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World War II Aircraft and Personnel

Images of military pilots and technicians working on aircraft during World War II, showcasing their dedication and the machines that played crucial roles.

Camera technician at work on camera in nose of Lockheed P-38. CORSICA. 7 August 1945.

Aircraft, Burma, India &PHOTOGRAPHY, CAMERAS,STILL War

First man in the European theatre to destroy four German planes in one day while flying a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter is 1st Lt. Quince L. Brown, Jr. of Bristow, Oklahoma. (He's pictured here with his dog, right next to his plane insignia

Capt. Edward H. Brewer, San Diego, Calif., Commanding Officer Of The 444Th Squadron, 320Th Bg, Pilot Of The Martin B-26 Marauder That Crash Landed At Nettuno Airfield, Nettuno, Italy, Poses Before The Plane'S Hatch. 19 Feb. 1944.

Camera technician at work on camera in nose of Lockheed P-38. CORSICA. 7 August 1945.

Major Charles C. Leaf, 411 Thornton St., S. Orange, Nj, Veteran Squadron Commander Of A Republic P-47 Thunderbolt Fighter Bomber Outfit, Flew His 175Th Mission, And Had The Distinction Of Dropping Some Of The First Bombs On Southern France In Support Of T

1st Lt. H.A. Blood examining ammunition being loaded into the Lockheed P-38 "BABE" of the 14th Fighter Group.

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group, On The Wing Of His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Air Base Somewhere In Italy.

Lt Mectintosh Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group, Seated On The Wing Of His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Airfield Somewhere In Italy.

A pilot of the 90th Photographic Reconnaissance Wing, poses in the cockpit of his Lockheed F-5 at an air base somewhere in North Africa.

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fs, 1St Fg, Seated In The Cockpit Of A Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Airfield Somewhere In Italy.

Lt. Dufresne, Pilot, And Ground Crew Of The North American P-51 Mustang "Mustang" Of The 20Th Fighter Group In England.

ENGLAND-Sgt. Arthur Dwyer of Boston, Mass., shown working on the engine of his B-24, is one of the many thousands of ground crew personnel who have become the unsung heroes of the Air forces by giving all they have to keep them flying.

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.

Few Flying Men Have As Much To Forget -- Or Remember -- As Capt. Donald Willis Of Marion, Ind. At The Beginning Of The War He Joined The Finnish Air Force And Has Since Flown With The Raf, Norway And The Usaf 2Nd Eagle Squadron. Here He Leans On The Pro

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group Poses In The Cockpit Of His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Airfield Somewhere In Italy.

Aircraft, Burma, India &CREWS,FIGHTER War

Lt. Anthony Evans, 785 Exchange St., Akron, Ohio, P-38 Lightning Pilot, 14Th Fighter Group, 5Th Wing, Of Major General Jummy Doolittle'S Northwest African Strategic Air Force, Who Has Just Completed His Allotted Fifty Combat Missions. He Is A Member Of T

Sgt. Turske Of Minneapolis, Minnesota Taking Curtis P-40 Apart To Make A Pulpit Out Of It. Kunming, China.

Colonel T. Alan Bennett And Major C.H. Yaun, Group Commanding Officers Of A Fighter Group Of The Chinese American Composite Wing, And Major W.L. Turner Discuss Operations While Standing By A Curtiss P-40 At An Air Base Somewhere In China.

Paul J. Slocum of the 49th Fighter Group beside his plane at an air base somewhere in New Guinea.

1940s PORTRAIT SMILING MAN AVIATOR PILOT STANDING BY BIPLANE WEARING CANVAS FLYING SUIT HELMET GOGGLES AND PARACHUTE

Aircraft, Burma, India & INDIA,CREWS War

Men Of The 340Th Bomb Group Based In Italy Sweep Out And Repair Planes Damaged During The Eruption Of Mt. Vesuvius On 23 March 1944.

The first parachuting medics to arrive at the scene of the crashed Douglas C-47 in Cathedral Valley, near Cold Bay in Alaskan Peninsula, return to their home base at Elmendorf Field in a 54th Troop Carrier C-47. They are, left to right: PFC Robert N.

