Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

HMS Campbeltown, after ramming the dry dock in Saint Nazaire. She was pained "Mountbatten Pink" at the instigation of Lord Mountbatten as a way to camouflage the ship during sunset, sunrises

Gunners of the Royal Garrison Artillery loading a 60-pounder gun. Near Corbie, Somme. 1 April 1918.


Note an optical gun sight over the breech-loader's head,
and the spoon tucked in the Lance Corporal's puttee.
(Photo source - © IWM Q 8651)
McLellan, David (Second Lieutenant) (Photographer)

CDV depicting a man of the 'Kaiserliche Schutztruppe' (Colonial troops).
On the back it is written “Cousin August Pfaffmann, Deutsch Südwest Afrika”.


'Deutsch Südwest Afrika' is present day Namibia. The scenario behind him is titled "Veste Windhuck", (archaic German meaning 'Fortress Windhoek'). Windhoek is the capital of Namibia.
This photo possibly dates from around 1904 during the training of new Schutztruppe recruits for service in the infamous Herero Rebellion.
Uniform: 1896 Kord Waffenrock.
Weapon: Gew98 with S98aA bayonet
B&w original property of S. Wouters Coll.

A ground crewman helps a pilot of No. 601 Squadron RAF into the cockpit of his Supermarine Spitfire Mark VIII at Venafro, Italy, before an offensive sweep in support of Operation DIADEM.
The town of Venafro, at the foot of Monte Santa Croce, can be seen to the back-right, 12th May 1944.



Photographer: Flt. Lt. G Woodbine.
WikiCommons Ref: CNA2829

Sergeant Lincoln Orville Lynch DFM, a West Indian air gunner serving with RAF No.102 Squadron, photographed wearing his flying kit by the rear turret of his Halifax at RAF Pocklington, February 1944.


Lynch, from Jamaica, volunteered for service in the RAF in 1942, and in 1943 won the Air Gunner's trophy for obtaining the highest percentage of his course during his training in Canada. On his first operational flight with No 102 Squadron he shot down a German Junkers Ju 88.
The historian Mark Johnson described this incident:
He was a gentleman. He shot the night fighter’s engine with his machine guns, then he realised it was on fire and he then held fire while the German pilot and his crewmen climbed out and jumped off the back of the aeroplane and then he resumed firing and shot the rest of the aeroplane out of the sky.
In August 1944 he was promoted to Flight Sergeant, a rare promotion for a gunner. In September 1944 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Medal. The citation noted his "high standard of determination and devotion to duty", exemplary conduct and declared him "a worthy member of a fine crew" who had "defended his aircraft with great skill on several occasions against enemy fighters".
In May 1947, Lynch was promoted to Flight Lieutenant.
In 1951, Lynch left the RAF and emigrated to the United States, taking up a role as Airline Flight Operation Officer.
But in 1962 when his children were denied access to a largely white Long Island elementary school, he took the school district to court. The failure of the case inspired Lynch to become "one of Long Island's most ardent and audacious civil rights activists.
In 1967, Lynch joined the New York Urban Coalition as Vice President and formed the Alliance of Minority Group Leaders. In the 1970s he taught community organisation and activism at Stony Brook University and testified before Congress.
Lynch remained politically active and was one of many hundreds of people arrested during protests in Manhattan following the 1999 Shooting of (an unarmed 23-year-old Guinean immigrant) Amadou Diallo.
Lynch passed away in 2011.

Capt. Don Gentile, of the 4th Fighter Group, in the cockpit of his P-51B Mustang 'Shangri-La' (VF-T, serial no. 43-6913) at Debden air base.
Printed caption attached to print: 'May Have Broken Rickenbacher's Record.


Associated Press photo shows:
The new "ace" in the cockpit of his plane, "Shangri-La". Note 21 of his 27 'kills' have been recorded on the side of the plane with the Eagle Squadron insignia and the checkerboard which both Capt. Gentile and his wingman, Lt. Godfrey, carry so that they can recognise one another'.
Colour by Renee

Captain Robert Campbell Cunninghame 1st BN 42nd ( Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot Crimea 1855.
Captain Cunninghame was present at the Battle of Alma ( Sept 20th 1854)


He was invalided home the following year in August and died 6th September 1855 in Malta of 'Crimean Fever' transmitted to humans from domestic animals Cattle,goats,pigs, usually through infected milk or carcass.(Brucellosis)

Original Photographer Roger Fenton 1829-69.
Original Photo Royal Collection Trust.

