Aerial photographs of Allied bombing raids on Japanese occupied Burma.

Discussion in 'Burma & India' started by High Wood, Jan 2, 2019.

  1. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Today, the railway bridge has been repaired and is back in service and a modern road bridge now also spans the River Mu just upstream.

    mu 001.JPG


    Google Maps
     
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  2. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Rangoon Railway Station courtesy of the Australian War Memorial (SUK 14336), but almost certainly originally from either a sequence taken on the 3rd May 1945 by P/O M. Lee, of 159 Squadron or by F/Lt. M. Townsend of 99 Squadron, both of whom flew over Rangoon that day. Note the blast walls erected to protect the locomotives.

    The AWM caption reads: Rangoon, Burma. C. 1945-05. Air views of Rangoon after its capture. Australians featured prominently in operations in every type of aircraft and were in at the kill. This is the heavily damaged central railway station.

    rangoon.jpg

    blurt 006.JPG
     
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  3. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    A second AWM photograph in the same sequence. The caption reads: Low level aerial photograph of Rangoon railway station and sidings during a raid by Allied aircraft including Consolidated Liberators from 356 Squadron RAF. One aircraft piloted by 410373 Warrant Officer (WO) Geoffrey Charles Piper RAAF, flew low over the city and took detailed photographs of bomb damaged targets including these damaged warehouses and railway sidings.

    I am not sure of the accuracy of the AWM caption, I suspect that this photograph was taken on 3rd May 1945.

    Rangoon station 2.jpg
     
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  4. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Another AWM photograph of Rangoon, (PO2491.208). The caption is very succinct and gives nothing away regarding who took the photograph or when it was taken. The caption reads: Rangoon, Burma. c. August 1944. An aerial view of the Malagon Marshalling Yards beside the river.

    Rangoon marshalling yards.jpg

    Very easy to find on the map.

    Marshall 001.JPG
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2019
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  5. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Australian War Memorial photograph PO.2491.235. Sortie number 451. 177 Squadron RAF taken 15th December 1944. The caption reads: Okkan, Burma. 15 December 1944. View of the Rangoon-Prome oil pipeline where it crosses Minin Chaung north of Okkan prior to being attacked by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF.

    Okkan 177 2.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2019
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  6. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    AWM. PO2491.236. Photo 3.
    Okkan, Burma. 15 December 1944. The Rangoon-Prome oil pipeline where it crosses Minin Chaung north of Okkan under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF.

    Okkan 177sqn.jpg

    I have marked the position of the pipeline in red on the lower photograph.

    Okkan pipeline.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2019
  7. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    AWM photograph P02491.237. Okkan, Burma. 15 December 1944. A tall column of thick black smoke from oil which was left well ablaze after an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on the Rangoon-Prome oil pipeline.
    Okkan 177 3.jpg

    The point where the road, railway line and oil pipeline cross the Minin Chaung is circled on the map. It is difficult to be sure whether the photographs were taken from the east or the west of the railway line, but. assuming that the pipeline is lower than the road and railway embankment, the aircraft were flying from the east to the west.

    Okkan 006.JPG
     
    Last edited: Nov 19, 2019
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  8. Matt Poole

    Matt Poole Member

    Okkan,Burma attack,then,now.jpg High Wood, nice set of photos! Your analysis of the Okkan / pipeline / Beaufighter attack photos is mostly correct. The obliqueness angle of my comparison isn't exact...didn't take the time to match perfectly...but I can tell that the site is where Minin Chaung crosses under the road and oil pipeline. In the 1944 images and in the modern satellite comparison, clearly a wooded area is to the left and paddy fields are to the right. The location definitely is 4.2 miles to the north of Okkan village, where, going south, the main road, then and now, takes a right-hand turn to the west.

    However, you have marked in red the position of the rail line, not the pipeline. From west to east, the order of the parallel features: rail line, road, pipeline. The map has them in this position, in fact. This also helps to explain why smoke and fire erupt from the east of the road bridge, away from the camera -- because that's where the pipeline ran, and it has been set alight.

    Note the shadow of the Beaufighter on the ground.
     
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  9. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Matt,

    thank you for your observations, a masterclass in photographic interpretation. For some reason I thought that the railway was lower than the road and was obscured by the higher road embankment. What I took to be the pipeline across the Minin Chaung is the steel railway bridge which has low parapets. The aircraft, assuming that the photographs were taken from a forward facing position, are travelling eastwards. Presumably they have made several runs across the target having gone around again to photograph the damage.

    Simon.
     
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  10. Matt Poole

    Matt Poole Member

    Hi, Simon and friends,

    The Mahlwagon Marshalling Yards site is especially well-known to me, because that was the target of 159 Squadron and 355 Squadron Liberators on 29 Feb 1944, and I concentrated upon here in my earliest forays into my WWII anal-compulsive hyperfocusing. On this night, my mom's first husband, Sgt George Plank, and his eight crewmen died when their 159 Sqn Liberator, BZ962 (Daring Diana) was shot down from behind by two Oscars of the 204th Sentai. 19-kill ace Bunichi Yamaguchi and 9-kill ace Hiroshi Takiguchi worked in tandem and in cooperation with searchlights to destroy Daring Diana, and then they again teamed up to down a second 159 Sqn Lib, BZ926 (Pegasus). Six of the nine Pegasus crewmen baled out and were captured, but two died in Rangoon Jail. (Steve has them in his database of prisoners.)

    In November 1993 BT (Before Trump, unfortunately not 1,993 years before Trump), I visited Mahlwagon Yards. My Burmese guide tenaciously talked our way into the diesel locomotive maintenance facility (rebuilt after annihilation on a 3 Nov 1944 bombing raid, the results of which are seen in one of my posted images), using a smile to disarm Burmese who, by nature and government decree, were very, very suspicious of Westerners like me.

    At one point, in the office, the phone was handed to me, and I had to explain my reason for visiting the roundhouse to a railway superior, or bigwig general, or someone "important". I made sure not to say something foolish, like, "My British mom's British first husband and his RAF squadron -- you know, the British, your former imperial subjugators -- bombed the shit out of this site in 1944, killing some of your beloved, innocent countrymen, women, and children -- here and in the surrounding neighborhoods -- and I wanted to tell fellow elite Westerners that I've been here! Let me in, damn you, I'm a bleedin' YANK!"

    Instead, I spoke some words of praise and thanks -- which were still heartfelt and true -- about how honored I'd feel to be granted permission to visit a site which was so important in the war, and which still performed essential repair work nearly half a century later.

    My guide, at another point, whispered to me to take some Burmese currency from my wallet and hand it to the manager as an offering for the upcoming Buddhist full moon ceremony, and the manager and his cohorts were delighted when I did so. Someone pinned the money onto a board, with other offerings.

    AND THEN I WAS ALLOWED TO INSPECT THE ROUNDHOUSE GROUNDS AND TAKE PHOTOS!! Too good to be true, it almost seemed, back when totalitarianism ruled Burma and photos were not usually allowed!

    In fact, the day before, an ex-Rangoon Jail POW, Doug Bowler, joined my group's leader (Piers Storie Pugh), our medico (Dr John Richardson), and me as we used my wartime map to rediscover the ruins of Rangoon Jail. It was a big open area at the time (since partially built upon), with piles of brick around and lots of weeds.

    Right after we photographed Doug standing triumphantly upon a pile which may have been his home for three years, the Burmese police showed up and barked, "No photos!" at us, while making us leave. Someone (there were uncomfortable-looking Burmese citizens nearby) had reported us, which is what good citizens did/had to do to stay out of trouble (and which people do here, too, ever since 9/11, after which overhead signs on the Washington Beltway started encouraging all to "REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY"). I told the authorities that there was nothing to photograph, as the old prison had been torn down. Fortunately, we weren't dragged off to have bamboo shoved under our fingernails, and they didn't snoop around our belongings and confiscate or destroy film, either.

    >>>One of my photos shows me shaking hands with the assistant manager of the Mahlwagon facility. We were standing adjacent to the central turntable. I imagined the carnage which erupted where I stood, and in the vicinity, during the war.

    I've added further photos of Mahlwagon.

    >>>An early 1944 night bombing image. Explanation: On the night of 31 January–1 February 1944, 159 Squadron Mk III Liberator BZ898 bombed Mahlwagon Yards due to cloud cover obscuring Mingaladon aerodrome, the primary target. I have annotated BZ898’s stick of bombs exploding in a line across the tracks, just missing the roundhouse. (Source: Robert Smith, son of 159 Sqn's Fred Smith, rear gunner on that aircraft that night)

    >>>The second photo is one I found at the US Nat'l Archives: a 31 December 1944 photo recon view of Mahlwagon Yards nearly two months after a daylight raid by American B-29 Superfortresses on 3 November 1944. They plastered the site, in force, and I can tell from modern satellite imagery that the current roundhouse, though rebuilt on the same site, has a greater radius than that of the original roundhouse.

    The present turntable is definitely in the same spot. It contains this info:

    120 TONS MUNDT TURNTABLE
    MADE FOR
    BR [then Burmese Railways, now Myanma Railways], plus other codes
    RANSOMES & RAPIER LTD
    IPSWICH, ENGLAND 1946

    Google around, and you'll find a bunch on Ransomes & Rapier and their mundt turntables.

    So, apparently, the original turntable was too heavily damaged to restore, and R&R Ltd provided a replacement post-war, when the roundhouse was rebuilt.

    Go to this website for some great photos of a modern visit to the same location, plus links to even more photos on Flicker:

    Jan Ford's World: Mahlwagon Marshalling Yard and Diesel Locomotive Shed, Yangon

    Further photos from me:

    >>>I found a night photo taken over Mahlwagon Yards, with searchlights, in a book on air photo recon in WWII by Colonel Roy M. Stanley, USAF (retired). From the writing under the image, I can tell that this was taken during a 355 Sqn Liberator attack, date unknown. On the right is a daytime air photo recon shot for comparison, from the war years.

    >>>A Google Earth satellite image from last year, I think.

    >>>Lastly, I include a cropped piece of a wartime map, upon which I added direction arrows indicating the magnetic compass headings at the time of "bombs gone" for each of the 15 known bomb runs (14 bombers, one making 2 bomb runs) on 29 Feb 1944, but not counting the unknown headings for the 2 lost bombers. (I think only one of these 2 doomed bombers dropped bombs aimed at the target.) Red lines: 159 Sqn Liberators. Blue lines: 355 Sqn Liberators.

    I centered the compass headings on the roundhouse just to standardize things, but really the attacking Liberators didn't release bombs right on the roundhouse. (Post-raid bomb damage assessment photos revealed that the aiming was not very impressive that night. It was a difficult task, especially over Rangoon, a hot target, where searchlights included at least one blue master radar-controlled light, adding to the likelihood of a bomber being picked up and held in the lights. Anti-aircraft fire, searchlight dazzle, and sometimes night fighters over Rangoon could be dreadful -- though any veteran of Bomber Command would scoff at a SEAC Liberator airman's expressions of terror, since the air war over Europe was a different kind of monster!)

    Thanks for your Mahlwagon offerings, Simon.
     

    Attached Files:

    Last edited: Nov 21, 2019
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  11. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Matt,

    thank you for your post which has a wealth of detail far higher than my meagre offerings. Fascinating stuff and a pleasure to read. This thread is finally beginning to get the interaction that I wanted and I hope that others will contribute both input and images.

    In order to stop this thread rambling all over and then jumping back to a previous location, I have started to add new photographs or maps to existing posts rather than add a new post. See post 80 where I have added another American photograph of the Mu River bridge with its press release caption.

    Simon
     
  12. Matt Poole

    Matt Poole Member

    Simon, I'm grateful that you started this thread's sharing of interesting images and details. I'm just following, but you led the way! I do have a bunch more I can do, sparked off of other photos you offered already, but I just have to get to it. For some reason, Google Earth stopped working on my desktop, and my computer-smart brother could not make it work. Same thing happened with another brother in CA. So, it's a pain to use my laptop for GE work and to transfer images back and forth between computers. That's my cheap excuse.

