Historical Aircraft Moments

Vintage photographs of military aircraft during World War II, showcasing operational readiness and maintenance activities at air bases.

Mechanics Repair The Engine Of A Douglas C-47 At A 14Th Air Force Base In China.

Liberators, queue up on run-way ready to take off on proper signal. Some of bicycling ground crews are shown waving "good luck" to their flying mates.

A Strafed Teb Just South Of Runway Which Appeared To Have Been In The Midst Of An Engine Overhauling. Atsugi, Japanesean, 5 September 1945.

This Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" (A/C No. 263393) Was Nicknamed 'Rush Order' - Only Fifteen Days After Coming Off The Production Line, The Plane Participated In An Xx Bomber Command Bombing Mission Over Japanesean. China. 462Nd Bomb Group, 768Th Bomb Squadro

A Hoist Is Hooked To The Martin B-26 'Hot Pistol' Of The 386Th Bomb Group Which Made A Crash Landing When The Landing Gear Failed On 11 August 1944. Great Dunmow, Essex, England.

Old and new engines of the "Tomahawk Warrior" rest side by side at completion of first stages of full change. German fighters 20 mm cannon shells knocked out two of the engines during 24 May 44 Berlin mission, while overstrain at full power finished

Mechanics Repair The Engine Of A Douglas C-47 At A 14Th Air Force Base In China.

418Th Night Fighter Squadron Northrop P-61 Being Refueled On Kadena Strip B. The Plane Carried Four 165 Gallon Belly Tanks For Long Patrol Work, Averaging Approximately 7 1/2 To 8 Hours Flying Time With Four Tanks.

Men Examine The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" (A/C 890) Of The 379Th Bomb Group Which Was Badly Damaged During A Raid Over Europe. The Plexiglass Nose Was Completely Shot Away And Many Holes Were Ripped In The Fuselage Of The Plane. 28 June 1944, Englan

Spitfires And Douglas A-20 Havocs Get A Taste Of Sunny Italy, But The Surfaces Prepared By The Avaition Engineers Are Still Servicable Even Under Water, And The Fighters Fight And The Bombers Bomb.

Col. Robert C. Aldridge (left) of Manchester, N.H., and Sgt Frank A. Shortino of Lancaster, Pa., remove exposed film from a Photo Reconnaissance Plane of the 9th Air Force at a base in France.

Brought home by the skill and courage of her pilot 1st Lt. William R. Lawley of 431 East Hull St., Denison Texas, this is where the skidding Boeing B-17 Flying ofrtress finally stopped as he brought it down for a belly landing after being shot up by

A young German mechanic in his first solo flight flew 400 miles from Leipzig and crash-landed this new JU-288 twin-engine bomber at a 9th AF field. Despite heavy anti-aircraft fire from 9th Air Defense crews, the mechanic escaped injury although

An American Gi Prepares To Check The Lockheed P-38 Lightening 'Dot And Dash' After It Landed At Eurk, Russia.

Allies Land In France. Gliders Loaded With Essential Supplies Land On A Partially Completed Airfield Somewhere In Northern France. Despite The Steady Strem Of Gliders Bringing In Men And Equipment From England, The Work On The Airfield Goes On Uninterru

Vultee L-5 Of Flight 'A', 163Rd Liaison Squadron Attached To The 10Th Army, On Line At Cub Field No. 10; Note The Plane Coming In For A Landing. Okinawa, Ryukyu Retto. 1945.

Lt. Colonel Mcmanus Poses For The Photographer On The Wing Of His North American P-51 'Clam Winkle' Of The 364Th Fighter Group, 67Th Fighter Wing, At An 8Th Air Force Base In England. 10 March 1945.

The Crew Of The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" "Bomb Boogie" Prepares To Hop Aboard For Another Mission Against The Nazis On 24 August 1943. 91St Bomb Group, Bassingbourne, England.

Left To Right: Sgt. Francis Kelly, 104 South D Street, Lakeworth, Florida, And Cpl. Nathan Nollner, Rfd #1, Hartsville, Tennessee, At Work On A Repubolic P-47 'Thunderbolt'. Bellows Field, Oahu, Hawaii, 15 May 1944. 318Th Fighter Group.

Wreck Of A Douglas A-26 (A/C 139204) Of The 386Th Bomb Group Which Made A Crash Landing At Its Base In Beaumont, France On 11 April 1945.

Sgt. Leo E. Walker, Fitchburg, Mass., gets in his licks on one of his AAF Martin B-26 Marauders 2,000-horsepower engines during a lull in operations at a 12th AAF bomber base. Having flown 455 hours, crew chief Walker's "bee-two-six" is one of the

A Northrup P-61 'Black Widow' Of Th E 9Th Air Force, Warming Up For Take-Off On A Night Mission Over Enemy Territory. 27 September 1944.

