Ramitelli Airfield, Foggia Airfield Complex, Southern Italy, 1944. In the background of the P-51 Mustangs of USAAF’s 332nd Fighter Group, the “Red Tails”, one goat looking at the photograph while the other keeping quietly on graze: a not rare spectacle on the Italian airfields until some years ago. The 332nd FG, 12th Air Force, was the first USAAF’s unit composed solely by African American personnel, the famous “Tuskegee Airmen”. Victor Sierra



Goats and Mustang

A German column intercepted during a low-level raid at South of Rome by an A-20 Havoc of USAAF’s 47th Bomb Group during the Allied advance to the Italian capital, late Spring 1944. After few seconds the column was attacked. Victor Sierra

Low-level raid

On board of an American bomber the bombardier aiming for the target with the Norden bomb sight. The 489th Bombardment Squadron’s history, in 1944 equipped with B-25 and based in Corsica, tell the use of this at this time secret equipment. “The B-25J Mitchells of the 489th were equipped with the Norden bomb sight, a technological advance invented by a Dutch immigrant named Carl Norden. This device made bombing so accurate at the time that it was classified as 'top secret' and the bombardiers were required to swear a Bombardier's Oath, to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. ‘From the initial point until you dropped the bombs about two minutes later, the bombardier flew the airplane by twisting the knobs on the bombsight. There was no evasive action so you were a sitting duck. The bombsight dropped the bombs at the right instant. Then the radioman checked to make sure the bombs had cleared the bomb bay and when he said ‘bomb bay clear’ the lead pilot was free to maneuver his box out of the flak, usually by a sweeping turn including a change in altitude”. Victor Sierra