The crew of B-29 Superfortress 42-24598 "Waddy's Wagon"

Image size: 1600 x 1289 pixel. 684 KB
Date: Friday, 24 November 1944
Place: Isley Field, Saipan, Marianas
Photographer: Unknown

The crew of B-29 Superfortress 42-24598 "Waddy's Wagon", 20th Air Force, 73rd Bomb Wing, 497th Bomb Group, 869th Bomb Squadron, the fifth B-29 to take off on the first Tokyo mission from Saipan on November 24, 1944, and first to land back at Isley Field after bombing the target. Crew members, posing here to duplicate their caricatures on the plane, are : Plane Commander, Captain Walter R. "Waddy" Young, Ponca City, Oklahoma, former All-American end; Lieutenant Jack H. Vetters, Corpus Christi, Texas, pilot; Lieutenant John F. Ellis, Moberly, Missouri, bombardier; Lieutenant Paul R. Garrison, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, navigator; Sergeant George E. Avon, Syracuse, New York, radio operator; Lieutenant Bernard S. Black, Woodhaven, New York, Flight Engineer; Sergeant Kenneth M. Mansie of Randolph, Maine, Flight Technician; and gunners - Sargeants Lawrence L. Lee of Max, North Dakota; Wilbur J. Chapman of Panhandle, Texas; Corbett L. Carnegie, Grindstone Island, New York; and Joseph J. Gatto, Falconer, New York. All were killed when "Waddy's Wagon" was shot down attempting to guide a crippled B-29 back to safety during a mission against the Nakajima aircraft factory in Musashino, Japan on January 9, 1945. 

Source:

National Archives (NARA) Identifier 292576

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Force_personnel_%5Eamp,_equipment._The_Pacific,_England,_Wash._DC._1942-44_%28mostly_1943%29_-_NARA_-_292576.jpg

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1017

Crew of C-47 "Early Delivery"

Image size: 1289 x 1600 pixel. 638 KB
Date: Sunday, 14 February 1943
Place: New Guinea
Photographer: Unknown

Crew of the "Early Delivery" tail number 41-38658 that supply the ground forces in New Guinea with equipment and foodstuffs. They are members of the USAAF's 5th Air Force, 347th Troop Carrier Group, 33rd Troop Carrier Squadron. This aircraft arrived in Australia on January 9, 1943, was assigned RAAF tail code VH-CGN and then was sent to Port Moresby. Left to right: Second Lieutenant Preston Holden, pilot, of West Union, West Virginia; Second Lieutenant John W. Foltz, pilot of Lima, Ohio; Corporal Emil W. Erickson, engineer, of Middle River, Minn.; and Private Clifford C. Fawn, radio operator, of Lewis Center, Ohio. On February 6, 1943, "Early Delivery" was one of three C-47s that took off from Jackson Air Base (7-Mile), Port Moresby at 0920 Hours on a routine flight to Wau. While the flight was circling Wau preparing to land, it was attacked by a number of enemy aircraft. The other two C-47s evaded them and landed, "Early Delivery" was shot down by Zeros and was missing in action. Discovered in August 1988 by Grant Malensek, a Canadian geologist with Australian mining company CRA Explorations. Crew remains were recovered by a team from Central Identification Laboratory Hawaii (CILHI) in 1989. 

Source:

National Archives (NARA) Identifier 292572

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Force_personnel_%5Eamp,_equipment._The_Pacific,_England,_Wash._DC._1942-44_%28mostly_1943%29_-_NARA_-_292572.jpg

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii1016

Crew of B-17G "Flatbush Floogie" is Captured Near Schillig, Germany

Image size: 1600 x 1067 pixel. 331 KB
Date: Tuesday, 11 April 1944
Place: Schillig, Niedersachsen, Germany
Photographer: Kriegsberichter Vorlander from PK-Atlantik

