WWII Gun Camera Footage

[hw97karbine]

To avoid clogging up this section with separate posts herewith a thread, starting with a USAAF 14th PRS Spitfire PR Mk XI that I believe to be PL782 flown by 2nd Lt Robert B Hilborn. The aircraft was intercepted over Lechfeld by Leutnant Alfred Schreiber of Erprobungskommando 262 in Me262 A-1a WerkNr. 110372 "White 3". This latter unit was the first to deploy the Messerschmitt jet and would later form Kommando Nowotny. Hilborn managed to bail out of his stricken aircraft and was taken prisoner.

The USAAF insignia on the top of the port wing is clearly visible as the aircraft banks away and both the severe vibration on firing and size of the cannon shell impacts suggest 30mm gunfire consistent with the Me 262's MK 108 battery in the nose, and the jet aircraft would also have been able to comfortably keep up with the fast unarmed photoreconnaissance Spitfire variant at altitude. The 3cm Minengeschoss high-capacity shells were formidable projectiles each containing over 70 grams of high explosive and were designed to detonate within six or so inches of having penetrated the aircraft skin, destroying the aircraft structure in the process and rendering the aircraft unflyable after only a few hits. The amount of debris flying off the Spitfire after only three visible detonations is testament to the devastating effect of such fire.

The US 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron began to train with British-made Supermarine Spitfire Mk V fighters in July 1943 before equipping with the photographic reconnaissance PR Mk XI variant later that year. The squadron flew combat reconnaissance missions in the European Theater of Operations from August 12th 1943 until April 25th 1945. The squadron's Spitfires flew the majority of the target photography missions, including the first Spitfire reconnaissance mission over Berlin in March 1944, while the other squadrons of the 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) equipped with F-5 Lightnings concentrated on photographic mapping.

Deep penetration missions included reconnaissance of oil refineries to determine when repairs had been performed that could justify returning them to Eighth Air Force's target list. The Squadron earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for reconnaissance missions flown over France between May 31st 1944 and the end of June. The squadron flew over 300 successful sorties to support Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. It flew missions over the Netherlands to support Operation Market Garden in October 1944 and conducted damage assessment of Germany until July 23rd 1945. In late 1944, the Spitfires, flying solo missions and relying only on speed and altitude for defense, began to prove vulnerable to the jet powered Messerschmitt Me 262 fighters entering service with the Luftwaffe. A squadron aircraft lost on September 5th 1944 was probably the first Army Air Forces loss to a German jet fighter.

Erprobungskommando 262 had been formed in April 1944 at Lechfeld just south of Augsburg, as a test unit (Jäger Erprobungskommando Thierfelder, commanded by Hauptmann Werner Thierfelder) to introduce the Me 262 into service and train a corps of pilots to fly it. This was not Leutnant Schreiber's first go at an Allied reconnaissance plane, while flying over Munich on July 26th he encountered a Mosquito PR Mark XVI of No. 540 Squadron RAF piloted by Fl. Lt. A.E. Wall. Schreiber attempted to shoot down the unarmed Mosquito, though Wall evaded Schreiber's three attack runs and was able land safely at Fermo in Italy after what was the first air to air interception by a jet fighter in history.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice one!

 

[hw97karbine]

Japanese Aichi D1A biplane blown up by gunfire from a US Navy aircraft off Okinawa on June 5th 1945

While the D1A had been retired from front line service for some years, it was brought back into use along with other obsolete biplanes for kamikaze attacks as it was found they were harder to detect on radar and were less prone to setting off the proximity fuzes employed on anti-aircraft shells.

 

[hw97karbine]

B-17G Flying Fortress from the "Bloody Hundredth" 100th Bomb Group taking heavy cannon fire from a Luftwaffe fighter in a frontal attack circa 1944

 

[hw97karbine]

This clip shows a moving British-made Valentine tank under attack on the Eastern Front and was originally spliced in with footage of Hs 129 ground attack aircraft in flight in a Deutsche Wochenschau propaganda reel with no context beyond what is visible in the footage.

The Hs 129 was fitted with progressively heavier guns in ventral pods throughout its service career, starting with the 30mm MK 101 and MK 103 through the 37mm BK 3,7 and up to the 75mm Pak 40 derived BK 7,5. In the case of the clip I'm leaning towards the 37mm as it appears similar to footage from the Ju 87 "kanonenvogel" armed with two such guns.

