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Historical Aerial Bombing Images

Aerial photographs showing destruction from bombing campaigns during WWII, capturing damaged infrastructure and military installations across various locations.

(for main caption see print 24863 A.C.)

Bombing of Avord Airfield in France.

JET PLANE FIELD--Leipheim airfield, which was attacked 18 Nov 44 by U.S. 8th Air Force fighters destroyed 29 ME 262 jet planes on the ground, as seen by fighter pilot returning next day. Hangars and buildings had been bombed by 8th Air Force heavies

Outside of Leghorn, all vital bridges that led to the port were cut by bombers of MAAF. This picture shows how the rugged terrain of Italy blocked all movements once key bridges were cut.

The Smoke Of Battle Rolls Across The Cherbourg Peninsula As American Ground Forces Close In For The Final Assault On The Port. This Photograph Was Taken From A 9Th Air Force Marauder, One Of A Force Of Bombers And Fighters To Strike The German Defenses B

After - Damage To Nagoya, Japan. 14, 17 May 1945.

View from the air of another battered section of the rail yards at Rimini, Italy. By September 10, 1944 reconnaissance reported that all facilities, the yards, most of the buildings and the four bridges leading in and out of Rimini were battered

Area Near Hingham, MA ,. Photographs of the First Naval District

Worms, Germany After A Bombing Attack By Martin B-26S On 18 March 1945.

The entire plant has been severely damaged by many direct hits and resultant blast-the R/R installations and power plant were also damaged.-Turin/Mirafiori, Italy.

Bombs Dropped By Martin B-26 Marauders Of The 12Th Air Force Fall On A Railroad Bridge Near Mantua, Northern Italy. 30 Oct. 1944.

The acme of co-ordination, accuracy, and coverage on an airdrome target is shown in this picture taken during the raid on Athens/Kalamaki Airfield by the Flying Fortresses on Dec. 6, 1943. Photo interpretation shows that the large bomb bursts, in the

The vital choke opint and half the yards receive the solid impact of a tight cluster of bombs, as the first group of U.S. 8th AF heavy bombers score lifts on the target from 25,000 ft., during the attack of 4 Dec 44. Other targets for the day

Schweinfurt, Germany

Boeing B-29 Superfortress...

Prize Exhibit Of The Burma Azon Bombers Is This Strike Photo Showing Three Azons Hitting Smak Along The Middle Of Taungup Road Bridge While Uncontrolled Bombs Miss. The B-24S Left The Bridge Impassable With Three Big Gaps.

Bomb Damaged Airfield, Waldau, Germany.

Solomon Islands - Damage & Invasion. January 28, 1944. (Photo by Official U.S. Navy Photograph).

Bombs Away, Nagoya, Japan.

Raid On 'Noball' Factory At Heudiere, France, 7 May 1944.

COMPACT CLUSTER--Beneath this tight concentration of bombs lies the choke point of the rail center at Bruchsal, Germany, attacked 1 March 1945 by U.S. 8th AF heavies. Located northeast of Karlsruhe, this rail junction was one of the few left which

Hangars, administration buildings and dispersal areas are all well covered by bomb bursts during raid on Salon airfield in France by B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 15th AAF on Jan 27th, 1944.

Knatchbull M (capt the Hon) Collection Arras, August 1917.

Harbors on the West coast of Italy were listed as targets vital to the success of the Air Plan called "Operation Strangle," designed to cut off all supply routes that support the Hun armies on the Cassino and Anzio beachhead fronts. This photo shows

FROM AN ADVANCED B-26 BOMBER BASE IN THE 12TH AIR FORCE, NOVEMBER 29---The first of the bombs to fall on Gressete today hit the "check point" in the marshalling yards. Other flights of USAAF B-26 Marauders followed up to attack

Martin B-26 Marauders of the 9th Air Force strike another target, this time on 16 June 44, a fuel dump near the town of Valognes, France, where also flak gun positions are believed to be. This is one of the many missions these 9th Air Force medium

U.S. Bombers Blaster Italian Air Field In Sardinia: Three B-26 Marauder bombers (left) lay a pattern of bomb bursts across Alghero air field in Sardinia, catching. Italian planes by the U.S. Army Air Forces. Another Marauder, which has just completed its mission, is seen at upper right. August 02, 1943. (Photo by U.S. Office of War Information Picture).

