The Army Air Corps had a practice of allowing air crew access to cameras and high quality film to take pictures around the base and on missions. The Army photo labs developed the film and gave the pictures to the photographer, keeping copies for Intelligence.

Jack (Walt?) Fleming was one such airman-photographer.  "On a training flight in the US before we went overseas, he did pass out from lack of oxygen. He was using a little portable bottle and it was empty, he passed out, but was closest to me, so I let him use my [oxygen mask] system alternatively, until he came to; while flying at high altitude you can die in a few minutes with no O2! He felt as if I'd saved his life. Another crew member did the same for me at another time, no big deal. "  The pictures below were mostly taken by Walt Fleming and given to Harley Tuck.

Several years ago Harley was asked about the photographs that had been with his other war stuff ("maybe it'll jog your memory...").

He responded:

"It sure is good news about those pictures, I thought they had been lost for good... 

Niece and Nephew of Fred Hawley; HT and Fred visited Fred's relatives on a pass.

"Left side of a B-17 fuselage from behind the wing, with the skin erupted with bullet holes above the wing's trailing edge, and a flap of skin folded up right about where the radio room is- that was a plane that came back from a mission after a direct hit by an 88mm flak gun. Fred T. Hawley was toggelier on that ship. Radio operator was killed, no floor from the ball turret to the front of the bomb bay. The two waist gunners and ball gunner and tail gunner had to stand in the waist for the landing. At the time the shell hit, the ball turret was pointing straight down, so the gunner could get out ok, but the strong parts of the fuselage was the lower part, all blown away by the direct hit. The machine gun barrels were ground off as the ship landed, keeping the ship from buckling down and caving in at the middle. Everybody but Fred Hawley had shrapnel injuries, Fred was sitting in the nose.

Wing of B-17's over the English Channel.

View of the upper echelon of a formation of B-17's, most likely going home after a mission-- note the loneB-24, probably a tagalong who lost his own formation.

Contrails forming in high altitude flight.

"Dark sky above, mostly cloud cover below, small white puffs on the end of vertical trails of smoke- THAT WAS FLAK! AA GUNS.