    Anyway, eventually I hope to add more. Glad I could add to the Mahlwagon images -- and you have given me some new goodies, too. As for the Beaufighter photos attacking the oil pipeline, I concur with you that they are flying eastwardly. I guess that means the sun is low in the west, based on the shadows. Correlating with the 177 Sqn Operations Record Book (which I don't have) could bring verification of the timing of the attacks.

    I hoped to find something about the 15 Dec 1944 attacks by 177 Sqn Beaufighters in one or more of three different books I have, but they all came up dry. "Air War for Burma" by Christopher Shores has nothing (but this doesn't surprise me...the book has some huge gaps, and because of some glaring errors I found, I can't take any info as gospel, anyway). "Silently into the Midst of Things" by 177 Sqn Beaufighter pilot Athol Sutherland Brown has some December '44 material but nothing specific that can be tied to 15 Dec. Lastly is a book by a 27 Sqn, not 177 Sqn, Beaufighter pilot, David J. Innes, but there is nothing about the 15 Dec attacks by 177 Sqn. The book, however, is a good one: "Beaufighters over Burma: No. 27 Squadron, RAF, 1942-45".

    Cheers, and thanks for your kind words. Matt
     
  13. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    Matt,

    I also have all three of the books that you mentioned and a fourth, written by another 177 Squadron officer, Fred Burton, called, Mission to Burma.

    The raid is mentioned in passing thus, "Targets were becoming harder to find, especially for rocket attacks, and the roads in Siam, around Chieng Mai, Namsang and Chieng Rai, were scoured for transport. The Mandalay-Lashio area still provided some success. An attack was made on the oil pipe line between Okkan and Tharrawaddy, where it crossed a chaung by means of a small suspension bridge. The resultant flames created black smoke rising to 2,000 ft."

    I have a few original 177 Squadron aerial photographs from around this date that I will post in due course. I have also compiled a list of all the known 177 Squadron aerial photographs in the RAF Museum and Australian War Memorial collections.

    Simon.

    I now have the Operations Record Book report for this raid:

    December 15th 1944.
    Aircraft: N.E.807. Crew: F/Lt Sutherland-Brown. (J. 14722 - RCAF). W/O Aldham. J. & Aircraft L.Z.116. Crew F/S Hart. H.W.G.. F/S Welsh. R.H. Time up: 14.40. Time Down: 19.10.
    Remarks.
    Attack railway PROME- TAIKKYI. Fine and clear, hazy on return. Aircraft reached the target at 16.38 at OKKAN and followed road and railway North. Between OKKAN and THARRAWADDY an attack was made on the oil pipe line where it crosses a chaung by a suspension bridge. The attack was successful. The oil caught fire and the column of black smoke rising to 2,000 feet could be seen 40 miles away.

    At THARRAWADDY an attack was made on a water tower and the camouflage started to burn.

    At SITKWIN rolling stock and a loco shelter were straffed but N.R.O.

    At MINHLA another attack made on the pipe lone was unsuccessful. Aircraft broke off patrol North of GYOBINGAUK at 17.08 and on return followed the road PROME to TAUNGUP but N.M.S. Crossing IRRAWADDY two small rive craft were attacked and hit.

    The PROME railway revealed no movement and little activity except a few rolling stock at each station. The road was deserted except for scattered bullock carts loaded with grain or produce.

    At GYOBINGAUK in a field 100 yards East of the Railway and South of the Station moderate L.A.A. was encountered. Crossing the coast a small party of Japanese were seen on the beaches south of BLUFF CAPE.
     
    Last edited: Nov 24, 2019
  14. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    This one was lifted from the internet and shows an attack on what could have been the same pipe line at a different date and location. It clearly shows how the pipeline sat in the landscape.

    Beau pipeline.jpg

    The photograph is undated but is a British Official Photograph No C.4478.
    The press caption reads:

    RAF Beaufighters attack Burma Pipeline.
    Oil supplies for Japanese armies in Burma have been one of the chief targets for Allied Air Forces. The pipeline from Myingyan to Rangoon was one of the principle sources of supply and RAF Beaufighters have played their part in attacking this pipeline which is deep inside enemy territory. Picture shows Blazing oil spurting from the pipeline at North Minnen? after it has been set on fire by cannon shells of an RAF Beaufighter.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2019
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  15. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    177 Squadron RAF aerial photographs in date order.

    AWM PO2491 series

    Burma. 15 December 1943. A very successful attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on a train carrying oil drums, ten miles north west of Kokogon. Burning petrol and dense black smoke is billowing out of the damaged trucks. P02491.178

    Burma. 15 December 1943. A 'head-on' view of an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on a train ten miles north west of Kokogon. The train had been carrying oil drums which were severely damaged resulting in a flow of burning fuel and dense black smoke. PO2491.179

    Thegon, Burma. 14 February 1944. During a strafing attack by Warrant Officer D. M. Anderson RAAF of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF, the 'old dynamo shed' at the Pumping Station on the Burma-Thailand Railway was set on fire. Dense black smoke soon enveloped the Pump Station and surrounding country. PO2491.186

    Burma. 23 February 1944. Railway rolling stock on the Mandalay-Lashio line burning after an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF., the first strikes are fairly on the middle of the pipeline. P02491.187

    Burma. 23 February 1944. In the attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on the BOC oil pipeline between Nyaunghla and Syriam, the first strikes are fairly on the middle of the pipeline. P02491.188

    Burma. 23 February 1944. A dense column of thick black smoke still rising from burning oil sometime after the attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on the BOC oil pipeline between Nyaunghla and Syriam. PO2491.189

    Kanhla, Burma. 23 February 1944. During the attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF, the line of cannon strikes went through the Pump House (in foreground) to the base of a 200,000 gallon oil storage tank. Warrant Officer (WO) Royce Rayner and WO Bill Watson (both RAAF aircrew) took part in this operation. The fire in the background was the result of an attack on the BOC oil pipeline the same day. P02491.190

    Kanhla, Burma. 23 February 1944. A 200,000 gallon oil storage tank (in foreground) under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. The fire in the background was the result of an attack on the BOC oil pipeline the same day. PO2491.191

    Kanhla, Burma. 23 February 1944. The Oil Pump House, on fire, smoke billowing from inside, after an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. Warrant Officer (WO) Royce Rayner and WO Bill Watson (both RAAF aircrew) took part in this attack. PO2491.192

    Kanhla, Burma. 23 February 1944. Fierce flames and dense black smoke from burning oil followed an attack on the BOC pipeline five miles south of Kanhla, by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.193

    Gwa, Burma. 24 February 1944. Laid-up native boats known as Sandoway craft under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF in creeks. The use of Sandoway craft on the Arakan coast decreased but Japanese MLCs or barges are very active. The great centre for these is Taungup, where barges are laid up during daylight in creeks rather like this. They are almost impossible to see unless flying along the creek. PO2491.139

    22nd March 1944. 25.176/177, 26.176/177, 27.176/177, 28.176/177, 29.176/177, 30.176/177. Gun attack on coastal craft location unknown. (A.C.)

    Burma. 3 April 1944. A 100 foot wooden coaster off Rangoon River under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. Small coasters of about this size are used by the Japanese and accounted for nearly all the traffic up to June 1944 in the Rangoon and Moulmein areas. PO2491.140

    Burma. 3 April 1944. A 100 foot wooden coaster off Rangoon River under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. Small coasters of about this size are used by the Japanese and accounted for nearly all the traffic up to June 1944 in the Rangoon and Moulmein areas. PO2491.141

    Burma. 3 April 1944. Water pours over the side from a holed water tank of a 100 foot wooden coaster under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. Drums, possibly containing oil, were apparently not hit. Small coasters of about this size are used by the Japanese and accounted for nearly all the traffic up to June 1944 in the Rangoon and Moulmein areas. PO2491.142

    Burma. c. 1944. Railway rolling stock on the Mandalay-Lashio line burning after an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.220

    Thegon, Burma. c. July 1944. The Pumping Station, ablaze after an attack by Pilot Officer D. M. Anderson RAAF of Swanbourne, WA, and No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO4291.215

    Chaung, Burma. c. July 1944. A line of wagons on the Mandalay to Ye-U railway under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.216

    Kawlin, Burma. c. July 1944. A locomotive and wagon on the railway line near Kawlin under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.217

    Maymyo, Burma. c. July 1944. A locomotive and wagon on the railway line near Maymyo burning after being attacked by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.218

    Yeni, Burma. c. July 1944. A locomotive (right foreground) on the railway line smoking after an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.219

    Mawbi aerodrome. 18th October 1944. Attacked by joint Squadrons. 8.364/177 (A.C.)

    Taikkyi-Prome railway. 11th November 1944. Oil pipeline attacked and burning. 11.177/384. (A.C.)

    Unknown location. 14th November 1944. Japanese lorry attacked by our Squadron, destroyed. 65.177/389 (A.C.)

    Moulmeingyun, Burma. 14th November 1944. A 200-250 foot cargo flat boat used by the Japanese in the Irrawaddy Delta area, under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on the morning of 14 November 1944. PO2491.152

    Moulmeingyun, Burma. 14th November 1944. A 200-250 foot cargo flat boat used by the Japanese in the Irrawaddy Delta area, under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on the afternoon of 14 November 1944 following a similar attack by the squadron on the morning of the same day. PO2491.153

    Moulmeingyun, Burma. 17 November 1944. Aerial view of a rice mill (centre) in the Irrawaddy Delta area prior to being attacked with cannon fire by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.225

    Moulmeingyun, Burma. 17 November 1944. Aerial view of buildings on fire at a rice mill in the Irrawaddy Delta area after being attacked with cannon fire by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.226

    Moulmeingyun, Burma. 18 November 1944. The sunken 200-250 foot cargo flat boat. This boat had been used by the Japanese in the Irrawaddy Delta area, and had been the target of separate attacks by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on the morning and afternoon of 14 November 1944. PO2491.154

    Moulmeingyun, Burma. 18 November 1944. As a result of an attack with cannon fire by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on 17 November 1944, a rice mill in the Irrawaddy Delta area was completely burnt out, although the wreckage was still smouldering the following day. PO2491.227

    Bassein waterways. 17th November 1944. Sunken river steamer destroyed by our Squadron. 11.177/402 (A.C.)

    Hnin Pale. 18th November 1944. Bridge over chaung destroyed by our heavies. The Japs repaired them in quick time using sections already made. 56.177/403 (A.C.)

    Hnin Pale. 18th November 1944. Bridge over one of the numerous chaungs wrecked. 51.177/405. (A.C.)

    Kadok, Burma. 27 November 1944. At 17.15 hours, a moving train south of Kadok on the Rangoon-Mandalay railway line under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.228

    Kadok, Burma. 27 November 1944. Cannon strikes on the locomotive of a moving train south of Kadok on the Rangoon-Mandalay railway line during the third attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.229

    Kadok, Burma. 27 November 1944. Further cannon strikes on the locomotive of a moving train south of Kadok on the Rangoon-Mandalay railway line during the fourth attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. Steam can be seen issuing from the stack and from the cab as a result of previous attacks. PO2491.230

    Athok, Burma. 1 December 1944. Strikes on a locomotive on the Bassein-Henzada railway line during an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.231

    Neikban, Burma. 1 December 1944. Smoke from the exploding petrol tank (centre) of a bus after an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.232

    Natmaw, Burma. 1 December 1944. Strikes on one of two stationary locomotives one quarter of a mile south-west of Natmaw Station during an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.233

    Okkan, Burma. 15 December 1944. View of the Rangoon-Prome oil pipeline where it crosses Minin Chaung north of Okkan prior to being attacked by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.235

    Okkan, Burma. 15 December 1944. The Rangoon-Prome oil pipeline where it crosses Minin Chaung north of Okkan under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.236

    Okkan, Burma. 15 December 1944. A tall column of thick black smoke from oil which was left well ablaze after an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on the Rangoon-Prome oil pipeline where it crosses Minin Chaung north of Okkan. PO2491.237

