Photos WW2 US Forces

F4U Corsair crashing into barrier, 1943/44 on USS Charger (CVE-30). There were two accidents involving the F4U-1A on Charger in 1944, on the same day, March 31. Both during Carrier Qualifications. The summary doesn't say anything about the pilots condition. You can see the report summary and link to it in comments.

US Air Corps mechanics work on the P&W Twin Wasp engine of a P-36 Curtiss Hawk of the 20th Pursuit Group at Barksdale Field, Louisiana, circa 1940.
Note that the standing mechanic wears a Cap, Mechanics, Type A-2.
Made of OD HBT it ressembled the large flat-caps of the period (see secondary image below)
It was a short-lived item, soon replaced by the more familiar Type A-3, which ressembled a ball-cap, as worn by the other two men.
(LIFE / Kessel)

Literally "factory-fresh"!
An early-production M3 "Lee" Medium Tank rolls out of the Detroit Arsenal, Warren, Michigan, circa 1942.
(LIFE / Gordon Coster)

USS Ellet DD-398 off of Hawaii in 1940
USS Ellet was a Benham-class destroyer named for five members of the Ellet family of Pennsylvania who rendered service during the American Civil War
Launched in 1938, USS Ellet was returning from reinforcing Wake Island in the screen of Task Force 8 when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941
April 1942 found Ellet screening Carrier Task Force 16, which launched B-25's on Japan in the famous Doolittle Raid
Participating in the Battle of Midway and the Guadalcanal campaign, she served in the Pacific until wars end
Decommissioned October 1945, and sold for scrap August 1947, Ellet received 10 battle stars for her WW2 service
LIFE Magazine Archives - Carl Mydans Photographer

A couple of B-24 photographs from the Henry Ford museum reflecting the products of Ford's Willow Run plant.

The XSB2C-1 Helldiver prototype being rolled out of its hangar at the Curtiss-Wright facility, Buffalo, NY, circa 1941.
Original colour transparency.
(NASM Archives)

F2A-1 fighter (BuNo 1393) of the United States Navy, circa 1941.
The F2A-1 was the naval version of the Brewster Buffalo and holds the distinction of being their first monoplane fighter.
( NASM Archives)

The splendidly named Lieutenant Hiawatha Mohawk was one of the few Native American pilots to fly with the USAAF during WW2.
Lt. Mohawk flew a P-47 Thunderbolt with the 319th FS / 325th FG of the US 12th Air Force during the Italian Campaign in support of the US Fifth Army.
Here we see him being strapped into his P-47 ahead of another sortie.
Lt. Mohawk scored two confirmed aerial victories and remained in the USAF post-war flying the new generation of jet fighters.

Paratroopers of the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division in their C-47 aircraft en route to Sicily. July 1943.

On January 25, 1944, this photo shows a 9-year-old Italian boy, Vicenzo Biscardo, formerly homeless, in the role of junior military policeman. He helped MP Mahlon Smith of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, direct traffic in San Vittore (near Rome) Italy.
Original photo: U.S. Army Illustrated Services.
Color: Daniele Sallieri GHOST of WW2 Color photos

Pfc. James Mangola using a Japanese 75mm Field Gun for some protection." Carlson Islands, Kwajalein Atoll, January 31st 1944, 7th Division.

Men of the 11th Airborne Division take a moment to read their mail. Leyte, PI.

GI of the I&R platoon, HQ Co., 44th Infantry Division US Army with freed slave laborers on the back: "A bunch of slave laborers we let loose from a camp we liberated a few days ago. You need French, Italian, Czech, Polish, Russian or German to talk to 'em. We got 'em helping us with KP. Boy, can they eat!"

Armorers loading ammunition on a P-38 Lightning ready for the next mission.

Tank Altar, Saipan, 24 June 1944. U.S. Navy Chaplain O. David Herrmann, attached to a Marine unit on Saipan, uses a destroyed Japanese tank for an altar as he holds services for the dead.

Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone was the only Marine to receive both the Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross during World War II. At the Battle of Guadalcanal, Basilone singlehandedly defended a narrow pass against a force of over 3,000 Japanese. Afterward, he was offered a safer training position. However, he turned it down in favor of going back into action at Iwo Jima, where he gave his life on the battlefield.

A-20 “Irene” of the 648th BS, 410th BG at a 9th AF Base. England. June 22, 1944.

"Pvt. James L. McKinney, Monroe, LA., H Company, digging in a machine gun position on a hill emplacement, after an amphibious operation. Hill overlooking Brolo, Sicily." August 11th 1943.

Private First Class Carl Gorman during the Battle of Garapan, Saipan, July 1944.
Interestingly at this late stage of the war, PFC Gorman is actually wearing a Hawley helmet liner. These proved to be rather fragile in practice and were rapidly phased out in favour of the more robust impregnated cotton duck type.
( Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian)

The Superfortress bomber takes flight...
On September 21, 1942, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress makes its debut flight in Seattle, Washington. It was the largest bomber used in the war by any nation.
The B-29 was conceived in 1939 by Gen. Hap Arnold, who was afraid a German victory in Europe would mean the United States would be devoid of bases on the eastern side of the Atlantic from which to counterattack. A plane was needed that would travel faster, farther, and higher than any then available, so Boeing set to creating the four-engine heavy bomber.
The plane was extraordinary, able to carry loads almost equal to its own weight at altitudes of 30,000 to 40,000 feet. It contained a pilot console in the rear of the plane, in the event the front pilot was knocked out of commission. It also sported the first radar bombing system of any U.S. bomber.
The Superfortress made its test run over the continental United States on September 21, but would not make its bombing-run debut until June 5, 1944, against Bangkok, in preparation for the Allied liberation of Burma from Japanese hands. A little more than a week later, the B-29 made its first run against the Japanese mainland. On June 14, 60 B-29s based in Chengtu, China, bombed an iron and steel works factory on Honshu Island. While the raid was less than successful, it proved to be a morale booster to Americans, who were now on the offensive.
Meanwhile, the Marianas Islands in the South Pacific were being recaptured by the United States, primarily to provide air bases for their new B-29s—a perfect position from which to strike the Japanese mainland on a consistent basis. Once the bases were ready, the B-29s were employed in a long series of bombing raids against Tokyo. Although capable of precision bombing at high altitudes, the Superfortresses began dropping incendiary devices from a mere 5,000 feet, firebombing the Japanese capital in an attempt to break the will of the Axis power. One raid, in March 1945, killed more than 80,000 people. But the B-29's most lethal missions would come in August, as it was the only plane capable of delivering a 10,000-pound bomb—the atomic bomb.
The Enola Gay and the Bock’s Car took off from the Marianas, on August 6 and 9, respectively, and flew into history.