Fort Bourtange, Netherlands....
One of the most well-preserved examples of a star fort, Fort Bourtange was built in 1593. It was converted from a fort to a village in 1851.
This is a dramatic scene of a 149 Sqdn Stirling bombing the Fiat factory works in Turin, late 1942. Flying at low level, with a hole in the port wing, a direct hit to the nose/cockpit, and low on fuel, a badly injured Flight Sergeant Middleton struggles to control the huge bomber. Five crew did manage to bail out when they reached the coast, but sadly the Stirling never made it home.
During the type's service with Bomber Command, Stirlings flew a total of 14,500 sorties, during which 27,000 tons of bombs were dropped; 582 aircraft were lost in action while a further 119 were written-off. Stirling pilots were delighted to discover that, due to the thick wing, they could out-turn the Ju-88 and Bf-110 night-fighters they faced.