    Kyaukme, Burma. 21 December 1944. Strikes on a locomotive hidden in a 'D' type shelter on the Mandalay-Lashio railway line during an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.238

    Kyaukme, Burma. 21 December 1944. Steam rising from a locomotive hidden in a 'D' type shelter on the Mandalay-Lashio railway line after an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.239

    Kyaukme, Burma. 21 December 1944. A locomotive which had been hidden in a 'D' type shelter on the Mandalay-Lashio railway line was left emitting clouds of steam after an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.240

    Burma. 13 January 1945. Aerial view of the collapsed and unusable Bridge H.147 (in background) south of Kalawthut on the Pegu-Ye railway line seen by crews of aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. In the foreground is a by-pass bridge under construction. PO2491.249

    Burma. 13 January 1945. A closer aerial view looking west, of the collapsed and unusable Bridge H.147 south of Kalawthut on the Pegu-Ye railway line, seen by crews of aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491/250

    Burma. 13 January 1945. Aerial view looking east of Bridge H.148 south of Kalawthut on the Pegu-Ye railway line, seen by crews of aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. The south span had been raised since being attacked on 1 January 1945, and the pier supporting it strengthened with timber. PO2491.251

    Ma-Ubin, Burma. January 1945. A 300 foot steamer (left) and a 200-250 foot cargo flat boat used by the Japanese but which had been present in this position on the waterfront in the Irrawaddy Delta area since 15 April 1944. Camouflage had been placed on the steamer but both craft were the target of attacks by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on 28 January 1945 and 29 January 1945. PO2491.159

    Ma-Ubin, Burma. 28 January 1945. Cannon strikes being recorded on a camouflaged 300 foot steamer used by the Japanese during an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. The steamer had been present in this position on the waterfront in the Irrawaddy Delta area since 15 April 1944. PO2491.160

    Ma-Ubin, Burma. 29 January 1945. A camouflaged 300 foot steamer (left) and a 200-250 foot cargo flat boat used by the Japanese on the waterfront in the Irrawaddy Delta area since 15 April 1944 being attacked with rocket-projectiles by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.161

    Pyinbongyi, Burma. 11 February 1945. A locomotive in a type F shelter just prior to coming under attack by an aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. Piles of bamboo used for camouflage purposes are next to the shelter. PO2491.267

    Pyinbongyi, Burma. 11 February 1945. Cannon strikes on a locomotive in a type F shelter during an attack by an aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. Also shown: a type B shelter in disrepair (a); rails removed (b); a water tower encased in bamboo framework (c). PO2491.268

    Ngadatkyi, Burma. 11 February 1945. A motor transport vehicle burning and ditched after sustaining cannon strikes during an attack by an aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.269

    Thegon, Burma. 14 February 1944. During a strafing attack by Warrant Officer D. M. Anderson RAAF of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF, cannon strikes on the 'old dynamo shed' at the Pumping Station on the Burma-Thailand Railway started a large oil fire. PO2491.185

    Burma. 14 February 1945. Aerial view of Waw Station on the Pegu-Martaban railway line, from an aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF and showing: a locomotive (a); railway bridge No. H.21 - serviceable (b); by-pass bridge incomplete and unserviceable (c); road bridge - serviceable (d). PO2491.270

    Burma. 14 February 1945. Steam rising from a locomotive at Waw Station on the Pegu-Martaban railway line, after being attacked by an aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.271

    Burma. 14 February 1945. A locomotive at Waw Station on the Pegu-Martaban railway line, smoking after being attacked by an aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. The locomotive was identified as a Japanese imported double domed type. PO2491.272

    Burma. 14 February 1945. A building at Waw Station on the Pegu-Martaban railway line, burning after an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.273

    Ma-Ubin, Burma. 16 February 1945. At the south end of the Ma-Ubin waterfront the only active creek-steamer in this area was attacked by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. As a result of the attack, the fuel tanks were set on fire, and the steamer was left burning furiously. View from one of the attacking Beaufighter aircraft shows the effect of cannon shells striking the creek-steamer which was partially obscured by smoke during the low-level attack. The shadow of the attacking aircraft can be clearly seen silhouetted on the water. PO2491.137.