R.A.F. Bomber Command Attack Permanent Way Depot At Chambly, France. The scene of destruction after the attack. Many of the buildings have been completely obliterated, and the target area is pitted with bomb craters. May 1, 1944. (Photo by British Official Air Ministry Photo).

9th Bombardment Division Martin B-26 Marauders scoring direct hits on the "Kronbrinz Wilhelm" railroad bridge over the Rhine river at Engers, Germany, as part of a widespread and coordinated attack aimed at the disruption of German railway

Bomb Damage In Tokyo, Japan Caused By Repeated Boeing B-29 Attacks.

Defended Radar Station at Douvres-La-Deliverance, France is surrounded by mine belt, traces of buried mines being visible at A. Barbed wire fence (B) to prevent accidental detonation of mines, on each side of mine belt, is clearly visible.

Bombs away on the rail yards at Klagenfurt, Germany on 19 Feb. 1945 by heavy bombers of the 15th AF. Such attacks were a prelude to the massive assault carried out by AAF against Nazi rail and communication targets in Naziland on 22 Feb. 1945, during

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.

Blast Japanese Locomotives In China -- Steam Billows From Two Japaneseanese Locomotives Whose Boilers Have Been Exploded By Strafing Near Suchow In Which Rail Lines And Other Transportation Arteries Were Attacked By Fourteenth Air Force's Hard-Hitting Chinese-Ameri

Reconnaissance photos made some time after the 8th Air Force attack of 8/24/44 show the Weimer rocket plant almost completely destroyed, the radio factory severely damaged, Gestapo offices destroyed, and a few buildings of the adjoining concentration

Permasens, Germany, After A Bombing Attack By 9Th Af Bombers. 15 March 1945.

At Angouleme in northern France, 8th USAAF heavy bombers dropped heavy concentrations on the rail marshalling yards there 15 June 44. Smoke and new bomb bursts combine in the photo of the attack.

Photo reconnaissance after the heavies hit the cliffs above the beach down across the highway to block another route by which the Hun might have rushed units North from the Fifth Army Front to block the Allied landings on 22 January, Terracina

Crailsheim Marshalling Yards, Germany before 8th AF attack of 23 February 1945.

Aerial airbase Volkel

Bombing of Ciampino Airfield

Bombing of enemy installations at Dubove, Czechoslovakia.

What's happening to the Mandai Airdrome, Celebes, N.E.I., illustrates one phase of 13th AAF operations. "Jungle Air Force" bombers and fighters have knocked out all the strips in the by-passed N.E.I.-but the persistent Japaneses repair them, and then they

Terni, Italy.-Hits are scored on gas works (1) railroad yards (2) and iron works (3) in this important industrial town by 40 Boeing B-17s on 11th August, 1943. A load of 500-pound bombs was dropped. One Boeing B-17 was shot down.

First Marine assault troops in landing craft approaching Engebi Island, Enewetok Atoll 16th Feb. 1944. The air strip was made useless by the attacks which preceded the landing. This picture was made from a Navy carrier-based plane. March 13, 1944. (Photo by Official U.S. Navy Photo Pacific Feet).

An A-20 Boston Bomber of the 12th U.S. Army Air Force hits the target at Cisterna di Littoria, where Nazi gun positions had threatened allied troops on the beachhead southwest of Rome.

The Marshalling Yards At Szolnok, Hungary, Got Ploughed Up By The Wellingtons Of The Raf At Night, By Heavy Bombers Of The 15Th Aaf By Day. 451St Bomb Group, June 2, 1944.

Liberators arrive over Glider dotted area 18 Sept 44, Holland.

Area Near Hingham, MA ,. Photographs of the First Naval District

THE ERKNER FACTORY BEFORE IT FELT THE WEIGHT OF U.S. BOMBS, on 3/8/44 in the most concentrated daylight attack on Berlin by 8th AF heavy bombers. Escorting fighters repeated their previous high score of 83 Luftwaffe fighters knocked down.