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group, Stands On His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Air Base Somewhere In Italy.

During a dive bombing mission over Troina, Sicily, one of the North American A-36's was shot in the right horizontal stabilizer by a 20 mm. shell. The operation of the plane became very difficult, but F.O.D.L. Gosset of Arendia, S.C., made a

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group, Poses In The Cockpit Of His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Air Base Somewhere In Italy.

U.S. flyers in Russia. Senior Lt. Michols Holovars of the Red Air Force and Lt. George Call of Waco, Texas, talking beneath the chin turret of Call's B-17, whose 19th misison (see bombs painted on nose) had just brought it direct from Italy to the

Air Marshall Sir Basil Embry. Co Fighter Command RAF arriving at Richmond. April 24, 1953. (Photo by Gordon Herbert Short/Fairfax Media).

Italy - 1St Lt. Fred L. Engelking, Abbotsford, Wisc., Who Flew Gen. De Gaulle From North Africa To France, Signs His Name Near The Free French Insignia Painted On The Plane.

Cpl. Harold L. Johnson, Jamestown, New York, And Cpl. Herbert W. Groening, Cleveland, Ohio, Repair The Motor Mount For The New Motor To Be Put Into The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" "Stella" Which Crash Landed In A Field At Nr. Bournemouth, Hants, England

CHALK UP THREE-8th AF fighter pilot Lt. Frank A. Cutler of Cleveland, Ohio, holds up three fingers, indicating the triple victory he scored in the greatest bombing attack ever carried out against Nazi fighter production plants 20 February. The 23

Major Willis Taylor, (left) command pilot, of Salt Lake City, Utah, congratulated Major Charles Hudson, lead bombardier of the U.S. 8th AF 91st Bomb Group, from Bakersfield, Caliofrnia on the results of his group's bombing of the railway center

Capt. A. Crim Of Miami, Florida, Who Was High Man On The Day'S Escort Mission Over Tokyo, Japanesean, Describes The Flight To Brig. General Ernest M. Moore And Mahor Dewitt Spain Of Memphis, Tenn. Capt. Crim Shot Down Two Enemy Planes, 7 April 1945. Iwo Jima,

Technical Inspector And Line Chief Work On The Engine Of A Vultee L-5 Of The 163Rd Liaison Squadron Attached To The 10Th Army. The Plane Has Just Been Uncrated At Cub Field No. 7 On Okinawa, Ryukyu Retto, After Shipment From Hawaii. 1945.

Field Move Wenzel black.

Sgt. Robert F. Hahn, Rochester, New York, nose turret gunner on a 15th AAF Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber, examines a hole made by a 20 mm shell from a German fighter. The shell proved to be a dud, and did not explode after penetrating the

The Commanding Officer of one of the oldest fighter groups in the Mediterranean Theatre, Col. Charles M. McCorkle, 825 Old Austin Road, San Antonio, Texas, is shown here sitting in the Swastika bordered cockpit of his plane, each Nazi emblem means

Colonel Paul Tibbets, pilot of the B-29 Enola Gay. Charged with dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, 6th August 1945.

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943. Flying Officer J H Lapsley sitting in the cockpit of his Hawker Hurricane Mark I at Amriya, shortly after shooting down three Savoia Marchetti SM-79s which were attacking British naval vessels bombarding Bardia and Capuzzo on 17 August 1940. Lapsley was a member of 'A' Flight of No. 80 Squadron RAF, which was equipped with Hurricanes for the defence of Alexandria. On 19 August, these aircraft and a number of pilots from 80 Squadron, including Lapsley, became a forming element of No. 274 Squadron RAF at Amriya. This photograph may well have been taken after Lapsley (who was to score a further eight victories with his new unit) had been thus transferred.

Paratrooper Cpl. Joe E. Oleskiewicz, 6 Hoosac St., Adams, Mass., bedecked in his war paint takes his jumper's stance, mindful of his unit's motto, "If we can't shoot them, we'll scare um." Somewhere in England.

