Other Forces

The Squadron which photographed Auschwitz

A Mosquito XVI of No 60 Squadron South African Air Force at the dispersal on San Severo Airfield, Foggia Airfield Complex, Southern Italy, 1944. The red and white stripes on the fin served as identification to Allied fighter pilots who mistook them for enemy aircraft, above all the Me 410. From San Severo the Squadron, equipped with photo-recce Mosquitoes, carried out detailed large-scale photographic surveys of German held areas, eventually ranging over the Alps and deep into Germany. And during one of this missions, on Spring1944, a 60 Squadron’s plane accidentally photographed Auschwitz when they went to photograph the rubber plantation next to the camp. When the photos were analyzed, they found rows of people lining up in the camp. Photos also showed chimneys and all the other characteristics of a camp for prisoners. This, with other intelligence, brought them to the conclusions that extermination camps existed. Auschwitz was photographed some other times by the No 60 Squadron and by USAAF’s recce planes. Victor Sierra