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Vintage Military Aviation

Images capturing various military aircraft and pilots from the mid-20th century, highlighting test flights, paratrooper drops, and military airfields.

1944 - Packs of cigarettes are distributed to repatriated USAF airmen freed in Operation Reunion.

Project 30-18 - Operation Upshot/Knothole (Nevada Test Site) Test Activities. Project 5.1, aerial of 3 Navy drones. Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

A maintenance crew for an A-6E Intruder attack aircraft removes electronic parts from the cockpit for replacement during Operation Desert Shield.. Subject Operation/Series: DESERT SHIELD Country: Unknown

Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945. Leading Aircraftman W T Messenger of Barry, South Wales and Aircraftman R J Frost of Brynmill, Swansea, check over the a load of 1,000-lb HE and Small Bomb Containers (SBC) filled with 4lb incendiaries in the bomb bay of a Vickers Wellington Mark X of No. 99 Squadron RAF at Jessore, India, prior to a sortie over Burma.

Group of Men and Women Working inside Fuselage of Liberator Bomber, Consolidated Aircraft Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, USA, Howard R. Hollem for Office of War Information, October 1942

Storekeeper 2nd Class Sue Wolf and CHIEF Aviation Storekeeper Patricia Raby unload a C-2A Greyhound aircraft, upon its return from participating in Operation Ocean Venture '81. Subject Operation/Series: OCEAN VENTURE '81 Base: Raf Mildenhall Country: Great Britain / England (GBR)

Pallets of humanitarian relief supplies wait at the airport in preparation for loading onto a C-130 Hercules aircraft (in background) which will fly the supplies into Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on relief missions. The three-year-old relief effort has been able to resume its missions after a five month hold due to aircraft receiving ground fire over Sarajevo. Subject Operation/Series: PROVIDE PROMISE Base: Ancona Country: Italy (ITA)

Returning from practice flight. Meacham Field, Fort Worth, Texas 1942. still image. Photographs. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Photography Collection

DF-ST-87-02897. Country: Denmark (DNK)

Photograph - Operation Fire Fly. Photograph - Operation Fire Fly. Operation Firefly - Paratroopers of the 555th Parachute Infantry lineup their "jumpsuit". Before leaving on a fire fighting mission they will don their heavy leather fleece lined coveralls, plastic helmet and wire facemask. They will carry between 75 and 125 pounds of equipment. Behind them is a C-47 of Troop Carrier Command that will fly them to their destination. Oregon.

England....The Crew Chief Gives The Signal To Cut The Engines On A Consolidated B-24 Aircraft.

Marine casualty still receiving dextrose is carried to a helicopter for transfer to the USS REPOSE, the Navy hospital ship off the coast of South Vietnam. The wounded man has been treated in a field hospital at Da Nang, but needs more advanced facilities available aboard the ship. April 4, 1966.

One-quarter right rear view of a North American Mustang Mk. IVA 'Shy Talk' (s/n KM318) undergoing armament operations, somewhere in Korea. A crewman is shown working on the guns in the right wing, while another crewman stands on the left wing, beside the cockpit. The pilot also stands on the left wing, bending over the front windshield. His helmet is beside him, on the nose of the aircraft.

World War II, a Nazi supply dump goes up in smoke. A U.S. B-25 medium bomber roars over Tivoli, Nazi supply center ten miles east of Rome. Now a smoking ruin, it was used by the Germans as a terminal for routing reinforcements to battle areas, Italy, photograph, 1940-1946

DF-ST-87-13337. Subject Operation/Series: TEAM SPIRIT '85 Base: Osan Air Base Country: Republic Of Korea (KOR)

Plane captain AIRMAN Christopher Pyles signals to the pilot of a P-3C Orion aircraft of Patrol Squadron 68 (VP-68) to start the number two engine in preparation for take-off. Aviation Ordnanceman Third Class (AO3) Jeff Mills stands by to the right. The P-3C is using Navy reservist from Patrol Squadron Five (VP-5) as part of the crew to carry out a counter-narcotics mission to the Caribbean. Base: Nas, Roosevelt Roads State: Puerto Rico (PR) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The Tired Crew Of A Consolidated B-24 Of The 8Th Air Force Just Returned From A Mission Over Germany. England.

Helicopter and soldier approaching target in Vietnam, circa 1965.

President Kennedy arrives at Andrews Air Force Base from Palm Beach, Florida, 3:43PM. President John F. Kennedy walks towards a United States Marines helicopter, following his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base from Palm Beach, Florida. Maryland.

Project 18 - Operation Crossroads (Bikini) Test Activities. USS Saratoga Flight Deck Showing Army Equipment Arranged for Test. Photographs of Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at Pacific Island and Nevada Test Sites.

Sgt. Edmond 'Jack' Berard Cleans Out Barrel Of Cannon In Nose Of 'Flying Artillery'. Panama.

Bölkow BO-105C helicopter. Exercise together with the royal land power. In addition to the kite, the army airer is sitting.

First helicopter to land at NAS , Helicopters. Photographs of the First Naval District

DF-SC-88-02382. Country: Unknown

DA-ST-85-10014. Country: Unknown

A Nazi supply dump goes up in smoke. A U.S. B-25 medium bomber roars over Tivoli, Nazi supply center ten miles east of Rome. Now a smoking ruin, it was used by the Germans as a terminal for routing reinforcements to battle areas.

