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Historical Aircraft in Operation

Black and white images depicting historical military aircraft and crews, capturing significant moments from World War II, including crash landings and maintenance.

Members Of The 410Th Bomb Group Examine The Damaged Douglas A-20 'Havoc' (A/C No. 310215) Which Crash-Landed At A 9Th Air Force Base In England. 25 May 1944.

RAF Fighter Command 1940 A Hurricane pilot discusses his flight with the intelligence officer after 'returning from aerial combat', October 1940.

Royal Air Force Transport Command, 1943-1945. Mail being loaded into a Hawker Hurricane Mark IIC of No. 1697 (Air Despatch Letter Service) Flight, at B2/Bazenville, Normandy, for despatch to the United Kingdom.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945. A wounded soldier, evacuated by air from the fighting in the Kalapanzin Valley, is lowered onto a stretcher by medical orderlies at an advanced airfield in the Arakan, as the ambulance aircraft, a De Havilland DH.83 Fox Moth, is refuelled. The pilot, a former London policeman , Flying Officer Edwin E Mackay of Carlisle, watches from his cockpit.

Landing air troops: German gliders of the Battle of Crete during the Second World War. By the use of gliders, parachutes and mass-produced aeroplanes for crash landings, the German airborne troops obtained a foothold in Crete. Drawings showing the glider technique. Date: 1941

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Visit by army commander D.C. Buurman van Vreeden to Padang. The Army Commander, Lieutenant General D.C. Buurman van Vreede, visited Padang and the surrounding area on 21 September. Neighbor of Vreeden arrives or leaves. September 21, 1949. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies, Padang, Sumatra

Royal Air Force- 2nd Tactical Air Force, 1943-1945. Sergenat W Page of Coulsdon, Surrey, and Leading Aircraftman G Skelsey of London fit a long-range fuel tank to a Hawker Typhoon Mark IB of No. 137 Squadron RAF at B78 Eindhoven, Holland. The tanks enabled the Typhoons to carry out strikes deeper into German territory, at the expense of a reduced weapons load of two, instead of four, rocket projectiles carried under each wing.

Aircraft of the Royal Air Force, 1939-1945- Supermarine Spitfire. Spitfire LF Mark IX, MJ502 Prince Tungi Tonga II, at No. 33 Maintenance Unit, Lyneham, Wiltshire, shortly before delivery to No. 485 (New Zealand) Squadron RAF at Drem, Scotland. The aircraft also served with Nos. 349, and 332 Squadrons of the RAF during 1944, and in 1945 joined the Mediterranean Allied Air Force in Italy.

Royal Air Force Operations Over Albania and Greece, 1940-1941. Bristol Blenheim Mark I, L1434, of No. 211 Squadron RAF, undergoing an engine service at Paramythia, Greece.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Squadron Leader L C Wade, Commmanding Officer of No. 145 Squadron RAF, inspects the damaged starboard wing of his Supermarine Spitfire Mark IX after flying back to his base at Goubrine North,Tunisia, following combat with enemy fighters while providing top cover for fighter bombers attacking shipping in the Gulf of Tunis

For the 97th time "S for Sugar" is bombed up - many 500-pounders in addition to the cookie. January 1, 1945.

German soldiers with mines going to an area that has to be mined.

Photograph of a two seated fighter plane used during World War Two. Dated 1940

This damaged Lockheed P-38 "Lightning" was only 30 feet away from a 1000 pound bomb crater 35 feet by 15 feet. 21 December 1944. Mindoro Island, Philippine Islands.

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses 'Midway' Of The 381St Bomb Group Stationed At An 8Th Air Force Base Near Ridgewell, Essex County, England, 20 March 1944.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC REP. Airports m.l. (Banjoemas, Semarang). A Curtiss P-40n Kittyhawk from the Dutch Air Force is to Semarang with bombs loaded .. August 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies, Semarang

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South East Europe, 1942-1945. Ground crew of No. 178 Squadron RAF enlist the help of a Coles Crane operator of No. 61 Repair and Salvage Unit to lift 1,500-lb sea mines from their trolleys before loading them into a Consolidated Liberator Mark III at Celone, Italy, for a minelaying sortie along the Danube River.