The BK 3,7 is quoted as mainly firing "Hartkernmunition" tungsten cored ammunition capable of penetrating up to 140mm of armor at 100 meters range struck at 90 degrees. Valentine side armor was less than 60mm thick hung vertically, and the aircraft seems to coming in at a fairly low angle.

Unfortunately the impacts more or less coincide with the cannon firing its next shot, which shakes the camera obscuring the view of the target. This is the last frame where the tracer from the first shot is visible, it appears to be heading into the lower turret. After the impact smoke appears to come from the inside of the turret suggesting a successful perforation of the armor. The last frame where the second shot is visible indicates it hit the hull through the tracks, but the actual impact is again obscured as the Hs 129 fires its third shot. This latter projectile almost clears the vehicle but it manages to hit the auxiliary fuel tank carried on the rear of the Valentine. A fourth shot is also fired but it goes wide as the pilot is already pulling out. 3 out of 4 against a moving target is not bad at all, especially when the last shot was basically the pilot not releasing the trigger soon enough.

 

[hw97karbine]

Messerschmitt Bf 109 F likely flown by Luftwaffe ace and I./Jagdgeschwader 54 Gruppenkommandeur Hans Philipp takes out a Soviet LaGG-3 in the skies over Leningrad in early 1942

From a clip featuring Philipp who at the time this footage was filmed was the I./Jagdgeschwader 54 Gruppenkommandeur and had recently scored his 100th aerial victory, the fourth Luftwaffe pilot to have done so.

Philipp claimed four aircraft shot down on March 17th 1943 taking his total to 203 aerial victories. He thus surpassed Hermann Graf as the leading German fighter pilot at the time, and six months after Graf, became the second pilot to claim more than 200 victories. He was promoted to Major and given command as the Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 1 on April 1st 1943, conducting Defense of the Reich operations against the USAAF. Philipp would go on to be promoted to Oberstleutnant on October 1st 1943 and was killed in action a week later on October 8th during an attack on Bremen. It is believed that he was shot down by US ace Robert S. Johnson flying a P-47 Thunderbolt. Philipp managed to bail out however it was at low altitude and his parachute failed to open.

 

[hw97karbine]

Fw 190 pilot appears to strike the tail of his fighter after bailing out under the guns of Captain Eldon F. Troge's 359th Fighter Squadron P-51 Mustang on December 25th 1944

 

[hw97karbine]

USAAF P-51 Mustang with underwing drop tanks ambushed at point blank range by a Luftwaffe fighter in late 1944

It's hard to be certain from this angle but it appears this is a "razorback" variant, and it's unusual to see a solitary aircraft flying straight and level if it were a fighter so this may well be an F-6 photo reconnaissance model. The single stream of tracer fire from the attacking aircraft suggest it is a Bf 109 armed with a 20mm motorkanone firing through the propeller hub.

Split to frames I count six distinct hits from high explosive ammunition, this would typically constitute between a 1/3 and 3/5 of the 20mm cannon ammunition mix on the belt, implying there are likely other hits that are not apparent. It's worth noting that the high capacity HE shells did not have a tracer element.

1) to the lower fuselage that clearly strikes the liquid cooling system and causes an immediate coolant leak. This first hit alone would have doomed the aircraft as without pressure in the cooling system, it would not have been long before the engine overheated and seized up.

2 and 3) looks like two simultaneous hits, one to the left horizontal tail surfaces and one one to the left wing. The latter has obviously disrupted the flying surfaces considerably, we can see the damage compared to the intact right wing and the significant amount of debris that flies off, possibly including part of an ammunition belt. The increase in drag on this side of the aircraft would possibly also explain why it yaws to the left.

4) another hit to the left horizontal tail surfaces

5) is either a hit to the propeller or the cockpit, it's not very clear.

6) at the end happens while the aircraft is obscured with smoke so the location is not apparent.

 

[Barrett]

Japanese Aichi D1A biplane blown up by gunfire from a US Navy aircraft off Okinawa on June 5th 1945

View attachment 825567

While the D1A had been retired from front line service for some years, it was brought back into use along with other obsolete biplanes for kamikaze attacks as it was found they were harder to detect on radar and were less prone to setting off the proximity fuzes employed on anti-aircraft shells.

