Late WW2 photos

Website · Tue Dec 04, 2007 2:43 pm

ok these were given to me about 15-16 years ago, a couple of years before my grandfather passed away. Along with several german military items he handed me photos he had taken on his trek across europe following the war(he was a cook). a side note... my mom and her brothers and sisters got the huge lecture when they wanted to take the photos to school in the 50's-60's... and i visit and show interest and bam im heading home with some great items, which pissed my mom off a little bit... without any further interuptions

not much on the back but ill put what some of them have written on back.

fortress near antwerp, Belg.

Belg.

fortress near antwerp

same as above

First american field on european continent, between Carentan and Isigny France

near Antwerp, Belg.

Near Antwerp, Belg.

all the info i have on them... just thought id share and remember i just wrote what was on the back up here so if its wrong... no yelling at me..lol

Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:04 pm

Those pics are very cool. It is almost like stepping back in time. I like that V-2 on the train and those picked over wrecks (as it appears to me) also tell a story.

Mike

Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:15 pm

Man, one could only dream to find some of those airplanes just laying there in an open field like that nowadays. Thanks for posting those.

Gary

Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:23 pm

Wow! Great shots of views we never really see in most pics. First hand account photos are great.

Thanks for sharing.

Website · Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:23 pm

i have more .. just not of warbirds... some of a few towns he went through and a couple of him aboard the ships in the channel as they waiting for the beaches to be secured... just thought id put up the ones that i have always stared at over the yrs.

Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:25 pm

Great photos. thanks for taking the time!

Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:31 pm

JBrawner wrote:i have more .. just not of warbirds... some of a few towns he went through and a couple of him aboard the ships in the channel as they waiting for the beaches to be secured... just thought id put up the ones that i have always stared at over the yrs.

Go ahead, post them all!

Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:35 pm

there are infamtrymen here too, you know! post em!

Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:37 pm

Great shots, thanks for posting them! They have an eerie, desolate feel to them, I guess the season they were taken in helps.

I hope the pilot of the Typhoon in the second pic got out ok....

cheers

greg v.

Website · Tue Dec 04, 2007 3:41 pm

ill try to scan some more after finals next week, they seem to be trying to cram as many quizes and sectional test in before finals so i get to study every nightthis week and weekend... want to get on the deans list for my first semester in college. and itll give me a lil time to go back through them and pick out some more.... the pile o' pics is about 2.5" thick so ill grab the better ones for you guys

Tue Dec 04, 2007 4:34 pm

Amazing images!!! Thank you for sharing!!

Tue Dec 04, 2007 5:42 pm

Them are gems for sure!

Tue Dec 04, 2007 8:57 pm

Those are remarkable pictures.

Thank you for sharing them. I paints a pretty good picture of what Europe was like near the end of the war. War machines scattered everywhere, left until there was time to clean them up.

Thank you again.

- David

Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:47 pm

excellent photos, thanks a lot for sharing them.

B

Tue Dec 04, 2007 10:05 pm

Daveymac wrote:Those are remarkable pictures.

Indeed, interesting album.

Daveymac wrote:Thank you for sharing them. I paints a pretty good picture of what Europe was like near the end of the war. War machines scattered everywhere, left until there was time to clean them up.

Certainly Europe was a mess, but they didn't leave any aircraft around for long. If they crashed in German-occupied territory, they were shipped off and melted down ASAP, if they weren't usable. The Allies would get them back asap to go back into service or for canabalisation. You're right, in a way though, because as fast as they were removed, more came down!

For instance, this Hawker Typhoon, of 193 Squadron, RAF (DP codes) would be salvaged promptly, and quite likely repaired and back into service. BTW, that's not a Jeep windscreen in the foreground, is it? Anyone know for certain what it is?

Interesting. A Spitfire Mk.IX, I'd guess, perhaps crashed on / near an airfield, if that's foam in the foreground. That doesn't square with the removed armour glass and missing panels (they'd be left there if it were in Allied hands) Note the guns' ammo already removed. I'd conclude it may have crashed on or near a German airfield and been stripped by the Germans. I could be dead wrong though!

The Shuttleworth Collection's airworthy Spitfire Mk.V is in the same Squadron markings - 'NN', which is 310 (Czech) Squadron RAF. The Shuttleworth machine escorted a certain Memphis Belle IIRC.

Just a little more, HTH. I'm sure there'll be a Spitfire expert along shortly...