MED0865 Accession Number: MED0865

Description

Roof-less buildings stand among scattered masonry rubble and wreckage of motor vehicles in a corner of the bomb-torn town one hour after the town had fallen and the Allied troops had marched in. Since June 1942 it has been one of the main supply ports for Rommel's armies in North Africa, and it has been one of the main targets for the bomber aircraft of the Allied Air Forces. Night after night, and often by day, Handley-Page Halifax and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber aircraft have dropped their huge loads of bombs on the quays and stores and on the shipping in the harbour. They have kept up a constant siege of the port from the air. These raids were planned as efficiently as a railway system. The men who flew on them called them 'the Mail Run'. A few words told the story of their operations in the communiques every day. But the ruined store buildings, shattered quays and sunken shipping show how great was the weight of our attacks against the Axis lines of supply.

Details

Accession Number
MED0865
Classification
Photograph
Object Type
Print
Physical Description
Support: Paper (Fibre-based)
Date Made
15 November 1942
Place Made
Whole/Part
Whole
Item Count
1
Copyright
Copyright expired - public domain

Conflicts

Places

Tags

Accession MED0865

More like this

MED0863

Photograph MED0863 Second World War, 1939-1945

Only the framework of buildings remain in this street of the bomb-shattered town one hour after the town had fallen and the Allied troops had marched in. Since June 1942 it has been one of the main su

MED0869

Photograph MED0869 Second World War, 1939-1945

Reinforced concrete walls and brickwork of this building were blown out and crumpled by explosions of bombs dropped by Allied aircraft in their non-stop attacks on the town. This photograph was taken

MED0868

Photograph MED0868 Second World War, 1939-1945

Reinforced concrete walls and brickwork of this building were blown out and crumpled by explosions of bombs dropped by Allied aircraft in their non-stop attacks on the town. This photograph was taken

MED0949

Photograph MED0949 Second World War, 1939-1945

Benghazi, Cyrenaica, Libya. 28 November 1942. Land reclaimed from the harbour on which the Germans were dumping stone and fragments of masonry from bombed buildings to make new wharves. Cement mixers

SUK10966

Photograph SUK10966 Second World War, 1939-1945

Munster, Germany. 1943-06-12. The day after Bomber Command's night attack showing some of the concentrated damage caused in the port and industrial area close to the centre of the town. In the middle

MED0946

Photograph MED0946 Second World War, 1939-1945

Benghazi, Cyrenaica, Libya. 28 November 1942. A burned out supply train on a siding near the railway station at Benghazi. The town of Benghazi and its harbour in Cyrenaica was blasted for months by Al

See more similar items →

Record information

Last modified: 31 May 2024 - 4.32 am