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Historic Military Aircraft Operations

A collection of vintage military aircraft, including Spitfires and P-51s, engaged in operations and maintenance. The images reflect wartime scenes with varying conditions and aircraft types.

Framed by the wings and engine of its much larger friend, the B-17 ofrtress, this Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of the 8th Air force is shown "warming up" at the base depot in England where both ships have been modified for combat uponn arrival from

Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945. Aircrews of No. 62 Squadron RAF make a final inspection of their Lockheed Hudson Mark III at Chaklala, India, prior to taking off on a sortie.

Tunis, Tunisia-A German fighter plane whose pilot had been killed, crashed into this Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" while it was bombing Nazi supply lines in North Africa. The fuselage was out half into, and one elevator was torn away. S/Sgt. Sam

Photographs just received from Athens showing the Greek Air Force preparing for Battle.Loading to a Greek bomber. November 30, 1940. (Photo by Sport & General Press Agency Limited)

The North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber 'Texas Gal' Of The 81St Bomb Squadron, 12Th Bomb Group Stationed Somewhere In India.

Douglas C-47S Transferred To The French Air Corps And Manned By French Crews Are Hustling Critical Supplies Right Up To Advanced Airfields From The Huge Air Technical Service Command Depots In Britain. High Above Heavy Clouds Enveloping The English Chann

The Royal Navy during the Second World War On board HMS ILLUSTRIOUS a torpedo is being wheeled into positon under a Fairey Swordfish torpedo-bomber for torpedo dropping exercises.

Messerschmitt Me 262 Jet Plane Found Intact At Field Near Stendal, Germany, Taken By 5Th Armored Division Of The Us 9Th Army.

A Republic P-47 (A/C 42-222475) Of The 353Rd Fighter Group Returns To Its Base In England With A Damaged Stabilizer Resulting From Enemy Action. 3 October 1943.

Aircraft, Burma, India &CREWS,FIGHTER War

A powerful Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of the 9th Air force roars off, on to another mission from a dusty, steel-meshed runway somewhere in the liberated section of France.

Royal Air Force- Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Armourers pull a trolley loaded with 500-lb GP bombs to a waiting Consolidated Liberator Mark II of No. 159 Squadron RAF at Fayid, Egypt.

Aircraft, Burma, India &PHOTOGRAPHY, Operations &MAPPING War

Tripolitania, Libya-Curtiss P-40's in line ready to take off for an attack on enemy positions in Tripolitania. The activites of fighter bombers have been the principal feature of Allied air attacks in the present offensive in Libya. Since the attack

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. Two Hawker Hurricane Mark IIs of No 43 Squadron RAF make a low level pass over other aircraft of the Squadron, lined up at Tangmere, Sussex.

After Being Damaged By Enemy Flak This Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Was Forced To Land Short Of Its Home Base On A Small Ploughed English Field With Fences And Trees Offering Extreme Danger To The Pilot. Personnel Of A U.S. 8Th Af Bomber Repair Base Rol

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. A Bell Airacobra Mark I of No. 601 Squadron RAF is inspected by interested ground personnel at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, shortly after the squadron re-equipped with the type. Its short period of service with the RAF was not successful and 601 Squadron, the only operational unit to fly the Airacobra, converted to the Supermarine Spitfire in December 1941

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

Members of the U.S. Air Force inspecting a Stuka left behind by the retreating Germans somewhere in North Africa.

A Martin B-26 Of The 42Nd Bomb Wing Comes In For A Landing At An Airbase Somewhere In France After Completing Another Successful Bombing Mission On Enemy Targets.

Loading The Incendiaries - Loading the incendiaries prior to a raid on enemy territory. Getting the first raising bombs into the R.A.F.'s latest Light Bomber, American produced "Venturas" the name means "Lucky Star", and is a fast twin engined machine, strongly armed. Hitler has recently ordered a complete overhaul of his A.R.P. Organisation. June 7, 1943. (Photo by Fox Photos).;Loading The Incendiaries - Loading the incendiaries prior to a raid on enemy territory. Getting the first raising bo

Nationalist Raid From Island Base -- Chinese Nationalist Air Force Fighter Pilot D.T. Soong warms up in his American-Built p-51 Pursuit plane at the base on Chusan Island before taking off to strafe Shanghai, 70 miles away.From Tinghai, Nationalist air and Naval base on the island, the nationalists constantly Harry communist coast defences and Bomb the communist-held port. From Chusan, Too, fast Gunboats chase. The blockade runners who try to Run raw materials and industrial Equipment into Shanghai from Japan. So far, all commnist bids to Capture the Island have failed. May 4, 1950, (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

The Royal Navy during the Second World War A Fairey Fulmar aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm about to take off from HMS SPURWING, a Royal Naval Air Station in Sierra Leone, on a coastal reconnaissance.

