Mighty Eighth in Colour

Wish this lot would start employing history graduates.

"Millions of poignant black-and-white photos have come out of the World War Two era, but it is not often that scenes from the deadliest conflict in human history can be seen in living color.
In 1942, LIFE Magazine sent Margaret Bourke-White, one of its four original staff photographers and the first female photojournalist accredited to cover WWII, to take pictures of the VIII Bomber Command, commonly known as the Eighth Air Force or The Mighty 8th.
The photographs, executed in brilliant hues that make them look almost like oil paintings, put on full display the massive American B-24s and B-17s - or Flying Fortresses - that rained terror on Nazi-control cities often in tandem with the Royal Air Force.
In the early stages of the war, the Eighth Air Force and the bombers under its command were praised for the 'fantastic accuracy' of the attacks.
But as the conflict dragged on, the Flying Fortresses and their crews would face heavy loses, the most dramatic of which came in October 1943 when 60 bombers were destroyed and 600 pilots perished in a single raid in Germany.
Some of Bourke-White’s pictures show everyday scenes from the base in England, like the portrait of an American pilot with a pink toy bunny - likely a good luck charm from a child - tucked in his waistband.
Another image shows an Air Force service member painting caricatures on the nose of an aircraft poking fun at the leaders of the Axis - Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Japan's Hirohito. "

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2294284/WWII-color-Rare-photos-1942-Flying-Fortress-bombers-heroic-crews-The-Mighty-8th-Command.html#ixzz2NiGrQA00

 

Great photos, thanks for posting!

 

Serendipity, once again.

I am reading "Masters of the Air" by Donald Miller (in advance of the Spielberg/Hanks making of the mini-series). And I am trying to trace my uncle's service with and he served with the Mighty Eighth Air Force...

So these photos fit right into my frame of mind. So glad you posted the link...

(As all of them do, that young man in the photo of the "unidentified American serviceman" looks like such a baby. Heartbreaking.)

 

Great post, Gordan, I have been a fan of Margaret Burke White's work for many years. I believe Kodachrome came out about 5 years before WW2. If I remember correctly it had a ASA of 25, very slow film , but nicely saturated colors. I used it for probably 30 years.

Tanks,
Gaines

 

I'm always amazed at the quality of pics taken on that film, Gaines.

 

Great to see photos. With id numbers shown clearly, we can find out more about the planes.