Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

Lieutenants Philippe Rousseau (left) and Maurice Rousseau, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, at a transit camp near Down Ampney, England, 13 February 1944.


Philippe and Maurice were the sons of Lacasse Rousseau, an electrician and engineer, and Gabrielle Fafard, born in Montreal, Canada. Philippe joined le Régiment de la Chaudière in Lévis before enlisting with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion when it was first created in July 1942. Maurice enlisted on 14 December 1940 in Royal Military College, Regiment Montmagny. Both qualified as a paratrooper in Ringway, England at the end of 1943.
PHILIPPE
Around 00:30 a.m. on June 6, Philippe's plane arrived over French territory. The maritime disembarkation will take place around five o'clock in the morning.
Parachuted last, Lieutenant Rousseau finds only four of his men. He immediately heads for the nearest house, with the aim of taking bearings. Having been parachuted away from the designated DZ did not discourage him because he had been parachuted closer to his objective than expected. Lieutenant Rousseau took off immediately in the direction of Dozulé to complete his mission with the four soldiers he had met.
Two hours later, the five men were caught in a cross fire with German soldiers and lieutenant Rousseau died instantly.
The next day, a French peasant found the lieutenant's body lying in firing position, his rifle in the front. It was in Gonneville-sur-Mer. Philippe will have lived only two hours on French soil. He will be the first Canadian soldier killed during the landing.
MAURICE
Maurice Rousseau jumped into France on 5/6 June 1944. He had just married Agnes Hornsby in England before he left for combat. Later, he was attached to the 2nd Special Air Service Regiment. Maurice was assisting members of the French Resistance during Operation Loyton in order to disrupt the railway system in the region.
The mission, between 12 August and 9 October 1944, had the misfortune to be parachuted into the Vosges Mountains, at a time when the German Army was reinforcing the area, against General George Patton's Third Army. As a result, the Germans quickly became aware of their presence and conducted operations to destroy the SAS team.
With their supplies running out and under pressure from the German army, the SAS were ordered to form smaller groups to return to Allied lines. During the fighting and breakout operations 31 men were captured and later executed by the Germans.
Maurice was KIA on 20 September 1944, aged 25. He was given a field burial in Igney Communal Cemetery.
Philippe and Maurice are buried next to each other at the Ranville War Cemetery, Calvados, France, on 11 December 1945.
@ColourisedPieceofJake
(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3565512)

Photograph from the Warsaw Uprising 1944. Machine gun position at the gate to the tenement house at 5/7 Emiliana Konopczyńskiego Street.


Author: Sylwester "Kris" Braun

Warsaw Insurgents Unit at Zgoda Street, at the exit to Jasna Street. View towards the north. In the background, on the right, the ruins of the Income House of the Warsaw Insurance Association.



Author: Sylwester "Kris" Braun

Lieutenant General Sir Bernard Freyberg, VC at Cassino, Italy, 3 January 1944.

Bernard Cyril ‘Tiny’ Freyberg was born in London in 1889, immigrating to New Zealand with his parents when he was two years old. He became well known for his swimming prowess, winning the New Zealand junior and senior swimming titles. It was a skill that would prove useful early on in his military career.

Freyberg left New Zealand for San Francisco in March 1914 and travelled to Mexico, possibly becoming involved in the civil war raging in that country. But on hearing of the outbreak of the First World War in August he immediately left for England to volunteer. He secured a commission in the Royal Naval Division's Hood Brigade. By September 1914 he was on the Belgian front.

Freyberg was awarded numerous honours for his actions during the First World War. Early in the Gallipoli campaign he won a Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for swimming ashore and setting flares at Bulair (Bolayir). It was the evening of 24 April 1915 and the intention was to divert Turkish attention from the main landing. By 1918 he had added two bars to his DSO, won the Victoria Cross through ‘splendid personal gallantry’, and been appointed a Companion to the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (CMG). He was mentioned in dispatches on several occasions and wounded nine times.

He ended the war as a Temporary Brigadier with the 29th Division but soon settled into peacetime soldiering with staff appointments at the headquarters of the 44th Division (1921–5), Headquarters Eastern Command (1929), Southern Command (1931–3) and the War Office (1933–4). In 1934 he was promoted to the rank of major general, and the following year was appointed a Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB).

Freyberg seemed headed for the highest echelons of the army but was obliged to retire in October 1937 after medical exams revealed a heart problem. Fortunately, following the outbreak of the Second World War he managed to have his medical grading restored to a level that would allow active service overseas. He offered his services to the New Zealand government and was appointed to command the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force and its fighting arm, the 2nd New Zealand Division. He led their campaigns in Greece, Crete, North Africa and Italy.