The Royal Navy during the Second World War A Grumman Hellcat hauled to a halt by an arrestor wire on board HMS RAVAGER. It has been pulled taught by the aircraft's arrestor hook.

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. An air gunner in the turret of a Boulton Paul Defiant Mark I of No. 264 Squadron RAF, trains his four .303 Browning machine-guns skywards at Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire.

Beable -- Pilot Jed Beable makes 3 ***** in a Buffalo (New Zealander). March 9, 1942.;Beable -- Pilot Jed Beable makes 3 ***** in a Buffalo (New Zealander).

RAF Bomber Command Short Stirlings of No. 1651 HCU (Heavy Conversion Unit) in flight, 1942. W7427 'B' is in the middle of the formation.

RAF Bomber Command Short Stirling and crew of No. 1651 HCU (Heavy Conversion Unit) at Waterbeach, 1942.

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. A section of Supermarine Spitfire Mark IAs of No. 616 Squadron RAF prepare for an evening take-off from Fowlmere, Cambridgeshire. Confusion as to the identity of these aircraft has risen from the fact that both Nos. 616 and 92 Squadrons shared the same unit code letters ('QJ') at this time.

Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 379Th Bomb Group Taking Off From Its Base In England For A Mission Over Enemy Territory. 16 August 1943.

Pilots discuss a sortie by the nose of a Hawker Hurricane Mk IIC of No. 224 Group RAF in north-eastern India, 1943. Pilots discuss a sortie by the nose of a Hawker Hurricane Mark IIC of a fighter squadron operating with No. 224 Group RAF in north-eastern India, possibly at Chittagong. The Hurricane Mark IIC in the background, HV816 'X', was lost on operations on 19 March 1943.

American Aircraft in Royal Air Force Service, 1939-1945- North American Na 73 and Na 102 Mustang. Mustang Mark I, AG346, on the ground at Speke Airport, Liverpool, following erection at the Lockheed facility. This aircraft served with Nos. 225, 63 and 26 Squadrons RAF, and then with No. 41 Operational Training Unit. In 1944, AG346 returned to operational flying with Nos, 16 and 168 Squadrons RAF of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, before it was finally shot down by flak near Gace, France, on 20 August 1944.

Royal Air Force- 2nd Tactical Air Force, 1943-1945. Ground personnel of No. 98 Squadron RAF, who serviced North American Mitchell Mark III, HD372 'VO-B' 'Grumpy', during its record operational career, gather at the aircraft's nose at Dunsfold, Surrey, as Corporal V Feast paints the 102nd bomb symbol onto its tally of operations.

Montgomery Tours Western Front In His ***** - The Miles Messenger plane in front of the Field Marshal and his party.Picture taken in July, 1944, when Field Marshal Montgomery was touring the Western Front in a Miles Messenger aircraft specially built for him to keep in touch with his commanders. July 01, 1945. (Photo by British Official Photograph).

A.B.S. 107. An Avenger Aircraft of the British Pacific Fleet, its under carriage damaged by Japanese gunfire, crashes on returning to the carrier. The pilot was unhurt. January 01, 1945. (Photo by Royal Naval Official Photo).

A Consolidated B-24H (S/N 41-28967) Of The 458Th Bomb Group, Which Crashed When It Came In For A Landing At An Air Base Somewhere In England. 9 March 1945.

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. Communications aircraft parked on the beach at Vasto, Italy, which served as the landing ground for the Forward Headquarters of the Desert Air Force, based there from December 1943 to March 1944. In the foreground is the Fiesler Storch flown by the Air Officer Commanding DAF, Air Vice-Marshal H Broadhurst, while in the background is a Vultee-Stinson Vigilant, HK926 'P', of the DAF Communication Flight.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Ground crews of No. 114 Squadron RAF await the return of their Douglas Bostons from a raid on enemy targets in Tunisia, at Canrobert, Algeria. A short distance from them, Boston Mark III, Z2205, undergoes servicing.