"Goodbye to the Mediterranean" after two very successful campaigns.



Polish Navy ORP "Sokół" in Gibraltar, 1944. The crew is holding a captured German flag and the Jolly Roger flag.
Ship's combat successes are: dashes marks enemy ships sunk by torpedo or artillery fire; crossed sabers - boarding an enemy ship; red stars - artillery fights; lattice cross - forcing through the anti-submarine web at the entrance to the enemy port, and safe exit from it.

LVT Amtrac amphibious craft lands US troops of the 381st Infantry Regiment, 96th ("Dead Eye") Infantry Division at 'White Beach' Okinawa - April 1, 1945


The American invasion of the island of Okinawa, codenamed "Operation Iceberg", took place 1 April 1945. The Japanese military was determined to inflate a casualty rate so high that the U.S. government would choose not to invade the Japanese home islands. To this end, the southern portion of the island had been covered with the most extensive system of fortifications and fields of fire yet encountered in the Pacific War.
"It would take the Allies 82 days to secure control of the island from Japanese forces, but armed Japanese resistance on Okinawa continued up until the formal surrender on 2 September 1945.
The battle was exceptionally brutal - in terms of casualties incurred it was the costliest battle of the Pacific War and one of the bloodiest battles of WW2. The loss of life was astounding… According to the latest research the total number of people killed across the board during the entirety of the Okinawa Campaign is at least 273,284 people (this figure includes the military forces of US, UK, Japan, as well as Okinawan civilians). This six figure number does not include the countless casualties who suffered physical and mental wounds.
The Battle of Okinawa proved to be the endgame in the war against the Empire of Japan and because of the heavy casualties sustained (the Allies alone suffered over 72,000 casualties), it directly resulted in President Truman's decision to drop the two atomic bombs because he did not want to see ... "an Okinawa from one end of Japan to the other".
(Colourised by Royston Leonard)

On the 1st of April 1921, the 1st Australian Imperial Force was disbanded. Formed on the 15th of August 1914 for overseas service, The 1st AIF would see service in Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine, and all across the Western Front.



In total, 416,809 Australians enlisted in the 1st AIF during the war, including 2,131 women. Of these, 331,781 would be sent overseas. 210,000 would become casualties, of which 61,519 would be killed or die of wounds. 4,000 would also become prisoners of war.
64 Australians would also go on to attain the country’s highest honour, the Victoria Cross.

Fresh kill markings go on Don Gentile's P-51B Mustang 'Shangri-La', while he looks on. The sergeant painting them on is Dick Mansfield, Gentile's assistant crew chief.


The chequerboard below the exhaust was a device created by Gentile and his wingman John Godfrey for quick identification in the air.

1939 Turkish Cavalry

Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 80
German soldiers of Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 80 in the Vosges Mountains, late 1916.


Military equipment, old and new, includes several Gewehr 98, M1895 ammo pouches, holstered Luger pistol and a boot knife.
Excellent detail of the ‘potato masher’ officially known as the M1915 Stielhandgranate, and two rarely seen M1915 ball grenade (Kugelhandgranate). These defensive grenades pre-date the offensive ‘potato masher’ grenade and although effective, were heavy (1 Kg) and could be thrown no more than 15 meters on flat terrain.
The soldier on the right foreground demonstrates the standard procedure to pull the loop on the priming wire. Because the priming wire could be difficult to pull with cold and/or wet hands, soldiers were issued with a wrist lanyard with a snap hook that could be attached to the loop.
Note: I’ve coloured the footwear in different tones of leather as to be representative of what one could find in the trenches. The same with the tunic’s buttons.
Colour by Rui Candeias

M7 Priest of the 14th Armored Field Artillery Battalion in Carentan, Normandy, France. 1944.


