Dramatic never-before-seen pics reveal WWII bombing raids on factories in Germany and Nazi-occupied Netherlands from pilot’s perspective
DRAMATIC photos showing a series of heart-pounding World War Two bombing raids from the pilot’s perspective have come to light.
They were taken from Blenheim bombers undertaking attacks on targets in Germany and Nazi-occupied Netherlands in 1941.
Several capture the immediate aftermath of a direct hit, with flames and clouds of smoke signifying they had achieved their aim.
The album shows raids on the iron and steel works at IJmuiden port, in north Holland, and the Heinkel factory in Rostock, on the north German coast.
Other images document attacks on the important cities of Hamburg, Augsburg and Bremen as the Allies tried to wrestle back the initiative from Germany in World War Two.
Wilton’s shipyard in Rotterdam can be seen to have taken a direct hit, with a German ship west of The Hague enduring the same fate.
The album, which contains almost 100 photos, has emerged for sale with Toovey’s Auctions, of Washington, west Sussex.
DEATH FROM ABOVE
THE Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War.
The aircraft was developed as Type 142, a civil airliner, in response to a challenge from Lord Rothermere to produce the fastest commercial aircraft in Europe.
The Type 142 first flew in April 1935, and the Air Ministry, impressed by its performance, ordered a modified design as the Type 142M for the Royal Air Force as a bomber.
The plane was crewed by three men and had a wingspan of 56ft 4in.
It was armed with up to five guns and could carry up to 1,200lbs of explosives
BOMBER COMMAND
It was bought into the auction house by a local vendor who has had it for several generations, although it is not known if there was a family connection to Bomber Command.
Mark Stonard, valuer at Toovey’s, said: “A local vendor bought in the album over the counter and it had passed through several generations.
“It documents a great number of targets including shipping, docks and inland.
“The photos take you as close as you can get to the action, with the optics you feel you are in the front of the cockpit.
“It is remarkable how low they got when they were dive bombing. It is really dramatic.”
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The men of Bomber Command risked their lives every time they left their airbases to carry out raids on enemy targets.
Overall, 55,000 out of 125,000 aircrew were killed during the conflict, a staggering death rate of 44.6 per cent.
The sale of the album, which is expected to fetch £50, takes place on Thursday.
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