Mystere IV - American Air Force Team Visit Dassault Co. Testing Grounds. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and Personnel

ITALY-Crew loading bombs on a Curtiss P-40 Kitty Bomber to take part in Air Plan called "Operation Strangle."

The nose art of a B-26 Marauder (serial number 41-31657) nicknamed 'Mississippi Mudcat' of the 387th Bomb Group, at Chipping Ongar, 1944.

The nose art of a B-26 Marauder (FW-T, serial number 43-34119) nicknamed 'Off Limits' of the 387th Bomb Group at Saint-Simon - Clastres Air Base (ALG A-71). ''Off Limits' 387th- 558 B Sqdn, France, 1945

Corporal J Patterson records the 203rd sortie on the operations tally of De Havilland Mosquito B Mark IX, LR503 'GB-F', of 'C' Flight, No. 105 Squadron RAF at Bourn, Cambridgeshire, watched by its crew, Flight Lieutenant T P Lawrenson (pilot, far left) and Flight Lieutenant D W Allen RNZAF (navigator, right). 'F-Bar for Freddie' went on to complete 213 sorties, a Bomber Command record.

Two S 17 from F 3 in the air, 1945 . two aircraft 17 from f 3 ore in the air. Labeled No. 50 and 65.

The Royal Navy during the Second World War A Supermarine Seafire taking off from the carrier HMS FURIOUS.

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. Flying Officer C L Collings, Officer in charge of the Desert Air Force's Anti-Malaria Control Unit, lectures to pilots and ground crew of No. 152 Squadron RAF on defence tactics against the disease, in front of one of the Squadron's Supermarine Spitfire Mark VCs at Lentini East, Sicily.

Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. Air gunners at their positions on board a Beaufort Mark I, L4461 'OA-J', of No. 22 Squadron RAF at North Coates, Lincolnshire. One gunner occupies the Bristol Mark IV turret, mounting a single .303 Vickers K-type gas-operated machine gun. For added protection against beam attacks, 22 Squadron has installed another K gun, mounted in the port entry hatch.

United States military personnel of the occupying forces are shown puncturing the wing tanks of Japanese warplanes to prevent explosions when they were burned at Kumagaya Airfield. The entire Japanese airfleet was scrapped, Honshu, Japan, 10/1945. (US Army/Signal Corps/GG Vintage Images/UIG)

Ground crew refuelling a Gloster Meteor F Mk III of No. 616 Squadron RAF at Manston, Kent, 4 January 1945. Ground crew refuelling Gloster Meteor F Mark III, EE236 'YQ-H', of No. 616 Squadron RAF, at Manston Kent.

A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 401St Bomb Group Makes A Smooth Landing At An 8Th Air Force Base In England After Bombing Enemy Installations At Wilhelmshaven, Germany On 3 February 1944.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Great East. American airplane church house. November 10, 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

A Douglas A-26 (A/C 139311) Of The 386Th Bomb Group Balances On Its Nose After Making A Crash Landing At Its Base In Beaumont, France On 9 March 1945.

Royal Air Force- 2nd Tactical Air Force, 1943-1945. Operation NEPTUNE: the air and naval assault phase of OVERLORD. An armourer checks the dorsal .303 machine guns of Douglas Boston Mark IIIA, BZ292 'RH-L', of No. 88 Squadron RAF at Hartford Bridge, Surrey, while two others replenish the smoke cylinders in the bomb-bay, in between low-level smoke-laying sorties along the Normandy coast. BZ292, a Lend-Lease Douglas A-20C, still bears its American serial number 42-33047 on the tail: the British serial number has been covered by the hastily-applied AEAF 'invasion' stripes.

Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bristol Type 152 Beaufort. Four Beaufort Mark IIs of No. 86 Squadron based at Skitten, Caithness, flying in loose starboard echelon formation.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Handley Page Halifax Mark II Series I, W1170 'U', of No. 462 Squadron RAAF, taxying out at Fayid, Egypt, for a night raid on Axis positions in North Africa. The photograph was taken shortly after the formation of the Squadron when Nos. 10/227 and 76/462 Combined Squadrons were merged at Fayid on 7 September 1942. Although nominally an Australian unit, 462 Squadron contained a preponderance of British personnel at this time.

