Majuro Atoll aerial photo - aircraft present

[RMIAP]

Hi,
I'm a geologist doing some work in the Marshall Islands and have come across 2 vertical aerial photos of Majuro Atoll. One is dated 14 Dec 1944, the other is undated. I am nearly certain the undated photo pre-dates the December 1944 photo as there are a lot more structures present in the December 1944 image, which is typical after the US took control from the Japanese.

Some of the metadata on the photo provides some detail of the photo (i.e. focal length/elevation), but I'm not 100% sure of the date. My educated guess from the metadata below is the photo was taken 03/20/1943 at 23:00 hr GMT. I am not certain what 43IBS means in the photo metadata.

(ADVON-43IBS-7AAF-4MSP)(V-1)(3:20:23:00Z)(24:10000)
MAJURO, MARSHALL GP.

Would anyone know how I'd be able to get concrete info on the date of the photo? I know very little about WWII aviation, perhaps someone might be able to identify the aircraft in the photo and the meaning of the metadata.

Many thanks!

 

[Crimea_River]

Quite a selection of aircraft. PBY Catalinas, a C-47, Corsairs, Dauntlesses and a couple of Hellcats.

 

[RMIAP]

Awesome, thanks. I guess this dates the photo between Feb 1944 and Dec 1944. I have a few oblique photos from this time if anyone is interested.

 

[Snautzer01]

431 bombardement squadron 7 airforce ?

 

[FLYBOYJ]

431 bombardement squadron 7 airforce ?

They may have been stationed there but those are obviously naval aircraft.

 

[A4K]

Good spotting Andy - I agree. Note only one of the Corsairs has it's wings folded (in front of the PBY-5As)

 

[Airframes]

I'm not sure exactly how U.S. photo annotation was done, but some of it is similar to the format used by RAF PR and other units, with the unit (that took the photo), location, time, date, altitude or map scale etc.
In that case, then yes, the photo was taken by an aircraft from the 431st Bombardment Squadron, 7th Army Air Force.
The '4MSP' I'm guessing is a sub-unit, or detachment, and may be something like '4th Maritime Surveillance - Photographic' - but that's only a slightly informed guess.
The 'V-1' is possibly for Vertical camera, number 1 - RAF and Commonwealth units normally noted the negative number here, The rest is, as you deduced, the time and date, with what I presume is the map scale, rather than the altitude from which the photo was taken.
There's probably someone here who is more familiar with the American system of photo annotation, who can probably provide the correct information.

 

[GrauGeist]

ADVON = Advanced Echelon

I find it interesting that it denotes the 431st BS of the 7th AF, but doesn't specify which BG. Also, the 7th AF had two photo recon units: the 28th and the 41st PRS (operating F-5 aircraft)

Is it possible that the 7th AF overflew this site as part of a mapping or asset inventory assignment?

 

[Airframes]

Good point Dave - given that a map scale is shown, this could have been part of a mapping survey. By stating the Squadron, it's being more specific, as this would not only provide the info regarding the Squadron, but would automatically identify the Group.

 

[Snautzer01]

Notice repair tent middle left of picture

 

[A4K]

Great info Terry and Dave!

Forgot to say too: great photo RMIAP - thanks for posting!

 

[RMIAP]

Wow - thanks for all the interesting info. I have some vertical aerials from Kwajalein and perhaps Wotje, Jaluit and Maleolap. I'll have a look through and if there's any aviation related images I'll post them.

 

[RMIAP]

Kwajalein 9th of Jan 1944.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Now that's an awesome picture!

 

[Elmas]

The picture is certainly awesome, but by my personal point of wiev not the aim of the bombardier.....

 

[A4K]

Great photo RMIAP!

 

[GrauGeist]

Thought you guys might get a kick out of this...

On the Kwajalein photo (showing the bomb on it's way down), there were actually three bombs in the photo:

And there were also alot of other interesting details in the photo, like the piers, buildings and what looked like and overgrown airstrip in the lower portion of the photo. However, in the upper portion of the photo, on the tip of the island, was this very interesting complex:

A radar station, perhaps?

 

[rogerwilko]

Crop circle?

 

[Catch22]

These are some fantastic photos.

Good spotting Andy - I agree. Note only one of the Corsairs has it's wings folded (in front of the PBY-5As)

I think that's a Hellcat Evan. It looks like the wings are folded back, and on the left wing you can see the roundel. It's towards the back (which it would be if it was a Hellcat) and more importantly, you can actually see it. The only visible roundel on a Corsair with its wings folded would be on the other wing.

--------------------------------

Here's a map I've made. I'm sure most people here know what's what, but maybe it'll help someone who stumbles across this. I just cannot decided what the upper two aircraft are. I almost think the top one is Corsair and the other a Dauntless.

 

[GrauGeist]

Crop circle?

That would be the best explanation. Ever.

In regards to aircraft ID, some are pretty obvious but then, some are not as easy due to lighting, angle and photo clarity.

I think that's a Hellcat Evan. It looks like the wings are folded back, and on the left wing you can see the roundel. It's towards the back (which it would be if it was a Hellcat) and more importantly, you can actually see it. The only visible roundel on a Corsair with its wings folded would be on the other wing.

--------------------------------

Here's a map I've made. I'm sure most people here know what's what, but maybe it'll help someone who stumbles across this. I just cannot decided what the upper two aircraft are. I almost think the top one is Corsair and the other a Dauntless.

Here's the original photo as reference:

I've made some enlargements of the original, and as much as I wanted to zoom in closer, the resolution was a little out of focus to start with, so this was as good as I could possibly get.

Top Left:

Center Left: (note the guys on the starboard wing of the Hellcat)

Top Right:

Center Right:

Bottom Right: