Historical Aerial Bombing Missions

Aerial photographs depicting the aftermath of bombing raids during World War II, showcasing ruined buildings and military installations in Europe and Japan.

Leipzig/Mockau JU 88 and JU 52 Assembly plant suffered heavy damage. Germany.

Major workshops and hangars were severely damaged. Anklam A/F buildings 25 Aug 44 (FW 190 assembly plant) GERMANY.

While troop carriers and transports were dropping parachutists east of the Rhine, 24 March 1945, heavy bombers of the U.S. 8th AF were pounding jet airbases just behind the German lines. LEFT: First strikes burst on the Steenwijk jet aircraft base.

Bomb bursts and explosions in the Rhenania-Ossag and Ebano oil refineries at Harburg, Germany are shown during the attack by Consolidated B-24 Liberators, 17 Jan 45. Meanwhile, other oil refineries in nearby Hamburg were under attack by 8th AF heavy

During - Strike Photo Of The Mitsubishi Aircraft Plant At Nagoya, Japan. 18 December 1944.

Leipzig/Mockau JU 88 and JU 52 Assembly plant suffered heavy damage. Germany.

Bombs Hit The Shinchiku Airdrome On The Island Of Formosa. A Burning Japaneseanese Plane Can Be Seen On The Field.

ASSEMBLY PLANT HIT--At Friedrichshafen, Fortresses of the U.S. 8th AAF struck at the Lowenthal Dornier aircraft assembly plant on 24 April 44, scoring hits on the main workshops and assembly hangars. Smoke and fire can be seen spouting from the

Photo reconnaissance taken after the bombing of Magdeburg, Rothensee, Germany.

Bombing of Synthetic Oil Plant at Brux, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia.

Boiling smoke surges upward from installations at the Daimler-Benz aero engine and motor transport factory at Stuttgart, Germany, about 100 miles south of Frankfurt, 5 Sep 44. Strong forces of 8th AF bombers did the job, striking at the already

Two years to build, four minutes to destroy. Bombs fell on huge German magnesium plant at Heroya, Norway. Attack was timed to strike between shifts, reducing Norwegian casualties. Arrow marks arming point.

The Magdeburg Ordnance Depot During Attack By 8Th Air force On 12 Sept. 1944. It Supplies German Army Units With Tanks And Guns.

Succeeding waves of Consolidated B-24's hit airfield dispersals, destroying or damaging at least 10 aircraft.-Bernburg, Germany.

USAAF HITS BERLIN AGAIN-A heavy concentration of bombs falls on the industrial section of the Zehlendorf district as Liberators and Fortresses of the U.S. Army 8th AF again strike at the Nazi capital city.

Lahug airfield, used as an active Jap defense field against the Leyte Liberation as 50 tons of high explosive from 7th AAF Liberators hit on the field, Cebu Island in the Philippines.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Smoke Billows Up From The Ordnance Depot In Munich, Germany As Bombs Dropped By The 301St Bomb Group, 419Th Bomb Squadron Destroy Installations There On 19 July 1944.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Fighter-Pilot training base at St. Jean D'Angel, France-West Hangar and barracks area well hit. (31 Dec 43).

Smoke rises from Kalamaki Airdrome, Athens, Greece, after planes of the 376th Bomb Group dropped their bombs, September 1944.

This Aerial View Shows The Total Destruction Of Nagasaki, Japan, As The Result Of The Second Atomic Bomb Dropped August 9, 1945.

French based 9th U.S.A.F. Martin B-26 Marauders carried out another excellent daylight attack at Euskirchen marshalling yards, 20 miles south of Cologne. Large fires were reported to freight filled cars cramming the yard to reinforce the Seigfried

Direct hits crash onto the double-deck Bullay railroad bridge during a Ninth Air Force Martin B-26 Marauder attack, Sunday, Jan 16, against the important Moselle river span, 28 miles southwest of Koblenz. Carrying main lines from Koblenz to Trier

Bombs Dropped By Planes Of The 2Nd Bomb Group, 49Th Bomb Squadron Burst On Salon De Provence Airdrome, France On 27 January 1944.

