STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 270+ B-17s and B-24s attack marshalling yards at Graz, Austria; Szombathely, Sopron, Nagycenk, Hegyeshalom, and the town of Zalaegerszey, Hungary; Maribor, Yugoslavia; and Bratislava, and Devinska Nova Ves, Czechoslovakia, plus scattered targets of opportunity; P-51s and P-38s escort the bombers, cover Royal Air Force (...
STRATEGIC OPERATIONS (Fifteenth Air Force): 192 B-24s and B-17s bomb the Blechhammer S oil refinery in Germany and the town of Prerov, Czechoslovakia, a target of opportunity; 284 others encounter bad weather and attack several alternate targets and targets of opportunity in Czechoslovakia including the town of Zlin and marshalling yards at Brno, Hodonin, and Br...
On December 27, 1944 the POWs that survived the attacks on the Oryoku Maru were loaded into the cargo holds of two ships - the Enoura Maru and the Brazil Maru - for the voyage to Takao, Formosa where they arrived on December 31, 1944. On January 6, 1945 the Japanese consolidated all surviving POWs into the holds of the Enoura Maru. On January 9, 1945 the Enoura Maru was still in the harbor at T...
Captain T. A. Roberts flew sortie #2032 over Jülich, northeast of Aachen, on the afternoon of December 16, 1944. Earlier that morning about 50 miles to the southeast, the Wehrmacht had launched a massive offensive through the Ardennes forest and ignited what came to be known as the Battle of the Bulge.
33rd PRS sortie #2121 of January 1, 1945 over Münster flown by Captain John G. Austin.
The prominent three-pronged area in the foreground is the Schlossgarten, part of the grounds of the 18th century Schloss, a large palace originally built as a Roman Catholic episcopal residence. It later became the home of the University of Münster (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster). ...
This unlabeled bomb damage assessment photo from a 33rd Photo Recon Squadron mission shows a portion of the 30-square-mile section of the German city of Eschweiler located behind the Siegfried Line. It was bombed by the 8th Air Force in November 1944 before being overrun by US infantry a few days later.
A recon photo of the German city of Düren taken as part of sortie 33/2032 of December 16, 1944, flown by Captain T. A. Roberts of the 33rd Photo Recon Squadron. Located on the east bank of the Roer River, the city was a center of fierce fighting during the Battle of the Bulge, which began on the day this photo was taken.
All photographs were taken on 18 April 1945, one day after the last big raid on the city.
Dresden was both an important garrison as well as a centre of military industry during the Second World War. The bombing of Dresden by the Royal Air Force and by the United States Army Air Force between February 13 and February 15, 1945, remains one of the more controversial Allied actions o...
Aerial view of the Dubová refinery, taken on August 20, 1944 before the bombing, which started at 10:48.
460+ B-24s and B-17s, some fighter-escorted, bomb the airfield and marshalling yard at Szolnok, Hungary and oil refineries at Dubova, Czechoslovakia, and Czechowice and Auschwitz, Poland.
Anglo-American bombers of 15th US Army Air Force from their airbases in south Italy bombed oil refinery in Dubová. They destroyed fuel depots that were included in plans for insurrection. Depots were bombed regardless of dispatch send to London by Ján Golian asking not to bomb Dubová and Podbrezová.
Dubová refinery, the centre of Slovakia's petrochemical industry, was 50-60% des...
Military aid for the armed insurgent forces came from the American strategic Air Force on September 13, 1944. From September 10, 1944, they registered an increased movement of German transports at the Vrútky railway station. This increase in activity was due to the transferrence of soldiers and military material from the German 1008th and the 1009th Battalions for the support of the 178th Divis...
Juno Beach stretched from Ver-sur-Mer to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, it was the landing area of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division under General Keller. In Courseulles-sur-Mer the Germans had fortified the mouth of the river Seulles. On 6 June 1944, at 7:45 am the amphibious tanks of the 1st Hussars were launched in the ocean three kilome...
On 6 June 1944, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division commanded by General Keller landed in Normandy on Juno Beach. At 8:05 am, the Queen's Own Rifles Regiment set foot on this Norman beach in bad conditions : the amphibious tanks were late, and the preliminary artillery bombing left intact the German defences. The machine-guns and the weapons...
The special tanks opened a breach in the Atlantic Wall
On 6 June 1944, the North Shore Regiment of the 5th Canadian Brigade landed in Normandy on Juno Beach. They fought against a regiment of the 716th German Infantry Division. The Company A progression was easy west of Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer while the Company B hit many obstacles. The support of the Fort Garry Horse amphibious tan...
The aerial photo shows the sectors Nan Green and Nan White at the canadian landing beach.
Juno is the codename for the beach assigned to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Right in the middle of the britsh sector, between Gold to the west and Sword to the east, this beach is 7km long and located between the villages of Graye-sur-Mer and St-Aubin-sur-Mer.
Historical interest - archive WWII air photo matching surviving relic structures. Although no longer physically visible on the ground, the surviving runway layout is clearly visible from the air - enhanced by the dry conditions - and ties in well to the WWII imagery.
On 25 June the Group returned to Paris and again lost one to the vicious flak over that city. The B-24 (44-40129) flown by 1st Lt. Marvin W. Butler of the 855th took a direct burst in the bomb bay and broke in two just aft of the wing. "The tail section floated down slow and easy like a big box kite," but nobody saw any chutes.
VIII Bomber Command Mission 49:
97 B-17's of the 1st Bombardment Wing are dispatched against industrial installations in the Paris, France area including the Renault armament works and motor works. 85 aircraft drop 251 tons of bombs on the target between 1414 and 1417 local and cause severe damage. We claim 47-13-6 Luftwaffe aircraft; we lose 4 B-17s and 16 ...
In Italy during the night of 23/24 Feb, A-20s bomb marshalling yards, including those at Castelfranco Veneto, Rovereto, Villafranca di Verona, and Legnago, and airfields at Villafranca di Verona, Ghedi, and Bergamo; medium bombers bomb rail lines, bridges, bridge approaches, and fills at Bozzolo, Santa Margherita d'Adige, San Michele all'Adige, Pizzighetone, and...
The first air raid of the Bulgarian capital was carried out on 14 November 1943 by 91 B-25 Mitchell bombers. 47 buildings and structures were destroyed, 59 civilians and military men were killed and over 128 were injured.
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