Freyberg was criticised, particularly for his role in the fall of Crete in May 1941, and for the destruction of the Benedictine Monastery above Cassino in 1944. But he was also an admired figure at home and abroad, credited by his men for his concern for their welfare and readiness to be at the forefront of any enemy action. During the Second World War he added a third bar to his DSO and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general. He was also appointed a Knight Commander to the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) and elevated to Knight Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (KCB). The latter was for his leadership of the New Zealand Division during the decisive second battle at El Alamein, which marked a major turning point in favour of the allied forces.

Following the war Freyberg was invited to be New Zealand's Governor-General. A popular choice for the post, he was the first Governor-General with a New Zealand upbringing. He left London on 3 May 1946, bringing with him material to assist in New Zealand government in its compilation of an official war history. He maintained a strong interest in the project during his term, which was extended from five to six years in light of an impending royal visit and other issues. He left New Zealand on 15 August 1952.

On his return to England Freyberg frequently sat in the House of Lords, having been raised to the peerage in 1951. From 1953 until his death he acted as Deputy Constable and Lieutenant Governor in charge of Windsor Castle. He died at Windsor on 4 July 1963 following the rupture of one of his war wounds.

The three Army Film and Photographic Unit Photographers who took the graphic still and cine pictures of the 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem.

The photo, which shows them with their cameras, was taken at the AFPU Centre at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire on 28 September 1944, the day that they arrived back. Smith was wounded in the shoulder. Left to right: Sgt. Dennis M Smith, Sgt. Gordon "Jock" Walker and Sgt. C M "Mike" Lewis.

Hurricane Mark X, AG162 'EH-W', of No. 55 Operational Training Unit based at Annan, Dumfriesshire, in flight in the aftermath of some good Scottish drizzle, c. mid-1942.

Initially serving as a sub-site of No. 18 Maintenance Unit in 1940–1941, RAF Annan was opened as an air station in April 1942 as the base for No. 55 Operational Training Unit RAF (OTU), to train fighter pilots.
As part of No. 81 Group, 55 OTU pilots flew at low level over the Solway Firth training to fly "Rhubarb" missions, crossing the English Channel to attack targets of opportunity in France and the Low Countries.
Initially they flew Hawker Hurricanes - as depicted here - and later, Miles Master trainers and Hawker Typhoon fighter-bomber

Italian partisans of the 104th/177th Garibaldi Brigades, gathered in front of the Cuneo railway station, Cuneo, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, May 6th 1945.

The Brigate Garibaldi or Garibaldi Brigades were partisan units aligned with the Italian Communist Party active in the armed resistance against both German and Italian forces during World War II. The Brigades were mostly made up of communists, but also included members of other parties of the National Liberation Committee (NLC), in particular the Italian Socialist Party. Led by Luigi Longo and Pietro Secchia, they were the largest of the partisan groups and suffered the highest number of losses.

santana said:

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Italian partisans of the 104th/177th Garibaldi Brigades, gathered in front of the Cuneo railway station, Cuneo, Piedmont, northwestern Italy, May 6th 1945.

The Brigate Garibaldi or Garibaldi Brigades were partisan units aligned with the Italian Communist Party active in the armed resistance against both German and Italian forces during World War II. The Brigades were mostly made up of communists, but also included members of other parties of the National Liberation Committee (NLC), in particular the Italian Socialist Party. Led by Luigi Longo and Pietro Secchia, they were the largest of the partisan groups and suffered the highest number of losses.

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The jackets all appear to be those as worn by the German Mountain troops.

The submarine Hr.Ms. Zwaardvisch (S814) was the lead ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy's Zwaardvisch-class, which was based on the British T class. The submarine was originally ordered as HMS Talent (P322) and built by Vickers Armstrong, Barrow, and John Brown & Company, Clydebank.

She was laid down on the 13th of October 1942, and launched on 17 July 1943. She was not commissioned into the Royal Navy, instead being transferred to the Royal Netherlands Navy on 23 March 1943, and commissioned into service on 23 November 1943 under the command of Lt.Cdr. H.A.W. Goossens. She was renamed Zwaardvisch, Dutch for 'Swordfish'. She went on to lead a distinguished career.

"THE SINKING OF U-168"
On 26 Sepember 1944 Zwaardvisch departed from Fremantle, Australia for her 4th war patrol. She was ordered to patrol in the Java Sea.
On the morning of 6 October 1944 on her way to Surabaya, Zwaardvisch sighted a German submarine U-168 north of Java which had departed from Jakarta the day before.

