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Photos of Interest Giving Information on Bomb Group - Squadrons and Other Pertinent Data ______________________________________________________________________________ |
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Ball Turret in Flight This close-up view of the ball turret in flight reveals a lot of the vulnerability of the gunner. Now you can see the Ball Turret Gunner was never inside the bomber while in the air ! Once inside the turret the gunner was cut-off from all others on the crew except for the intercom system. The turret was much to small for the gunner to carry a parachute inside the turret with him. Damage to the bomber meant the Airman had to get back inside the fuselage before being able to leave the bomber. The object just above the turret - looking like and upside down funnel - is a weight used to string back the radio aerial for short-wave radio while in flight. The aerial was connected to a motorized reel so the radio operator could let out the aerial and retract it on the go. __________________________________________________ |
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MAP 549th Squadron Area This is a base map of the 549th squadron area as it was in 1944. As you can see it was not all that large with six Huts for Airmen. It was possible for the squadron to house 180 Enlisted Airmen - but - there were always less than 100 Enlisted men stationed in the squadron area at one time. This was due to the loss of so many Airmen and bombers such that HQ could never keep as many Airmen as needed. The many empty bunks of Buddies shot down over Germany were always a reminder of cost of lives. This the Airmen had to cope with during "down-time" when not flying combat missions. ___________________________________________ |
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B-17 Group Identification Markings Each heavy bomber group flying out of English Airdromes was identified by a large marking on the vertical stabilizer. A smaller letter or number was placed below the group marking to identify each bomber in a squadron. Squadrons were also color coded to further identify a cartain bomber. The letter "G" identified the 385th Bomb Group. The War Horse had a small "S" below the "G" and was code-named "Sugar." The 549th Squadron was also code-named as the "Yellow" squadron. Other squadrons in the 385th were color coded - Blue - Red & Green. In February of 1945 the 385th tail marking was changed to a checker-board of red squares. If the bomber was silver ( aluminum color ) there was no further painting. However - if the B-17 was painted olive drab white paint was used to fill in the red and white checker-board. The checker-board not shown here. __________________________________________________________ |
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262b German Jet Fighter ________________________---> This German Jet fighter entered the air war over Germany in late summer of 1944. Neither the Americans or British had a combat ready jet fighter when this type airplane appeared in the skys to attack formations of American bombers. The 262b could out run both the Mustang and Spitfire as if they were standing still ! Although the attack time was short in the beginning - the jet fighter was improved upon and became a formidable weaopn just prior to the end of hostilities. Formations of bombers continued to he attacked by squadrons of many ME-109s until May 1945 when the war ended. _____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ |
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"V-1 Rocket" - or - "Buzz Bomb" ________________________---> "Terror" in The British Sky ______________________________ A one-in-a-million chance someone would have a camera to catch a photo of this Buzz Bomb falling from the sky over England ! Most people would be hauling-butt to a shelter during an air-raid with sirens screaming and bombs bursting ! This 1,000 pound un-manned flying bomb landed several hundred meters from the photographer causing much damage. Buzz Bombs were usually sent over the Channel in swarms of more than a half-dozen. They were programed to fall on targets some half-mile apart causing wide-spread damage and alarm to citizens. _________________________________________________________________ The Buzz Bomb was an un-manned - pulse-jet engine powered flying devise. A simple explanation of the controls would be it was gyro stablized with a given amount of fuel. At a preset time - distance/fuel combination - the engine cut-off and allowed the bomb to fall on a short glide path to the ground. Early versions were not all that accurate in hitting a specific target but after a few attempts became very accurate. Later versions of the V-1 were capable of being brought over by ME-109s and aimed at specific inland targets. __________________________________________________________________ Several months after Hitler started sending the Buzz Bombs to England, he started a new terror - the V-2 Rocket - which was the fore-runner of space travel after WW II. The V-2 rocket flew into low outer-space and dropped on England without warning of sound as they traveled at super-sonic speed. The destruction by a V-2 rocket was ten-times that of a V-1 Buzz Bomb. ___________________________________________________________________ |
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"Germany" - Captured American B-17 ______________________________________________ This photo of an American B-17 was released after May 1944 - having been taken from files of the German SS. This bomber was apparently reassemble from parts of crashed American bombers. You will notice the ball turret is missing from the belly under the airplane. This B-17 is either an "E" or "F" model bomber - the angle of the shot making it difficult to identify. A "chin turret" cannot be seen ? The serial number on the tail could be one assigned by the Germans ? The Germans used some of these bombers in attempts to infiltrate B-17 formations in order to get close enough to shoot down a bomber. Some captured bombers were repainted same as American bombers with all markings appearing correct and making them difficult to detect. While flying combat out of England - this bomber from the 303rd BG - 360 BS was captured by the Germans on 12/12/42. Details behind the photo can be seen in a book titled, "Strangers In a Strange Land", by Hans-Heiri Stapher. Book is copyrighted but out of print at this date. A B-17 from the 385th Heavy Bomb Group - flying out of Great Ashfield - flown by pilot Lt. Bell ( and crew ) named "Nonalee II - serial no. 42-303336 - was damaged and forced to land in Denmark on October 9, 1943. The bomber was captured by the Germans - repaired - and used to train German pilots how to fly the bomber. ________________________________________________________________ |
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"YOU DON'T WIN THEM ALL IN THE AIR" ___________________________________ France - August - 1944 - American Ground Troops beside a burned-out Nazi Tank holding a captured flag. A sign of VICTORY - a swastika ! _________________________________________________ |
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