The crew of Boeing B-17G-40-BO Flying Fortress 42-97083 "Flatbush Floogie" of the 8th Air Force, 45th Combat Bombardment Wing (Heavy), 3rd Bombardment Division, 452nd Bomb Group, 728th Bomb Squadron, are arrested by Luftwaffe personnel from the Jever airdrome near Schillig, Germany on April 11, 1944. On a mission to Rostock, "Flatbush Floogie" lost her left elevator to flak en route to the target. After the bomb run, she was hit again, causing a fire in her Number 1 engine and Number 2 to smoke. The Engineer, Technical Sergeant Lee A. Varner (March 24, 1914 - March 8, 1992), was on the flight deck attempting to help the command crew feather the props when a flak burst caught his face and shrapnel entered his eye. The pilot, First Lieutenant Thomas Leonard Gardner (January 16, 1917 - July 15, 2002) made it over the North Sea before realizing that they couldn't make it home. He turned back. "Flatbush Floogie" impacted on the mud flats near Schillig, 27 kilometers north-northwest of Bermerhaven. While the wreck was in no danger of sinking, tidal forces quickly saturated the aircraft with sand, and the Germans broke up the wreck in situ. All ten crew members survived, as you can see them in this view. Initially they were held at Jever Air Base before being interrogated. Gardner can be seen talking to the Germans on the far left; from Stockton, California, he enlisted on January 5, 1942 at Stockton Field, California. Gardner was interned in Stag Luft I outside of Barth, Germany. His Co-Pliot, Second Lieutenant Carl Lewis West, Jr. (February 27, 1919 - May 19, 2007) was from Bridgeton, New Jersey. West Enlisted On June 20, 1942 In Fort Dix, New Jersey and was also interned in Stalag Luft I. Bombardier Second Lieutenant Jack Ralston Bonham (March 4, 1921 - August 20, 1973) was from Bluefield, West Virginia and enlisted On April 1, 1943, in Charleston, Virginia. Bonham trained In Midland, Texas in class 43-05 and was also interned in Stalag Luft I. Bonham was possibly the tall man in the center of this view as Army induction records his height at six foot four inches (1.93 meters). "Flatbush Floogie's" Navigator, Second Lieutenant Jacob R. Brown (August 5, 1920 - October 9, 2005) was from Houston, Texas. Brown enlisted On August 14, 1942 at Harlingen Army Air Force Base in Harlingen, Texas. All the officers were interned together in the North 1 Compound at Stalag Luft I. Engineer Varner was taken away from Jever for medical care but another bombing mission the next day prevented the Germans from bringing him to a doctor. He lost his sight permanently in one eye. Varner was from Hamilton, Montana and enlisted on January 20, 1942 In Missoula, Montana. Varner and the rest of the crew were interned separately from the officers in Stalag XVIIB. "Flatbush Floogie's" Radioman/Dorsal Gunner, Technical Sergeant Lucious C. Birbeck (May 2, 1918 - July 22, 2001) was from Grand Island, Nebraska. Birbeck enlisted on November 20, 1942 In Portland, Oregon. Sergeant Henderson H. Head, Jr., (March 20, 1922 - August 8, 1996) the Left Waist Gunner, was from Appalachia, Virginia; he enlisted On November 13, 1942 at Baer Field in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Right Waist Gunner Sergeant Alex E. Shewchuck, Jr. (January 3, 1924 - May 13, 2001) was from Bridgeport, Pennsylvania; he enlisted On March 15, 1943 In Allentown, Pennsylvania. Tail Gunner Sergeant Raymond C. Cutchall (October 31, 1917 - April 26, 2003) was from Los Angeles, California. Cutchall enlisted On January 9, 1942 at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana. Ball Turret Gunner Sergeant Raymond Chester "Tuck" Stewart (February 26, 1913 - December 27, 1998) from Hastings, Nebraska; he enlisted On October 17, 1942 in Denver, Colorado. This view was taken by Propagandakompanie Vorländer, a Kriegsberichter (war correspondent) who had photographed the Low Countries for the Wehrmacht since the invasion of France in 1940. Vorländer's photo was printed in the Netherlands newspapers Utrechts Nieuwsblad on June 1, 1944 and Dagblad Van Het Zuiden on June 2. The Germans ran these papers as propaganda organs. The approved caption read, "A four-engine landing in a mudflat. Immediately after landing the 10-man crew jumped from the supposedly sinking craft. Appalled and indifferent Americans are now on German soil for the first time - to captivity they go." The Officers in Stalag Luft I were repatriated by May 15, 1945. The Enlisted Crewmen had longer to wait - they weren't allowed to leave until after May 29, 1945. The Soviets had forcibly stripped the noncommissioned officers of most of their possessions. Gardner moved to Nevada and is buried in the military cemetery there. Lieutenant West returned to active duty, eventually earning the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He retired after a long career after transitioning to fighters in 1958. Brown became a businessman after the war. Bonham was recalled to Air Force duty at the end of the Korean War and served until 1964. Varner passed on a deep interest in the story of "Flatbush Floogie" to his son James, whose research helped this posting. Birbeck received a Presidential Unit Citation for his first tour with the 301st Bombardment Group on April 6, 1943. Stewart moved to Oregon after World War II. Head was discharged November 16, 1945, and remained in his native Virginia. Shewchuk was separated on October 30, 1945. Cutchall was buried in Indiana. His son also in interested in the story of "Flatbush Floogie".