Anefo photo collection. North American F-86 SABRES from the USAFE 32 Stighter Day Squadron stationed on Soesterberg. November 9, 1954. Soesterberg, Utrecht

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. Supermarine Walrus, X9498 'B', of No. 284 Squadron RAF undergoing maintenance at Cassibile, Sicily. Parked behind them and partly obscured is Hawker Hurricane Mark IIC, KW980, of the Mediterranean Air Command Communications Unit based at Maison Blanche, Algeria, while in the background can be seen the medieval tower which served as the airfield control tower.

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. Flight Lieutenant J A Plagis (Rhodesian) and Flying Officer A J Hancock of No. 64 Squadron RAF, standing in front of a Supermarine Spitfire Mark V at Hornchurch, Essex. They had, between them, shot down 16 enemy aircraft in the air battles over Malta in 1941 and 1942.

Royal Air Force- Air Defence of Great Britain (adgb), 1943-1944. Hawker Tempest Mark V, JN766 'SA-N', of No. 486 Squadron RNZAF based at Castle Camps, Cambridgeshire, in flight.

RAF Bomber Command 1940 The crew of a No. 83 Squadron Hampden exit the aircraft 'after a successful night's work over Germany', Scampton, 2 October 1940.

A Coast Guard Iceberg Spotter in Flight. In conjunction with the Coast Guard cutters, Tampa, Modoc, and Mojave, this huge B-24 planes will help chart the ice movements, for the benefit of navigators, in the now resumed International Ice Patrol Service, which the Coast Guard operates as in by-gone years. This ice patrol, interrupted by the War, is for the first time extending its unwearied lookout to the air lanes, thus greatly extending the accuracy of the ice reporting work.

An Air Force honor guard stands at attention while the casket of an MIA from North Vietnam is removed from a C-141 Starlifter aircraft. Base: Travis Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A Lockheed P-38 of the U.S. Air Force is unloaded from the deck of a freighter at Oran, Algeria. 13 April 1943.

Aircraft, Burma, India &MEDICAL, EVACUATION,Air War

Kuma class cruiser taking...

September 18, 1944 - Artillery commander of the 101st Airborne Division gives his various glider pilots last minute instructions before takeoff, England.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945. Short Sunderland GR Mark V, RN293 'J' of No. 205 Squadron RAF Detachment,and a Consolidated Catalina Mark III, probably of No. 321 Squadron RAF Detachment, moored off Direction Island, Cocos Islands.

Airplane J 11 marked 11 from F 3, 1944 . aircraft J 11 marked 11 from F 3 ore in the air.

In the top photograph, the experimental XV-15 aircraft revs its engines, with tie-down chains still in place, on the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS TRIPOLI (LPH 10) during preparations for takeoff. In the bottom photograph, the XV-15, airborne in the helicopter mode, hovers in the company of one of Bell Helicopter's more conventional UH-1N Iroquois helicopters. Country: Pacific Ocean (POC)

A left front view of two vehicle-mounted Soviet SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile. Country: Unknown

Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection

A view of an F-15 Eagle aircraft in a revetment area. Base: Osan Air Base Country: Republic Of Korea (KOR)

DA-SN-85-02960. Base: Mcchord Air Force Base State: Washington (WA) 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.

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

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver lines up it's sights on a target before loosing it's deadly missiles

Commonwealth Air Aces of the Second World War Strauss Airfield, NT. Wing Commander Clive 'Killer' Caldwell, the most successful Australian fighter pilot of the war with 28 victories, posing beside his Spitfire. He flew against the Germans in North Africa and then led the Australian Spitfire Wing in Northern Australia against the Japanese.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Commemoration of the cases of the 18th Squadron. After authorities, family members and relationships of the cases a final greeting has been brought, The Last Post is blown. April 29, 1947. Batavia, Indonesia, Jakarta, Dutch East Indies, Tjililitan

French Train as NATO Paratroopers at Pau. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and Personnel

Fire-Fighters Of The 386Th Bomb Group Used Foamite To Extinguish The Blaze On A Martin B-26 Marauder Which Crash-Landed At Its Base In Great Dunmow, Essex, England On 15 June 1944.

