WWII Gun Camera Footage

[hw97karbine]

USAAF B-17 Flying Fortress with #1 engine feathered and ball turret in the gunner exit position raked with cannon fire at point blank range from a Luftwaffe Fw 190 circa 1944

 

[hw97karbine]

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 D fighters destroyed on the ground by multiple strafing runs in 1944

 

[hw97karbine]

365th Bomb Squadron B-17G Flying Fortress 42-102609 engaged by a JG 400 Me 163 rocket interceptor on August 16th 1944

The B-17G under attack is almost certainly 42-102609 that was damaged on August 16th 1944 but returned to base, bearing scars consistent with the gun camera footage. The gun camera footage slowed down shows several distinct hits by the devastating 30mm cannon shells fired by the Me 163's pair of MK 108 cannon. There are two almost simultaneous hits the the starboard wing root and horizontal stabilizer, followed by a direct hit to the tail gunner's station, then two hits to the port wing, the first of which appears to not have been an explosive shell. The last explosive hit causes a burst of flame, likely because a fuel tank was ruptured, but the wing does not catch fire, it's possible that the tank was empty or the self-sealing material was able to work as intended after catching the shell fragments.

Also evident from the footage is relatively large drop in the cannon shells' trajectory, in order to make the recoil manageable in a cannon installed on a single seat fighter they were fired at a relatively low velocity, giving them a short effective range which was a handicap in aircraft with high approach speeds like the Me 163 and jet-powered Me 262.

Two of the crew, Ball turret gunner Sergeant Donald E. Gaugh and Waist gunner Leroy B. Marsh were killed in action. This is likely the result of the first two hits, the 30mm high capacity shells contained more explosive than a US WWII "pineapple" hand grenade and while the shell casing was thin, it would also turn parts of the aircraft structure into fragmentation. Tail gunner Salvatore Pepitone is listed as a prisoner of war, given the damage to the tail one wonders if he fell out of his position or bailed out because he lost contact with the rest of the crew and assumed the aircraft was doomed. After the hit on his position there does appear to be a substantial object that drops out.

The Me 163 was piloted by Feldwebel Siegfried Schubert of Jagdgeschwader 400. Schubert seen here in a lighter moment spinning the electrical generator on the Me 163 nose has the unusual distinction of being the most successful rocket pilot in history with 3 kills to his credit, claiming another B-17 on September 11th 1944. He would later die when his Me 163 exploded on the ground on engine start-up, but since rocket interceptors fell out of fashion shortly after WWII, his claim to fame as most successful combat pilot in this class of aircraft stands to this day.

 

[hw97karbine]

Handley Page Harrow RAF transports strafed on the ground by Luftwaffe fighters during Unternehmen Bodenplatte on January 1st 1945

The Handley Page H.P.54 Harrow was a heavy bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and used during the Second World War, although not as a bomber.

As a transport, the Harrow was routinely used to convey equipment and personnel between domestic military bases across Britain, as well as to continental airfields prior to the Fall of France. It also occasionally undertook risky flights between England and Gibraltar; two aircraft were recorded as having been lost on this route. Harrows also operated in support of Allied forces in their advance into north-west Europe, evacuating wounded from the Arnhem operation during September 1944. Seven Harrows were destroyed by a low level attack by Luftwaffe fighters of JG 26 and JG 54 on Evere airfield as part of Unternehmen Bodenplatte, the German attack on Allied airfields in north-west Europe, on 1 January 1945, leaving only five Harrows intact. These were retired on 25 May 1945.

 

[rochie]

Pretty fast firing those canon or are they the Mg 15's ?

 

[hw97karbine]

Pretty fast firing those canon or are they the Mg 15's ?

Hard to be sure, the impacts are inconsistent with 20mm high explosive rounds and those were typically loaded as a high proportion of the belt and also didn't have tracers, so I doubt this is MG 151/20 fire. My guess would be MG 131 cowl guns.

 

[hw97karbine]

USAAF Republic P-47 Thunderbolt catches a few shells while turning with a Luftwaffe fighter in 1944

 

[Greyman]

Turning with two Luftwaffe fighters, perhaps. It looks like he opens fire himself just before 0:14.

 

[Gnomey]

Good stuff!

 

[hw97karbine]

Turning with two Luftwaffe fighters, perhaps. It looks like he opens fire himself just before 0:14.

Interesting observation, it's not very clear but slowed down there does appear to be gun smoke coming from both wings:

 

[hw97karbine]

Here is a clip from an F6F Hellcat showing a Japanese A6M Zero under fire, the latter aircraft can be seen firing as it dives away with no obvious target ahead of it, possibly a sign that the pilot had been incapacitated:

 

[hw97karbine]

Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 under fire at point blank range from a US Navy F6F Hellcat over the Philippines circa November 1944

 

[SaparotRob]

I'm guessing that at this point of the war the quality of IJAAF pilots had been deteriorating. I had been wondering what happened to the earlier crops of IJAAF and IJNAF pilot cadets that had previously washed out.
I read Saburo Sakai's book, wherein the strict standards eliminated potentially good pilots. Was the IJAAF similar in policies? What happened to the washouts? I doubt there's much info available. I'm guessing of the IJN cadets, many went down with their ships. Similar thoughts about their hated IJA brethren.

 

[hw97karbine]

I read Saburo Sakai's book, wherein the strict standards eliminated potentially good pilots. Was the IJAAF similar in policies?

Interesting thought, I have never read anything on the subject. No doubt it was a major failing on the part of both the Germans and the Japanese to capitalize on the wealth of experience their pilots gleaned in the early war years to develop a training regime that could systematically introduce viable new blood into the ranks without depleting their veteran cadre.

