cette semaine la publication', 1916. From "Collection de la Guerre IV. L'Illustration Tome CXLVIII. La Guerre Juillet, Aout, Septembre, Octobre, Novembre, Decembre 1916".

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Fighter Command A No 402 Squadron RCAF Hurricane Mk IIb 'Hurribomber' being re-armed at Manston, 6 November 1941. Comment: note 6 machine guns mounted in the wing.

To Celebrate The Opening Of The Historic International Conference In San Francisco, April 25, 1945, 1St Lt. William H. Clopton, Whose Home At 2671 Lombard St., Is Little More Than A Mile From The Actual Meeting Place, Carried Some Of These 1000 Pound Bomb

Motors get a re-check before pilots take over the ships at advanced combat Squadrons in England.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War The Army Airship Gamma II with a group of army and navy handlers.

Japan To Build Baby Bombers -- The deadly little Fletcher defender fire-bomber will be the first post war aircraft to be built in Japan. The agreement with the Fletcher aviation company of Pasadena, California, and the Toyo aircraft company of Tokyo signed recently stipulates that Japan may not sell the planes to communist countries. The defender (pictured here) is an easy-to-build, easy-to-fly rocket-launching platform ideally suited for police work in controlling the jungle bands so prevalent

Title: Brig. Gen. B. D. Foulois Inspecting the New Liberty Plane Description: Brig. Gen. B. D. Foulois and a group of officers inspecting the new Liberty plane at the Aviation Section, 1st Air Depot in Colombey-les-Belles, France. Photograph taken on July 28, 1918, by Corp. A. Lubatty. This photograph is marked as A.T.Am & 7777 and was assessed by the U.S. Army Censor for official use only.

Artwork: "Fighter Plane Maintenance" Artist: Alfred Hierl. Country: Unknown

No. 151 Wing Royal Air Force Operations in Russia, September-november 1941 Russian soldiers excavate dispersal areas forthe RAF at Vaenga, while, beyond them, a Hawker Hurricane Mark IIB of No. 134 Squadron RAF is serviced.

United States: c. 1940. World War II Army Air Corp training aircraft for pilots.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Training

Miss Boku

DF-SD-07-26056. Base: Hector Air Field State: North Dakota (ND) Country: United States Of America (USA)

February 6, 1943--Message left on a derelict JU.52 by the Germans when they vacated an airfield in Tripolitania, says "Merry Xmas, 1942." But the British sappers inspected the wreck. The left a message, too.

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. Auster Mark IV, MT306 'MC', of an Air Observation Post squadron undergoes servicing at its base after being damaged by anti-aircraft fire while flying over the 8th Army Front in northern Italy.

Artwork: Untitled Artist: Clayton Knight. Country: Unknown

The Battle of Britain Hawker Hurricane Mk I P3522 of No. 32 Squadron, flown by Pilot Officer Rupert Smythe, taxying at Hawkinge, 29 July 1940.

A Douglas C-47 Which Was Demolished During A Japanese Attack On Funafuti Island, Ellice Islands, On The Morning Of 17 November 1943.

The Indian Air Force and Royal Indian Air Force, 1939-1945. Mechanics at work on the Bristol Mercury VIII engine of a Bristol Blenheim Mark I of No. 3 Coastal Defence Flight. Photograph was probably taken at Dum Dum, India, following the unit's withdrawal from Burma.

Composite Photo Of Nicknames On Consolidated B-24S. 'Little Flower', 'Ramp Rooster', 'Ubangi Bag', And 'The Wolf'. China-Burma-India.

P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft of the 78th Fighter Group at Duxford.

Royal Air Force- France, 1939-1940. An airman, wearing gas clothing and mask, holds down the wing of a Hawker Hurricane Mark I of No. 85 Squadron RAF during a gas attack practice at Lille-Seclin.

Airplane fallen to the trocadero 11 October 1915: the device seen aside. The remains of the neighboring airport V347, fallen into the Trocadero gardens, 16th arrondissement, Paris, October 11, 1915 Anonymous. Fallen plane (the appliance seen from side). The remains of the neighboring airport V347, fallen into the Trocadero gardens, 16th arrondissement, Paris, October 11, 1915. Carnavalet Museum, Paris History

A Lockheed Hudson Mk III of No. 233 Squadron at North Front airfield at Gibraltar, March 1942. Hudson III T9459, part of No 233 Squadron's detachment at North Front airfield, with the famous Rock of Gibraltar providing a backdrop, March 1942.

Destroyed aircraft, pilot and observer. .

The airborne unit of the 1st Cavalry army. during the Russian Civil War. 1920

Alfred Lunt Speaks At The Christening Of The Boeing B-17 'Stage Door Canteen' Of The 381St Bomb Group. Actors, Movie Stars And Other Notables Attended The Ceremony At 8Th Air Force Station 167 In England On 21 April 1944.

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,BOMBS War

No. 151 Wing Royal Air Force Operations in Russia, September-november 1941 Hawker Hurricane Mark IIB, Z4017, of No. 81 Squadron RAF, running up its engines prior to a sortie at Vaenga.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Supermarine Spitfire Mark IXs of No. 81 Squadron RAF start up and taxy to the runway at Souk el Khemis (Paddington'), Tunisia, for take off.

