Historical Military Operations

Depicts historical military logistics and operations, including aircraft, fuel storage, and medical evacuations during wartime activities.

Gas is stored in drums along the runway at the base in Poashan, China, where the 19th Liaison Squadron is in action on the Salween front. All gasoline is carefully guarded and rationed since every gallon is brought over the "Hump" by plane.

Gas is stored in drums along the runway at the base in Poashan, China, where the 19th Liaison Squadron is in action on the Salween front. All gasoline is carefully guarded and rationed since every gallon is brought over the "Hump" by plane.

Nesting Grounds For Wideawake, Or Sooty Tern, Birds Which Make Ascension Island Their Home. Hundreds Of Thousands Of Them Persisted In Nesting At The End Of The Runway Of 'Wideawake Field,' Constituting A Hazard To Aircraft Operations. 8 June 1944.

Consolidated B-24s fly thru heavy flak on way to Frankfurt, Germany 2/11/44.

Scrub Typhus patients aboard a LCM (Landing Craft Mechanized) enroute to a hospital ship lying off the coast of Mar Strip, near Cape Sansapar on the Dutch New Guinea mainland. 1944.

Airplanes On The Line Being Refueled At Val De Caes Field, Belem, Brazil. April 1943.

Consolidated B-24 Bomber 'The Wolf', In Flight Over The Caroline Islands. 6 May 1945.

Gasoline Is Flown Over The Hump In Boeing B-29's With Belly Tanks, And By Douglas C-47's Carrying Drums. In China The Drums Are Stacked, And The Chinese Help Open Them And Pour The Contents Into An Open Trough From Which It Is Pumped Into Large Storage T

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,CREWS War

Aircraft, Burma, India &Transportation War

Wewak Airdrome, Northeast...

Aircraft, Burma, India &Transportation War

Summer in Italy finds ground crews of an AAF Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress group of Maj. Gen. Nathan F. Twinings 15th Air Force relaxing while waiting for the return of a mission by playing the great old American game of baseball.

A Mechanic, Using Crude Hand-Hewn Timbers For Cribbing, Jacks Up A Wing Of A Consolidated B-24 Which Crashed On The Runway At Kunming, China, 2 December 1943, Due To Failure Of The Landing Gear. The Plane, Used As A Transport Flying The 'Hump', Was Carry

The Ultimate Doomsday At Dagua Airfield Is This 5Th Aaf North American B-25 Mitchell'S Minimum Altitude Attack On The Japaneseanese Airstrip Eight Miles West Of Wewak, Northeast New Guinea On 3 Feb. 1944. 501St Bs, 345Th Bg

Douglas C-47 Troop Carrier planes in formation. This shot shows the rough terrain over which the trips are flown in China.

ITALY-Laying a gravel base for an asphalt runway is tedious work. In the background are piles of gravel dumped by trucks at regular intervals. Men in the foreground spread it evenly over the surface. These negro aviation engineers have won frequent

Major Martin G. Wiess, Ames, Iowa, Of The 90Th Division Artillery, Points To The 50 Calibre Machine Gun Bullet Hole In This German Me-109, One Of The Nine Shot Down Near Halstroff, France, Near The German Border. The Bullet Hit The Magneto. Of The 12 Pl

These photographs show a typical Sicilian farmhouse which has been converted into an operations building by an American Squadron.

Consolidated B-24 Combat Crew Members Of The 458Th Bomb Group Examine Damage To The Left Stabilizer Which Was Almost Shot Away During A Mission Over Enemy Territory. England.

Bomb Damage To Oil Storage Tanks. The Camouflage Failed To Serve Its Purpose. Hamburg, Germany.

American bombs hit Germany. Target was the newly-opened Adolf Hitler Haven at the great Nazi naval base on Wilhelmshaven. These bombs are pictured streaking down from the first element of the raid. The opening in the heavy breakwater in the upper

ITALY-Sgt Roland B. Brouillette, left and Cpt Ernest U. Earn, right, standing by instrument field testing unit. C-10 of unit installed by Sgt. Brouillette and Cpl Earn. Instrument for checking manifold pressure, tachometer, fuel and oil pressure, and

The Crew Of The First Curtiss C-46 To Depart From Yunnanyi Air Base In China With Chinese Troops, Being Rushed To General Joseph W. Stilwell's Aid On The Burma Frontier, Pose For The Photographer. They Are, Left To Right: Lt. Carrol, Pilot Lt. Pietch, Co

Bombs Which Were Dropped By The 94Th Bomb Group, 8Th Air force, Burst On The Target At Varrelbusch, Germany On 24 March 1945.