2Nd Lt. William H. Johnson Of Decatur, Miss., Stands By His Boeing B-17 'Martha 2Nd' After Returning To His Base At Essex, England From A Mission. Lt. Johnson Is Bombardier On The Plane. 15 December 1943.

FRANCE-Once a jockey for one horse--now a groom for 2,200. That't S/Sgt. Ray O. Miller of Colorado Springs, Colo. before the war, he was a free-lance jockey in Mexico for two years. Now in the "Thunderbird" Republic P-47 Fighter Group, he is a crew

Tight Squeak For Republic P-47 Pilot Lt. Ellis Wallenberg Of A 7Th Aaf Fighter Squadron In The Ryukyu Retto, Was This Freak Hit By A Japanese 20 Mm. Shell Through The Blade Of His Thunderbolt Propeller. His Wife, Betty Joe, Lives At 2309 Plum St., Parkersburg

S/Sgt. John L. Austin Of Shreveport, Louisina, Side Gunner On A Boeing B-29 Of The 444Th Bomb Group, Peering Into Cloudy Skies For Sight Of Japanese Interception, En Route To Anschan, Manchuria. The Plane Took Off From A 20Th Bomber Command Base In China.

Flight Surgeon, Capt. Carl B. Smith, Of 163Rd Liaison Squadron, Checks Diagnosis Tag Of Wounded Soldier Prepatory To Transfer Of Wounded Men To Ambulance. Wounded Man Has Chest Wound And Is Aided In Breathing By Aviator's Oxygen Mask And Supply Bottle Fa

Aircraft, Burma, India &Troops &Paratroops

Royal Air Force- 1939-1945- Coastal Command A Dutch air gunner in the turret of an Anson of No 320 Squadron at Carew Cheriton, near Pembroke Dock, in August 1940.

A Member Of The 379Th Bomb Group Salutes After Receiving The Purple Heart During A Ceremony At An Airbase Somewhere In England. 20 August 1943.

Royal Air Force- Italy,the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. Watched by his rigger (left), a pilot of No. 352 Squadron, the first operational Yugoslav unit in the RAF, signs the aircraft serviceability form for his Supermarine Spitfire Mark VC on the tailplane of the aircraft, before taking off on the unit's first operation. Note the Yugoslav national marking, consisting of a red star superimposed on the white portion of RAF tail stripe.

Captain Kolb Of The 350Th Fighter Squadron, 353Rd Fighter Group Poses Beside His North American P-51 "Baby-Duck" At An Airbase In England.

1930s 1940s ANONYMOUS MAN STANDING ON WING OF AIRPLANE ABOUT TO STEP DOWN OR JUMP OFF HIS HAND ON RIPCORD RING

Lt. H.K. Bulkley plane

Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Coastal Command The only crew in Coastal Command to sink two U-boats in one sortie was that of Flying Officer Kenneth Owen Moore, a Canadian serving with No 224 Squadron. 'Kayo' Moore, seen here on the right with his bomb aimer Warrant Officer Johnston 'Jock' McDowell, achieved this dramatic feat on the night of 7/8 June 1944, when flying a 'Cork' patrol over the Western end of the Channel.

Lt. /Col. Leon Gray, Operations Officer of the 3rd Photo Group during the Tunisian, Pantalleria and Sicilian campaigns standing in front of his F-5 Photo-recon plane. He rolled up a total of 73 missions before being returned to the U.S. From Oct.

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

U.S. Airmen Who Foiled Japanese -- Three airmen of the U.S. Army air Force in the China-Burma-India theater congratulate each other on a daring exploit. Lieut. Malvin Kimball (center) shakes hands with Capt. Charles Colwell, who spotted Kimball's planed behind the Japanese lines after Kimball was forced down on a flight from India to China. Colwell, who was returning from a strafing mission in Burma, radioed fore help and then circled above the spot until while Lieut. Ira M. Sussky (left) landed in a light training plane and brought Kimbell to safety. January 1, 1943.

