This photo must have been a challenge for Costain and is a good example of his technical skill.  At first it appears to be an abstract image but on closer inspection the fuselage and wings of an airplane reveal themselves.  The beams of light are actually machine gun fire with one shot ricocheting off the dimly lit checkered target board.  Most of Costainʼs photography of the construction and testing of WWII fighter planes was located at the the Grumman plant in Bethpage, New York.

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Untitled (Wartime Aircraft Target Practice)

Harold Costain, c.1943 
vintage gelatin silver print 
20 × 16”