Graders, trucks and carryalls, operated by men of the Seebee's 40th Construction Battalion, continue work at an airstrip on Los Negros, Admiralty Islands. Even though the strip is only partially completed, Douglas C-47s, carrying vitally needed

This Gaily Striped Lead Plane - A Consolidated B-24 Of The 93Rd Bomb Group - Is Used At An 8Th Air Force Base In England To Organize Formations As The "Liberators" Take Off On Their Missions Over Enemy Territory.

Aircraft, Burma, India &RECREATION War

Planes Of The 57Th Fighter Group, 65Th Fighter Squadron Attacked Rail Cars At Montebello, Italy, 21 March 1945.

Lt. Robert A. Harden, Greenville, S.C., And Lt. James R. Stover, Charleston, W. Va., 792Nd Bomb Squadron, 468Th Bomb Group, Xx Bomber Command. These Men Bailed Out On The China Side Of The Hump, 26 August 1944. They Walked 25 Miles, Found A Hut, And Liv

Pilots And Engineering Crews Of The 21St Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron Enjoy A Volley Ball Game As They Relax Between Missions. China.

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter-Bombers Of Lt. Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg'S 9Th Af Parked On And Near The Apron Of A Former Luftwaffe Base In Germany, Now Used By The 365Th Fighter-Bomber Group. Service And Maintenance Men Are Working The Planes, Preparin

THE ofRTS CAN TAKE IT--Lt. Gen. Emmons inspects the battle damage on a Flying ofrtress that miraculously returned from a raid on Europe. What the General saw is revealed in close-up in the ofllowing series of pictures.

BACK FROM BRUNSWICK---The Eighth AAF Flying ofrtress "F for Frenesi," piloted by Lt. Cely, with his crew, including three wounded gunners, returned to its base "just a series of holes held together by some metal" after dropping its bombs on the

Shot Of Front End Of Douglas C-47 That Had Its Nose Blown Off During The Japanese Raid On Kweilin, China.

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,GLIDERS War

The Crew Of 'Vulgar Virgin' With Ship, North Africa.

Aircraft, Burma, India &ELECTRONICS,RADAR War

15TH ARMY AIR FORCE--AAF Martin B-26 Marauders attacking the important marshalling yards at Pisa, Italy, covered the target with bombs and started big fires among the line of freight cars. The Martin B-26's encountered neither enemy fighter or flak

Still undergoing intense artillery fire from firmly entrenched Japs in the downtown Manila sector the main building of the Prison Compound at Santo Tomas is shown as it is hit by a barrage of high calibre Jap guns. The reign of terror inflicted by

From empty glider crates, U.S. soldiers stationed at a 9th Air force Troop Carrier Command field have built a complete and comofrtable village. Called "Shantytown" the place has a postoffice, barbershop, hospital, recreation rooms, etc. The above

Allies smash Japanese convoy. An R.A.A.F. Beaufighter attacks Japaneseanese ship. Direct hits can be seen in this picture.

Damage To Railroad Tracks Between Herborn And Dillenburg. This Bomb Damage Was Caused By 9Th Af Bombers.

Removing Gravel And Sand From Dried-Up River Bed Adjacent To The Runway, At Poashan, China. 3 February 1945.

Capt. Tanberg And Combat Crew Of The 38Th Bomb Group With Joe E. Brown Beside The North American B-25 'Torrid Tessie The Terror' At Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea.

Installed rocket guns of A-20 Havoc.

Los Negros Island-Commander Atherton (American Legion) attends the daily briefing and war summary meetings in the 13th Army Air Force Briefing Room. Commander Atherton is second from the left, first row.

As the formation breaks away from the target, the smoke still hovers over the battered runway, (extreme left, bottom of the picture). Under the Liberator B-24 in the background looms the hill that landmarks the town of Rabaul. Fighters and medium

Shot of the smoke being spread on the Bellows Field line, New Guinea.

Aerial view of Nichols Field at Manila in the Philippine Islands.

