Some historical photos taken in 1945

[G0GQK]

These are photo's taken by an American photographer at the fall of Berlin. i believe some of the photo's were published in TIME magazine but apparently not all of them. One can only say, my god, those RAF and USAAF air raids made a mess of the city, and what was gained ? And one has to be amazed at how the Germans with American assistance of the Marshall Plan rebuilt Berlin and Germany from this hell on earth
http://englishrussia.com/2012/02/23/...45/#more-93257

[K8ERV]

WoW, I copied most of them.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[W4HAY]

If you want to see the post war ruins of Vienna used as the backdrop of a very good mystery drama, rent The Third Man, with Joseph Cotton and Orson Wells. The chase sequence filmed in the sewers of Vienna is a classic.

[N0SYA]

They piled the ruins of Berlin into a mountain called Teufelberg.

http://www.guerrillaexploring.com/ge...nment&Itemid=2

The US turned it into an effective spy nest.

[K7KWN]

Very interesting pictures, and so sharp and clear. I love the small details that are visible.

[G8ADD]

These are photo's taken by an American photographer at the fall of Berlin. i believe some of the photo's were published in TIME magazine but apparently not all of them. One can only say, my god, those RAF and USAAF air raids made a mess of the city, and what was gained ? And one has to be amazed at how the Germans with American assistance of the Marshall Plan rebuilt Berlin and Germany from this hell on earth
http://englishrussia.com/2012/02/23/...45/#more-93257

Yes, the RAF and USAAF made a mess of the "Big City", and they paid a terrible price doing it: roughly 50% of the aircrew trained for the RAF Bomber Command finished up as dead or prisoners of war, I don't know off-hand the figures for the USAAF but I imagine they were similar. What was gained? Disruption of German war industries and communications leading eventually to paralysis. Note also that in the end Berlin was fought over on the ground, great damage was done by artillery and Soviet tactical air operations in those final hours.

Berlin was eventually rebuilt, but ordinary Berliners spent literally years living in basements and heavily damaged buildings: in 1948 they were just barely kept from starvation for several months by the Berlin Air Lift after the Soviets cut off road, rail and canal access to the American, British and French sectors, and at that time, three years after the end of hostilities, there had been little reconstruction. Come to think of it, reconstruction in the UK started very slowly, too, though it accelerated considerably with the introduction of pre-fabricated housing, the good old "pre-fabs", some of which are still in use today not too far from where I live.

73

Brian G8ADD

[K8ERV]

They piled the ruins of Berlin into a mountain called Teufelberg.

.

WIKI has an interesting article on it, but it is spelled Teufelsberg by WIKI.

TOM K8ERV Montrose Colo

[N2EY]

One can only say, my god, those RAF and USAAF air raids made a mess of the city, and what was gained ?

Victory, for one thing. At a lower price and a shorter time, too.

The more the RAF and USAAF could disrupt the Jerries, the faster the ground forces could advance, and with fewer losses. The flyboys paid a heavy price, though.

D-Day was bad enough as it was. Had the Luftwaffe been able to mount an effective defense, Allied losses would have been staggering, and the whole thing might have failed.

Look up a place called "Ploesti" and the date August 1, 1943.

In the Pacific war, the disruption of shipping by submarines and air power over both land and sea avoided the need for an invasion.

73 de Jim, N2EY

[2E0OZI]

And the use of 2 atomic bombs. I once read that a aide of the Emperor said that as these weapons were completely outside the experience of the Japanese armed forces, they "allowed" a surrender to take place. In other words it was OK to be defeated by "otherworldly forces" but not by stuff they could understand.

[N2EY]

And the use of 2 atomic bombs. I once read that a aide of the Emperor said that as these weapons were completely outside the experience of the Japanese armed forces, they "allowed" a surrender to take place. In other words it was OK to be defeated by "otherworldly forces" but not by stuff they could understand.

Even after The Bomb, there were those in the Japanese leadership who did not want to give up. Had they known that the USA did not have any more bombs after Nagasaki, and that it would be months before more were ready, they might have held out.

Firebombs killed more than A-bombs, too.

btw, it was air power that delivered The Bomb. The B-29 program actually cost more than the Manhattan Project.

73 de Jim, N2EY