Never Before Seen WWII Photos; Axis Planes!!!
It’s Monday so that means it's time for another post of these amazing never before seen WWII photos taken by my Grandpa Joe. To learn more about my Grandpa and the history behind this unique memorabilia please see my original post Never Before Seen WWII Photos.
If you are new to my blog, or if you are a returning visitor, welcome! I am so excited to bring these photos here to you folks on Steemit. I am an Afghanistan War Veteran myself so these photos, that my Grandfather took, are extra special to me. Together we get to walk a little in his footsteps as he toured Germany at the end of the Second World War.
Since it has been a little while since I began this series I would just like to do a short recap for all the new people or maybe for those of you who have joined us a little later on in this series.
My Grandfather was an infantryman in the United States Army and was assigned to take photographs for his unit at the end of the Second World War. He was all over Germany and took hundreds of photos. It wasn’t until a few years ago anyone had even seen these photographs, but my Grandma allowed me to take the undeveloped film to a specialist who developed them and then converted them into digital files for us to see.
At the bottom of the post, I will link my past WWII posts for you to check out, and I encourage you to do so! There are some great pictures there and there are still a lot more amazing pictures to see.
For today's post, I would like to share with you all some interesting photos my Grandfather took of enemy planes. It would appear that these photos were taken near an airfield and if I would have to guess it was the captured airfield, Kitzingen Airfield. I have several pictures of him there and you can see that post here Never Before Seen WWII Photos (1).
The majority of the photos in today's post appear to be taken at a collection point for wrecked planes, perhaps near or on the airfield. Some of these airplanes show clear combat related damage, and for some itis hard to say exactly what led to their demise. Many appear to be stripped down for parts or maybe even just damaged during clean up. Maybe some were destroyed during the capture of the Airfield or just in skirmishes nearby and brought back to the base. This is a really cool shot of a German tail fin surrounded by a heap of destroyed planes. Seems almost artistic in a way. Beautiful.
Here we have some more severely damaged German Fighters. The one on the far right, facing the camera, may have some damage to the tail from flight but its hard to say for certain. The one in the middle of the frame, with the cockpit in view, looks like the engine was stripped and maybe used somewhere else. It is really crazy that there is just a pile of planes stacked up sitting outside these buildings, but that is war.
It looks like this Soviet (former Axis) fighter took at least two rounds to the tail fin and has some major damage to the side of her body as well. I have been wrong many times before on these posts, but I am going to take a guess and say that we are looking at a destroyed Yak 3 to me. I’m looking at the tail fin and cockpit, but again I may be wrong.
Here we have a rather dark shot taken inside of a hanger. I know there are many WWII plane experts out here on Steemit that can take one look at this plane and identify it immediately. I, however, am finding it pretty difficult to know for sure from this angle. If I had to guess though I would say it is a Heinkel He 111. It’s just that the defensive turret on her belly seems different than that of most of the pictures I am seeing online. I really hope someone can help me out here. Pretty awesome that the fuel barrels are still standing under her ready to go.
Please Check Out More Never Before Seen WWII Photos Posts
Never Before Seen WWII Photos
Never Before Seen WWII Photos (1)
Never Before Seen WWII Photos (2)
Never Before Seen WWII Photos (3)
Never Before Seen WWII Photos (4) Battlefields!!!
I Discovered Where He Was!!! Never Before Seen WWII Battlefield Photos
Destroyed German Tank and a Shot of the Battlefield! Never Before Seen WWII Images
Is Your Grandpa (or Grandma) in these pictures? Previously Unseen WWII Photos!
Portraits of War; Previously Unseen WWII Photographs
There are many more photographs, so please come on back next Monday and join me on this amazing journey through Germany during World War II!
Thanks, everyone for stopping by and please upvote and Re-steam this post! I am really enjoying all the comments and feedback from all you folks, thank you very much! If you have any information on any of these photographs, please, please share it in the comments.
I own all of these photographs so please respect my family history and ask permission prior to use.
It’s mad how you live there now and your grandfather was over there in wartime. I work for a company called Primark. And I spent a few years over there opening stores. My boss and CEO of the company was Steve Marchand. His father was an RAF pilot during the war. When we opened Hannover Steve took his dad with him. First time in Germany and Hannover since he bombed it! It was pretty emotional for him. I read up about the bombings of the cities and Hannover was one of the worst hit. It was flattened .So much so that the city begged a break but it didn’t come. The British were giving them a taste of their own medicine. My two gran- uncles died in Arnhem Belgium so all this stuff interests me
So crazy! I'm sure most of the western world has so many connections to the war. Really sad to think we were all killing each other. Glad it's in the past. But one of the interesting things about living here is the history not only from then but middle ages and pre Christian history as well. I'm mostly German ancestry so it cool to live once again in my native lands.
Another fascinating post @balticbadger
I guess that is one overlooked aspect of war! The junk, debris and broken equipment that is left behind. I wonder how long it all hung around for?
Gaz
In Germany, I'm sure it didn't hang around long lol. They are neat freaks! But in Afghanistan for example, I was there in 2007 and there was still a ton of blown up tanks and old destroyed forts from the Soviets left over from the 80s
I had 5 years of living in the middle east and I noticed that they don't look after their environment. So war debris from the 80's is not a surprise really.
Germany, on the other hand, was impeccably clean when I have visited. I guess that was no surprise either! 😁
I presume most of it was collected and recycled as good and fast as they could. A lot of things were needed and there were neither the raw material nor working manufacteries in Germany. Here is an example for a colander made out of an helmet. Such things were made in small businesses that built something like a production line.
Wow. Very efficient and organised.
Wow, thanks for the showcase!
Thanks for stopping by!
I can't imagine what it would have been like to live through such an era of history!
So very interesting. I'm glad it is well documented and hope as time goes by more truths are told.
First picture: Tail of a FW-190
In the third pic we have the end of a soviet plane, possibly a La-5, though I wouldn't bet too much on it.
The last picture looks indeed like a He-111, except for the glass cupola. I have never seen a He-111 with this kind of modification on the belly.
good spotted on the Focke 190.
As always, your wisdom is much appreciated on these posts. It really is a unique turret under the HE-111. I wonder what the story is behind it. Thanks again!
The obvious and logical explanation would be a reconnaissance version as it offers better vision. But I find nothing about a specific recon-version and I had to sell my library when I left Germany.
MAN these photos and series are great! Did you look at all the images yet? Or are you keeping some on ice?
I have seen all the images a couple times through but there are some many, each time I go through them I see something new. Like noticing the small details which sometimes turn out to be big things!
I can see that. It'd be worth doing a photo album too!
Howdy sir badger! another great post with interesting pictures to study...but no people this time. But the parts of planes are interesting enough, great job!
Thank you so much Mr. @janton! I will be sure to put some people in the next post there for you!
howdy sir badger! haha...no I like it fine either way with or without people, the photos are interesting but the girls always fascinate me because they look happy and so well dressed. Maybe they were happy that the war was ending, I don't know, it's just not the countenances that I was expecting to see.
its so interesting a now a bit of old planes but this is so raw. like most photos from the war is mint conditions. its so strange its planes form Germany and Russia in the same place,
Really is strange. I'm wondering ng if they are the remnants of an aerial battle and were cleaned up and piled up afterward. Can't say for certain.
This is such an intriguing series of images you are delivering us. Thanks so much for sharing such personal memorabilia. I guess these really display the negative connotations of the term: 'spoils of war'.
One doesn't really think a great deal about the clean up that takes place after a war. If you've never seen one firsthand, then you don't really understand the implications of the before and after. Films only really focus on the during so you don't get an appreciation for everything else that happens as a result of one.
Very true! A shame too because I bet you a lot of stuff that was just junked after the war would be worth big bucks today! But there are still always finding interesting stuff.l, like these pictures :)
More cool photos ... thanks for sharing them all.
No problem glad you checked them out!