Air Ministry Second World War Official Collection

Colonel William H. Blanchard, C.O. Of The 20Th Bomber Command's 40Th Bomb Group Talking With Major Mallory, Pilot Of Boeing B-29 #395, Before The Raid On Bangkok, Thailand, 27 November 1944. China

Royal Air Force Operations in the Middle East and North Africa, 1939-1943 Major X F Varvaresos, Commanding Officer of No. 335 (Hellenic) Squadron RAF, standing in front of a Hawker Hurricane Mark I of the Squadron, embellished with the colours of the Royal Hellenic Air Force, at Aqir, Palestine.

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.

Digitally restored vector artwork of Eddie Rickenbacker standing next his fighter plane. During WW1, Eddie flew 300 combat hours, had 26 air victories, and earned the Medal of Honor.

A Royal Air Force pilot assists a U.S. Air Force pilot aboard an aircraft during an RAF visit to the base. Base: Spangdahlem Air Base State: Rheinland-Pfalz Country: Deutschland / Germany (DEU)

Flight deck crew members watch as an F-14A Tomcat aircraft prepares to catch the arresting wire on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV 67) during FLEET EX 1-90. Subject Operation/Series: FLEET EX 1-90 Base: USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) Country: Atlantic Ocean (AOC)

2Nd Lt. Harry R. Stengle And 2Nd Lt. James M. Mcnulty, Jr. Pose By A Plane After A Mission On Which They Brought Down A German Junker Ju 88 Over Iceland On 24 April 1943. Reykjavik Airport, Iceland, 2 May 1943.

Japan: Lt. Zenji Abe, Japanese bomber pilot, preparing to attack Pearl Harbour on board the Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier Akagi, 7 December 1941

"Bombers For Britain" U.S. Super-Forts Here -- Air Vice Marshal C.E.M. Guest, welcomes members of a Superfort's air crew, as they arrive at Scampton, Lincs. to-day (Saturday). United States' Airforce Superfortresses (B.29's) of the 28th and 307th medium bomb groups have arrived in Lincolnshire (to-day Saturday) from the U.S.A. engaged in "normal long-range flight training". The planes are expected to stay in Britain about a month and Waddington in Lincolnshire and Marham in Norfolk. July 17, 1948. (Photo by Reuterphoto).

Second Lieutenant kite W. Bakker, born in 1911.

From His Position In The Plexi-Glass Dome Of A Mobile Control Tower, Sgt. R.B. Smith Of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Has An Unobstruted View Of 360 Degrees. Here, Sgt. Smith Talks, Via Radio, To The Pilot Of A 91St Bomb Group Plane Coming In For A Landing At

Riding a 500-pound demolition bomb to keep it steady on the end of a crane, is Cpl. Lloyd Shumway, Istrouma, La., Ordnance armament man at a USAAF North American P-51 Mustang fighter station in England. The bomb is one of two being slung

Capt. James H. Verinis of New Haven, Connecticut, co-pilot on the "MEMPHIS BELLE" with "Stuka", the plane's mascot, at an airbase in England. 9 June 1943.

A Pilot Of The 94Th Fighter Squadron, 1St Fighter Group, Sits In The Cockpit Of His Lockheed P-38 Lightning At An Air Base Somewhere In Italy.

Lt. Colonel Gabreski And Crew Chief, S/Sgt. Ralph Safford, Ionia, Mich. Ass'T Crew Chief Schacki In Background.

DN-SN-88-06056. Country: Philippines (PHL)

Loading a headache for enemy fighters into the lower turret of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress at an advanced North African air base are (left to right): S/Sgt. Edward A. Casaceli, Brooklyn, N.Y.; S/Sgt. Kenneth C. Finnegan, Richmond Hill, L.I., N.Y.

M/Sgt. Fishlin And Ground Crew Members Repair Engine On A 401St Bomb Group Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" At An 8Th Air Force Base In England, 25 March 1945.

M61-00007 (1961) --- Astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. in the cockpit of a T-106.