ENGLAND-Checking one of the Allison engines of the Lockheed P-38 "No Guts," is Cpl Guy M. Purdy, (left) of Racine, Wisconsin, Assistant Crew Chief and Cpl Alfred H. Atwell, of Memphis, Tenn. Many of these fighters have been brought back from enemy

Chinese Guards At An Airfield In Kunming, China. Douglas C-47 Can Be Seen In The Background. 7 Nov. 1944.

1st Lt. Alfred C. Schwab, Jr., of St. Paul, Minnesota receiving the Air Medal from Brig. Gen. P.L. Williams at a ceremony held at an advanced airfield in Tunisia.

Capt. Allen V. Martini, Of San Francisco, Calif., Pilot Of The Famous Flying Fortress, 'Dry Martini':, And His Crew Chief, M/Sgt. Eddie Kursel, Of Bessimer, Pa., Are Inspecting The Damage Inflicted On The Plane's Horizontal Stabilizer During A Raid On The

Douglas C-47 That Crashed In Field Near Bastogne, Belgium.

Photo shows Fighter Control Operations. The soldiers is Pfc. Lawrence Kempsky of Spokane, Wash. FRANCE.

Operations Room Of The 65Th Fighter Wing, Saffron-Walden, Essex, England.

Lt. Berodt's Crew Of The 486Th Bombardment Group In England.

Radio Technicians Of The 20Th Mapping Squadron, 6Th Photo Group (Reconnaissance) Check With Airborne Aircraft In The Vicinity Of Their Base Comewhere In The Southwest Pacific Area. They Are, Left To Right: 1St Lt. William C. Hayes, Communications Office

Pau Airfield In France Before Bombing Of 27 March 1944.

Presentation Of Bronze Stars At A Ceremony In England. 20 June 1945.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Fields & Installations, War

Pas de Calais, France-Consolidated B-24's are shown flying over Pas de Calais area, which has been pounded heavily since the first of the year.

Three G.I.'S Of The 93Rd Bomb Group Give One Of Their Buddies A Hair Trim At An 8Th Air Force Base In England.

A Vultee L-5 plane turning to make a landing at its home base in Poashan, China, after an excursion over enemy territory.

Japaneseanese Surrender Envoys Are Shown Boarding The C-54 Transport On Ie Shima Which Will Fly Them To Manila. Personnel Wearing Ribbed Jackets Are Flyers In Japanese Life Saving Vests. Each Officer Had An Aggregate Of 2 Suitcases.

Long range Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters are now operating with the strategic bomber force of the Mediterranean Allied Air Command.

Aircraft, Burma, India &Fields & Installations,SUPPLIES War

Aircraft, Burma, India &CREWS,PILOT War

The utilization of captured German equipment and supplies alleviated the drain on the American supply lines. Shown above are some cooks of a 9th Air Force Service Command unit using a kitchen formerly occupied by the Germans in France. Included in

As Soon As This Consolidated B-24 Liberator Of The 392Nd Bomb Group Returned To Its English Base The Crew Members Boarded A Truck For A Trip To Interrogation And Maintenance Crew - Right On The Beam - Were There To Refuel The Plane For Another Mission.9 S

A Lockheed P-38 covered with snow just after a snowstorm at Ladd Field, Alaska, 12 February 1944.

Curtiss P-40 In Flight Over Horn Island, Queensland, Australia.

Orte, Junction Of Lines Running East-West And North-South Just Above Rome, Was Hammered Twice By The Bombers Of The Tactical Air Force. Marauders Hit The Railroad Yards On 16 January, Six Days Before The D-Day For The Allied Landings South Of Rome. B-25

All But One Span Of A Bridge Over The Mu River In Burma Was Demolished By Planes Of The U.S. Air Force On 2 February 1944.

Brig. Gen. Carlyle H. Ridenour, Pasadena, Calif., wing commander, 15th Army Air Force, with crew of an AAF Consolidated B-24 bomber in which he was just completed a mission to bomb the Dogna, Italy, railroad installations. He flew as an observer

Aircraft, Burma, India &Transportation War

Eight crew members of Boeing B-17 "General Ike" are ready to go as their cheerful faces show. "We're going to unroll a carpet of bombs for those doughboys to walk ashore on," says the crew.

View Of Merseberg Airport Recently Captured By The 2Nd Infantry Div., 1St Us Army. Location: Merseburg, Germany.

Reims/Champagne Airdrome Is Recipient Of Saturation Bombing On 28 March 1944. Photo Taken With 7' Lens At 23000'.

