← Military & Defence

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.

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

Bomb Damage To Weilheim Marshalling Yards, Germany, Inflicted By A Dive Bomb Attack By Planes Of The 82Nd Fighter Group. 19 April 1945.

The San Lorenzo railroad yards in Rome smashed by the bombers of the North African Air Forces in the first raid over the Italian Capitol.

Dresden, Germany, February 14, 1945US Army 8th Air Force planes dropping explosive and incendiary bombs on Dresden.

Douglas A-26 Invaders of the Ninth Air Force smashed buildings and cut roads in the German communications center of Bitburg, Sunday, January 14, during a heavy aerial offensive which added to the 100,000 ton total dropped by the Ninth Bombardment

A Consolidated B-24 'Liberator' One In A Formation Of Liberators Enroute To Bomb Enemy Installations Somewhere In Europe, 24 November 1944. 2Nd Bomb Division 8Th Air Force, 389Th Bomb Group.

In a raid on Tadji Airdrome in Northern New Guinea, 13 February 1944, parachute bombs wrought havoc on Japanese aircraft parked along the strip. In the upper center of the picture, the funeral pyre of a Japanese bomber can be seen.

The Nazi aero engine works at Basdorf, 15 miles north of the center of Berlin, was heavily damaged by the U.S. 8th AF heavy bomber attack of 21 June 44. Twenty direct hits gutted the large main workshop, four smaller workshops were seriously damaged

Mushrooming bombs explode on dispersal and landing areas.-FRANCE

Okinawa City of Naha Lies In Ruins:Okinawa's city of Haha, largest city (pop, 65,000) in the entire Ryukyu Island chain of which Okinawa isapart and capital of the prefectural government, lies in ruins, the result of continuous air attacks as U.S. Tenth Army troops advance toward the city against still Japanese resistance. American troops have already taken part of the island stronghold including enemy airfields which are serving as bases for U.S. Airforce planes. This airview was taken on April 29th. 179. May 23, 1945. (Photo by U.S. Office of War Information Picture).

Aerial view of bombing at Roermond, November 11, 1944. Photos taken by No 320 sq., 2nd. T.A.F.

Huge Fires Started By Bombs At Otake, Japan.

This German Command Post Near Modena, Italy Is Seen Under Attack By Republic P-47 Thunderbolts On 21 April 1945.

Mushrooming bombs and smoke obscure the Arado components plant for Heinkel aircraft at Wittenberg, 60 miles southwest of Berlin, during the 29 June 44 attack by U.S. 8th AAF heavy bombers.

Dili - Portuguese Island - Timor. October 27, 1941.

The Town Of Krabinburi, Thailand On The Railway Between Bangkok And French Indo China, Is Left In Flames By Usaaf Consolidated B-24's Of The 7Th Bomb Group, Strategic Air Force, Eastern Air Command. Continuous Sweeps Against The Japaneseanese Supply Routes An

Bombs From a B-29 Superfortresses Plaster The Singapore Naval Vessel, Hitting The Floating Drydock And Sinking It. Malay Peninsula, 1945

This is a Martin B-26 Marauder of the Ninth Air Force in full battle dress flying over the city of Cherbourg, battle-scarred fortress, the enemy's stronghold on the Cherbourg peninsula.

Beneath The Smoke And Dust Shown Here Lie The Remains Of Buildings Which Once Housed A German Headquarters Near Imola, Italy. Bombs From Republic P-47 Thunderbolts Of The 12Th Air Force Hit This Important Target In The Opening Day Of The Current 8Th Army

Invasion Fleet Off The Coast Of Southern France On D-Day, 15 August 1944.

Flensburgh, Germany, during bombing.

Bomb Bursts Cover The Target Area After Planes Of The 97Th Bomb Group, 341St Bomb Squadron Dropped Their Missiles On The Valences Marshalling Yards, France On 6 August 1944.

Flying Almost Wing-Tip To Wing-Tip, Six North American B-25 Mitchells Fly Over A Fortified Area South Of Faenza, Italy, On 24 November 1944. Anti-Personnel Bombs Were Dropped On German Troops And Guns Soon After This Photo Was Taken. The Fragmentation B

Balikpapan, once the 13th AAF's toughest Borneo target, was pretty much a "milk run" by July 1, 1945 when the Australians landed. Shown in photo, a 5th Air Force B-24 Liberator assists in the pre-invasion bombardment.

Bombing of Ship Yard, Hamburg, Germany - July 26, 1943

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

Bomb damage in Osaka, Japan, 1945

Smoke Rises From The Gutted Blechhammer South Oil Refinery, After A Bombardment Mission By The 456Th Bomb Group, 747Th Bomb Squadron On 27 August 1944.

