A 20 Havocs flying through flak on a mission to bomb German gun positions in Anzio on March 2nd 1944
This clip is somewhat poor quality yet presented uncut as it is a good illustration of what bombers typically faced in terms of antiaircraft fire and its often unseen effects. A20B 413264 Pauline Tail, 44 that was flying alongside the camera plane is examined in some detail after the mission at 2:28. In spite of the fact that from a distance the aircraft did not appear damaged, it is peppered with holes from fragments from antiaircraft shells that exploded nearby. Apart from taking some measure of evasive action, there was not much the crews could do except hope that one of those fragments did not hit something vital that would bring down the plane.
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