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Very interesting and shows the deep personal impact the war had.  Is the a family member of yours?

Not one single GI in WW2 died a prolonged horrible death according to the letters sent home. None of them suffered. They all died by a bomb of some sort or by a sniper that took him out instantly.

Sometimes the truth needs to be buried out of compassion.  Nothing wrong with that.

Agreed but I was pointing that out.

Incidentally at the request of an aunt I did some digging about a family member KIA on Iwo Jima. I actually managed to find a guy in his squad that was there when he was killed. I asked him to spare the kindness and tell me the truth about and he did.

He said I was the only person other than guys in his outfit he had ever told the truth to.

No, I can’t claim him.  This was a file I encountered as an archivist working for a local museum.

B-17G which survived collision with another.  The lower plane's radio man was killed and his body scooped up into the nose of this plane and carried back.  Original caption suggests the remainder of the lower plane's crew survived, but b17flyingfortress.de database says all KIA.

"The Following is an Eyewitness account by S/Sgt. Frank J. Balley

The accident occored a few minutes before we reached the front lines. I was in the tail of the ship flying the third position in the number three element in the low squadron. I heared an explosion about our engines and felt our ship lurch. Looking up I saw pieces of flaming wreckage falling directly behind us. The airplane had already broken up. I was unable to follow it down because of contrails and haze and so I don't know if anyone was able to bail out. A few seconds later I saw another airplane losing altitude fast and falling behind our formation. The nose of this aircraft was missing from the cockpit forward. The pilot seemed to be trying to feather his number three engine as it was windmilling. The last I saw of this plane was headed for the lines, losing altitude. Both airplanes had markings of this group on the wings and tail.

Frank J. Bailey

Sgt. George V. Devlin reported KIA because of information received in TWX (R-106-C) dated 19 March 1945 from 48th Fighter Group. As a result of collision Sgt. Devlin was found lodged in nose of aircraft piloted by Lt. Tennenberg (43-38071) who landed at Base A-92 on 17 March 1945. Lt. Tennenberg and crew are safe."

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Air crew loading up for deployment in their B-17E, May 1942
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Interesting collection of long guns there...not what I would expect in a B-17.

Military issue of the day and the gunners shot a lot of skeet to keep sharp.

The Thompson seems like an odd survival gun, but apparently some crews intended to shoot their way out of Germany if they had to and wanted all the firepower possible.  A significant percentage of downed crew did escape and a significant percentage of unarmed or surrendered crew were murdered, so I can't disagree, though mid-1942 feels a bit early to conclude that your best chance is to shoot it out.  Maybe they're bound for the Pacific - I'd be triply inclined to fight to the death if I landed in Japanese held territory.

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https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/bomber-crew-personal-armament.48956/
"I have started reading the book "Bomber Aircrew Personal Experience." I read a couple of surprising things about the personal weapons the crews carried in Europe.

One bomber pilot said that none of the crew carried the .45 automatics they were issued on missions, since carrying a gun gave the Germans an excuse to shoot them if they came down in occupied territory.

But another pilot in the ETO said that with his crew all of the officers carried the .45's that they were issued, and in addition to that the crew chief had a Thompson submachine gun and all of the other crew members carried M1 carbines. He also said that he thought they should go unarmed because they would be treated worse if they came down in enemy territory. But apparently instead they were armed to the teeth!"
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NRA museum has a Thompson carried by a B-17 crew
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/content/a-thompson-that-flew/  
"Seventy years ago, this Thompson M1A1 submachine gun was part of the armament of Sweet Chariot, the B-17 bomber flown by Lt. Dwight Edwin Markley, a Kansan who went to war. As part of the 8th Air Force, Markley participated in many missions over German cities in 1945, even surviving a midair collision that tore off part of the left wing of his plane.

At the end of the war, Markley smuggled home his Thompson and later registered it during the 1968 amnesty. Last year, NRA member Wallace Weber, who has endowed our modern military arms gallery, donated Markley's Thompson, A-2 leather jacket and a treasure trove of wartime accouterments to the museum collection."
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P-47 ace pilot Col. David Schilling of the 56th Fighter Group, 8th AF
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I can't say this isn't Korea, maybe a uniform expert can tell
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In the spring of 1945, a semi-official "clip carrier" was introduced in small numbers in Germany.  The unusual ammunition clip carrier allowed three additional 15-round magazines to be carried forward of the normal 15-round magazine in the mag-well (60 rounds total).  The U.S. War Department's "Combat Lessons No. 8" describes the device:

This ammunition clip carrier was designed by T/4 Pierce S. Priest, for use with the .30 caliber carbine M1. When the carrier is fully loaded, the exhausted clip is removed in the usual manner and a fresh clip placed in position for insertion by pressure exerted with fingers of the left hand at the front of the carrier. When the carrier is partially loaded, operation is the same except that the fingers of the left hand are inserted at the side of the carrier.