Pilots running to their aircraft, Battle of Britain, 1940. Artist: Unknown

S/Sgt. Howard Van Hoozer Of Girard, Kansas, Runs Patch Thru Barrel Of 50 Cal. Machine Gun. England.

NATO Airbase in France. Photographs of Marshall Plan Programs, Exhibits, and Personnel

An Army helicopter is being loaded aboard a C-5A Galaxy aircraft during a loading exercise. Base: Peterson Air Force Base State: Colorado (CO) Country: United States Of America (USA)

The Royal Air Force in Britain, January 1942 A train of eighteen 250lb HE bombs is prepared for loading into a Vickers Wellington III of No 419 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force at Mildenhall, Suffolk.

A plane director gives a helicopter pilot the "drop stops out" signal aboard the flight deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69). A Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 5 (HS-5) SH-3H Sea King helicopter is parked in the background. Country: Atlantic Ocean (AOC)

A Chinese soldier guards a line of American P-40 fighter planes, painted with the shark-face emblem of the Flying Tigers, at a flying field somewhere in China. The American pursuit planes have a 12-to-1 victory ratio over the Japanese. Ca. 1942.

Lynx helicopter with crew after arrival of the post flight from RNas Yeovilton. The English airport was the stucco location of 6,000 occasional envelopes associated with the 40th anniversary of airplane squadron 860 and 65 years of MarineLiegkamp de Kooy. Lieutenant at sea trade services wt.m. Unrest holds the reminder plaque of this flight. The crew was received by Commander Aircraft Quadron 860 Captain-Lieutenant at sea A. Veentjer.

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

DM-ST-85-09146. Base: Wilmington State: North Carolina (NC) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Freight of the US Air Force, David Ketel, 1951 - 1953 color slide Korea slide Korea

Students from the Saint George's University School of Medicine board a C-130 Hercules aircraft at Point Salines Airfield. They are being evacuated from the island during the multiservice, multinational Operation URGENT FURY. Subject Operation/Series: URGENT FURY Country: Grenada (GRD)

DF-ST-88-05405. Subject Operation/Series: COBRA GOLD Base: Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base Country: Thailand (THA)

DF-ST-86-09280. Country: United States Of America (USA)

DA-ST-85-02176. Subject Operation/Series: URGENT FURY Country: Grenada (GRD)

Capt. Robert V. Whitlow, Hollywood, Ca, Pilot In Cockpit Of A B-24 Of The 8Th Air Force. England.

DEU, Germany: The historical colour photos from the times of the 70s show events and people from politics, culture, trade unions, working life, medicine, etc. Wunstorf. Nato field parade on 22.3.1972

"LTJG R.J. Smith, USNR, flight instructor at NAS, Ottumwa, Iowa, points out maneuver to Cadet D. Ripperger, USNR, seated in N2S." Caption on Negative Sleeve: "Lieut. (j.g.) Robert J. Smith, USNR, of Watkins Glen, NY, a flight instructor at the US Naval Air Station, Ottumwa, Iowa, points a maneuver to Cadet Dwayne Ripperger, Afton, Iowa, after returning from a flight.".

Fire Suppression: Aerial Slurry Drops - Washington. Photographs Relating to National Forests, Resource Management Practices, Personnel, and Cultural and Economic History

Changing Casettes of the Orpheus Pod under a Lockheed F-104G Starfighter of 306 Squadron.

Fort Bragg, North Carolina , Helicopters, Tichnor Brothers Collection, postcards of the United States

DF-SN-85-02813. Base: Eglin Air Force Base State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

A fuel tank is moved into position to be loaded aboard an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. Base: Flesland Air Station Country: Norway (NOR)

DN-SC-04-12502. Base: San Diego State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

An Airman First Class gives a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II of the 32 TFS, on the Soesterberg airbase, a sign during the taxiing.

Departure ceremony for Sukarno, President of Indonesia, 3:40PM. President John F. Kennedy watches a United States Marine Corps helicopter (carrying President of Indonesia, Ahmed Sukarno) prepare for lift off from the South Lawn, White House, Washington, D.C.

4191-V111118538

DN-SN-89-10511. Base: Naval Air Station, Pensacola State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

One Step Nearer to Safety. With Lieut. Walter Bolton, USCG, at the controls, the Coast Guard helicopter has just arrived at Wolf Lake, bringing one more survivor from the scene of the Belgian airliner disaster of September 18, 1946. From this point on Wolf Lake, a waiting Coast Guard PBY will fly the injured woman to Gander Field, where hospitalization and renewed hope are waiting. The "Miracle Rescue at Gander" was signalized throughout with smoothness of coordinated effort between the ground rescue team, headed by Captain Samuel Martin of the Army Medical Corps and the various aviation personnel of the Coast Guard who flew the helicopters and the PBY's in and out of the Newfoundland wilds.

An Army UH-1 Iroquois helicopter takes off to transport "casualties" to a local hospital as part of Exercise Wounded Eagle '82. Subject Operation/Series: WOUNDED EAGLE '82 Base: Norton Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)