The earth feels good to the crew of the Boeing B-17 "HELLS ANGELS" of the 303rd Bomb Group after returning from their 28th mission on 15 June 1943. England.

Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection

Orly. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and Personnel

Rocket Installation On A North American P-51 Of The 14Th Air Force In China. 17 July 1944

World War II, servicing an A-20 bomber, photograph by Alfred T. Palmer, Langley Field, Viginia, July, 1942.

Here, in full fighting trim, is one of the two new models of the A-20 Havoc, latest addition to the invasion equipment of the 9th AF. Its six forward-firing .50 calibre machine guns will add sting to its attack, come D-Day and there's more grief ofr

Anefo photo collection. Youth aviation day 1960 at MarineLiegkamp "Valkenburg" The naval gentlemen are viewed by the youth. April 20, 1960

Two Douglas C-47S Assigned To The Air Crew Rescue Unit Were About To Set Out From An Airfield In Italy To Yugoslavia To Evacuate American Airmen And Allied Personnel When Another Plane, Loaded With Mortar Shells, Skidded Down The Runway, And Exploded. Th

Anefo photo collection. Command transfer Lieutenant General Aler to Lieutenant General Anton Baretta. October 1, 1953. Soesterberg airbase

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Armourers prepare 500-lb GP bombs on tractor-drawn trolleys, for loading into an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mark V of No. 58 Squadron RAF at Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire.

The Royal Navy during the Second World War Five Fleet Air Arm Hawker Sea Hurricanes operating from Yeovilton, flying in formation.

Vintage photograph. Paratroopers making training jump

Pacific War: A US Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber flies over the island of Saipan on 15 June 1944. The Battle of Saipan (15 June to 9 July, 1944) was a key Pacific battle during World War II, fought between the armed forces of the United States and Japan(Photo by: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Wreckage Of The North American P-51 'Lucky Leaky Ii' (A/C 2103363) Of The 353Rd Fighter Group Which Crashed At Its English Base On 2 May 1945.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Pilots of 'B' Flight, No. 33 Squadron RAF follow their Squadron Commander from one of the unit's newly-acquired Hawker Hurricane Mark Is, at Fuka, Egypt. They are (left to right): unidentified, Flying Officers C H Dyson, P R Quintin and H J Starret, Flight Lieutenant G E Hawkins, Sergeant J Craig, Flying Officers J F Mackie and V C Woodward, Squadron Leader Charles Ryley (OC Squadron).

Colonel Robert L. Scott, Jr. (Macon, Georgia) Commanding Officer Of The 23Rd Fighter Group, Stands Beside His Curtiss P-40 At Kunming, China Before His Departure To The United States. 4 January 1943.

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. Operation POINTBLANK. A refuelling team replenish Avro Lancaster B Mark III, ND560 'DX-N', of No. 57 Squadron RAF at East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, in preparation for a night attack on the railway yards at La Chapelle, France.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Inspection requirement General P.L.G. Doorman 2e part Grote Oost (October 1946). General Doorman with Companion and Crew Posing for the Mitchell B24 Bomber. October 1946. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Tipped On Nose: Mishap: Breaking quickly to avoid hitting a passing truck at a Royal Navy air station in Australia, the pilot of this Hellcat tipped the craft on to its nose. Result, a bent propeller. April 17, 1945.

Anefo photo collection. Reproduction Marvo. Sailors by plane. July 16, 1948

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. An armourer of No 303 Polish Fighter Squadron RAF replenishes the 20-mm cannon of a Supermarine Spitfire Mark VB, during a gun-test in front of the firing butts at Northolt, Middlesex.

Royal Air Force- Operations Over Albania and in Greece, 1940-1941. The crew of Bristol Blenheim Mark I, L1381 'VA-G', of No. 84 Squadron RAF, prepare to board their aircraft at Menidi/Tatoi, Greece, for a raid on an Italian port in Albania. L1381 was one of four Blenheims lost during a raid on Valona on 7 December 1941, when it crash-landed near Sarande after being damaged by an Italian fighter.

No. 151 Wing Royal Air Force Operations in Russia, September-november 1941 Hawker Hurricane Mark IIB, Z3977 'FN-55', of No. 81 Squadron RAF, stands at readiness in a waterlogged dispersal at Vaenga.