The carbine "Clip Carrier" is seen here with a member of the 278th Field Artillery Battalion in Germany.
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Who wants a letter hearing how their loved ones lingered for days burned and missing their faces and other horrors?

Sometimes it's ok to lie

Agreed and that's why it happened that way. I was just pointing it out.

Growing up reading and watching about wars with a few exceptions they had presented rather sanitized views, which never quite jive with accounts of some participants.  But last few years have shown whatever side you are on you don't often die in some quick and heroic, but slow painful and nasty deaths.

I believe those are Ross Rifles in the top pic.

I'm reminded of some gruesome photos I came across of a soldier killed in a training accident that occurred when he picked up a dud mortar shell, killing himself and injuring others.  The story published in the local news was softened by shifting the blame.

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There's a graphic photo series of the remains being collected on the National WWII museum website - "483rd AAA Battalion surgeon examines the remains of 19 year old Private Norman A. Badders, killed after picking up an unexploded 60mm mortar shell on exercise in California on April 5th 1944"

NSFW - SERIOUSLY

https://www.ww2online.org/search-page?f%5B0%5D=field_unit%3A483rd%20Antiaircraft%20Artillery%20Battalion

Good catch.

Pilots of No 122 Squadron RAF shoot clays between sorties at Scorton, Yorkshire, practicing deflection shooting
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B-17 windshield of the 388th BG hit by dud 20mm, September 1943.  Don't know what happened to the co-pilot.
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Perhaps a 20mm windshield hit that detonated?
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.50 cal impact
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Flak damage after Berlin raid 1944
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@Mal_means_bad I bet you have more info about these - Bomber Formation Assembly Ships. They used crazy paint schemes to be more visible. I assume most of these are colorized photos


B-24H Liberator 42-7552 489th BG Assembly Ship “LIL COOKIE” 2 – color photo


B-24D 41-24109 Assembly Ship of 466th Bomb Group “READY AND WILLING” covered with a red zig-zag pattern


B-17F Flying Fortress aircraft 'Spotted Cow', assembly ship of 384th Bomber Group, 547th Bomber Squadron, based in RAF Grafton Underwood, Northamptonshire, England, UK, 1943, photo 1 of 2 ww2dbase



Spotted Ass Ape leads Liberators of the 458th Bombardment Group. [Via]

Some more:

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/formation-ships.html

P-51 equiped with AN/APS-13 tail warning radar-antenna shown in highlighted red outline. A copy of the british Monica system used to warn of the approach of german  night fighters. The germans developed a passive homing system (called Flensburg) to detect Monica emissions and the British lost a large number of bombers until a JU 88 equiped with the homing unit accidently landed at a British base and the system was discovered.

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AN/APS-13 panel installation shown  in Mustang cockpit.

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So it was an active radar system, not a passive system?

What the hell are the Detonator Buttons (12)?

Active.  

Small self-destruct bomb for the IFF (identification friend or foe) radio.  Pre-war/early war RAF invention shared with the US that amplified a radar pulse and smeared the blip of an interrogated aircraft so that ground operators could identify them as friendly.

@dedreckon  I had a couple more, but they're all at your link.  I'll post 'em anyway, they're fun
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When you look at these pics, and think about the horror,.....add -60* weather at triple digit speed, air too lean to remain conscious, to it all

DAMN

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@dedreckon  Found a couple more
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This P-51B modified to a two seat trainer/hack after a ground loop was renamed after flying General Dwight Eisenhower over the landings at Normandy on July 4th 1944
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Maj. Gen. Quesada taxiing a 355th FS twin-seated Mustang after completing a reconnaissance of the Saint-Lo area with Gen. Eisenhower in the back seat. The video also captures 354th CO Gorge Bickell introducing the group's leading ace at the time Maj. Don M. Beerbower.  Eisenhower looks delighted.

