Battle Damaged Aircraft of WW2

[GrauGeist]

I'd go along with the "belly in" theory if it weren't for the spinner being compressed the way it is.

It's a shame we don't have a better photo of it.

 

[Matt308]

debris damage then, definitely not a ramming.

 

[Gnomey]

Certainly doesn't look like a ramming. Interesting shots all the same.

 

[Njaco]

Maybe the ramming caused the belly-landing? Could there be damage we don't see?

 

[Capt. Vick]

I have a better picture of the exhibition in a park in Japan during the war. It shows it from the other side and pretty much the whole airframe. It's in the Time-Life book "Bombers Over Japan" in their WWII series. I will post a scan or more likely a picture of said when I can, though it will be difficult as it is large and over two pages. Anybody else have this book? Just curious.

 

[Njaco]

I have several of the Time-Life books but missing that one. The WWII series or the History of Flight?

 

[Capt. Vick]

WWII series... But forget that now, because I found it (in of all places Wikipedia):

With the following caption:

"First Lieutenant Toru Shinomiya was selected to lead the Hagakure-Tai. On 3 December 1944 Shinomiya, along with Sergeant Masao Itagaki and Sergeant Matsumi Nakano, intercepted a B-29 raid; Shinomaya rammed one B-29, but was able to land his damaged Ki-61, which had lost most of the port outer wing, back at base. After attacking another B-29 Itagaki had to parachute from his damaged fighter, while Nakano rammed and damaged Long Distance of the 498th BG and crash-landed his stripped-down Ki-61 in a field. Shinomaya's damaged Ki-61 was later displayed inside Tokyo's Matsuya department store while Nakano's Ki-61 was displayed outside, alongside of a life-size cut-away drawing of the forward fuselage of a B-29.[28][N 5] "

Maybe I will post the caption from the Time-Life book if I don't feel lazy...

Anyway, funny how the mind works isn't it? I read that book maybe 20 years ago and I remembered THAT specific picture. And it took me 10 years to memorize my social security number!

NOTE: Maybe Shinpachi can translate the Japanese text on the photo

 

[Njaco]

Cool! "Land" probably isn't the right word. And the backing of that cardboard B-29 can be seen in the first pic that was posted!

 

[GrauGeist]

...And the backing of that cardboard B-29 can be seen in the first pic that was posted!

So that's what the heck all that was...I was thinking it was some sort of hanger structure or something...lol

 

[Capt. Vick]

The caption for the same picture in the Time-Life book is as follows:

"Curious Japanese crowd Tokyo's Hibiya Park to peer at a full-scale model of a B-29 along with the Kawasaki Swallow that brought down the original aircraft on December 3, 1944. The fighter pilot managed to crash-land his damaged plane in a rice paddy. The B-29 was demolished, but the Japanese made a reasonably accurate guess at the arrangement of crew stations in its nose. Beneath the painted cutaway are remnants of the bomber: tires, machine-gun parts and, at far right, a fuel tank"

 

[stug3]

A German propaganda image of Stanford Tuck's Spitfire shot down by anti-aircraft fire over northern France on 28th January 1942.

 

[Gastounet]

Soviet Mig 3 I've found on the net.

I think that the crashed one is a colorised photo

 

[Gastounet]

A Frenche Morane 406

 

[Wayne Little]

 

[Njaco]

found this 110 on the net....

 

[Matt308]

Damn

 

[Gnomey]

Taken quite a beating! Nice shots guys!

 

[Airframes]

The pic of Tuck's Spitfire is just crying out for a caption:-
Luftwaffe Officer, bending over map "Nein, Herr Tuck, you are in der wrong field, hein? You should be ...let me show you ...here!"

 

[kettbo]

398th BG B-17G with the nose blown off shown here many times. Picture by then SGT Hreachmack, unit photographer. His son is a pal of mine.
Pic always credited USAAF, but now ya know who took the picture!

398BG in flight, SGT Hreachmack was a waist gunner in addn to being the unit photographer

wartime official pics did not list the photographer but as the unit shutter bug, SGT Hreachmack has got to be the one who took the well-known shot

and here he is

He left the Air Force after the war, was called back for Korea called back another time too. Retired as a Major.

 

[stona]

Some of these look serious.

You think your car drops a bit of oil!

Steve