My WW2 photos/Vids album

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At 9:22 AM on May 3, 1943, a lone Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber named Hot Stuff took off from Bovington Aerodrome in England bound for the United States. It had to stop in Iceland to refuel. The weather was bad, and the pilot took his plane down as he searched for the airfield at Keflavik. It appeared once through the heavy clouds, and the bomber circled, dropping flares to announce its intent to land. Still the weather prevented a landing. The B-24 continued to circle until the pilot decided to divert to another airfield. As the pilot turned his craft, a mountain suddenly loomed ahead. Contact with Hot Stuff was lost at 3:30 PM. All but one of the crew was killed, including Lt. Gen. Frank Andrews, commander of all U.S. Forces in Europe.

The authors present a convincing case that Hot Stuff was the first heavy bomber in the Eighth Air Force to complete 25 missions. In fact they maintain the bomber completed 31 missions and document each of them. Even if the reader disagrees about whether this bomber was the first to 25, the book is a fascinating look at the almost day-to-day life of a bomber crew and their aircraft, with descriptions not only of their missions, but base life, leave in London, and flights to other theaters of operation, such as the Middle East.
 
polo1112 said:
Did they find mountains in Normandy ?
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Im not even sure that picture was taken in Normandy and not somewhere else in the e.t.o.
One things for sure it wasnt taken on d- day or even close to that date. im guessing it was more for moral than any practical purpose, although they could possibly be rear guard volunteer nurses. I'd need to investigate further.....
 
Good stuff. The book on the B-24 'Hot Stuff' looks like it could be an interesting read. BTW, the airfield was Bovingdon, in Hertfordshire, a couple of miles from Hemel Hempstead - Bovington is the main Royal Tank Regiment base and tank museum, in Dorset. It's a common error in books and photo captions.
 
Yes i know Bovington museum well as its now home to a collection of ww2 tanks of both allied and axis machines. Well worth a visit if your ever in the area
 
Airframes said:
Had a stand there at one of their display days a few years back - the museum had grown since my previous visit in the mid 1980's.
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Oh yes, their collection is much better now and well worth checking out one day if you find the time and inclination to do so. I believe among the most famous and mass produced allied tanks aka Sherman M4/Sherman Firefly, they have a King tiger II and a Jagdtiger among many others......
 
Airframes said:
Yep, saw the King Tiger and the Panther, and of course they now have the World's only running Tiger 1.There#'s a good collection of German and allied armour at Duxford too.
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Yep, when i came out the raf a while ago now, i volunteered for two summers and got to help work on a rare Crossley - Chevrolet armoured car (1930-1940). And a British Bishop SP gun tank. I keep meaning to go again but just dont get round to it. Duxford is my spiritual home though as im a aircraft man at heart. I gained a little experienced on a Hawker Hurricane there. Actually the only surviving Hurricane to have fought in the Battle Of Britain
 
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The British Bishop SP gun tank had a 25 pound howitzer which could fire a 87.6mm HE/AP shell. Although a rush to design a SP tank left serious issues for the tanks combat and reliablity record. This example is at Bovington museum.
 
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