Amazing content

as always

More Clown Cars.
https://imgur.com/a/kgU3r

Colorized
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Wreckage of a Sikorsky XPBS-1 patrol bomber that was destroyed by hitting a submerged log while landing at Alameda on 30 June 1942 with Admiral Chester Nimitz on board, who escaped with minor injuries.  Pilot Lieutenant Thomas Morton Roscoe, 29, was killed and most passengers were injured when thrown about the cabin as the plane somersaulted.  Seaplane takeoff and landing areas were patrolled by boats for debris before use, IIRC Nimitz's flight caught a tailwind and arrived earlier than scheduled, before the patrol was complete.
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The XPBS-1 was a prototype seaplane patrol bomber which lost a 1938 fly off to the Consolidated PB2Y Coronado.  The prototype XPBS-1 was retained by the USN as a VIP transport.
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Sikorsky built a few more as commercial airliners called the VS-44.   One operated by American Export Airlines crashed on takeoff from Newfoundland in 1942, killing 11 of 37 on board, when the crew skipped part of pre-flight and failed to discover that the flaps were in the full down position for landing, possibly due to the accidental activation of a switch that had a safety device removed.   Three VS-44 were appropriated by the Navy and operated throughout the war designated the JR2S-1.  The sole survivor resides at the New England Air Museum, CT
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Nimitz arrives in Tokyo Bay aboard a Coronado for the surrender ceremony
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RN Seafire RATO test, Farnborough 1944
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Aboard HMS Illustrious
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July 1950, Seafire launch from USS derp HMS Triumph for an interdiction strike on North Korea
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Great pics. HMS Triumph, not USS Triumph. Sorry, had to dig that out as it was kinda boggling my mind. She missed out on WWII, but did help out in Korea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Triumph_(R16)



After conversion to a heavy repair ship. Guess that's like a tender in US terms.

Fixed.

The Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory of Caltech (AKA GALCIT, later renamed the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL) "suicide squad" rocket pioneers preparing to static fire a prototype on the future site of JPL, 1936
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Dr. Theodore von Karman sketches a rocket design on a plane wing with GALCIT engineers and pilot Capt. Homer Boushey, 1941.  A Jewish immigrant from Austria, von Karman went on to a long and incredibly fruitful career with USAAF/JPL/NASA and is considered one of the fathers of space flight.
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Capt. Boushey piloting the first American rocket assisted take-off.  Apparently the same plane that von Karman sketched on, an ERCO Ercoupe economy light sport plane purchased by USAAF
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50' barrier test
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Original Ercoupe rocket
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Same plane repainted with USAAF livery, US serial number replaced civilian NC registration.  USAAF bought three for experimentation, one of the others is unrestored in storage at the Air Force Museum.
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Damn, great photos!!
And all I got is a picture of my uncle with his crew…
Second from right sitting.


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Colorized film of the famous battle in Cologne between a Panzer and several US Army Shermans and an M26. Not sure this is new, but new to me (in color)

I've never seen the long version. Interesting to see the guy carrying the .30 belt fed on a sling with a glove on his left hand. I presume so he could hip fire it.

USAAF recon 2/4/1944.  A trainload of German tanks moves east of the town of Macerata, near the Adriatic coast of Italy.  Original caption says Panzer III.  F-5 Lightning nose camera?  I wonder how fast turn around time on targets was, maybe they got interdicted by fighter bombers.
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F-5's came in a number of variations and served in all theaters
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It would be interesting to read the personal accounts of German railway workers during the war.

I imagine after D-Day things got progressively more exciting for all involved.

An F-5 that barely survived a mid-air collision brought some of a Halifax back with it.  Look at that wing root at the engine nacelle, I bet the wingtip moved a foot or two back.
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F-5 photo recon trails flight of Corsairs attacking Okinawa
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F-5 over Normandy
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Rail depot in the city of Celle, Germany immediately after the surrender
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Railway bridge from the Celle train station over the Aller River
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Those guys would have burned all those planes, trucks, helicopters, night vision, rifles, machine guns and everything else in Afghanistan.

It's embarrassing that they didn't.

5/12/1944 England   458th Bombardment Group B-24 waist gunner Sgt. De Sales A. Glover, USAAF veteran of six missions over Germany with one kill claim and WIA by flak, grounded when he was discovered to be 16 years old, having enlisted in the Air Force at 14.  Glover reenlisted at 18 and flew 82 B-26 missions in Korea.
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At the same time the 458th had a 46 year old gunner, Sgt Wells N. Gardner, a WWI artillery vet of the Argonne Campaign who enlisted in Oct 1942.  Gardner flew 30 missions and was rotated back to the states in 1945.
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Have fighter pilots always been crazy?

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B-26 Marauder serial number 42-107566 hit by flak during an attack on a railway bridge near Marzabotto Italy, limping home July 10 1944.