Source:

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0042

Wing Commander Guy Gibson, Commander of 617 Squadron (Dambuster), With His Crew

Image size: 1600 x 1211 pixel. 538 KB
Date: Thursday, 22 July 1943
Place: Scampton, Lincolnshire, England
Photographer: Unidentified Royal Air Force official photographer

24 year old Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, Commander of 617 Squadron (Dambuster), with members of his crew. Left to right: Wing Commander Guy Gibson, VC, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar (award for Dambusters Raid: Victoria Cross); Pilot Officer Frederick Michael Spafford, bomb aimer (award for Dambusters Raid: Distinguished Flying Cross); Flight Lieutenant Robert Edward George Hutchinson, wireless operator (award for Dambusters Raid: bar to Distinguished Flying Cross); Pilot Officer Andrew Deering (award for Dambusters Raid: Distinguished Flying Cross) and Flying Officer Torger Harlo Taerum, gunners (award for Dambusters Raid: Distinguished Flying Cross).  Wing Commander Guy Gibson, who led the Royal Air Force's 617 Squadron, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the raids - but was tragically killed when his plane was shot down in September 1944, just months before the war ended. Born in India in 12 August 1918, Gibson moved with his family to Cornwall in 1924. He attended St Georges's Prep School in Folkestone, Kent, from the age of eight and later studied at St Edward's School, Oxford. In 1936, Gibson joined the RAF, becoming an Acting Pilot Officer and later a Pilot Officer. He learnt to fly at No 2 Flying Training School at RAF Scopwick in Lincolnshire. At the outbreak of the Second World War, Gibson was a bomber pilot with 83 Squadron, flying the Handley Page Hampden. After completing his first tour of duty, the young pilot volunteered for RAF Fighter Command, avoiding the normal six-month rest from operations at a flying training establishment. He was posted to 29 Squadron, flying Bristol Blenheims in a day fighter and bomber escort role. In April 1942, Gibson was promoted to Wing Commander, aged just 23, and was later posted back to command 106 Squadron RAF Bomber Command. His bravery was apparent from an early age, and he won the Distinguished Flying Cross and later the Distinguished Service Order in recognition of his leadership qualities. In 1943, Gibson was selected to command the RAF's new 617 Squadron, tasked with destroying dams in the German Ruhr Valley, as part of Operation Chastise, later nicknamed 'Dambusters'. To accomplish this, the pilots were provided with bouncing bombs, developed by Barnes Wallis, which had to be dropped from a height of 18m to roll into the dams and explode at a predefined depth. Despite losing 53 men in the mission, the Dambusters raids were ultimately successful and provided a huge propaganda boost to Britain's war effort. Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1943 in honour of his role in the attacks. After a brief period away from active service, the wartime hero returned to duty in 1944. He was killed during a bombing raid on Rheydt, Germany, when his plane was shot down under mysterious circumstances. It is now believed that Gibson's aircraft may have crashed after being attacked by friendly fire. He left a wife, actress Eve Moore, whom he married in 1940 after meeting her at a party in Coventry. The couple had just bought a family home in London when Gibson was killed. Gibson was remembered by his colleagues as tough, brash and often aloof. When he died, aged 26, he was widely recognised as one of the most experienced bomber pilots in the RAF.