PRIOR TO ATTACK---Oil refinery at Hemmingstedt, Germany, is shown prior to the 14 Jan. 1945 attack by U.S. 8th AF Consolidated B-24 Liberators. This was one of a series of assaults on the Nazis dwindling oil supplies.

Bombs Dropped By Planes Of The 455Th Bomb Group, 740Th Bomb Squadron, 15Th Air Force, Fall Toward The Already-Battered Installations At Porto Marghera, Italy, During A Bombing Mission On July 12, 1944.

This picture, taken during an air attack on Sangro ridge positions, shows the pitiless bombing to which the German defenses have been subjected to in the last week. A string of bombs, shown in the center of the picture bursts among German defense

Naples Aftermath of a Fortress Raid. View of the Italian west coast port of Naples, after being hit by Flying Fortresses from the Northwest African Air Forces under command of Lt. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, the American officer who issued the now famous

German reinforcements bound for the Romagen bridgehead area looked for a detour that wasn't there following this attack by medium and light bombers on the Engelskirchen Railroad yard and road junctions, east of Coblenz, Germany. The strategically

Bombs Dropped Form Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 381St Bomb Group Burst On The Target At Ahlen, Germany, 23 March 1944.

Of 39 tank installations, 27 have been put out of action at the Politz oil plant in Germany after the attack by U.S. 8th AAF heavy bombers on 20 June severe damage throughout the entire area.

This reconnaissance photo, taken a few hours after the 8th AF attacks on the Nazi air transport base at Lyon, France, shows fires still burning and several medium and small buildings near the hangars partially destroyed. The raid destroyed or damaged

Rolls of smoke and dust...

Tunis, Tunisia-Axis planes...

Flame and smoke spurt skyward from the village of Kleinhau, Germany after 9th Air Force P-38 Lightning fighter-bombers attacked the area recently. Because this sector constituted an important barrier in the path of U.S. ground forces, Maj. Gen. E.R.

Through The Smoke, You Can See The Curve Of The Tracks Into The Railroad Yards At Avezzano, On The Lines From The Adriatic Coast To Rome. This Was One Of The Many Yards And Junctions Smashed As Part Of The Air Plan To Strangle The Hun'S Rail Communicatio

One of Japan's two new Yamato class battleships, largest in their navy, takes violent evasive action to escape the bombs of the U.S. Army 13th Air Force Liberators which despite solid blankets of flak, have come down from their normally high bombing

Photo No. 2 Of Stereo Pair Showing Bomb Damage To The Campo Marte Marshalling Yards In Florence, Italy, Taken On March 23, 1944 By The 17Th Bombardment Group, 95Th Bombardment Squadron.

U Boat Plant at Stettin-The Vulcan submarine building plant was one of the targets at Stettin about 75 miles northeast of Berlin, attacked by Fortresses of the 8th AAF April 11, 1944 Shipyard installations, docks and nearby sections of the city were

Bombs Dropped By The 451St Bomb Group, 724Th Bomb Squadron Explode On The Railroad Marshalling Yards At Wels, Austria On 20 March 1945.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Bombing Of St. Gheslain, Belgium, 2 May 44.

BALIKPAPAN-Seen from the air is the huge oil center of Balikpapan, principal objective of Australian troops fighting in East Borneo under General MacArthur's command. This photo was taken during a recent strike by the Thirteenth Air Force.

Belfort railyards, France after bombing by 8th Air Force on 11 Aug 44. Cumulative results show locomotive shops almost totally destroyed, trans-shipment shed and station shattered, all thorugh lines cut.

The Air Plan, "Operation, Strangle," has worked since Feb 18, 1944 to choke off all means of transporting supplies to the Huns on the Anzio and Cassino fronts. The Milan marshalling yards damage is the result of the one-two punch by Wellingtons at

No. 1 The bombs go down from one of the Flying Fortresses. Annotations: A. Bombs bursting in the North dispersal area. C. Bursts on the northern end of the N.E.-S.W. runway. F. Burst on flak position-the battery is of light A.A. character. G. Bursts

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 91St Bomb Group, 8Th Air Force, Enroute To The Target At Avord, France. 5 February 1944. (Altitude 17,000 Feet).