Well, that's confirmed.
Far more definite than so many internet videos.

 

[Barrett]

To avoid clogging up this section with separate posts herewith a thread, starting with a USAAF 14th PRS Spitfire PR Mk XI that I believe to be PL782 flown by 2nd Lt Robert B Hilborn. The aircraft was intercepted over Lechfeld by Leutnant Alfred Schreiber of Erprobungskommando 262 in Me262 A-1a WerkNr. 110372 "White 3". This latter unit was the first to deploy the Messerschmitt jet and would later form Kommando Nowotny. Hilborn managed to bail out of his stricken aircraft and was taken prisoner.

View attachment 825481

The USAAF insignia on the top of the port wing is clearly visible as the aircraft banks away and both the severe vibration on firing and size of the cannon shell impacts suggest 30mm gunfire consistent with the Me 262's MK 108 battery in the nose, and the jet aircraft would also have been able to comfortably keep up with the fast unarmed photoreconnaissance Spitfire variant at altitude. The 3cm Minengeschoss high-capacity shells were formidable projectiles each containing over 70 grams of high explosive and were designed to detonate within six or so inches of having penetrated the aircraft skin, destroying the aircraft structure in the process and rendering the aircraft unflyable after only a few hits. The amount of debris flying off the Spitfire after only three visible detonations is testament to the devastating effect of such fire.

The US 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron began to train with British-made Supermarine Spitfire Mk V fighters in July 1943 before equipping with the photographic reconnaissance PR Mk XI variant later that year. The squadron flew combat reconnaissance missions in the European Theater of Operations from August 12th 1943 until April 25th 1945. The squadron's Spitfires flew the majority of the target photography missions, including the first Spitfire reconnaissance mission over Berlin in March 1944, while the other squadrons of the 7th Photographic Group (Reconnaissance) equipped with F-5 Lightnings concentrated on photographic mapping.

Deep penetration missions included reconnaissance of oil refineries to determine when repairs had been performed that could justify returning them to Eighth Air Force's target list. The Squadron earned a Distinguished Unit Citation for reconnaissance missions flown over France between May 31st 1944 and the end of June. The squadron flew over 300 successful sorties to support Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy. It flew missions over the Netherlands to support Operation Market Garden in October 1944 and conducted damage assessment of Germany until July 23rd 1945. In late 1944, the Spitfires, flying solo missions and relying only on speed and altitude for defense, began to prove vulnerable to the jet powered Messerschmitt Me 262 fighters entering service with the Luftwaffe. A squadron aircraft lost on September 5th 1944 was probably the first Army Air Forces loss to a German jet fighter.

Erprobungskommando 262 had been formed in April 1944 at Lechfeld just south of Augsburg, as a test unit (Jäger Erprobungskommando Thierfelder, commanded by Hauptmann Werner Thierfelder) to introduce the Me 262 into service and train a corps of pilots to fly it. This was not Leutnant Schreiber's first go at an Allied reconnaissance plane, while flying over Munich on July 26th he encountered a Mosquito PR Mark XVI of No. 540 Squadron RAF piloted by Fl. Lt. A.E. Wall. Schreiber attempted to shoot down the unarmed Mosquito, though Wall evaded Schreiber's three attack runs and was able land safely at Fermo in Italy after what was the first air to air interception by a jet fighter in history.

Excellent footage. Thank you.
Reminds me that in researching the 15th AF book I found plenty of documentation about PR and weather recon units. When the Luftwaffe figured that photo birds would return with valuable info, radar controllers began sending fighters to intercept. The preferred method was to box in the victim from both sides, then order a cutoff vector depending on which way it turned.

That situation led to installation of tail warning radar, with a flight of four fighters to escort the PR bird.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I like the presentation and analysis of this footage, hw97karbine . Thanks for taking the time to dissect footage we've all seen but maybe not have pulled apart.

 

[Greyman]

... while flying over Munich on July 26th he encountered a Mosquito PR Mark XVI of No. 540 Squadron RAF piloted by Fl. Lt. A.E. Wall. Schreiber attempted to shoot down the unarmed Mosquito, though Wall evaded Schreiber's three attack runs and was able land safely at Fermo in Italy after what was the first air to air interception by a jet fighter in history.

