Unbroken - Louis Zamperini Story - B-24s IN COMBAT

The National Museum of the Air Force maintains this combat photo of B-24s in action over Europe: “Through flak and over the destruction created by preceding waves of bombers, these 15th Air Force B-24s leave Ploesti, Rumania, after one of the long series of attacks against the No. 1 oil target in Europe.”

B-24s, like other WWII planes, took the fight to the skies in both the Pacific and European theaters.  Photographs, from the U.S. National Archives, give us a glimpse at some of the aerial battle scenes.

• Inside the cockpit of a B-24J;

• Loading bombs for the next mission;

• Crashing, on take-off, was not uncommon for B-24s;

• Close-formation flying sometimes causes casualties;

• Nearing their target, the crew opens the bomb bay;

• Dropping bombs, from a higher altitude, creates a “close call” for planes below;

• With her rear fuselage blown off, “Red Bow” makes a fatal descent;

• Losing their way, crew members trying to find Benghazi - a coastal town in Libya - crash and are never seen again;

• Waist gunners, at their post, give (and receive) fire power;

• Tanks explode, on “Little Warrior,” as a nearby waist gunner photographs his friends;

• Surviving “flak alley” once, a B-24 crew will soon be back in the same predicament;

• Surviving a mid-air collision could lead to a different result on the ground;

• Taking a direct flak hit, although it does not appear serious, leads to a non-survivable event for this B-24;

• Death by strafing occurs minutes after this B-24's number-one engine is on fire;

• Waiting for a late-arriving bomber, finally in sight of base;

• Sometimes returning planes are late because of engine failure(s);

• B-24 crews do their best to repair their crippled bombers;

• Landings did not always happen on smooth surfaces;

• Crash landings didn’t always seal their fate, but this flak-damaged B-24 never flew again;

• Bursting apart, in flames, this B-24 was lost one month before Hitler took his life (thereby ending the war in Europe).

Louie and his crew mates lost good friends as they - and their B-24s - tried to take back Japanese-held islands in the Pacific.  "Super Man," and its crew, faced their own potential disaster on the day the men flew their Liberator to Nauru Island.