A squadron of North American B-25 "Mitchells" taxies out to the strip on Clark Field, Luzon, Philippine Islands, to take off on a mission over Formosa on 1 June 1945.

Pictured at John Payne Field, Cairo, Egypt are two of the giant bombers presented to the Yugoslavian Army by the American government. 31 October 1943.

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning 'Rose Marie'/'Timber' Of The 90Th Photo Reconn Wing, At An Air Base Somewhere In Italy.

Combat Crews Relax While Waiting For The Signal To Take-Off From The 91St Bomb Group Base At Bassingbourne, England For A Raid On Enemy Installations At Kiel, Germany. 19 May 1943.

Douglas C-54 at a 9th Air Force base in North Africa. 1943.

Northrop P-61 'Black Widow' Was Designed For Night Operation. This Fighter Is Most Effective For Seeking Out Enemy Planes At Night And Destroying Them In The Air. August 1945, Clark Field, Philippine Islands.

A pilot leans against the wind as he makes his way to a shelter during a sand storm at a landing ground in Libya.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Maintenance, ASSEMBLY OFPLANES War

A Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The 401St Bomb Group Stirs Up A Cloud Of Dust As It Applies Its Brakes As It Comes To A Stop On The Runway At An 8Th Air Force Base In England. 10 March 1944.

Final check on A-20 Havoc before take-off to Siberia.

Crew Of The 646Th Bomb Squadron, 410Th Bomb Group Pose Beside A Douglas A-20 Havoc At A 9Th Air Force Base In France.

ENGLAND-Lt. William Groseclose of Pierre, S.D., pilot, is shown standing on the wing of his Mustang fighter plane, ready to get into the cockpit. Crew chief, S/Sgt. Harry E. East of Omaha, Nebraska, stands by.

FAIL OF "THE GI VIRGIN"--Sgt. Thomas Muse, Palestine, Texas, member of engineering staff stands on ofrt wing inspecting damage done to ship when it came in with no brakes and as pilot said, "groundlooped" to a landing. The landing gear collapsed

Damaged Remains Of Consolidated B-24J 'Ruthless Ruthie' After Crash Landing At North Pickenham, Norfolk, England. 17 April 1945. (A/C No. 44-40317).

On 18 April 1942, Airmen Of The U.S. Army Air Forces, Led By Lt. Colonel James H. (Jimmy) Doolittle, Carried The Battle Of The Pacific To The Heart Of The Japaneseanese Empire With A Surprising And Daring Raid On Military Targets At Tokyo, Yokohama, Yokosuka,

The Pilot And Ground Crew Of The 367Th Fighter Group Kneel Beside Their Lockheed P38 'Barb Iv' At An Air Base Somewhere In France. 7 October 1944.

Major Parrett's Douglas A-20 'Maxine Iv' Of The 410Th Bomb Group At A 9Th Air Force Base In England.

Aircraft, Burma, India &CREWS,FIGHTER War

Wreck Of The Douglas A-26 'Lady Marc' Of The 386Th Bomb Group Which Made A Crash Landing At Its Base In St. Trond, Belgium On 14 June 1945.

Allied Invasion Of France-- A Small Group Of G.I.S Watch The First Lockheed P-38 To Land On A Newly Made Landing Strip On A Beachhead In France. 10 June 1944.

Consolidated B-24H 'Jerilyne Sue' After Crash Landing At Aaf Base, Rackheath, Norwich, England. 19 June 1944 (Aircraft No. 42-52499). 453Rd Tail Markings.

Republic P-47 (Ac #42-26086), 'Big Bastard', Of The 2Nd Service Group, Which Crash Landed At An Air Base Somewhere In Iceland. 14 June 1944.

Soldiers (Two Divisions) Were Moved To China From Burma In Dec. 44 And Jan. 45, To Stop What Was Believed To Be A Japanese Drive On The Key City Of Kweiyang, China. The Air Movement Of (25,491) Chinese And American Soldiers, (1,596) Horses And Mules, 42 Jeeps

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,BOMBS War

Republic P-47'S Take Off On A Mission. 81St Bomb Squadron, 12Th Bomb Group, India.

Ground Crew Work On Boeing B-17 'Queenie' Of The 379Th Bomb Group At An 8Th Air Force Base In England. 24 July 1944.

Fins Go on! Trailers loaded with 500 lb bombs line up in front of ofrtress. Within a short time they will be tucked inside the bombay.

A Pilot Of The 9Th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron Poses In The Cockpit Of His Lockheed F-5 At An Air Base Somewhere In India.

The Consolidated B-24 'Judith Ann,' Which Flew Major General Edmund W. Hill To Poltava Airbase On 12 April 1945, Stands On The Steel Mat Runway At The Shuttle Mission Base.

Boeing B-17 "Meat Hound" in flight over Germany.

Boeing B-17 "Flying ofrtress" Tinker Toy, gunner's compartment and pilots windshield damaged.

Crew Of The 303Rd Bomb Group, Beside The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Knockout Dropper', After Completion Of Their 75Th Mission. England, 27 March 1944.

Rockets Aid Fortress In Short Take Off. Twelve Rockets Mounted Beneath The Wings Of A B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The U.S. Army 8Th Air Force Aid This Crash-Landed Plane To Make A Take-Off Short Enough To Clear Obstacles At The End Of A Small Ploughed Engl

Aircraft, Burma, India &BOMBLOADING War

Tunis, Tunisia-Axis planes totaling over 250 were left by the enemy in their hasty retreat from El Aouina Airdrome during the battle of Tunisia. Many German aircraft were destroyed on the ground from the constant bombings from Allied planes. However

Maintenance Crew Of The 379Th Bomb Group Changing An Engine On The Boeing B-17 'Million Dollar Baby' At An 8Th Air Force Base In England. 19 April 1945.

It'S A Tough Plane. This North American B-25 Mitchell Of The Tactical Air Force Sustained A Direct Flak Hit Which Tore The Right Wing Section To Extent Shown Here While The Medium Bomber Was On A Mission Over Southern France. The Pilot Landed The Plane

Maintenance Of A Republic P-47 'Thunderbolt'. Mindoro, Philippine Islands. August 1945.

Damage To Enemy Airplanes On The Bad Abling Airdrome, Germany. May 1945.

'Our Pride And Joy' Is The Appropriate Name Given This Republic P-47 Thunderbolt By Members Of The 12Th Af Fighter Group. Prophetically Christened That When She Went Into Combat 5 April 1944, The Fighter-Bomber Has Stormed Through A Year Of Service And

Silhouetted against the quiet sky of an English dusk, a Martin B-26 "Marauder" medium bomber taxies slowly down the runway, on return from mission against marshalling yards at Amiens, France.

A String Of Bombs From A 12Th Air Force North American B-25 Mitchell Heads For The Roverto Railroad Bridge On The Brenner Pass, 30 December 1944. The 12Th Air Force Is Hammering At All Vital Enemy Supply Lines In Northern Italy In Cooperations With Allie

More headaches for Jerry and Company--"Rockets," M/Sgt. Charles R. Smith, Houston Texas, is shown installing a set of Train Destroyers on a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter-Bomber at a 1st Tac AF Air Depot somewhere in France.

This battered and camouflaged old C-53 which the Red Air Force had been using on the German front transported the first Russian military mission across Siberia and the Bering Sea to Fairbanks, Alaska, arriving 4 Sept. 42. On the last leg of the

Fire Fighters Used Foamite To Extinguish Flames In The Engine Of This Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" (A/C No. 1098) Which Crash Landed At An 8Th Air Force Base In England, 26 March 1944.

Chinese survey Boeing B-29. On some fields, 72,000 Chinese are supervised by two U.S. Officers and three enlisted men.

North American P-51 "Run" Of The 353Rd Fighter Group, Prior To Take Off With Para Bombs Loaded Under The Wings. England, 14 November 1944.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Maintenance,REFUELING War

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

The Republic P-47 'Snafu' (A/C No. 274742) Of The 78Th Fighter Group, Belly-Landed At 8Th Air Force Station F-357 In Duxford, England On 15 December 1944.

Rocket Installations Under The Wings Of A Republic P-47 Of The 353Rd Fighter Group Somewhere In England May 1944.

Sgt. William Trickey, crew chief, plays gasoline spray on engine of Republic P-47 Thunderbolt to wash down accumulations of oil and grease before engine cowling is replaced. The plane, one of the newer arrivals, piloted by Maj. Ebey, Group Operations

Australian troops unload a transport at an airbase somewhere in New Guinea.

Armament Men At Work On .50 Caliber Guns In A North American Mitchell B-25J. This Plane Has A Total Of Eighteen .50 Caliber Machine Guns. 500Th Bomb Group At Clark Field, Luzon Island. 19 May 1945.

Douglas C-47 being loaded prior to the evacuation of Kweilin, China.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Fields & Installations, Storm Damage War

A Loaded Bomb Trailer Is Parked Beside The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" "Chennault's Pappy" At The 91St Bomb Group Base In Basinbourne, England. 9 April 1944.