Source:
Imperial War Museums (IWM) TR 1127
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205123900

B-24L Liberator "Hell Hen" Returns to Bradley Field

Image size: 1600 x 1261 pixel. 245 KB
Date: Tuesday, 22 May 1945
Place: Bradley Field, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, USA
Photographer: Unknown

The crew of a Consolidated B-24L Liberator of the 8th Air Force, 2nd Wing, 389th Bombardment Group, 565th Bombardment Squadron elated at their return to the United States, just after landing at Bradley Field, Windsor Locks, Connecticut on May 22, 1945. Top Row: Tail Gunner Staff Sergeant Joseph C. Carl (January 15, 1926 - October 3, 1998), Altoona, Pennsylvania; Flight Engineer Technical Sergeant Charles Eads Leach (October 20, 1924 - April 17, 2006), Maroa, Illinois; Pilot Captain Elmer V. Schindler (November 21, 1923 - September 22, 2009), Cleveland, Ohio; Navigator Lieutenant Edward G. Fronko (February 2, 1924 - February 15, 1986), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Middle Row: Bombardier Lieutenant Orville F. Burda (April 1, 1918 - July 13, 2004), Dickinson, North Dakota; Co-Pilot Lieutenant John H. Cooley (1916 - ????), Chicago, Illinois. Bottom Row: Waist Gunner Staff Sergeant Louis Singer, Brooklyn, New York; Nose Gunner Staff Sergeant Henry F. Spears (May 12, 1924 - April 26, 2000), Harmony, Oklahoma; Radio Operator Technical Sergeant Charles F. Smith, St. Louisville, Ohio; Gunner Staff Sergeant Paul J. Bordewich (December 9, 1917 - June 10, 2008), Long Beach, California. Captain Schindler and his crew flew twenty-eight missions in Europe before returning home. the pane was christened "Hell Hen" by the Associate Press; none of the crew knew of that name until this image appeared in newspapers around the country. A total of sixty-five bombers, B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators carrying 275 officers and 800 enlisted men (including former prisoners of war), landed between 1142 and 2033 Hours on May 22. They flew from bases in England and France to Iceland and Labrador before landing at Bradley. Starting that day, some 3,500 aircraft and over 40,000 men returned to the United States by air by August 30, 1945, to Bradley, the designated field for returning aircraft from the 8th and 15th Air Forces. After a thirty-day furlough, they were scheduled to be trained in Boeing B-29 Superfortress operations, but for many the end of the Pacific War cancelled their transition to that bomber and they were discharged. Most of the planes returned to Bradley were flown to scrapping yards around the country and recycled.

Source:

National Archives and Recoreds Administration (NARA) NWDNS-208-AA-1H(12)

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0013

B-17 Flying Fortress "Invasion 2nd" of 91st Bomb Group, 401st Bomb Squadron

Image size: 1600 x 1299 pixel. 489 KB
Date: Wednesday, 17 March 1943
Place: Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, England
Photographer: Unknown

