B-17s of the 390th Bomb Group Flying in Formation
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Richard H.F. Neave, President Royal British Legion Paris branch, member Paris-based Libre Résistance SOE “F” Section and author of SOE: A Life in the Shadows“Another outstanding, well-researched, and presented book by Stew Ross. It gives a detailed guided walking tour full of facts about the activities of the Gestapo during their occupation of Paris during World War II. I highly recommend this book to everyone who has an interest in what life was like during the Nazi occupation in France.”
Cynthia Bisson, PhD, Professor of History, Belmont University, French Resistant Expert“Informative and entertaining, Stew Ross’ newest work evokes a difficult and frightening time in the history of the City of Light. The detailed descriptions of sites such as the Vél’ d’hiv’ or Gestapo headquarters reminds us of the choices people made during those years.”
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Is this photo available for purchase?? I would like to use this photo or something similar as artwork for a background album art for my new record coming out soon.
Hi Justin, You’re in luck as the photo you have referenced is in the public domain and you can use it without paying to license the image. The image is available on Wikimedia Commons (and through its source, The National Archives). The only thing is whether the resolution is high enough for your album cover. If so, you’re good to go (just make sure you give proper accreditation). Otherwise, you have several options to pursue a higher res image. I sent you an e-mail earlier outlining those options. Good luck. STEW
This is a particularly poignant photo. This was taken at the end of April or the beginning of May 1945; the aircraft of the 390th Bomb Group, relieved of bombing missions, are delivering food to Dutch civilians by air. The allies worked out a ceasefire and were granted permission by the Germans to deliver food by air-drop.
Thank you David for letting us know about the mission of the B-17s shown in the image. Looking closely at the photo, it appears as though the planes are not in a tight formation as they would have been on an actual bombing mission. Again, thanks for enriching our knowledge. STEW
Thank you for this information! My great uncle, secind Lieutenant Payl Herbert “Herbie” Bellamy was a pilot in this squad, killed in action only 8 months before this photo.
Hi Lucy; Yes, your great uncle, Paul Bellamy, was a second lieutenant pilot who was killed in a mid-air collision. He and the all of the men who flew the bombers and fighter planes were very brave. I hope you are able to find out a lot of war-time information on him. Thanks for reaching out to us. STEW
Mr Ross,
This is an interesting photo. In my studies, B-17 43-38013 (center on the photo) was never assigned to the 390th Bomb Group as the square J on the tail would indicate. But it was assigned to the 487th Bomb Group at Lavenham which has the square P on the tail. Also in the 487th it was B-17 43-38015 that was maked H. So this is an interesting perplexing photo. Makes me wonder if the marking where altered in the photo for security reasons.
It doesn’t appear that the waist guns are in place either. Thank you so much for posting it.
Hi Leonard; Thank you for contacting us. I appreciate your comments. Obviously, you know your stuff when it comes to the B-17s. I took another look at the image and I think the tail number is 339013. I can understand mistaking the “9” for an eight. I then went to several sources and both confirmed the number of this plane in this image. It was assigned to the 390th BG and 568th BS on 19 November 1944 at RAF Framlingham. They also confirmed it was a B-17-G-100-BO (i.e., built in Seattle). I’m looking forward to continuing our dialogue off-line. STEW