| Original caption: “One of the many B-26 Martin Marauders of the Ninth Air Force is shown over the coast of France during the early morning giving a cover to the landing craft shown on the sandy beaches below. These hard hitting medium bombers with their fighter escort roared out of the early morning to give cover for the greatest airborne troop carrying armada ever assembled, then furnished an air umbrella for the landing craft as the final phase on the battle for the liberation of Europe got under way.” An unidentified B-26 Marauder of the 9th Air Force with distinctive “invasion stripes” flies over Sword Beach in Hermanville at low tide as landing craft make their way ashore below on D-Day, June 6, 1944. It is probably 1 of those that bombed Caen at 1:30 PM on June 6th on the way back. At the bottom left of the photo is the 6 functioned-road at Riva Bella, today a campsite. Close to Riva Bella are 2 ships in the Green sector of Roger Beach. Just beyond, highway D60A leads away from the beach to Colleville-sur-Orne. 3 landing ships that brought 177 men of the Premier Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos, also known as Commando Kieffer, under Capitaine de Frégate Philippe Kieffer (October 24, 1899 – November 20, 1962) are seen just beyond the highway access. Widerstandsnest (WN; “Resistance Nest”)/Stützpunkten (StP; “Strongpoint”) 20 was surrounded by a large network of barbed wire and a minefield in Red Sector of Queen Beach, manned by the 10 Company of Grenadier-Regiment 736 of 716. Infanterie-Division. StP 20 was heavily fortified, with an R677 casemate bunker with machine guns; several Vf2a bunkers, for an infantry gruppe of 10 soldaten each; an R626 casemate bunker under construction for a 75 millimeter (3-inch) Panzerkanone gun; 52-millimeter (2-inch) Kampfwagenkanone 39 L/60 guns; a 37 millimeter Kampfwagenkanone gun; 2 captured Brandt Modèle 27/31 (Nazi German designation “Granatwerfer 278 Französisch”); and an open position with a 75 millimeter Canon de Soixante-Quinze Modèle 1897 (Nazi German designation “Feldkanone 231 Französisch”). On D-Day, it caused heavy casualties for soldiers belonging to the United kingdom Royal Army 3rd Infantry Division. At around 1000 Hours, the position, designated “Cod” by the Allies, fell into the hands of the 1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment and 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment. The majority of the ships are beached in front of the Hermanville Gap, in the Queen Sector of White Beach. Project engineer Peyton M. Magruder (October 19, 1911 – January 19, 1982), designed the Glenn L. Martin Company’s B-26 Marauder medium bomber in response to a United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) specification issued in January 1939. This specification also caught the attention of North American Aviation, Inc., and that firm responded with the B-25 Mitchell medium bomber. War fever caused the Air Corps to forego a prototype test stage and both bombers went from the drawing board straight into production. The consequences were deadly for men flying the Martin bomber. The Army threatened to withdraw the aircraft from combat, but Marauder crews stuck with their airplane. By war’s end, they had lost fewer airplanes than almost any other combat unit and compiled a notable war record. But the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) – now with a name change – had to get 17 Women’s Auxiliary Service Pilots (WASPs) to fly the “Widowmaker” B-26A to shame male pilots into flying it. The B-26B featured design improvements that were implemented directly on the factory floor, extending the wing and adding flaps to improve handling problems during landing. The NASM B-26B-25-MA named “Flak-Bait” (AAF serial number 41-31773) survived 202 combat missions over Europe, more than any other American aircraft during World War II. Workers at the Baltimore factory completed “Flak-Bait” in April 1943, and a crew flew it to England. The USAAF assigned it to the 449th Bombardment Squadron, 322nd Bombardment Group (nicknamed the “Annihilators”), and gave the bomber the fuselage identification codes “PN-O.” Lieutenant James J. Farrell (August 22, 1921 – January 24, 1997) of Greenwich, Connecticut, flew more missions in “Flak-Bait” than any other pilot. He named the bomber after “Flea Bait,” his brother’s nickname for the family dog. Flak-Bait’s 1st target, Ouistreham, is just to the left out of the frame.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii1950.jpg |
| Image Size | 730.24 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3748 x 2963 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | United States Army Air Force |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 6, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | |
| Country | France |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 342-FH-3A17154A-51988AC |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database