B-24D Liberator of 308th Bomb Group Passes P-40Ks of 23rd Fighter Group

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Date: Wednesday, 10 February 1943
Place: Kunming, Yunnan, China
Photographer: Unknown

Consolidated B-24D-25-CO Liberator of 308th Bomb Group passes P-40K Warhawks of 23rd Fighter Group on its way to attack Japanese targets. Both groups were part of the 14th Air Force, created from the American Volunteer Group, the famed "Flying Tigers" under Brigadier General Claire L. Chennault on March 10, 1943. In his memoirs, Chennault praised the 308th: "They took the heaviest combat losses of any Group in China and often broke my heart by burning thousands of gallons of gas only to dump their bombs in rice paddy mud far from the target. However, their bombing of Vinh railroad shops in Indo-China, the Kowloon and Kai Tak docks at Hong Kong, and the shipping off Saigon were superb jobs unmatched anywhere. When the Army Air Force Headquarters in Washington tallied the bombing accuracy of every bomb group in combat, I was astonished to find that the 308th led them all." Before the 23d Fighter Group returned to the United States in December 1945, it accounted for the destruction of 621 enemy planes in air combat, plus 320 more on the ground. It sank more than 131,000 tons of enemy shipping and damaged another 250,000 tons. It caused an estimated enemy troop loss of more than 20,000. These statistics were compiled through a total of more than 24,000 combat sorties, requiring more than 53,000 flying hours, and at a cost of 110 aircraft lost in aerial combat, 90 shot down by surface defenses and 28 bombed while on the ground. Photo taken sometime between February 10 and September 1943. 

Source:

NARA (National Archives) Identifier 535780.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liberator_bomber_crosses_the_P-40_fighter_planes.jpg

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1048

P-40E Warhawk of 11th Fighter Squadron

Image size: 1270 x 1600 pixel. 521 KB
Date: Friday, 1 May 1942
Place: Dutch Harbor, Alaska, United States
Photographer: Unknown

Curtiss P-40E "Warhawk" with "Aleutian Tiger" markings of the United States Army Air Corps 11th Air Force, 28th Composite Group, 11th Fighter Squadron. Commanded by USAAC Major Jack Chennault, the 11th Fighter Squadron arrived in Anchorage, Alaska in January 1942. A secret airfield was built on the island of Umnak near the strategic base at Dutch Harbor, and on June 2-3, 1942, Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero-Sen fighters and Aichi D3A Type 99 dive bombers began bombing both the airfield and Dutch Harbor. 11th Fighter Squadron P-40Es rose to meet the invaders, and shot down five Japanese aircraft. One was recovered almost intact and provided the Allies with important technical information about the Japanese Zero. 

Source:

Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID fsa.8b08001

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:P-40_Warhawk.jpg

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1026

Pilots of Tuskegee Airmen Discusses Air Action Over Anzio

Image size: 1600 x 1102 pixel. 476 KB
Date: Friday, 28 January 1944
Place: Naples, Campania, Italy
Photographer: Unknown

In front of a Curtiss P-40L Warhawk, pilots of the segregated 99th Fighter Squadron, at the time of this photo attached to the 79th Fighter Group, discuss the action of January 27-28, 1944, over the Nettuno/Anzio beachhead. In sustained air attacks, German fighter-bombers attempted to destroy the transports unloading on the beach. Despite the fact that their P-40Ls were nearing obsolescence and some 80 miles slower than the Focke-Wulf FW-190s they were engaging, the 99th shot down some eleven Germans over the two-day period! Shown discussing the engagements are, left to right: Lieutenant (later Major) Herbert V. Clark (March 16, 1919-January 25, 2003) of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Tuskegee class 42-F-SE. He was shot down over Ober Raderach Chemical Works, Germany, on August 16, 1944. Clark evaded capture and led a band of Italian partisans until he rejoined the 99th on May 7, 1945. Lieutenant (later Major) Leon C. Roberts (1921-July 11, 1944) of Prichard, Alabama, class 42-G-SE. On January 27, 1944, Roberts shot down one FW-190 over Anzio; the plane could have gotten away but turned to fight Roberts, who compensated for his Curtiss P-40L's lower speed with superior gunnery skills. One of three Tuskegee Airmen on the first air-to-air combat action on June 9, 1943, which resulted in no losses to either side. Killed in Action when his P-51C (#42-103913) lost oxygen and spun in. At the time, Roberts was the 99th's Operations Officer and the last original member, with 116 missions. His twin brother was an instrument instructor at Tuskegee. Lieutenant Willie H. Fuller (August 2, 1919-January 15, 1995) of Tarboro, North Carolina, class 42-G-SE, completed 70 missions with the 99th. Lieutenant (later Colonel) William Ayers Campbell (1917- ) of Tuskegee, Alabama, class 42-F-SE. On June 2, 1943, Campbell dropped the first bomb by a Tuskegee Airman on Axis forces. Shot down a Messerschmitt Me-109 while mounted in a P-51 on March 31, 1945. Stayed in the United States Air Force after the war. Lieutenant (later Lieutenant Colonel) Herbert E. Carter (September 27, 1919- ) of Amory, Mississippi, class 42-F-SE. Even with the responsibilities of Aircraft Maintenance Officer for the 99th, Carter flew 77 combat missions. He also stayed in the United States Air Force after the war. Lieutenant Erwin B. Lawrence (1919-October 4, 1944) of Cleveland, Ohio, class 42-F-SE. Killed in action over Tatoi, Greece when his P-51 struck a barrage cable on what was supposed to be his last mission. At the time of his death he was the commander of the 99th. The last man is unidentified. The 99th was joined into the 332nd Fighter Group, a segregated unit, in May 1944. The original caption said: "Negro members of this squadron, veterans of the North African and Sicilian campaigns, were formerly classmates at a university in the southern U.S."

Source:

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) NWDNS-208-MO-18H-22051 

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0016