The 105 mm Howitzer Motor Carriage M7 was an American self-propelled artillery vehicle produced during World War II. It was given the official service name 105 mm Self Propelled Gun, Priest by the British Army, due to the pulpit-like machine gun ring, and following on from the Bishop and the contemporary Deacon self-propelled guns.
During the early stages of World War II, US Army observers realized that they would need a self-propelled artillery vehicle with sufficient firepower to support armoured operations.
Lessons learned with half-tracks (such as the T19 Howitzer Motor Carriage (HMC) with a 105 mm howitzer on the M3 Half-track chassis) also showed that this vehicle would have to be armoured and fully tracked. It was decided to use the M3 Lee chassis as the basis for this new vehicle design, named T32. The pilot vehicles used the M3 chassis with an open-topped superstructure, mounting an M2A1 105 mm howitzer, with a machine-gun added after trials.
The T32 was accepted for service as the M7 in February 1942 and production began that April. The British Tank Mission had requested 2,500 to be delivered by the end of 1942 and a further 3,000 by the end of 1943, an order which was never fully completed.
As the M4 Sherman tank replaced the M3, it was decided to continue production using the M4 chassis (the M4 chassis was a development of the M3). The M7 was subsequently supplanted by the M37 HMC (on the "Light Combat Team" chassis that also gave the M24 Chaffee light tank).

General Władysław Anders (Commander of the 2nd Polish Corps) and General Bronisław Duch (Commander of the Polish 3rd Carpathian Rifles Division) at Monte Cassino, Italy, May 1944.


Photo: NAC (Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe - Polish National Digital Archives)

Group of Women's Auxiliary Air Force recruits arriving at RNZAF Station, Levin in the back of truck MT731.


RNZAF Official photo
Colourised by Daniel Rarity

A group of French soldiers waiting outside the photography studio owned by the Manaki Brothers. The photo was taken in November 1916 after the allies had captured the city of Bitola.


Monastir offensive 12 September - 11 November 1916
An Allied offensive against the Bulgarians at Monastir (now Bitola in the Republic of Macedonia) ended in limited gains.
Source: © IWM Q 32552
Color by Александар Трајчевски

April 3rd, 1945 marks the days of the liberation of Hengelo, the Netherlands.
Easter Tuesday, 3 April, Troops of the 7th Hampshire and the 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment advance through the municipality of Driene. At cafe Pentrop near the Oldenzaalsestraat the troops encountered German resistance.



Colour by Erwin Zeemering

Danish Mg squad at the entrance to Haderslev Barracks on 9 April 1940.


Haderslev had a garrison of 225 men of the Jutland Division under Colonel A. Hartz, which defended both the barracks in the town and the road leading to it. Troops in the town mobilized at 07:00 on hearing instructions broadcast from police loudspeaker vans. Bolstered by retreating units, approximately 400 Danes defended the town. Three roadblocks were set up: one with dumping wagons, the other two from spare lumber
At about 07:50 on the southern outskirts of Haderslev, a Danish 37 mm anti-tank gun with a crew of five attacked the approaching armour. Two German tanks lined up adjacent to one another and opened fire. The Danes landed all three of their shots—one in a tank's tracks—but two of the gun crew were killed and the rest wounded. One tank then drove over the gun.
Around the curve on Sønderbro Street, two 20 mm cannon and a machine gun put up resistance at the wagon roadblock on Sønderbro Street. The Germans laid down heavy fire. A Danish soldier was killed and two were wounded, but the Germans were effectively pinned down. The fighting continued for ten minutes until the order to surrender was received from Copenhagen by telephone.
The Germans were then allowed to proceed into Haderslev, but the Danish garrison stationed there had not received the order to surrender and fired on them. Two German tanks and a motorcycle proceeded unsuspecting towards the barracks, which were defended by the anti-tank unit from Lundtoftbjerg. They opened fire, killing the motorcyclist and blowing the tracks off one tank, sending it crashing into a house. However, the Danish garrison capitulated at 08:15 when the order to surrender finally came through. One Danish soldier was killed while defending the barracks, and three civilians were killed in the crossfire.

1944 - While in port the opportunity is taken to paint and smarten up the Polish destroyer ORP Piorun