Four Crew Members Of The 401St Bomb Group In Front Of The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Hell's Angel' At An 8Th Air Force Base In England, 20 January 1945.

In recognition of the fighting B-26 Marauder French Air Force Units, the highest ranking airmen in the theatre one afternoon flew to the windswept plain on a Mediterranean Island where the B-26's are based. Awards to men participating in the first

Bomb Damaged German Plane Me-109 On An Airfield At Campo Formido, Italy. This Damage Was Done By The 15Th Air Force Bombers. 12 May 1945.

A Pilot Of The 364Th Fighter Group, 67Th Fighter Wing, Poses Beside His North American P-51 'Sally' At The 8Th Air Force Station F-375, Honnington, England. 14 October 1944.

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,RESCUE War

The Boeing B-29 "Eddie Allen" at a China airbase. This plane was named after Eddie Allen, a chief test pilot at Boeing Aircraft Co., Wichita, Kansas, who built and presented the plane to the Army Air forces, the test pilot was killed.

That Even War Has Its Monents Of Beauty Is Apparent In This Photo Of A Boeing B-29 "Superfortress" Silhouetted Against A Cloud-Filled Sky; The Plane Is Based At North Field, Guam, Marianas Islands, 14 April 1945.

American And Russian Personnel Wave Their Greetings As The Consolidated B-24 'Judith Ann,' Carrying Major General Deane And Major General Edmund W. Hill Comes To A Halt On The Steel Mat Runway At Poltava Airbase, A Shuttle Mission Base In Russia. 12 Apri

Wreckage Of Consolidated B-24 (Ac #28668) Somewhere In Iceland. 2Nd Service Group, 20 March 1944.

Major Hal Pike Of The 16Th Fighter Squadron, 51St Fighter Group, Seated In The Cockpit Of His Curtiss P-40 "Flyin' Fish" Prior To Giving The Take-Offi Signal. Peishihwa, China, 22 October 1942.

Japaneseanese prisoners of war from Biak Island being loaded at Hollandia, Dutch New Guinea, for transfer to Brisbane, Australia.

Lt. Charles H. Clark Of Los Angeles, Calif., Climbs Into A Reassembled North American P-51 At The Lockheed Reassembly Plant At Liverpool, England. He Will Fly It To A U.S. Air Force Airplane Pool Somewhere In The Eto. 16 December 1943.

Japanese Airplanes Awaiting Repair By The Technical Air Intelligence Unit, Swpa. 1945. Japanese 'Tony' Captured By Our Forces, Shown As It Awaited Repair At Clark Field To Be Put Into Flying Condition By Technical Ait Intelligence Unit, Swpa. 1945.

Shell Fragments Pierced The Fuselage Of A Republic P-47 (A/C 7905) Of The 353Rd Fighter Group, During An Escort Mission Over Enemy Territory. England, 17 August 1943.

At Wakde Island, Dutch New Guinea, on 28 June 1944, a Piper L-4 is transported by truck to be loaded on a LST (Landing Ship Tank) prior to the invasion of Noemfoor Island which took place on 2 July 1944.

The Douglas C-47 "SHANGRI-LA EXPRESS" used to transport captured Axis General to Mison Blanche, Algeria. 90th Photographic Reconnaissance Wing, 12 May 1943.

Airmen at Renfrew Airfield, Glasgow, Scotland use brushes, knives and kerosene to remove the protective grease coating on North American P-51s after they were shipped from the United States for use in the ETO. 18 October 1943.

Chinese, Who Are American Citizens In The United States Air Forces, Work On A Curtiss P-40 Of The 76Th Fighter Squadron, 23Rd Fighter Group, At Kunming, China, 20 November 1942. These Chinese Men Came From The United States To Fight With The American Vol

Major Virgil C. Fields, Jr., Commanding Officer Of The 307Th Fighter Squadron, Poses In The Cockpit Of His Supermarine 'Spitfire' Plane At Nettuno, Italy. Major Fields Has Six Enemy Planes Destroyed To His Credit. 2 Feb. 1944.

A North American P-51 Mustang Gets Attention To Damage From Japanese Fire Before Returning To Its Home Field. This Sqdn. Is Not Stationed At Kumitola, But Flies From That Field At Times As Cover For North American B-25 Mitchells Stationed There.

The Martin B-26 'Loretta Young' Of The 386Th Bomb Group Wings Its Way Towards An Enemy Installation Somewhere In Europe During A Raid On 1 June 1945.

Crew Members Of The 92Nd Bomb Group Stand In Front Of The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" 'Dottie'. England. 8 September 1942.

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