Boeing B-17F-30-BO Flying Fortress "Invasion 2nd" (42-5070) of the 8th Air Force, 91st Bombardment Group, 401st Bombardment Squadron, at the training session held in Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire, England, 17 March 1943. In the waist gunner positions are Staff Sergeant Eldon R. Lapp of Fort Wayne, Indiana (May 17, 1920-October 2, 2001) and Staff Sergeant William D. King (January 18, 1923-August 30, 1952) of Imperial, Texas operating the Browning .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine guns for a Signal Corps photographer. It's likely this photo was made as part of Major William Wyler's efforts to document B-17 operations; when "Invasion 2nd" Was shot down, he focused on "Memphis Belle" which became very famous in "The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress" a 1943 documentary. Note the still prop in the right window; "Invasion 2nd" was on the ground in Bassingbourn, England at the time of the photo. Master Sergeant Jack Gaffney, a member of the crew, painted the nose art on "Invasion 2nd" and several other aircraft. The waist gunners in B-17Fs could collide with each other during combat, disrupting their oxygen supply. This was corrected with staggered waist gun positions on the B-17G. On April 17, 1943, "Invasion 2nd" was shot down near Oldenburg, Germany, on a bombing run on the Focke-Wulf factory in Bremen. "Invasion 2nd" formed the lead plane of the first element of six aircraft making up the lowest squadron. Taking flak hits and attacks by German fighters over the target, the number two engine was completely shot away. The left wing caught on fire and spread to the fuselage. Captain Oscar D. O'Neill called for the crew to bail out but Lapp and King were prevented from leaving by a stuck escape hatch. The ball turret gunner, Technical Sergeant Benedict B. Borostowski, came up into the fuselage from the ball turret and went to the partly open waist door. He found Lapp and King unable to force the door and used his foot to push both of them through. All of the crew members were able to leave the aircraft and survived the jump. Lapp and King were taken to Stalag Luft XVII-B. King was liberated on May 17, 1945; Lapp was liberated on May 19. The other crew members were back in Allied hands by July 3. "Invasion 2nd"'s wreckage was reprocessed by the Germans into raw steel. The 401st Bomb Squadron lost six of nine planes over Bremen on April 17, 1943. King was killed on August 30, 1952 in a Boeing B-29A Superfortress of the 344th Bomb Squadron, 98th Bomb Wing, that crashed four mile north of Taegu, South Korea. All twelve crew members were killed.

Source:

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) NRE-338-FTL(EF)-2700(5)

http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0002

Sergeant William Watts Manning B-24D Liberator Tunnel Machine Gun

Image size: 1600 x 1281 pixel. 364 KB

Date: Sunday, 1 November 1942

Place: Unknown

Photographer: Unknown

United States Army Air Force gunner Sgt. William Watts of Alexandria, Louisiana, demonstrates the tunnel-mounted Browning .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun of the Consolidated B-24D/LB-30 Liberator. This photo appeared in the LB-30 Erection and Maintenance Instruction manual (TO 01-5ED-2) in 1942. This could have been a staged photo by Consolidated. It is not clear if he is engaged in combat, as he is not wearing an oxygen mask and the machine gun is not exhibiting recoil (note spent .50 caliber casings caught in the gunner's window), but some sources said that this pic was taken in the first all-American air attack in Europe, 17 August 1942. The waist gunner is visible behind him. Originally introduced in the B-24C model, which did not see combat, the tunnel gun had a limited field of fire and was difficult to operate in combat. As result 287 B-24Ds were equipped with Bendix power turrets that could be retracted into the aircraft for takeoff and landings. The Bendix turret induced nausea and disorientation in the ball turret gunners, and soon the turret was deleted and replaced with the tunnel gun again. It was not until the successful Sperry turret was installed (like the one used on the B-17E/F, only it could be retracted into the fuselage) that the B-24 had a workable belly gun defense. Eventually a nose turret like the tail turret was also added, bringing the total number of .50 caliber machine guns to over thirteen. The B-24 never upgraded its engines, resulting in diminished performance since the extra turrets added significant weight. The first B-24D combat mission was on October 9, 1942 by the 93rd Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force against locomotive manufacturing in Lille, France. Out of twenty-four aircraft, one was shot down.

Source:

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) NLR-PHOCO-A-65639(31)
http://www.worldwar2database.com/gallery3/index.php/wwii0005