Here is a similar clip this time involving a Ki-84 Hayate near the Philippine Islands on December 16th 1944:


View: https://rumble.com/v6sdrfx

Behind the trigger is VF-7 Hellcat pilot LT JG Robert Stuart Barton, an accomplished combat aviator who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions on October 29th 1944:

"The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to Lieutenant, Junior Grade Robert Stuart Barton (NSN: 0-157210), United States Navy, for heroism and extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flights against the enemy on 29 October 1944. Flying as a section leader of carrier-based fighter planes assigned to a fighter sweep mission in the Philippine Islands area, he led his section in a courageous counter assault on an enemy formation that was initiating an attack on other members of his group who were carrying out their mission at low altitude. His prompt action disrupted the enemy formation and averted their attack. In the resulting aerial battle he shot down one of the enemy planes. On the same day while orbiting outside the destroyer screen of his own task group he sighted an enemy plane attempting an attack on surface units of our fleet. He immediately attacked and shot down the enemy thus preventing an assault on our own surface units. His coolness, courage and skill were at all times in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service."

In this clip in spite of the extreme deflection angle Barton scores hits on the enemy fighter, with shots landing around the cockpit area that starts to flame. As the the Ki-84 dives away it can be seen firing at random, suggesting the Japanese pilot was dead or incapacitated in his seat.

Just over a month after this gun camera footage was filmed, Barton lost his life in a tragic accident on board USS Hancock on January 21st 1945. At least one 500 lb bomb dropped from the bomb bay of a returning Avenger shortly after it landed and exploded, killing Barton and 49 other men, as well as injuring 75 others. Damage control work brought the fires under control in time to land the other aircraft of the same flight. Hancock returned to formation and launched strikes against Okinawa the next morning.

The incident is described in this excerpt from USS Hancock's War Diary:

 

[TaffinMunich]

Great thread here chaps. Could anyone point me in the right direction for purchasing such footage? I work in archaeology in Munich and nearby and bombs are always an issue. I want to put together some stuff for YouTube about this aspect of my work; but I want it to be legit and not have any problems because of using licensed footage.

I'm particularly interested in anything relating to Munich, Lechfeld and Augsburg; I spent most of Covid excavating the former Messerschmitt factory at Haunstetter Str. I took loads of video of my (very boring) job and really need to do something with it.

Any pointers much appreciated.

 

[hw97karbine]

If you are interested in Luftwaffe gun camera footage then much of what survives is what was published in the Deutsche Wochenschau newsreels so the Bundesarchiv is your best bet.

Also be aware that due to overzealous moderation YouTube has for some months now been removing videos and deleting channels that feature German WWII combat footage.

 

[TaffinMunich]

If you are interested in Luftwaffe gun camera footage then much of what survives is what was published in the Deutsche Wochenschau newsreels so the Bundesarchiv is your best bet.

Also be aware that due to overzealous moderation YouTube has for some months now been removing videos and deleting channels that feature German WWII combat footage.

Thank you for your quick reply hw97karbine

 

[hw97karbine]

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor burns after taking fire from a USAAF fighter at low level over occupied Europe in early 1944

This is likely Fw 200 C-4 W.Nr. 0170 of 8./KG 40 shot down by P-47 Thunderbolts along the Crosses-Saint-Just road, Annoix, 10 km S of Bourges-Avord on February 5th 1944. Many of the crew survived the incident suggesting the aircraft made a forced landing:

(FF) Hptm Anton Leder KIA

(F.2) Uffz. Kurt Frosch WIA

(Bf) Ofw. Franz Krasemann KIA

(Bf) Fw. Josef Klütgens WIA

(Bm) Uffz. Fritz Schimmel KIA

(Bm) Ogfr. Paul Stähler WIA

(Bs) Uffz. Herbert Tücking KIA

(TP) Gefr. Peter Möbus KIA

(TP) Gefr. Franz Hölter WIA

(TP) Ogfr. Arthur Stieg WIA

 

[hw97karbine]

This one is post WWII but a notable event worth sharing:

Shortly after noon on July 27th 1953, U.S. Air Force Captain Ralph S. Parr Jr. with the 335th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing was flying an escort mission near Chunggang-jin is his F-86F Sabre (51-12959) when spotted an unidentified transport aircraft traveling unescorted.

Parr reportedly made several passes and identified the plane as a North Korean Ilyushin Il-12. Although later that same day the newly signed armistice was to bring an end to hostilities in the Korean War, he decided to attack the aircraft regardless. A long burst from his battery of six .50 caliber machine guns with a combined rate of fire of over 100 rounds per second ripped through the Ilyushin and brought it down in flames.

It would later transpire that the aircraft he targeted was in fact a Soviet Navy transport traveling through North Korean airspace from Port Arthur to Vladivostok. The plane came down on Chinese soil four kilometers from Mao-erh-shan and all 21 people on board, six crew and fifteen passengers, were killed. Judging by the concentration of fire on the fuselage visible in the gun camera footage, it's likely many were dead before the Ilyusin hit the ground.

There are suggestions that even if the legitimacy and timing of the act was questionable, Parr was keen to make the kill as he already had nine victories under his belt and needed one more to achieve the status of double ace.

Some Russian sources suggest an even more sinister motive, that the aircraft was deliberately targeted either because it was suspected that an important prisoner of war was being transferred to the Soviet Union or because the aircraft was supposed to be carrying top officials of the Soviet Pacific Fleet.

A monument to commemorate the event was erected in Vladivostok:

Parr was interviewed for the first episode of the "Dogfights" series and appears around the 30 minute mark but no mention is made of the incident:


View: https://youtu.be/lIa6LD5qFQ8?t=1821

 

[hw97karbine]

This is the only Regia Aeronautica gun camera footage I've ever come across, from a Macchi C.200 of the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia intercepting a pair of Soviet Ilyushin Il-4 bombers in 1941