World War Two: War in the Air 1942

Ground crew armourers prepare to load 1000-lb GP (General Purpose) bombs aboard Consolidated B-24D Liberator four-engined heavy bomber 'Katy Bug' from the 328th Bomb Squadron, 93rd Bomb Group of the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force before being brought to readiness for a mission circa November 1942 at Alconbury, Cambridgeshire, England. On 18 November 1942, Katy Bug was dispatched on a mission to bomb the U-Boat pens at Lorient in occupied France on her return 2 of the engines failed on approach to landing and the aircraft crashed killing 4 of the 10 man crew, Waist Gunner SSgt. John E. Collins, Tail Gunner SSgt. Woodrow B. Murphy, Flight Engineer TSG. David C. Miller and Bombardier 2nd Lt. Howard R. Gilbert. (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)