Ninth Air Force Combat Art

The pictures on this page are taken from a book of Ninth Air Force combat art published in 1945 for distribution to Ninth Air Force personnel. All of the pictures in the book and the book's design are credited to Captain Milton Marx, and the book was published by the Ninth Air Force Executive Liaison Section. The book has thin cardboard covers, measures approximately 9-1/4" x 11-1/2" and was printed by Desifosses Neogravure in Paris, France.

As a government publication, this book and the images in it are in the public domain.

This copy belonged to my grandfather, Major William B. Abbott, Jr., who served as a special projects officer for the Ninth Air Force Public Information Office in Europe during 1944-45.

This memo from Major General Hoyt S. Vandenberg appears on the first page of the book, opposite the portrait shown below.

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Portrait of Major General Hoyt S. Vandenberg Commanding General, Ninth Air Force

General Vandenberg took command of the Ninth Air Force in August 1944, relieving General Lewis H. Brereton. General Brereton had commanded the Ninth since its activation in Cairo in June, 1942.

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Image Notes:

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The captions below each picture are the original captions from the book.

"Mustang Firing In." Tail jacked up, plumb bobs hanging. Guns are checked in this way.

"THE BONEYARD". Salvaging work on B-26s with acetylene torch amidst the raw wetness of Northern England in February, 1944

"PEEPING TOM" gets a camera change. Recon pilots serve the army. They photograph the enemy's behavior behind the lines. They photographed Holland in three quarters of an hour.

THE C.O.'s SHIP... Bomb crane dry-run in the background bucking for D-Day.

G.I. HUMOR at a Thunderbolt base in Southern England. "Screemin' Weemie" getting a goin' over, as a mission takes off for opportunity targets at Normandy. D-Day plus 15.

D-DAY EVE, 2300 HOURS. At a troop carrier base in Northern England.

HAVOCS (A-20s) and INVADERS (A-26s) being bombed-up along the runway in the heart of France, after the liberation of Paris.

BLACK WIDOWS (P-61s) night fighters at their base. Contrails in Belgium- November, 1944

BRIEFING Thunderbolt pilots in the S-2 tent... in Belgium. Here are but three of the many squadrons active during the siege of Aachen in October, 1944.