pwebber253

This photo was taken during the 487th Bomb Group's B-24 combat crew training at Alamogordo Army Air Base, New Mexico, between Dec 1943 and Mar 1944. It shows five training B-24s flying on a southwesterly heading over the Tularosa Basin, a few miles south of Alamogordo Army Air Base (now Holloman AFB). The direction of view is west-northwest toward the San Andres Mountains. Gardner Peak on Block Mountain is directly above the lead plane on the left. The White Sands formation is visible at the base of the mountains. This is a striking view of the White Sands dune field, and shows how gypsum is spread over a large area of the Tularosa Basin. The portion of White Sands known as 'Point of Sands' is just above and to the left of the second plane in the formation. The two dry lakes visible at left center of this photo are located at about 32.761°N, 106.061°W. ...more