Category: Aviation

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USS Hornet’s courageous last stand in 1942

"Bomb explodes belowdecks" by Tom Lea. 1943, U.S. Army Art Collection
The Guadalcanal campaign in the autumn of 1942 ranks among the most complex military operations in U.S. history. American forces in the South Pacific were faced with Japan's experienced armed forces. As a result, a kaleidoscopic series battles occurred on land, and in the air and seas of the Solomon Islands. (Left) Associated Press correspondent …

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Target for Today – Review and Gameplay

Target for Today, in my view, is the single best solitaire wargame available today. Arguably, it may be the best ever.

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97th Bombardment Group paintings, 1942

B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 97th Bombardment Group return to base after their first strategic mission against occupied Europe, August 17th, 1942. U.S. Art Art Collection.
Respected artists deployed across the globe on assignment to Life Magazine during World War II to capture images of Americans at war. Among them was Peter Hurd, noted for his portraits and southwestern landscapes. In the late summer and autumn of 1942, he traveled to the United Kingdom to paint airmen of the 97th Bombardment …

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Whizzer II goes down over Yugoslavia

Whizzer II goes down over Nis, Yugoslavia, 15 April 1944
This dramatic photo and the one below show the final moments in the lives of ten Airmen on Whizzer II (SN 42-5786), a B-17F Flying Fortress. She and her crew were assigned to the 840th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy). On April 15th, 1944, the Fifteenth Air Force – flying out of bases around Foggia, Italy – …

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Liberators in the Marine Corps – World War II

Mid-1944, Emirau, Bismarck Archipelago. A PB4Y-1 Liberator of Marine Photographic Squadron (VMD) 254 takes off at the start of a long-range reconnaissance mission to Truk Atoll. US Marine Corps Photo
Mid-1944, Emirau, Bismarck Archipelago. A PB4Y-1 Liberator of Marine Photographic Squadron (VMD) 254 takes off at the start of a long-range reconnaissance mission to Truk Atoll. US Marine Corps Photo During World War II, the PB4Y-1 was the was the largest aircraft in the Marine Corps inventory. The Navy version of the B-24 heavy bomber, …

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Captain Kevin G. Rafferty, USAAF

Capt Kevin G. Rafferty, USAAF
Here is a fine study of the P-51B-NA-10 Mustang in flight over England sometime in 1944. USAAF Photo Over the decades, this photo has appeared in numerous publications on the P-51 and Air Power in World War II. It shows the Mustang's clean lines, and has helped shape how we see this aircraft and the …

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