| Original caption: “Give us More B-26s – North of Naples, the B-26 was attacked by thirty Messerschmitt fighters…eight came up under the tail…were driven off…the Marauder dropped its bombs…sent three enemy planes down. More Nazis roared in. With hits by twenty millimeter shells, its right stabilizer damaged, ammunition running low, the B-26 held off the enemy until fighter protection arrived, and flew proudly home — Army Air Forces report.” The centerpiece of this 1944 poster is a Martin B-26 Marauder fighting Messerschmitt Bf-109 fighters, reinforced by quotes from a Mediterranean combat report lauding the bomber. Canadian-born aviation artist William John Heaslip (May 16, 1898 – July 1970), who had served in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, used etching and aquatint to dramatic effect in his World War II illustrations for magazines and newspapers, as well as in motivational posters like this. A whole series of posters exhorted higher production levels for different American combat aircraft with illustrations of combat stories. On August 21, 1943, the 320th Bomb Group, equipped with Martin B-26 Marauders, the 98th Bomb Group, equipped with Consolidated B-24D Liberators, and the 1st Fighter Group, flying Lockheed P-38 Lightnings, attacked the railroad yards at Villa Literno, located about 25 kilometers (16 miles) northwest of Naples. An estimated 45 to 50 Axis fighters – Regio Aeronautico (“Royal Italian Air Force”) and Luftwaffe (“Nazi German Air Force”) – engaged the formation as the bombers left the target. The Axis pilots claimed 10 P-38s and 3 probables, while the Allied aircraft claimed 25 fighters, the majority by B-26 gunners of the 320th Bomb Group. The reality was starkly different. Only 2 Regio Aeronautico and 1 Luftwaffe aircraft were destroyed. A Messerschmitt Bf-109G Nummer 18660 “Yellow Five” of Jagdgeschwader 53 crashed landed at Grazzanise; Unteroffizier Rudolf Wannek (??? – after 1953) was wounded in action. A Reggiane Re.2001 Falco II of 22 Gruppo, flown by Sergente Maggiore Lucio Biagini (???? – ????), was shot up and written off, but the pilot was unharmed. A Reggiane Re.2005 Sagittario, just recently introduced a few months earlier into combat, belly landed and then collided with a Nazi German fighter. Sergente Ugo Bello (???? – ????) survived unharmed. The Americans lost 1 B-24D “Baby” 41-24026 Number 821 of the 98th Bomb Group over Villa Literno; 2nd Lieutenant Kenneth L. Minnich (November 17, 1922 – August 21, 1943) and 7 crewmembers were Killed in Action, and 3 were Prisoners of War. The 320th Bomb Group suffered the most. 4 B-26s were shot down over Villa Literno. The crew of B-26C 41-35145, piloted by 1st Lieutenant Harold W. Dobney (June 3, 1915 – September 13, 1998), would survive to become Prisoners of War; Dobney escaped from a hospital in Italy in November 1943 and fought with Italian partisans. B-26B 41-17946, flown by 1st Lieutenant James W. Vandegrift (February 24, 1918 – October 28, 1981), suffered 3 Killed in Action and 3 Prisoners of War, including the pilot. The crew of B-26B 41-18001, flown by 1st Lieutenant Curtis S. Church (May 1, 1916 – April 4, 2002), also survived; Church was captured within an hour of parachuting out of his burning aircraft. B-26B 41-18060, “Kansas Tornado” flown by 1st Lieutenant Ambrose J Riley (September 21, 1915 – December 24, 1953) was shot down with 5 crew surviving to become Prisoners of War, and 1 was Killed in Action. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0906.jpg |
| Image Size | 10.46 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 7486 x 11347 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Office of War Information |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Washington |
| State or Province | District of Columbia |
| Country | United States |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-44-PA-857 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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