Aerial View Of The Bomb Damaged Fw 190 Plant At Oschersleben, Germany. 10 May 1945.

Panama Canal Zone - Camp Gaillard, Aerial Photograph.

Bomb damage at Kalamaki Airdrome, Athens, Greece, after a raid by planes of the 463rd Bomb Group, September 1944.

12th Air Force B-25s bombing Rabaul on 5 March 1944, Sunday.

Squantum, Ma , Cities & towns. Photographs of the First Naval District

Squantum, Ma , Cities & towns. Photographs of the First Naval District

On the German-Belgium border near Spa, Belgium is the Lager-Elsenborn military camp where Nazi infantry units received the last stages of their training before going into battle. Here bombs from U.S. 8th AF heavy bombers burst on the target during

Radio Direction Finder Station - General View , Signal stations, Radio Direction Finder Station. Photographs of the First Naval District

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Aerial view of NDF Station , Signal stations, NDF Station. Photographs of the First Naval District

The Bielefeld-Herford Railroad Bridge In Germany, Was Destroyed By Us 8Th Air force And RAF Attacks. The Shadow Of The 9Th Af Lockheed P-38 Lightning Photo Plane Is Shwon At Bottom, Center.

Principal Lutong Oil Refinery and tank farm in Borneo, N.E.I., after four strikes by 13th AF B-24 "Snoopers."

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Anti-Submarine Drive Continues: U.S. Fortresses Hit U-Boat Basin At La Pallice. Bombs bursting around the Southern end of the basin at La Pallice. Obscured by the smoke is a 440ft. German speerbrecher in the basin, which received a direct hit. A Speerbecher is a heavily armed escort ship for convoy duty. A further step in the anti-submarine campaign was scored when U.S. 8th Air Force Flying Fortresses bombed the U-boat basin at La Pallice on the French coast, July 4th, 1943. July 19, 1943. (Phot

Aircraft, Burma, India &Troops &Paratroops

French Battleship Jean Bart at Casablanca under attack by aircraft from USS Ranger. November 1942

Before -- Pre-Strike Photo Of Kawanishi Aircraft Co., Naruo Plant, Osaka, Japan. 18 January 1945.

CHAUMONT BEFORE-Striking again at Nazi airfields and marshalling yards, heavy bombers of the U.S. 8th AAF included the rail marshalling yards at Chaumont in occupied France in their 23 May 1944 assault. The rail center is shown here just before the

Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. High-level oblique aerial photograph of the airfield at Lagens, on the island of Terceira, Azores, from the east.

Aerial shot De Peel airbase

Bisha River In Central Okinawa Island, Site Of Japanese Torpedo Boat Base. 20 April 1945.

Shells Form A B-29 Superfortress Formation Burst On Vital Installations Of The Singapore Naval Base, Malay Peninsula.

Kwajalein, Marshall Island Group Was A Mess When Air And Naval Bombardment Had Processed It For Invasion. Air Power First Neutralized Japanese Islands To The East Which Were Then By-Passed In A Tactical Surprise That Literally Caught The Enemy Off Base.

Air-up Airbase Volkel

Highway bridge at Arnhem, Holland, shown after bombing by Martin B-26 Marauders and Douglas A-20 Havocs. Both ends of the bridge rest on the river bank while the middle section has broken and fallen into the Neder River.

U.S. Flying Fortresses Attack Rouen Marshalling Yards. Reconnaissance photograph showing damaged caused on the approaches to the Viaduct d'Eauplet by the bombs seen bursting in photograph. No. C 3120 annotation. Two direct his on the transshipment shed. Five hits on the roads of the up and down sorting sidings, causing considerable damage to tracks and rolling stock. Two direct hits on the road of the sorting sidings. Direct hits on the tracks near the gas works. September 16, 1942. (Photo by Fo

Bombing of the Schliemann Works at Hamburg, Germany. Annual production before 20 June 44, 65,000 tons.

Aerial photo of Bolzano, Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy, Italian raid of August 26, 1918, World War I, from l'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XLV, No 37, September 15, 1918.

