P-51 ETO gun camera footage in color

[78thFG_Doodle]

Color gun camera film from P-51s of the 78th Fighter Group in Spring 1945. Also includes April 16-17, 1945, where they strafed 5 different airfields in Czechoslovakia and were awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation.

Edited May 24, 2024 by 78thFG_Doodle

[sevenless]

WOW! Never saw that on life footage before. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Edited June 7, 2024 by sevenless

[JG27*PapaFly]

14 hours ago, sevenless said:

WOW! Never saw that on life footage before. Thanks for sharing!

 

 

Wow,  some of the attacks were super low.

 

I wish we could have more realistic and longer lasting ground fires, and smoke plumes that are carried by the wind. It would make ground attack more challenging, but also add good queues regarding windage in the target area.

 

Looks like the jets in the lower pic were lined up for take-off. There was an explosion in the lower of the 2. Can we find out more about these? What airfield, unit,  perhaps pilots?

Edited June 8, 2024 by JG27*PapaFly

[sevenless]

1 hour ago, JG27*PapaFly said:

Can we find out more about these? What airfield, unit,  perhaps pilots?

 

As for airfields, my guess is either Žatec airfield (Czech: letiště Žatec or Žatec-Staňkovice, also known as Fliegerhorst Saaz, ICAO: LKZC) or Prague–Ruzyně. As for unit. I guess that is impossible to know.

 

Forgotten airfields europe

 

JaPo Publishing s.r.o. – Products – World War II over Czech Territory Books

[LukeFF]

On 6/8/2024 at 6:02 AM, sevenless said:

 

As for airfields, my guess is either Žatec airfield (Czech: letiště Žatec or Žatec-Staňkovice, also known as Fliegerhorst Saaz, ICAO: LKZC) or Prague–Ruzyně. As for unit. I guess that is impossible to know.

 

Forgotten airfields europe

 

JaPo Publishing s.r.o. – Products – World War II over Czech Territory Books

 

Most likely KG(J) 6

[Juri_JS]

55 minutes ago, LukeFF said:

 

Most likely KG(J) 6

If the airfield is Prague–Ruzyně the Me-262s could also be from I./KG(J)54 or JG 7.

My grandfather was at the airfield on this date, as pilot of 8./KG(J)6. He was wounded in May when troops of the Vlasov army/ROA attacked Ruzyně.

[78thFG_Doodle]

On 6/8/2024 at 4:31 AM, JG27*PapaFly said:

Wow,  some of the attacks were super low.

 

I wish we could have more realistic and longer lasting ground fires, and smoke plumes that are carried by the wind. It would make ground attack more challenging, but also add good queues regarding windage in the target area.

 

Looks like the jets in the lower pic were lined up for take-off. There was an explosion in the lower of the 2. Can we find out more about these? What airfield, unit,  perhaps pilots?

 

I am working on an in-depth breakdown of this through several AARs and operations reports. My goal is to have this as part of a larger series about the 78th Fighter Group in WWII.