Wartime Wednesday:
Combat Photography Units
Much has been written about the war correspondents and
photojournalists who covered WWII (and previous conflicts) for commercial
publications. But did you know there were sixteen Army Air Force Combat Camera
Units (CCU) that took still and motion picture coverage in every theatre of
operation? The photos and movies were used for analysis, training, public
information, and permanent historical records. Each unit was comprised of
twenty-three men, fifteen of whom were on combat status.
One of the CCUs was the 166th Signal Photographic
Company that covered General George Patton. Among their many exploits was the
landing in Normandy. Members of their crews included many veteran professionals
such as Russ Meyer and Stanley Kramer.
The 4th CCU was responsible for documenting the
damage to Germany after V-E day. They filmed Herman Göring and captured images
of the death camps in color.
The 8th CCU followed the 8th Air Force
and the 25th Bomb Group, participating in 230 combat missions.
The First Motion Picture Unit was made up entirely of
Hollywood professionals. They were primarily responsible for propaganda and
training films.
Does this sound like a glamourous job? Perhaps, but by all
reports, casualties in these units were high as they put their lives on the
line to photograph the war.
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