U.S. Heavies attack Posen (Before Bombing): The FW 190 fuselage and parts plant at the end of the marshalling yards in Poznan, appeared as above, moments before attacked by 8th AAF heavy bombers on 9 April. Hits were registered on one of three

Aerial photography of F 2 Roslagens flying fleet, 1940. Aerial photography of F 2 Roslagens flying fleet, 1940.

All parts of the refinery were heavily damaged or destroyed. Probably the plant has been rendered non-operative.

Navy Yard Annex, So. Boston, MA from North, 10000 feet , Naval yards & naval stations, South Boston Naval Annex. Photographs of the First Naval District

NAAF , Air bases. Photographs of the First Naval District

Sortie 2669 (4 August 1944) of the 7th Photo Group, 14th Squadron, Lt John Blyth in Spitfire MK XI PA842 'Hot Toddy' to V-Weapons sites at Watten, Marquise/Mimoyecques, and Wizernes (Aphrodite Targets).

Airport at Lewiston, ME , Airports. Photographs of the First Naval District

Bomb Damage To A German Factory In Bad Durkheim, Germany.

Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Maine. Administrative History of the First Naval District in World War II

The Target, Le Pouzin Oil Storage Tanks And Facilities Before The Attack (Circled). Also Can Be Seen Roofless Buildings Resulting From Previous Attack. Or Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 15Th Aaf Come Into Their Bombing Run Over The Le Pouzin Oil St

After Bombing, Prato, Italy-Small but vital yardon the central Italian rail line, received tons of bombs on Dec 26, 1943. Plot shows hits on warehouse which exploded (1), transformer station (2).

Bombs Dropped By Martin B-26 Marauders Of The 12Th Air Force Explode On Railroad Bridge Near Fiorenzuola, Italy.

A view of the A1 Qaim superphosphate fertilizer plant and the surrounding area as seen from the cockpit of a Fighter Squadron 32 (VF-32) F-14A Tomcat aircraft on a tactical air reconnaissance pod system (TARPS) photography run over the plant during Operation Desert Storm. Subject Operation/Series: DESERT STORM Country: Iraq(IRQ)

Aerial View of Naval Net Depot and Coast Guard Station , Naval yards & naval stations. Photographs of the First Naval District

Air recording Royal Institute for the Marine (KIM)

Sousse, Tunisia-The city of Sousse shown after the heavy bombing raid by the U.S. Army's 12th Air Force and the RAF on docks and shipping installations. Clearly visible are the blackened ruins of factories, deck buildings, warehouses, bombed vessels

An overhead view of the A1 Qaim superphosphate fertilizer plant, showing some of the damage caused by Allied bombing attacks during Operation Desert Storm. Some structures are still burning as a result of the most recent attack. The photograph was taken from a Fighter Squadron 32 (VF-32) F-14A Tomcat aircraft using the tactical air reconnaissance pod system (TARPS). Subject Operation/Series: DESERT STORM Country: Iraq(IRQ)

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Aerial photos Kraton Djokja (taken from Auster). Aerial recording. Aerial recording of the Kraton in Djocja. The Kraton is the place where the Sultan lives. It is a town in itself, with temples, shops, workshops and residential areas. The whole is surrounded by high often artfully decorated walls. 21 March 1949. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies, Yogyakarta

Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii - Vertical aerial photograph from 17,200 feet altitude, looking directly down on East Loch and on the Fleet Air Base on Ford Island. Taken on 3 May 1940, after the conclusion of Fleet Problem XXI, and just prior to the 7 May receipt of word that the Fleet was to be retained in Hawaiian waters. There are eight battleships and the carrier Yorktown (CV-5) tied up along the island's southeastern side (toward the top), with two more battleships alongside 1010 dock at top right center. Two light cruisers and two destroyers are among the ships moored along Ford Island's nor

Thousands Of German Prisoners Corralled In A Town Square In Germany, Are Photographed By 1St Tac Af Combat Cameraman Sgt. Joseph M. Beach, Jr. These Are But A Small Part Of The Us Army'S Bag Of Ex-Supermen Rounded Up As The American Ground And Air Forces

Bombs Dropped By North American B-25 Mitchells Of The 12Th Air Force Explode On Railroad Bridge North Of Turin, Italy.

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