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command Squadron Leader The Reverend E T Killick (second from right), Station Chaplain at RAF Oakington, hands out 'winter warmers' from the RAF Comforts Fund to ground crew on a crisp autumnal morning, 24 October 1942. Two No. 7 Squadron Stirlings are in the background.

Royal Air Force- British Flying Training in the United States, 1941-1945. A British trainee takes a flying lesson in a Vultee BT-13 of the US Air Force Basic Pilot Training School, based at Gunter Field, Montgomery, Alabama.

No. 151 Wing Royal Air Force Operations in Russia, September-november 1941 Tropicalised Hurricane Mark IIB, Z3977 FN-55, of No. 81 Squadron RAF, being serviced at Vaenga.

Lt. Colonel Glenn Eagleston, Alhambra, Ca, Left; And Lt. Colonel Jack Bradley, Brownwood, Texas, Deputy Commanding Officer Of The 354Th Fighter Group Briefing Pilots Before They Take Off From Ober Olm, Germany, On A Mission Over Enemy Territory. 17 April

Tunisia-North American B-25's in flight.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943 Hurricane Tac. R Mark I, Z4641, of No. 451 Squadron RAAF, in flight during a reconnaissance sortie over Libya, with another aircraft of the Squadron acting as a 'sweeper' in the background. The pilot is Flight Lieutenant G F Morley-Mower.

Anefo photo collection. Aviation: Schijndel airport. Jachtvlieer gets out of the cockpit. May 1945. Noord-Brabant, Schijndel

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1939-1941. Aircrews of No. 50 Squadron RAF gather in front of their Handley Page Hampdens at Waddington, Lincolnshire, shortly after returning , from Kinloss, Morayshire, from where they mounted a raid on the German fleet in the Bergen Fjord, Norway, on 9 April 1940.

Personnel of 'B' Flight, No. 409 Squadron RCAF, pose for a formal portrait with one of their Beaufighter Mk IIs at Acklington, January 1942. 'B' Flight of No 409 Squadron, Fighter Command's first Canadian night-fighter unit, pose for a formal portrait with one of their Merlin-engined Beaufighter IIs Acklington, January 1942.

Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. Ground crew manoeuvre a Fairey Albacore Mark I of No. 119 Squadron RAF Detachment into wind at B65/ Maldeghem, Belgium. The aircraft has been loaded with 250-lb GP bombs for a night anti-shipping patrol off the Dutch coast.

The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" "Smashing-Time" Of The 381St Bomb Group Stationed At An 8Th Air Force Base Near Ridgewell, Essex County, England, 6 Sept 1944.

DF-SN-85-13541. Subject Operation/Series: KINDLE LIBERTY Base: Howard Air Force Base Country: Panama (PAN)

Royal Air Force- 2nd Tactical Air Force, 1943-1945. Ground crew carry out a daily inspection of Supermarine Spitfire Mark XVI, RR257 '9N-Y', of No. 127 Squadron RAF in muddy working conditions at B60/Grimbergen, Belgium.

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. Ground crew running up the engine of a Supermarine Spitfire Mark VIII of No. 92 Squadron RAF at Triolo landing ground, south of San Severo, Italy, prior to an early morning patrol. Note the airman sitting on the tailplane to hold the rear of the aircraft down during the run-up.

German Military Aircraft 1939-1945 Arado Ar 234 'Blitz' (Lightning) jet bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. The world's first jet bomber, the Ar 234 entered production in June 1944 but only saw limited operational service. Most famously, aircraft of KG 76 launched almost suicidal attacks against the American held bridge over the Rhine at Remagen in March 1945.

Clive Caldwell & his shelfire on like Squadrons Ship. October 22, 1943.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945. Armourers prepare to attach a 500-lb GP bomb to the the wing pylon of a Republic Thunderbolt Mark II of No. 30 Squadron RAF at Jumchar, India.

School children visiting F 2, 1939 Children gathered at aircraft's 9 and S 5 when visiting F 2 Roslagens flying fleet, 1939.

Wreckage Of A 401St Bomb Group Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, England, 29 January 1944.

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command The crew of 'Sri Guroh', a Merlin-engined Wellington II of No 214 (Federated Malay States) Squadron based at Stradishall, Suffolk, photographed in front of their aircraft before setting out for Essen on 4 November 1941.

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