Grnld East Coast, Cape Dan, Greenland -- Picture Taken On Hill Between Weather-Radio Station And The Camp In The Center. 19 October 1944.

Wreckage Of A Rail Car In The Marshalling Yards At Bolzano, Italy; Damage Was Done By The 15Th Air Force Bombers.

Crew members of the Liberator "Patsy Ann II" discuss the blow at the beaches where the allied troops landed some minutes later. Left to right: S/Sgt. Tyrus J. Shanley, tail gunner of 505 Cass Ave., St. Paul, Minn., S/Sgt. Chauncey H. Steele, waist

Smoke rises from installations at Babo Airdrome, Dutch New Guinea after planes of the 3rd Bomb Group, 89th Bomb Squadron have dropped their bombs on the target, 5 June 1944.

Bomb Damage In The Marshalling Yards At Trento, Italy. 9 May 1945.

Approaching the target, the bomb-bay doors are opened electrically. The bombardier is over his sight. He and the pilot are guiding the big plane on the "bomb run." This is the curcial point of a bombing mission. This plane, the Boeing B-17 Flying

Then Smith climbs into the tail gun position on plane #61, the Martin B-26, they will fly with today. As soon as Foulkes finished snapping the picture, he climbed into the bomber via the ladder in the left foreground and got up into his turret, ready

S/Sgt. H.W. Anderson of Aspermont, Texas being awarded the Air Medal for meritorious achievement by Lt. General George C. Kenney, at a ceremony somewhere in New Guinea.

LOS NEGROS ISLANDS-Sgt. Norman E. Pierce, plant foreman, adjusts the intake valve on the giant oxygen tank "Nurse Bag."

Ammunition Dump And Parking Area At Wideawake Field, Ascension Island. May 1943.

Synthetic Oil Plant Attacked -- Consolidated B-24 Liberators Of The Us 8Th Air Force Dropped Heavy Concentrations Of Bombs On The German Synthetic Oil Plant At Madgeburg, Germany, March 3 1945. This Low Angle Oblique Shows The Bombs Mushrooming On The Ta

FRANCE--A 9th Air force Republic P-47 Thunderbolt as a fighter-bomber, with a 1,000 pound bomb under each wing; and a 500 pounder under the fuselage. four .50 calibre machine guns are in each wing.

Crew Of The North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber 'Stud' Are, Left To Right: Capt. Laverne B. Johnson, 1St Lt. Donald C. Biggs, 1St Lt. Willard E. Wilvert, S/Sgt. Norman E. Keller, T/Sgt. William H. Ethridge, T/Sgt. Isaac Ruesso, Capt. James R. Holdstead. N

Only The Water Tower Remains Standing After The Hostel 6 Area At Kweilin Was Destroyed By 14Th Air Force Demolition Squads.

American Bombers returning from Italy. This formation of U.S. Army Air Forces Martin B-26 "Marauders" is seen over Stromboli Island during the return trip of a bombing mission to Italy--- one of the many which toppled Italy into unconditional

A RUSSO-AMERICAN "PRESENT" FOR ADOLF: This bomb from the citizens of Fort Lupton, Colo., was delivered by U.S. Strategic Air Forces bombers operating off new Eastern Command bases in the Soviet Union. The men, Russian and American

Unloading -- As This Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" Of The Us 8Th Air force Reaches Its Target, Oil Refineries At Dortmund, Bomb Bay Doors Open, Emitting Its Destructive Cargo. Pictre Was Made During The Daylight Mission March 7Th 1945. 1St Div.

Water Buffalo Carts Used By Chinese Laborers To Haul Earth Fill During The Construction Of An Airbase Somewhere In Chengkung, China.

Men Unload Rations Dropped By Douglas C-47S On The 4Th Infantry Division Sector In Germany, When Rains And Early Thaw Made Roads Impassable In This Area. The Supplies Consisted Of Rations, Gas, And Ammunition.

Testing To See If The Trousers He Wore On More Than 75 Combat Missions Will Stand Alone Is Capt. Wallace E. Bennet Of Long Beach, Calif. The Trousers Are Mouldy And Torn, But The Captain Says He Wouldn't Fly Without Them. Looking On Is 1St Lt. John A. K

before bombs reach Berlin they are handled many times by hand & mechanical devices. They are transported by trucks from Service Command depots to the bomber bases where they are fuzed & finned. Ordnance men then cart the explosives to the planes

of 2