Ahh! ... Paris in the spring time ...

[Mark Allen M]

... what a great place. Heading over there next week. I always think WW2 history when I'm in Europe. So much of it there of course.


452nd BG B-17's over a very hazy Paris


An observation mission on the 9th of May 1945 shows a 487th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress by the Eiffel Tower


An observation mission on the 9 May 1945 shows 487th Bomb Group B-17 Flying Fortress's by the Eiffel Tower


French B-26's over Paris 18th June 1945


French B-26's over Paris 18th June 1945


French B-26's over Paris 18th June 1945, you can barely see them.


HOTEL DESINVALIDES~PARIS~U.S.AIR RECON~NAZI OCCUPIED FRANCE


Skyblazers over Paris 12 Sept 1954

Last edited by Mark Allen M on Thu Apr 14, 2016 12:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Mark Allen M]

P-38's over the Arc De Triomphe


L-4 over the Arc De Triomphe


L-4's over the champs elysees


PBY over the Arc De Triomphe

[Mark Allen M]

P-38, P-47 & P-51 under the Eiffel Tower, Paris 1945.


A B-17 Flying Fortress of the 94th Bomb Group exhibited under the Eiffel Tower, Paris 1945.


A B-17 Flying Fortress of the 94th Bomb Group exhibited under the Eiffel Tower, Paris 1945.

[Mark Allen M]

Paris was far from wonderful during the occupation. Tragic events then and recently.


Renault factory being bombed, Paris France by USAAF Bombers


B-17 'Pat Hand' going down over Paris

[Mark Allen M]

B-17 bomber of 8th Army Air Force dropped a load of bombs on the Hispano Suiza aircraft engine repair depot and other factories in Paris, 31 Dec 1943

[p51]

I have heard over the years that various people flew under the arch there during and immediately after the war in various military airplanes, mostly fighters and liaison planes for obvious size considerations. Does anyone have photos of any of them doing so?

[seagull61785]

RAF pilot Ken Gatward dropped the Tricolore onto the Arc de Triomphe from his Beaufighter and then flew down the Champs Elysse at low level to boost French morale.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/brit ... Paris.html

A quiet unassuming gent - a real hero. He presented me with my pilot's wings in 1966.

Barry

[Mark Allen M]

Here's a couple ...


A De Havilland Mosquito flown by RCAF 409 Squadron LCol Robert Fullerton, autumn 1944 flying under the Eiffel tower in Paris. (still having a tough time buying this one)


P-51C-1-NA s/n 42-103309 357th Fighter squadron 363rd Fighter Group flown by Lieutenant William Overstreet Jr, famous for the 109 he shot down that he chased under the Eiffel Tower.


Spirit of St. Louis flying by the Eiffel Tower.

[Mark Allen M]

and a few more from the 1945 Eiffel Tower exhibit

[Mark Allen M]

You can just see some of the planes under the tower.

[p51]

P-51C-1-NA s/n 42-103309 357th Fighter squadron 363rd Fighter Group flown by Lieutenant William Overstreet Jr, famous for the 109 he shot down that he chased under the Eiffel Tower.

As I understand, it, there are no photos of that dogfight. Imagine some German Kriegsberichter standing at the base of the tower with his Leica camera as they came past... what a shot that would have been.

[Mark Allen M]

I've only seen renderings and paintings but no photos. I do believe it happened though, but ya never know ...


French soldiers manning anti-aircraft machine guns on the Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1916. During the First Battle of the Marne, a German pilot flying aerial reconnaissance missions over Paris in an Taube regularly dropped bombs on the city.
The first drop consisted of five small bombs and a note demanding the immediate surrender of Paris and the French nation. Before the stabilization of the Western Front, the German aircraft dropped fifty bombs on Paris, slightly damaging Notre Dame Cathedral.


Free at last ...

[Rick65]

Mark, thanks , educational and enjoyable as usual.
I had thought that Paris was largely saved from bombing but research revealed that this was only by comparison with the disaster areas that other cities became.
The Germans bombed the city in June 1940 prior to it being declared a free city.
They made another series of raids in late August 1944 as they retreatedaway from the city.

The Allies bombed largely industrial areas in 1943 and 1944 including unintended (but inevitable) destruction of the working class housing and inhabitants near the target factories. On 21 April 1944 the La Chapelle railway marshaling areas were targeted (and largely missed?) in the lead up to the Normandy landings again with "collateral damage" to the areas surrounding the yards.
The industrial targets in occupied Paris must have been tempting but divisive targets when they were producing for the German side.

[Richard W.]

Was just in Paris last week for the first time in my life. (It's everything I'd heard it is. Marvelous place.)

As I walked under the tower I was thinking about the Overstreet story. Is the painting correct in that he followed a '109 through the base of the tower, guns blazing?

I have fired a .50 cal (on a ground mount only) and I know that it flies very far and will go through most things. It's truly hair-raising to think of 6 of them going off at that low level, roughly parallel to the ground in the center of Paris.

I didn't take a picture at 180 degrees from this one, but the city stretches out behind where I'm standing. People, buildings, etc. I know it was wartime, certainly, but is that something that an Allied pilot would have the time or inclination to worry about in the heat of combat?

[Dave Downs]

This is one tight formation - look how close 3's right wing it to 4!!!!


http://s1068.photobucket.com/user/mam12 ... f.jpg.html