Battle Damaged Aircraft of WW2

[RabidAlien]

10 valiant pairs of skivvies were given a state funeral with full military honors.




seriously...to the crew who brought those ships back....

 

[Pong]

Great pics Flyboy! to the pilot for getting his hammered '17 back safe.

 

[wheelsup_cavu]

I found this site a while back.
It has several damaged B-17 pictures.

Battle-Damaged B-17 Flying Fortresses: Contents


Wheels

 

[Pong]

Here are a couple.

B-24 of the 34TH BG

B-17 "Ye Olde Pub".

 

[gepp]

here's a few more hopefully not repeats

 

[gepp]

let me know if any of these dont really come under as beingclassed as battle damage

 

[Wayne Little]

some real interesting shots!!

 

[Wildcat]

Is that the gunner on the deck in that last shot??

 

[gepp]

yes its the gunner i wasnt sure if it was ok to post.

 

[beaupower32]

Heinkel He-111H from Geschwader Stab KG26 coded (1H+JA) WNr5449 was the first Luftwaffe bomber shot down by Spitfires over the British Isles and crash-landed Lammermuir Hills near Edinburgh, Scotland Oct 28 1939. Note the unusual markings with two sets of Balkenkreuz and the code painted under the wings

Heinkel He-111H5 KG53.5 (A1+JN) Furthmann shot down Kent May 10 1941

 

[vikingBerserker]

Nice! Is there an extra wheel in Post #106, Pic 3?

 

[GrauGeist]

Nice! Is there an extra wheel in Post #106, Pic 3?

That looks like a crash recovery rig in the background. Look at the mystery tire, then run your eyes straight up past the aircraft. You can see the frame and rigging.

I had to look twice, myself

 

[vikingBerserker]

Ahhhh, now I see it. Thanks!

 

[gepp]

on post #105 pic 6 iv had this pic of the p-51 for a while and its always had me baffled on what could do this? my first thoughts is that its been hit by another plane.

 

[GrauGeist]

on post #105 pic 6 iv had this pic of the p-51 for a while and its always had me baffled on what could do this? my first thoughts is that its been hit by another plane.

It sure does look like it's been run over.

The metal is all twisted and pulled to the left and the further towards the tail you look, the more it's compressed.

* More info on that P-51...it was a taxiing accident, killing Lt. McDonald. The aircraft belonged to the 355th FG, 354th FS, on this happened on 22 October 1944. It was based out of Steeple Morden. The bellied P-51 posted above Lt. McDonald's also belongs to the 354th FS.

 

[Airframes]

It's possible that the P51 had an engine failure, or a ground loop on take off, possibly even a burst tyere or undercart collapse. The drop tanks still being in place suggest take off instead of landing.The engine wasn't under power (as such) on impact, as the prop blades are bent backwards; they would normally bend forwards under power. It's probable that the cowling was removed, after the event, for inspection, and the canopy closed to keep out the British weather, as it appears that this Fowlmere-based aircraft was photographed in late Autumn or early winter 1944, judging by the cropped field and the bare trees in the background.

 

[drgondog]

Gepp - just curious about the three 355th/2SF pics. I have posted those before, primarily here and armyairforces.com so I have no issue seeing these from my collection, but I don't recall where I posted the WR-T Taxi accident..

The 20mm flak hit was on a 358FS Mustang on August 15, 1944. Gilmore was KIA two weeks later.

The 'broken back' WR-A was Bill Whalen 2SF attached to 355th FG - only SF ace. Ship totalled on crash landing 12/11/44.

The mangled ship was a taxi accident. McDonald's WR-T was run over by Ivey in WR-R and McDonald was killed.

 

[GrauGeist]

Good Lord, Bill...I thought McDonald was run down by a heavy...another 'Stang did that??

What did Ivey do, miss WR-T in his forward blind-spot and piggyback over it?

 

[Colin1]

This B-17 Flying Fortress of the 457th BG was lucky to get home to its base in eastern England after being shot up by German fighters. The damage to the port wing is consistent with hits from one or two 30mm explosive rounds; on average, three such hits were usually sufficient to bring down a heavy bomber. USAF

 

[drgondog]

Good Lord, Bill...I thought McDonald was run down by a heavy...another 'Stang did that??

What did Ivey do, miss WR-T in his forward blind-spot and piggyback over it?

I'm going to check but I believe that is what happened. No wing tanks suggest landing taxi accident but they would have removed tanks immediately under any condition.

This is WR-R Princess Pat - normally Hauver's ship that Ivey was flying on 10/22