B-17 bombers returned from a mission over Germany.

North American P-51's in formation. England. 375 Fighter Squadron, 361 Fighter Group.

Airbases in France, Information Tour. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and Personnel

Anefo photo collection. Aviation: Schijndel airport. Spitfires with rotating propellers. February 14, 1945. Noord-Brabant, Schijndel

Team I. September 23, 1953.

'Wellington Bombers', c1940s. Artist: Unknown

A Royal Navy Fairey Firefly FR.IV from 825 Naval Air Squadron flying a reconnaissance mission from HMS Ocean (R68) along the eastern seaboard of Korea.

A Douglas C-47 has started its engines and is ready to taxi down the airstrip at Finschhafen, N.E. New Guinea. Note the sloping shoulders of the airstrip. 13 December 1943.

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. A line of Supermarine Spitfire Mark IXs of No. 73 Squadron RAF, undergo servicing and refuelling at Prkos, Yugoslavia.

Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection

Bell Airacobra Mk I of No. 601 Squadron RAF at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, 21 August 1941. Airacobra Mark I, AH576 UF, of No. 601 Squadron RAF, on the ground at Duxford, Cambridgeshire. The aircraft was detached to Reid & Sigrist Ltd for trials on 7 September, following which it was to have been returned to the Squadron (hence the proprietary application of the unit code letters and squadron badge on the fin), but was written off on 5 October 1941.

The US Air Force in the First World War Receiving photographic plates from the observer Lieutenant J. H. Snyder, after a reconnaissance flight, and rushing them to the field studio by a motorcycle. Pilot: Major J. N. Reynolds. Aircraft: Salmson 2 A2 biplane. Unit: 91st Aero Squadron, Gondreville-sur-Moselle.

RVD / Royal House photo collection. Queen Wilhelmina leaves the plane in England, at the end of October 1945. October 1945. England

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,RESCUE War

DN-SN-85-06094. Base: San Diego State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Photo collection Spaarnestad topics. Military Air Force - Belgium. Doret. Antwerp 22. 1935. Belgium

Colonel Ray J. Stecker, Hazelton, Pa., Commander Of The 1St Fighter-Bomber Group To Be Based In Germany, Accepts A New Wind Sock From Lt. Colonel L.A. Cutter, Left, Of The 818Th Aviation Engineer Battalion Of The Ix Engineer Command. Aviation Engineers C

Geiser Theodore (mons) Collection Machine gun fixed to the Observers seat.

Clearing Decks on "Vengeance" - A flight deck party removes ice and snow from the British aircraft carrier HMS Vengeance during her recently completed cruise in arctic waters. The carrier led a number of British naval units on a cruise to test reactions of men and equipment under conditions of extreme cold. Vengeance returned to Rosyth, Scotland March 7, after five weeks in far Northern waters. March 09, 1949. (Photo by Associated Press Photo).

WW2 - Blenheim Mk. IV Aircraft of the Free French 'Lorraine' Squadron, Libya (RAF No. 342 Squadron). Date: circa 1943

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. Arrival of journalists at Kemajoran airport in the middle a woman with a bag?. April 1948. Batavia, Indonesia, Java, Dutch East Indies

Royal Air Force Coastal Command, 1939-1945. Groundcrew of No. 458 Squadron RAAF sit underneath one of the Squadron's Vickers Wellington Mark XIVs at Gibraltar, while another aircraft takes off past the Rock.

RAF Fighter Command 1940 Pilots of No. 85 Squadron run to their Hurricanes at the satellite landing ground at Castle Camps, July 1940. In the foreground is P2923 VQ-R, flown by Plt Off Albert G Lewis.

Palestine disturbances 1936. The Royal Engineers search-light, mounted on Arab College, South of Jerusalem. 1936, Jerusalem

Aircraft and Balloons Used by Some of the Air Pioneers Who Were Contemporary With Samuel Franklin Cody. A group of foreign VIP's (both civilian and military) walking past a line of aircraft. On the right hand side of the photograph are two British officers.

