A reprint photograph of the famous "Blacksheep Squadron" of World War II.The Marine Fighter Squadron (VMF-214) was originally commissioned early in 1942 at Oahu, Hawaii. Twenty-seven men under Major "Pappy" Boyington formed the original squadron. Flying their eight Corsairs night & day, they molded themselves into a fully trained squadron and in just 84 days piled up a record 197 planes destroyed, damaged troop transports, sunk supply ships and destroyed ground installations.
Photograph of Radio & Television pioneer Edward R. Murrow who first came into prominence with a series of news broadcasts during World War II from war-torn London. A pioneer of television news brodcasting including CBS Reports, See It Now, Person To Person, and Small World, the chain smoking reporter died in 1965, two days after his 57th birthday.
A rodeo cowboy is thrown off a big bull at the Navy sponsored Camp Pendleton, California rodeo in the 1950's. The annual rodeo, to benefit the Navy Relief Society ,was promoted as the "World's Largest Free Rodeo". The rodeo was held in June of each year.
July 20, 1945: General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General George Patton, and President Truman at the ceremony at the U.S. Group Control Council Headquarters in Berlin, Germany, where the American Flag was first officially raised. President Truman was in Germany to attend the Potsdam Conference. Photo from negative courtesy Harry S. Truman Library, U.S. Army.
The Great Lakes Aircraft Corporation from Cleveland, Ohio redesigned the B2G (1936) to the BG-1 with an internal bomb bay. The dive bomber had 750 hp P&W engine and carried a crew of two. It was transferred to the USMC as Command transport in 1937.
A press photo from the 1956 Republican Presidential Campaign, the "Ike & Dick Ticket". Pictured are Mamie, Ike, Pat and Dick.
From the data of German aeronautical research, came the elaborate designs by the Chance Vought company which led to production of the highly unconventional tail-less F7U Cutlass. The wing, with a sweepback of 38 degrees, was of very low aspect ratio, 3:1, and almost parallel chord. Pitch and roll controls were combined in elevons on the wing; fins and rudders were located on the wing at the ends of the centre section. The first F7U-1 flew on March 1, 1950, and the entire batch of this model was assigned to the Advanced Training Command at Corpus Christi,Texas Naval Air Station during 1952. It was redesigned several times to include basic armament of four 20 mm cannon in the upper lips of the intake fairing, with provision for underwing rocket pods. Production ended in December 1955 when 290 variants had been delivered.
Greyhound bus at NYC station boards U.S. Navy sailors bound for the Nation's Capitol in this nostalgic image from WWII. This photograph was part of a series done during and after the 2nd World War to document the transportation system of the U.S. The photographer was Esther Bubley who was working under a grant from SONJ. Photo printed from negative.
The USS Yorktown CV-10 was the tenth aircraft carrier to serve in the United States Navy. Under construction as Bon Homme Richard, this new Essex-class carrier was renamed Yorktown in honor of Yorktown (CV-5), sunk at the epic Battle of Midway (June 1942). Built in an amazing 16.5 months at Newport News, Virginia, the Yorktown was commissioned on April 15, 1943. Yorktown participated significantly in the Pacific Offensive that began in late 1943 and ended with the defeat of Japan in 1945. The ship received the Presidential Unit Citation and earned 11 battle stars for service in WWII. Much of the Academy Award winning (1944) documentary "The Fighting Lady" was filmed aboard Yorktown.
Throughout World War II, women contributed to the war effort in many ways, earning the respect of society and laying the foundations for the women's movement. Three women mechanics are pictured here working on aircraft.
