WWII Aerial Images Unearthed: US Pilots’ Snapshots Reveal Extent of Germany’s Post-War Devastation
Buchenwald concentration camp, where more than 50,000 Jews were murdered.
WWII Aerial Images Unearthed
US Pilots’ Snapshots Reveal Extent of Germany’s Post-War Devastation
In May 1945, US pilots embarked on hundreds of reconnaissance flights, aboard the same bombers which had razed much of Germany to the ground. Instead of launching bombs, however, they shot photographs, creating a hard-hitting portrait of their trail of destruction.
The instructions from the commanders of the 8th US Air Force were clear: Only the best and most experienced pilots were to be used on this special mission, which was taking place at the end of World War II. Hundreds of bombers, including B-24 Liberators, B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-26s, were going to thunder low through the air over Germany — for six consecutive days.
The selected pilots were not, however, going to unleash their firepower on Hitler’s broken empire, nor attack German armories, nor reduce cities to rubble. In fact not a single bomb was dropped. The aircrafts’ crews did shoot — but only aerial photographs. They created a photographic record of a defeated Germany, taking thousands of pictures, sometimes in impressive quality.
It was May 7, 1945. Germany had just signed documents for its unconditional surrender, which would come into effect the following day. The war was over — and the Allies wanted to create an accurate impression of the extent of the destruction, taken from the planes that only a few weeks before had scattered deadly bombs across Germany.
Topography of Devastation
According to the National Archives in Washington, the little-known “Trolley” mission took place from May 7 to 12, with a total of 2,013 US bomber flights, each carrying photographers among their crew. Small groups of three aircraft flew low, revisiting familiar routes.