The Royal Navy during the Second World War Two of the station's Boulton Paul Defiant aircraft in flight after taking off from HMS SPURWING, Royal Naval Air Station in Sierra Leone, once a stretch of untouchable bush.

military Germany Bavaria airforce Royal Bavarian Flying Corps military aircraft Oberwiesenfeld Munich 1910/1911,

Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Avro 652a Anson. Two Anson Mark Is, K6285 and N9742, of No. 321 (Dutch) Squadron RAF based at Carew Cheriton, Pembrokeshire, flying north-west of Tenby. K6285 still bears the unit code letters ('MW') of No. 217 Squadron, to which it formerly belonged.

Royal Air Force Fighter Command, 1939-1945. A trainee fighter pilot (right) and his instructor discuss his progress after a flight, at No. 61 Operational Training Unit, Rednal, Staffordshire. Comment: RAF Rednal was in Shropshire, not Staffordshire.

Operation CHASTISE: the attack on the Moehne, Eder and Sorpe Dams by No. 617 Squadron RAF on the night of 16/17 May 1943. A practice 10.000 lbs 'Upkeep' weapon attached to the bomb bay of Wing Commander Guy Gibson's Avro Type 464 (Provisioning) Lancaster, ED932/G 'AJ-G', at Manston, Kent, while conducting dropping trials off Reculve, May 1943

No. 151 Wing Royal Air Force Operations in Russia, September-november 1941. Pilots walk through the snow to Wing Headquarters to report to the intelligence officer, after undertaking a mission escorting Soviet bombers to their target. In the background, a Hawker Hurricane of No. 134 Squadron RAF is refuelled outside its wooden hangar.

Completes Record Breaking Flight -- Col. Willard W. Millikin peers from cockpit of F86 Sabre Jet at Mitchel Field near here today after trans-continental flight from Los Angles in four hours, eight minutes and five seconds (elapsed time), clipping five minutes off the previous speed record. Air National Guard officials estimated he averaged 615 miles per hour. Rushing to greet him are his daughter, Patricia, hatless in right center foreground, and his wife, Ruby, hatless at right foreground. January 02, 1954. (Photo by AP Wirephoto).

Upkeep mine loaded Description: Upkeep mine loaded onto a Lancaster bomber Date: 1943 airplane, aircraft, aviation, wwii, rr, rollsroyce, merlin, lancaster, ww2, bomber, raf, avro, militaryaviation, secondworldwar, dambusters, royalairforce, avrolancaster, lancasterbomber, bouncingbomb, merlinengine, rollsroycemerlin, 617squadron, avroe, operationchastise, rrmerlin, avrolancasteriii, lancasteriiied825g

Anefo photo collection. Red-cross plane Count Bernadotte. 26, 1948

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator "Pacific Passion" Of The 11Th Bomb Group, Based On Guam, Marianas Islands. 4 May 1945.

Air Raid Precautions, cigarette card, British, 1938. Artist: Unknown

This German tri-motored transport plane loaded with enemy paratroops was shot down by 9th AF fighter-bombers during recent fighting in St. Vith, Belgium. The plane was one of three paratroop-laden craft brought down by fighter-bombers

A Flight of "Stirling" Bombers out on a Raid. Country: England. 1942 - 1945. Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. Bureau of Special Services. 3/9/1943-9/15/1945. World War II Foreign Posters

Illustration of a Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero, lead aircraft of Carrier Division 1, Air Superiority Command, 2nd Strike Unit, aircraft carrier Akagi, Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941.

DM-SN-85-12664. Base: Marine Corps Air Station,Iwakuni Country: Japan (JPN)

America's Newest Dive Bomber Portuguese. 1942 - 1945. Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. Bureau of Special Services. 3/9/1943-9/15/1945. World War II Foreign Posters

America's Newest Dive Bomber French. 1942 - 1945. Office for Emergency Management. Office of War Information. Domestic Operations Branch. Bureau of Special Services. 3/9/1943-9/15/1945. World War II Foreign Posters

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