I believe this is a report of the encounter from an intel paper, though the date of the action is stated as July 27. Reproduced with errors:

At 1930 hours flying at 29,000 feet five miles south of Munich on course 040 degrees, observer had just come up from the nose after completing photography when he saw a twin-engined E/A 400 yards astern closing very rapidly. Pilot opened to full revs and boost but E/A closed and went above on starboard side dropping port wing to have a look at our aircraft. It then turned to port, so pilot turned hard to starboard on southerly course.

One minute later, observer saw E/A approximately 2,000 yards astern and closing fast. When E/A had closed to 800 yards opening fire, pilot started gently turn to port to commit E/A to an attack, and then tightened the turn until E/A was 300 yds. away, when pilot whipped A/C into steep turn. Our aircraft managed to turn inside E/A until our aircraft was almost on his tail and then pilot broke away to the south. This manoeuver was repeated three times, E/A opening fire on each occasion. E/A then lay off at 800, went into shallow dive and came up to attack from underneath. Pilot whipped hard over to port AICCV thuds were heard from bottom of cockpit (these were later found to have been caused by the outer door having snapped off and probably hitting tailplane).

By this time, Mosquito was over Austrian Tyrol with Cumulus up to 16,000 feet, and E/A was above and behind approximately. 1,500 yards. Pilot decided to go into steep dive into cumulus. E/A did not seem to be closing as fast during this dive. When our aircraft came out of cumulus, E/A was 800 yards behind and pilot saw long line of cumulus stretching to south. Pilot got into this cumulus when E/A/ was 400 yds. behind, and came out after three to four minutes. E/A had disappeared.

Cannon fire from E/A appeared to come from nose and was occasionally tracer. E/A appeared to be at least 100 M.P.H. faster than our aircraft.

 

[hw97karbine]

Thanks for taking the time to dissect footage we've all seen but maybe not have pulled apart.

My pleasure!

this is a report of the encounter from an intel paper, though the date of the action is stated as July 27.

Thanks for the addendum! It's fascinating how the Mosquito pilot was able throw off his attacker in spite of the latter's speed advantage, a lesser crew would almost certainly have been shot down.

447th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress presumed to be 708th Bomb Squadron aircraft 42-37868 "Due Back" under fire from Willi Maximowitz's Fw 190 over Germany on April 29th 1944:

Luftwaffe fighter pilot and later ace Willi Maximowitz claimed a Boeing B-17 bomber shot down over Hehlingen on April 29th 1944. The "K" in a white square visible on the starboard wing denotes the aircraft in the footage as belonging to the 447th Bomb Group that was flying a mission to Berlin on this day.
The unit suffered its worst losses during this mission with eleven aircraft failing to return from the 29 that made it to the target. While no individual markings are discernable, I believe this particular aircraft to be Boeing B-17G 42-37868 "Due Back" that crashed a few kilometers from where Maximowitz made his claim. The gun camera footage shows the B-17 struck by at least ten 20mm high explosive shells concentrated in the rear of the aircraft that would be consistent with the circumstances of the bomber's loss.

Of the ten men on board the bomber four were killed in action, all of them aft of the flight deck:

- Ball Turret Gunner Arthur J. LLoyd was flying his first mission aged 21 -

- Radio Operator Arthur W. Watt was flying his second mission aged 21

- Waist Gunner Isaac R. Guyton was flying his first mission aged 26

- Tail Gunner Robert E Tobin was flying his first mission just weeks after his 24th birthday

The witness statement from Top Turret Gunner Windsor E. Graham describing his experience, It appears that the four men that lost their lives were either injured or killed by enemy fire and were unable to make it out of the aircraft before it struck the ground.

This was Maximowitz's fourth victory claim, having shot down his first bomber on January 30th 1944. The aircraft he was flying was a replacement for Fw 190 A-8/R8 Werknummer 551099 that he had bailed out of just six days before this footage was filmed, the day he made his third claim. His fighter had been damaged by return fire from a B-17 and while Maximowitz was injured he was able to return to duty shortly after. He would go on to claim 15 victories over the Western Front, all of them B-17 and B-24 four-engined bombers. Later over the Eastern Front he would score several more victories until he was declared missing in action on April 20th 1945 aged 24 in combat with Soviet fighters.