Sanananda Point-Where the Japaneseanese made their last stand in Papua. The small collection of huts in the lower left hand corner is Sanananda Village.

CONCENTRATION OF HEAVY HIGH-EXPLOSIVE BOMBS dropped by U.S. 8th AF Third Air Divison, Feb. 16, 1945, cuts across the"choke" point where the rails narrow to funnel over the rail-over-canal bridge at the Hamm marshalling yard in Germany.

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.

A Nazi bridge is put out of commission. Black smoke engulfs a railway bridge on the line from Florence to Rome after it was straddled by bombs. For two months Allied bombers pounded German railroad installations forcing the enemy to depend increasingly upon cargo vessels and motor vehicles for transportation.

Wewak Airdrome, Northeast...

Aerial view of Magoewo airport, immediately after the conquest on the Republican armed forces by Dutch paratroopers and commands. Left and right of the Strip Central to the photo Dozens of parachutes, on the right some landed Dakota transport aircraft.

1100 feet of this pontoon roadbridge over the Po River near Viadana, Italy was destroyed as a result of bombing by Martin B-26 Marauders of the 12th Air Force on 13 July 1944.

Peenemunde, Germany-Electrostatic Plant (top of picture) is shown demolished in cover of 25 August 1944 during strike at electrolytic plant (bottom). Location of two main buildings is shown by dotted lines.

Jap War Plant In Formosa Bombed -- Bombs from a 5th air force Squadron fall on a Japanese war plant making precision equipment at Takao, Formosa's chief port and industrial city. More bombs fell on the target (Right) after this picture was taken, the army said. March 12, 1945. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Bombing of Hollandia. Dutch New Guinea, April 3, 1944, by 345th Bomb Group, 501st Bomb Squadron, 5th Air Force.

Left, the Konz-Karthaus rail bridge over the Moselle River, five miles southwest of Trier, Germany, as it appeared a few seconds before the U.S. Army 9th Air Force Marauders bombed the span, an important link in the movement of enemy supplies and

Aerial photo of Tokyo before the first large-scale incendiary bombing attack by the U.S. 20th Air Force operations. 1945

BEFORE: An American patrol spots float Zeros on the beach at Attu, tossed about by a storm.

Smoke Billows Up Form Oil Refineries At Budapest, Hungary On 14Th July 1944 During A Successful Mission By Planes Of The 301St Bomb Group, 419Th Bomb Squadron.

An Ammunition Factory At Palmonova, Italy, Exploding After Direct Hits By Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The 15Th A.F. On 14 April 1945. 15Th A.F. Heavies Carried Out Their Heaviest Offensive In Italy- Right Before The 5Th And 8Th Armies Jimped Off For T

SATELBERG: An air-gunner's view of the one-time German mission station north of Finschhafen, where Australian 9th Division veterans are now fighting the Japaneses in their push along the north coast of New Guinea.

Bombs dropped by 8th AF erupt on road junction and rail bridge at Morscheid, Germany southeast of Trier, Germany 25 Dec. 1944, disrupting one of the key links in Nazi communication lines.

The most treacherous mountain fighting encountered during the entire war, was the result of a final cleanup in Northern Luzon. With close support of Allied air power, troops of the 6th Infantry Division battled through the deep canyons in search of

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

Aerial image of F 8, 1939 Motiv: Aerial image from 1200 meters Height of Barkarby Airport, F 8, 1939. Belongs to F2 collection with numbers FM 186.

The Bomber Command of General Kenney's Fifth Air Force again blast the airstrip at Wewak, New Guinea. Continuous accurate and efficiently bombing raids on this airstrip, at one time an important Jap air base, all but obliterated the air drome. The arrow designates the ever increasing grave yard of destroyed Jap planes. After each raid reconnaissance photographs have shown the addition of severs more planes to the already large number U.S. Fifth Air Force Photo (B-Distr). February 07, 1944.

By The Side Of The Drau River In Southern Austria, A Railroad Train On A Route Serving German Troops In Italy Is Seen During An Attack By 12Th A.F. Republic P-47 Thunderbolts, 27 February 1945.

Cautious estimates by MAAF oil experts indicate that Oil Refineries, which gave the Nazis over 30 percent of all their oil have had their potential cut to a small proportion of their former capacity. Here are the bombs of 15th AAF heavies falling on

View from the aerostat of the Galata Bridge in Istanbul, 1909, Turkey, photo by Maurizio Galli, from L'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XXXVI, No 41, October 10, 1909.

