BOMBS TUMBLE FROM THE BAYS OF AN OVERTURNED B-24 BOMBER. The plane was caught in a heavy flak belt while on a mission over Germany. During 1943 the enemy became much more aggressive as he shifted his fighters from the Russian front and the Mediterranean theater to western Europe. The German day fighters continually harassed U. S. heavy bombers, sometimes following them far out to sea on their withdrawal.] [Illustration: NORTH SEA A ROYAL AIR FORCE SEA RESCUE LAUNCH picking up the crew of a B-17 which crashed into the North Sea while returning to its base in England after a bombing raid over Germany. The crew members are in rubber boats and are flying a kite to which is attached the aerial of a short wave radio used to signal and give their position to the rescue craft. Many bombers were shot down over enemy territory and their crews captured, killed, or wounded; others were badly damaged and crashed into the North Sea on their return; while still others managed to return to their bases even though damaged. Many crews of the planes forced down at sea were rescued in the manner shown here.] [Illustration: ENGLAND SOLDIERS PLACING A BANGALORE TORPEDO under barbed wire during a training problem in England, August 1943. When fired, the charge would explode and clear a path through the obstruction. This method was not only faster than cutting through the wire, but also did not expose the men unnecessarily to enemy fire.] [Illustration: ENGLAND MEMBERS OF AN AIRBORNE DIVISION loading a ¼-ton 4x4 truck into a British Horsa glider (top). By removing the tail section, the glider could be unloaded in approximately seven minutes. Airborne infantrymen in a U. S. glider (bottom). In this picture men are armed with .30-caliber U. S. rifles M 1903A 3; .30-caliber U. S. rifles M 1; .45-caliber Thompson submachine gun M 1; 2.36-inch rocket launcher M 1A 1; and .30-caliber Browning automatic rifle M 1918A 2. Machine guns, mortars, and light artillery weapons were dropped by parachutes and brought in by gliders along with other supplies which made the airborne troops a compact fighting unit.] [Illustration] [Illustration: GERMANY