Chilling And Rare Military Photography 

By | October 30, 2019

Flight 19, "The Lost Patrol" before their last flight over the Bahamas

When it comes to fascinating military photos they aren’t defined by an era, but rather what we’re used to seeing. These declassified photos that span hundreds of years run the gamut from inspirational shots of American heroes rescuing children, to spine tingling images of the horrors of combat. Each photo offers a distinct and nuanced insight into the lives of servicemen and women across the world, and they even take you back to the Civil War to show what life was like Union and Confederate camps. Look closer at these photos to see how the military has changed over time, which methods they still use, and how they adapted to the brutality of battle. 

Warning, this is a rare collection of war photos and some of them can be graphic in nature.  Viewer discretion is advised.  

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source: pinterest

The Bermuda Triangle has claimed a myriad of different planes, boats, and travelers, but the most mysterious victim of the triangle was Flight 19 which occurred on December 5, 1945. A simple training routine, Flight 19 was a squadron of six aircraft and 27 crewmen who left Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for a three hour exercise meant to practice bombing runs.

At 2:30 p.m. the flight’s leader, Lieutenant Charles C. Taylor, radioed into back to the base to let them know that he wasn’t sure where he was and that his plane’s compass was broken. Normally, pilots in the Atlantic Ocean will fly west towards the setting sun in order to reach land but Taylor sent his squadron east because he thought he was flying towards the Florida Keys. The planes went down sometime around 6 p.m., and while there should have been tons of wreckage the Navy planes that went out in search of them couldn’t find the missing crafts. A higher up in the military plainly stated that the squadron “vanished,” and that no bodies or debris was ever discovered. 

A Reindeer watches as RAF pilots bomb Germany

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source: reddit

Destruction reigned throughout World War II, and it wasn’t just people who had to deal with the fallout from the near constant bombing across Europe. While this amazing photo claims to show a reindeer watching on as RAF pilots drop bombs over Murmansk, it’s actually a composite by Yevgeny Khaldei. The photographer explained:

During the bombings, a reindeer came out of the tundra. He wanted to be with people. They built him a shed to live in, and gave him a name, Yasha. Every time the alarm sounded, he ran to be with the soldiers–he didn’t want to be alone. During one of the air raids, I took this shot. In 1944, when the battle for Murmansk was over, the soldiers didn’t know what to do with him. They loaded him into a truck and took him back to the tundra, thinking he would join the other deer. But he couldn’t understand what was happening. He ran after the truck as long as he could.