ON THE RIGHT BEARINGS-These...

An excellent concentration of bombs directly on the target, Viareggio, RR/bridge, Italy.

This Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber of the U.S. Army Air Forces has just been hit by flak after having dropped its bombs on Naples, Italy, before the recent capitulation of that nation. A portion of the plane's wing has been blown off, and

Smoke erupts at the Montbartier oil storage dump near the Spanish border, 25 June 44 as U.S. 8th AAF Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses launched as assault.

Kuma class cruiser taking...

Holland (Nov. 13, 1943)-Consolidated B-24 gliding down over Holland, motor on fire. Boeing B-17 probably in trouble (on way to bomb Bremen, Germany).

Incendiary Bomb Test At Breast Sands Range, England. 92Nd Bomb Group. 12 March 1943.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,Transportation War

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,Transportation War

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Consolidated B-24 and North American B-25 bombers and Douglas A-20 fighters of the U.S. Army 13th, 5th and 7th Air Forces attack Jap-held Clark Field on Luzon and other airdromes in the Philippines in cooperation with the ground invasion.

Hits register on the target, blasting rubble onto the roads and rail lines thus hindering troop movements.

Bombs From A B-29 Superfortresses Plaster The Singapore Naval Vessel, Hitting The Floating Drydock And Sinking It. Malay Peninsula.

Boeing B-17's let bombs fly on an oil refinery at Leghorn, Italy.

Railroad marshalling yards at Marburg, Germany under attack by the 9th AF on 22 Feb. 1945.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Enroute To Bomb Enemy Installations In Germany.

A Consolidated B-24 Liberator Of The 15Th Af Leaves The Target At Munich, Germany, Obscured By Smoke.

GERMANY-U.S. 8th AF heavy bombers dropped concentrations of bombs on the key rail marshalling yards and canal dock area at Munster, 90 miles northwest of Kassel, 5 Oct 44. Numerous fires from incendiaries and high explosives were started over a large

The Volcania munitions...

KIEL, GERMANY BLANKETED BY SMOKE-Fires from the Deutchwerke ship building yards and naval dockyards at Kiel send up columns of smoke during the attack on 22 May 44 by Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the U.S. 8th AAF. The German Naval

The Air Plan, "Operation, Strangle," has worked since Feb 18, 1944 to choke off all means of transporting supplies to the Huns on the Anzio and Cassino Fronts. Closeup of bomb pattern on the rail and port target of Ancona on the Adriatic coast of

Smoke Rises Over The Oil Refinery At Merseberg, Germany, As Smoke Markers Point To The Target Bombed By Planes Of The 305Th Bombardment Group, 8Th Air force, 12 May 1944.

Bombing Of Boram Airfield, Wewak, N. E. New Guinea.

Key Road Junction In The Communications Center Of Grevenbroich, Germany, Northwest Of Cologne And Immediately Ahead Of Us Ground Forces, Under Attack By Martin B-26 Marauders Of The 9Th Bombardment Division. The Bomb Patterns, Three Are Shown In The Pict

Bombs Dropped By Planes Of The 96Th Bombardment Group, 8Th Air Force On 5 January 1944, Head For Their Target, The Airfield At Bordeaux, France.

Bombs Dropped By Planes Of The 95Th Bombardment Group, 8Th Air Force Fall Toward The Dijon/Longvic Airdrome, Which Is Already Covered With Bomb Bursts. 25 April 1944.

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Fire Bombs, A Success At Isle De Cezembre, Were Used With Continued Effectiveness In Germany, As Shown Here At Kleinhau, Germany, Where Lockheed P-38 Lightnings Have Just Dropped One Bomb, Bursting At Upper Right, While Others Are Already Blazing.

A String Of Bombs Head For The Already Burning Target As Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 15Th Af Attacked The Oil Storage Faciltieis At Regensburg, Germany, On 28 Dec. 1944. The Forts Scored Hits On Storage Tanks, Distillation Plant, And Rolling Sto

Bombs over Tokyo, Japan on 24 November 44 plunge towards the primary target

OIL STORAGE AT PARIS-Black billowing smoke spouts skyward from an oil storage depot at Paris 22 June 44, as U.S. 8th AAF heavy bombers pressed home their daylight assault.

NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES. Balikpapan is again ablaze after 13th Air Force Consolidated B-24 Liberators hurl the fourth of their heaviest raids in the Pacific against the enemy's principal Borneo refineries. Formations of planes numbering nearly 200

LEFT-Huge Japanese oil works at Balikpapan, Borneo, largely rebuilt following 13th AAF long-range strategic strikes. Japanese reconstruction was of little use as "Jungle Air Force" shipping blockade prevented vital fuel from reaching Nippon's war machines.

Lorenzo Rail Yards. (DURING) An extremely accurate concentration of bombs is shown above. Four groups from the Northwest African Strategic Air Force, totaling 150 Boeing B-17 airplanes dropped 442 tons of 500-lb. GP bombs from 19,000

One of the most amazing examples of accurate high level precision bombing ever recorded was accomplished on 1 February 1945 when Boeing B-29 "Superfortresses" of the 20th Bomber Command attacked the floating dry dock at Singapore, Malay Peninsula.

Focke-Wulf Assembly Plant At Marienburg, Germany, Before - During - And After Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Attack On 9 Oct. 1943. 8Th Air force.

1st TAC AF Martin B-26 Marauders blast a path with high explosives through the enemy's Siegfried Line southeast of Zweibrucken in aerial co-operation with the advancing American 7th Army offensive in the Sear Basin. LEFT: The first bombs of a

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Liberators of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces recently struck at the Gorizia airbase in northeastern Italy with excellent results. This photo shows how the airfield looked to the Consolidated B-24 airplane crews as they came in for their runs.

North American B-25 Mitchells Of The 12Th Air Force Attack Troop Concentrations And Storehouses In The Town Of Ala, Northern Italy. The Smoke And Explosions Are From Bombs Scoring A Bulls-Eye On The Storehouse. These Medium Bombers Of The 12Th Air Force

BEACHHEAD LANDINGS. Men and assault vehicles storm the beaches of Normandy as Allied Landing craft make a dent in Germany's West Wall on 6 June 44. As wave after wave of landing craft unload their cargo, men move forward and vehicles surge

B-29's Erase Aircraft Plant -- Taken From A B-29 Of The 21St Bomber Command During A Recent Attack On The Japanese Homeland, This Photo Shows Destruction Wrought On The Huge Kawasaki Aircraft Plant At Kagamigahara, Approximately 36 Miles North Of Nagoya,

B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 97Th Bomb Group, 414Th Bomb Squadron, Carry Out Their Mission As Bombs Burst On The Brod South Marshalling Fards, Yugoslavia, On 8 September 1944.

A Heavy Cloud Of Black Smoke Rises From The Oil Refinery At Ploesti, Rumania, After Bombing Raid By Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The 15Th Air Force.

Bombs Dropped By Planes Of The 8Th Air Force'S 44Th Bombardment Group On 24 May 1944 Fall Toward The Airfield At Melun, France, Which Is Already Suffering From Bomb Strikes During This Mission.

Pre-Strike View Of Kagi Airdrome, Important Japaneseanese Target On The Island Of Formosa.

Aerial view Sandino Airfield, Nicaragua, upgraded with Soviet equipment. "Soviet Military Power," 1983, Page 88. Country: Unknown

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Temporarily knocked out of production by the 25 Feb 44 attack, the Prufenning ME-109 assembly plant at Regensburg is seen again under attack on 21 July 44 as U.S. 8th Air Force heavy bombers launched an assault with high explosives and incendiaries

Landing Fields - Hawaii - Hawaii Island, Aerial Photograph.

The Way The Japanese Bottleneck Of Troops And Supplies For The Chihkiang Front In Hunan Province China, Looked Just After The Heavies Of The 308Th Bomber Group Of The 14Th Af Had Passed And The First Wave Of Mitchells Was Coming In On The Doomed City. Smoke A

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