    Ma-Ubin, Burma. 16 February 1945. At the south end of the Ma-Ubin waterfront the only active creek-steamer in this area was attacked by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. As a result of the attack, the fuel tanks were set on fire, and the steamer was left burning furiously and a large column of black smoke rose high into the sky. PO2491.138

    Ma-Ubin, Burma. 16 February 1945. The waterfront in the Irrawaddy Delta area showing the half-submerged 300 foot steamer which was the target for attacks by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF on 28 January 1945 and 29 January 1945. A 200-250 foot cargo flat boat moored next to the steamer and also attacked can no longer be seen. PO2491.162

    Ma-Ubin, Burma. 16 February 1945. At the south end of the waterfront, the only active creek steamer in this area was attacked with cannon and rocket-projectiles by aircraft of No. 177 ( Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. As a result of the attack the fuel tanks were set on fire and the steamer was left burning furiously. PO2491.166

    Salween River, Burma. 19 February 1945. A small wooden coaster headed south at the mouth of the river near Moulmein under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. P02491.167

    Salween River, Burma. 19 February 1945. A small wooden coaster headed south at the mouth of the river near Moulmein under attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.168

    Salween River, Burma. 19 February 1945. A small wooden coaster that had been headed south at the mouth of the river near Moulmein when attacked by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF turned north after the initial attacks. PO2491.169

    Salween River, Burma. 19 February 1945. A small wooden coaster heading north at the mouth of the river near Moulmein after being attacked by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. The coaster suffered repeated cannon strikes aft. PO2491.170

    Salween River, Burma. 19 February 1945. A small wooden coaster heading north at the mouth of the river near Moulmein after receiving repeated cannon strikes in the aft section during an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.171

    Salween River, Burma. 19 February 1945. A small wooden coaster heading north at the mouth of the river near Moulmein after receiving repeated cannon strikes in the aft section during an attack by aircraft of No. 177 (Beaufighter) Squadron RAF. PO2491.172

    Akyab. 11th March 1945. Our prang. No other details.

    Akyab. 11th March 1945. Prop off our prang. No other details.

    Danongon near Pyapon. 14th April 1945. Pagoda used to store Japanese guns. 2.177/665. (A.C.)

    Danongon near Pyapon. 14th April 1945. Pagoda used to store Japanese guns. Village on left, Japanese reported to be in it. 4.177/665. (A.C.)

    Rangoon. 25th April 1945. MacDonald and Fender, Sqn/Ldr Woods and Harper caught this Japanese convoy near Rangoon. They destroyed 17 lorries and damaged 16. Both aircraft were hit by ground fire. 69.177/682 (A.C.)

    Bassein Delta. 8th May 1945. 60Ft river steamer damaged by us on the Bassein Delta. We sank a small boat with three men when it tried to pull away from steamer on our first attack. 5.177. ---. (A.C.)
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2019
    Rothy likes this.
  16. Matt Poole

    Matt Poole Member

    Good compilation of AWM/177 Sqn offerings. Such a great archive, the AWM. I know from experience that captions are not to be trusted. Usually, they represent what the archive was told by the donor, and they are often correct. Understandable that there are errors.
     
  17. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    The photographs marked A.C. are in my collection and have hand written notes from the original owner. I am trying to only post photographs where I have identified the location but this will not be possible in every incidence.
     
  18. Robert-w

    Robert-w Banned

    I have a number of war time photos of Burma but the blasted forum will only allow one or two browsers to up load. Even though Opera is a well established browser used by millions I cannot upload and I don't intend to change it.
     
  19. High Wood

    High Wood Well-Known Member

    That is strange. I photograph all the photographs that I want to upload and save them as jpegs, (not that I understand what a jpeg is) and then upload them from a saved file.
     
  20. Robert-w

    Robert-w Banned

    What browser do you use? I cannot upload any format to the WW2T forum and have no problems with other forums
     

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