Aero Engine Factory Supplying Luftwaffe Blitzed By U.S. Fortresses. Bomb bursts spread across the adjacent Aerodromes, the Gnome and Rhone plants, and (in the foreground) the southern end of the Hege railway marshalling yards. The Gnome and Rhone aircraft factories at Le Mans, France which not only manufactured aero engines for the Luftwaffe, but also does considerable repair work on F.W 190 engines, was successfully bombed by the 8th Air Force Flying Fortresses on July 4th, 1943. July 6, 1943.

FRANCE-Battle activities during battle for Falaise Gap on 20 August 44 when Argentan was taken by the British, Falaise by the Canadians and Trun by the Poles. Picture shows destruction wrought by Air support of the 2d and 9th Tactical Air Forces and

Landing Fields - Philipines - Mindanao Island, Aerial Photograph.

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.

A merchant vessel, about 450 feet long, being used as a transport under attack in this picture which shows three misses which caused damage. The ship has a deck load of invasion barges and other material. It was armed with three guns.

The Volcania munitions...

Naval Ammunition Depot 1941-42 , Military depots, Naval Ammunition Depot. Photographs of the First Naval District

Aircraft, Burma, India & Bombing,

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. Aerial recording. Dark clouds. Burning oil installations?. 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

Bombing Of Harbor At Porto Santo Stefano, Italy, By Consolidated B-24 "Liberators" Of The 15Th Air Force, On 12 May 1944.

Punta Huete Airfield, Nicaragua. Courtesy of Soviet Military Power, 1984. PHOTO No. 133, page 120. Country: Unknown

Tokyo burns under B-29 firebomb assault. May 26, 1945.

Jap Bombs Destroyed On Marcus Island -- Five of the seven Japanese Bombers parked on the runway on Marcus island Sept .1, burn after being strafed by U.S. Planes from a naval task force. September 10, 1943. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Hawaii - Oahu Island, Aerial Photograph.

Aerial View of Kaneohe Bay Naval Air Station

Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii - Aerial photograph of Ford Island, taken 22 October 1941. USS Saratoga (CV-3) is moored in the lower right center, on Ford Island's northwestern side. Three battleships and an oiler are moored along Battleship Row, on the island's southeastern side. Another battleship is alongside 1010 dock, in the top center. In the extreme top right corner is the Navy Yard's Drydock Number Two, under construction, and floating drydock YFD-2. Approximately 22 PBY patrol planes parked at the Naval Air Station's seaplane base, on the upper right point of Ford Island. Before WWII

The caption reads: Remarkable photo of the Germans burning Reims, Incendiary shells can be seen falling, adding to the conflagration. This photo dates to World War I.

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.

Enemy Flak Rises Up To Meet Bombs Falling Toward The Blechhammer South Synthetic Oil Refinery, Germany During A Bombing Raid By Planes Of The 455Th Bopmb Group, 741St Bomb Squadron, 15Th Asir Force On August 22, 1944.

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.

Alexishafen, Northeast New Guinea. Bombing

An overhead aerial view of Point Loma, the Naval Sub Base, and the Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI), California. Base: Naval Air Station, North Island State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A "Artist Impression" of the flight path of a cross flight weapon. In this case the weapon has been launched from an aircraft. It is led to a kind of radar here. At the Woensdrecht airbase, 48 Tomahawk cross flight weapons would be placed around mid-1985. This decision was definitively withdrawn in 1987.

High Explosives Dropped By Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses Of The 452Nd Bomb Group Cascade Into A Dense Layer Of Clouds Over Brunswick, Germany, 23 March 1944. The Bomber Formation Remained Above The Clouds To Keep Out Of The Extremely Effective Range Of N

In The Philippines: This photograph of the town of Sasa in Mindanao was taken prior to a heavy bombardment by units of General Kenney's Far Eastern Air Force. This is one of the first picture of the Philippines released to the press. On the far left of the picture can be seen the Sasa airdrome. September 8, 1944. (Photo by U.S. Far Eastern Air Force).

NEUTRALIZING ATTACK: Lakunai airdrome, key Japaneseanese fighter base in the Southwest Pacific Area and scene of the enemy's most powerful anti-aircraft defenses, is shown being subjected to a low-level attack by parachute bombs and phosphorus smoke

Sweden, Blekinge, Blekinge, Karlskrona, Karlskrona, external marina (depicted, town).Sweden, Blekinge, Blekinge, Karlskrona, Karlskrona, External War Gogs (depicted, City)

The Zeppelin raids: some notes on the airships and their weapons. How a Zeppelin goes aloft when attacked -- the working of the elevators and the release of the water ballast. Date: 1915

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 772 - 26-HK-334-57. Hurricane Katrina

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.

Satellite, bomb and target of missile in city for war, international conflict and military. Army, warzone and bullseye of atomic, nuclear and rocket launch in country for warfare, explosion or strike

of 2