Winston Churchill during the Second World War in the Middle East Winston Churchill steps out of a Lockheed Lodestar aircraft after arriving in the Alamein area on 7 August 1942.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Inspection travel General P.L.G. Doorman (September-October 1946). Pilot looks out of cockpit plane. September 1946. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies

S/Sgt. Clarence M. Baumgartner, tail gunner from Evansville, Indiana, checks his guns before take-off on a mission from his base somewhere in North Africa. 29 July 1943.

Smokejumpers: In Action - Washington. Photographs Relating to National Forests, Resource Management Practices, Personnel, and Cultural and Economic History

A man stands at aircraft TP 83 A military holds a stethoscope against aircraft TP 83 from F 17 Kallinge at stopover during flight to Turkey, 1955.

Anefo photo collection. Repro Marvo 490319. August 3, 1949

Lt. Martin H. Johnson, Jr., of Scott St., ofrt Worth, Texas, announcing the destruction of three Nazi airplanes in enemy-occupied France. Johnson, after escorting the AAF's heavy bombers got all three of his victims on the ground on his way home

Sgt. Giovanni Longo, 92 Haywood Street, Milford, Mass., Keeps Busy Supplying His Two Pet Italian Magpie Friends With Cigarettes. 'De Boids' As Longo Calls His Magpies, Are Named 'Dot' And 'Dash' Because Their Master Is A Radio Maintenance Man In A Consol

Indian Springs, Nevada , Nuclear weapons testing, Airplanes, Measuring, Civil defense. Records of the Office of Civil Defense and Defense Mobilization

With the Fleet Air Arm - Malta Gc. Sub Lieut (A) R Kemp of Oxford, 21, was taking Modern Language at Queen's College Oxford, he has been with the Fleet Air Arm 2 1/2 years, 9 months of that in the Western Desert.

RAF Bomber Command 1940 The pilot of a Whitley bomber gives the 'thumbs up', 29 August 1940.

A Member Of The United States Army Air Force Fighter Squadron That Destroyed Seventy-Two Japaneseanese Planes In Aerial Combat In New Guinea From June 1, 1942 To January 8, 1943 Shortly Sfter The Fall Of Buna Mission, Is Shown Here. He Is Second Lietenant Car

Keeping Fit The U.S. Air Force -- There aircraft are X-Rayed. Roy J. Petterson, of Van Neuys, California, an X-Ray specialist, making on examination of the damaged wing of a Fortress bomber. The mobile unit generates its own power, and Walter E. Smith. of Birmingham, Alabama, an X-Ray technician, is seen at the regulator (left).Behind the U.S.A.A.F. in its invasion of the Continent is the Vast organisation of the Base Air Depots, Air Service Command, where plane are assembled, refitted and maint

Royal Air Force- Operations Over Albania and in Greece, 1940-1941. A wireless operator/air gunner mans his Vickers K gun in the turret of an RAF Bristol Blenheim Mk I at Menidi/Tatoi, Greece, November 1940.

Two kites at a Lockheed T-33A radius trainer, Eindhoven airbase.

Portrait of a fighter pilot standing near a military aircraft

Apollo 17 Lunar Module Pilot Harrison H. Schmitt waves to ground crew personnel as he prepares to fly a T-38 jet aircraft today on a training flight over the Spaceport are to sharpen his flying skills.

Photo collection Service for army contacts Indonesia. DLC Visit Minister Romme to Grote Oost Makassar, Menado, Ambon, Flores, Surabaya. Surabaya. Pilot at a fighter plane. 1 February 1947. Indonesia, Dutch East Indies, Surabaya

Anefo photo collection. Water shortage 1953 .. Post is unloaded from a Sikorsky S 51 Helicopter at Zierikzee. February 5, 1953. Zeeland, Zierikzee

021206-M-3031H-019. Country: United States Of America (USA)

Asian Pilot. Louis Fleckenstein, photographer (American, 1866 - 1943) 1907-1943

Helmet And Face Protector. 303Rd Bomb Group. 4 Dec. 1943.

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