Battle of the Bismarck Sea
A ship from the convoy burns after it was hit by Allied forces during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in early March 1943. From Ken’s Men Against the Empire Vol. I, still in production.
Entries by IHRA
The Royce Raid
Brigadier General Ralph Royce (left) and Col. John Davies, two commanders of the Royce Raid (April 11– 16, 1942), pictured in Melbourne soon after their return from the Philippines. Royce volunteered to lead the mission after Gen. George Brett, Commanding General of Allied Air Forces in the SWPA, declined to lead it himself. Brett felt that sending Allied aircraft to the […]
New Ebook — Stories from Fifth Air Force
With the growing popularity of our blog, we decided to round up a batch of stories and make them available as a short Kindle ebook called Stories from Fifth Air Force. This ebook comes loaded with 9 exciting stories, including a triple-length story about the Royce Raid, a color profile from our book Rampage of […]
Col. Strauss Gets a Proper Farewell
Col. Robert H. Strauss, the only C.O. the Roarin’ 20’s had known, left for home in March 1945. Strauss completed 126 combat missions in 17 months of overseas duty, and it was now time for him to rotate stateside. Here, the 312th honors Col. Strauss with a flyover of A-20s. This photo can be […]
Belly Landing
A-20 LITTLE HELLION is surrounded by onlookers at Seven Mile airdrome following Lt. William Ford’s belly landing on November 1, 1942. It had been transferred from the 8th Squadron after damage earlier that year. After Ford’s crash-landing, its fuselage was combined with parts from other A-20s and reincarnated as the STEAK AND EGGS SPECIAL – the 89th Squadron’s chow plane. […]
Burning B-17
The 403rd Squadron’s B-17F #41‑24540 smolders after it was hit during the raid at Milne Bay on January 17, 1942. From Ken’s Men Against the Empire Vol. I, still in production.
Wing Damage
During the 389th Squadron’s mission to Wom Point on March 27, 1944, the wing of 1/Lt. Kenneth I. Hedges’s plane hit a tree. Despite considerable damage to the A-20, Hedges made it back to Gusap where the aircraft was transferred to a service unit. This photo can be found in Rampage of the Roarin’ 20’s.
Attacking Shipping
On February 7, 1945, the 71st and 822nd Squadrons of the 38th Bomb Group conducted a shipping search around Takao Harbor, where they spotted CHa 177, a sub-chaser, pictured here under attack by a 71st Squadron strafer. This photo will be found in Saga of the Sun Setters Volume II, currently in production.
Thanksgiving 1942
It was a little late, but the unit back at Reid River were treated to a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings on December 3rd. This group of photos shows various aspects of the 408th Squadron’s celebration. This photo can be found in Revenge of the Red Raiders.
Bob Hope on Owi
Entertainer Bob Hope and his troupe put on a show for the men stationed on Owi shortly after the 22nd Bomb Group arrived. This photo of Hope with movie star Frances Langford was taken during the performance on August 24, 1944. This photo can be found in Revenge of the Red Raiders.