 

[hw97karbine]

RAF Mustang Mk III flies through a stream of gunfire from a Luftwaffe fighter Europe in 1944

Your typical MG 151/20 cannon is firing at around 675 rounds per minute, so at a given point in the line of fire there is a shell every 0.0889 seconds. A P-51 Mustang would easily be flying at say 170 meters per second and is 10 meters long. This means that it travels its own length in 0.0588 seconds, so it is entirely possible in that a Mustang flying perpendicular to fire from a single cannon to fly between the shells unscathed.

That's the theory and only for a single gun well timed, in practice I would be surprised if this particular aircraft didn't catch a few projectiles from the burst even if there is no clear evidence of impact in the footage.

 

[hw97karbine]

Jagdgeschwader 53 pilot in a Bf 109 F shooting low while turning with an RAF Spitfire Mk Vb off the Maltese coast in early 1942

This is over the South coast of Malta with Wied Znuber and Hal Far airfield visible in the background

 

[hw97karbine]

US Navy fighter dives with a crippled IJN A6M Zero off Truk in 1944

I believe that is Fonow Island visible at the 3 second mark

 

[hw97karbine]

de Havilland Mosquito PR Mk XVI of RAF 140 Squadron shot down by 335th Fighter Squadron P-51 Mustangs near Heligoland after being misidentified as an Me 410 on October 6th 1944

de Havilland Mosquito PR Mk XVI serial NS522 was an unarmed reconnaissance aircraft assigned to 140 Squadron Royal Air Force. On October 6th 1944 it departed for a reconnaissance mission over the Frisian Islands in the North Sea, piloted by F/Lt Alfred Ernest Palmer with F/Sgt Douglas Gardner navigating and failed to return to base.

The aircraft had been intercepted by USAAF P-51 Mustangs of the 335th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group that identified it as a hostile Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Me 410. P-51 pilots 2/Lt Ralph Edward Lewis and 1/Lt Elmer Norbert McCall Jr shared the kill claim at 11:00 between 10 and 20 miles Northwest of Heligoland. Footage from their respective gun cameras appears in this clip. The Mosquito can be seen in wreathed in flames in McCall's footage and later crashes into the sea. Neither of its crew would survive the incident.

While McCall would survive the war, Lewis did not have long to contemplate his involvement in this incident as he was himself shot down some weeks later on November 18th 1944. Piloting P-51 Mustang 44-14529 he was hit by flak while strafing Leipheim aerodrome and was killed when his aircraft exploded as it hit the ground.

Such incidents were not uncommon during WWII, indeed the Mosquito one serial number up NS523 also flying with 140 Squadron had been shot down by a P-47 Thunderbolt near Louvain just 4 days earlier on October 2nd 1944. Both the Mosquito and the Me 410 were twin-engined multi-role aircraft with almost identical wingspans and similar configurations when compared to scale that led to this sort of tragic circumstance in the fog of war.

 

[hw97karbine]

P-51 pilot Merle J Gilbertson shoots a Bf 109 off the tail of a crippled B-17 on January 14th 1945

Gilbertson flying with the 77th Fighter Squadron 20th Fighter Group came in fast in his P-51 44-14822 "Sad Sack" to engage the 109 and was forced to pass underneath it to avoid a collision, getting his canopy covered in the 109's fluids in the process. Before he was able to position himself for another shot his wingman John P Starke moved in to finish off the enemy fighter and they both shared the kill.

Gilbertson survived the war credited with 2.83 aerial victories and 4 kills on the ground, yet he passed away at the age of 30 on October 18th 1950 after suffering a mechanical failure while flying an F-84.

 

[hw97karbine]

351st Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress filmed from a fellow bomber dropping out of formation with a damaged tail reappears in the gun camera of a Luftwaffe fighter in 1944

The "J" on a triangle marking denoting the 351st BG on the starboard wing is painted over by censors in the US footage but appears normally in the German clip.

The damage to the tail is peculiar and it potentially the result of the aircraft being struck by a bomb from a fellow B-17 at higher altitude

 

[hw97karbine]

458th Bomb Group B-24 Liberator engaged by a Luftwaffe fighter at low level in 1944

In the first part of the clip the top turret gunner can be seen firing back at his bomber's attacker