Anefo photo collection. Aviation: Schijndel airport. Starkeepers are working on the flying care of the hunters. May 1945. Noord-Brabant, Schijndel

The Consolidated B-24 "Liberator," 'Bugs Bomby Jr.', Of The 11Th Bomb Group, Based On Guam, Marianas Islands. 4 May 1945.

Consolidated B-24's Of The 2Nd Base Air Depot On The Line At An Airfield In Lancashire, England. 10 March 44. Note B-17E 41-9112 On Right With Power Turrets In Nose And Tail, And Radio Op Position

Lin Biao (left) standing with Nie Rongzhen, before an enemy plane seized in the Battle of Zhangzhou 1934. Lin Biao (1907 - 1971). Lin became instrumental in creating the foundations for Mao Zedong's cult of personality, and was rewarded in the Cultural Revolution by being named Mao's designated successor. Lin died on September 13, 1971. Nie Rongzhen (1899 - 1992) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, and one of ten Marshals in the People's Liberation Army of China.

Members Of The 2Nd Service Group Salvage Usable Parts From A Curtiss P-40 Somewhere In Iceland. 26 August 1943.

Royal Air Force- the Air Training Corps, 1941-1945. Two cadets steadying the wings of a Viking I glider while they learn the rudiments of engineless flight at the ATC's Gliding School at RNAS St Merryn, Cornwall. HMS VULTURE, the Fleet Air Arm Station, acted as parent unit to the school.

Presentation Of Curtiss P-40'S To The Free French By America.

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Fighter Command Typhoon IB R8752 of No 1 Squadron, written off after crash-landing in a field near its base at Lympne on 2 June 1943. Flight Sergeant W H Ramsey hit a telegraph pole over France, but managed to bring his badly damaged aircraft home.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Curtiss Kittyhawk Mark IIIs of No. 260 Squadron RAF, lined up at Marble Arch landing ground, Libya. HS-X in the foreground was the personal aircraft of the squadron commander, Squadron Leader O V Pedro Hanbury: at this time it retained its US serial number 42-45798. FR350 HS-B was flown by Flight Lieutenant J F Edwards RCAF, the most successful Kittyhawk pilot in the Western Desert with twelve confirmed at eight probable victories.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Commemoration of the cases of the 18th Squadron. Overview. April 29, 1947. Batavia, Indonesia, Jakarta, Dutch East Indies, Tjililitan

Camouflage of aircraft at partial boman over, 1938 . Work with camouflage of aircraft in terrain at partial boman over 1938.

07/31/1921. Melilla. The Military Aviation, the Captain of Engineers Mr. Manzaneque (1), pilot, and the artilleryman Mr. Carrillo (2), who took Food and Ammunition by airplane to the column of General Navarro, camped on Mount Arruit.

A Visit To The 13Th Air Depot Is Made By Major General Oliver P. Echols And Brig. General William O. Ryan On 27 September 1943. Noumea, New Caledonia

Royal Air Force- 2nd Tactical Air Force, 1943-1945. Members of a Repair and Salvage Unit attend to North American Mustang Mark III, FZ190 'QV-A', of No. 19 Squadron RAF in the shadow of the shell-torn village church at B12/Ellon, Normandy. From left to right they are: Flying Officer F H Price of Hereford, Leading Aircraftman L Polley of Boxted near Colchester, Corporal J Hughes of Crewe, Corporal N Lee of Birmingham and Sergeant W G Ward of Emsworth.

An engine fitter watches the CO of No. 504 Squadron, Squadron Leader R. Lewis, in his Spitfire Mk VC at Middle Wallop, December 1942. An engine fitter identified only as 'Lofty' featured in a series of official photographs taken at Middle Wallop in December 1942, intended to illustrate the vital but unsung daily activities of a typical 'erk' (as all junior RAF ground staff were known). Lofty is seen here with his charge, Spitfire VC EE624/TM-R, flown by Squadron Leader R. Lewis, commanding No 504 Squadron.

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Bristol Blenheim Mark IV, R3600, of No. 110 Squadron RAF, undergoes an elaborate servicing for the photographer at RAF Wattisham, Suffolk. Armourers unload 250-lb GP bombs and Small Bomb Containers (SBCs) of incendiaries from a trolley, while other groundcrew refuel the aircraft and attend to the engines, the cockpit and the gun-turret, accompanied by a pet dog on the engine cowling.

An Unidentified Pilot Of The 367Th Fighter Group, Stands Beside His Lockheed P-38 'Scrapiron Iv' At An Air Base In England. 30 September 1944. Or An Unidentified Pilot Capt. Bloomer? Of The 367Th Fighter Group, Stands Beside His Lockheed P-38 'Scrapiro

A red cross moving "Fort". For rescuing between trenches

Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Hawker Hurricane. Hurricane Mark IID, BN795 Our John, of No. 6 Squadron RAF, on a landing ground in North Africa. BN795 was one of four Hurricanes donated to the RAF by the mother of Wing Commander J W Gillan, following his death in action in August 1941

Greetings from Fort Bragg, North Carolina , Military facilities, Tichnor Brothers Collection, postcards of the United States

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