The submarine was recognized as not allied and was steering a course of 115°at a speed between 13 and 15 knots. Zwaardvisch started an attack and estimated the speed of the target at 14 knots. She fired 6 torpedoes from 900 yards. 42 seconds after firing the first torpedo, an explosion was heard and the submarine was seen settling forward. The stern came out of the water and the submarine sank at an angle of 40°.

She was completely gone in just two minutes. The Zwaardvis closed in on the sinking position submerged. 6 people were sighted in the water. Lt.Cdr. Goossens decided to take them all prisoner but waited for 10 minutes to be sure that no air cover was present. Zwaardvisch surfaced and closed in again. It was now noticed that not 6 but more than 20 people were in the water. All were taken on board, 27 in all. This was an impossible number to carry for the rest of the patrol. Three officers were selected as prisoners, the rest were put on a fishing vessel that was nearby but the U-boat's doctor and a wounded German also had been taken below for treatment.

The survivors told the Dutch CO that three torpedoes had struck but that only one had exploded. They also gave him the very good news that the local Japanese air command did not start their anti-submarine patrols until after 1100 ! The German U-boat command in the Far East became convinced that the loss of U 168 could be attributed to 'loose talk', since the crew had taken their Indonesian girlfriends on board the U-boat for a farewell party..."

She was decommissioned on 11 December 1962, and was sold to be broken up for scrap on 12 July 1963.

GI's of the 1st Battalion, 120th Regiment, 30th Infantry Division pass a M24 Chaffee, probably of the 744th Tank Battalion, in pursuit of the fleeing 116th Panzer Division.

The front hull of the M24 is covered with dirt from burst sandbags, indicating it had engaged the enemy.
26 March 1945, Wesel forest, Germany.

Note the M7 rifle grenade launcher the soldier on the right is carrying. The M7, was a 22 mm rifle grenade launcher attachment for the M1 Garand rifle and saw widespread use throughout World War II. The M7 could fire grenades up to 200 metres (220 yards), compared with the maximum of 30 metres (33 yards) achieved by a hand-thrown grenade.

santana said:

View attachment 342156

GI's of the 1st Battalion, 120th Regiment, 30th Infantry Division pass a M24 Chaffee, probably of the 744th Tank Battalion, in pursuit of the fleeing 116th Panzer Division.

The front hull of the M24 is covered with dirt from burst sandbags, indicating it had engaged the enemy.
26 March 1945, Wesel forest, Germany.

Note the M7 rifle grenade launcher the soldier on the right is carrying. The M7, was a 22 mm rifle grenade launcher attachment for the M1 Garand rifle and saw widespread use throughout World War II. The M7 could fire grenades up to 200 metres (220 yards), compared with the maximum of 30 metres (33 yards) achieved by a hand-thrown grenade.

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Nice photo. Chaffee photos like this are not common.

Great light tank that was somewhat underused, even though they were in theater because of the perceived (and real) difficulties of introducing a new vehicle. They were popular with the troops though that did convert from the Stuarts as I understand it.

Got creamed in Korea when put up against T-34s.

Late in the afternoon on April 22, 1944, Captain Harvey G. Hesse and his crew on the B-17, Quad Zero aka Just Nothing (42-40000 DF-F) would leave England on mission 311 to attack the railway yards in Hamm, Germany.


Hamm was the nerve-center of the German railway system with a daily capacity of 10,000 wagons. In addition, the city also housed railway repair services. The allies sent 834 B-17s and B-24s and were accompanied by 1000 fighters comprised of Mustangs, Lightnings, Thunderbolts and Spitfires.
Due to navigation errors, the combat wing approached Hamm from the west, where there was heavy flak and Just Nothing was hit by flak in the #3 engine and burst into flames. Hesse remained on board to allow the other crew to escape the aircraft, but before he could bail out, the aircraft exploded, killing Hesse and Engineer/Top Turret Gunner Charles Williams.
The other 9 crew aboard Just Nothing survived but were taken prisoner. Eye witness accounts from the MACR (4259) report:
"Aircraft B-17G, 42-40000, was hit by flak, which caused fire in vicinity of No. 3 engine. Aircraft exploded shortly thereafter at about 15000 feet. Observer count ten (10) parachutes, also saw two (2) objects, one of which could have been a body.
-S/Sgt. Charles A. Shriver, Jr."
Shown in the photo are:
Back Row L-R:
S/Sgt. William (Bill) Williams, Engineer
S/Sgt. Robert Detterline, Radio Operator (Not on mission)
S/Sgt. Harlon Bunn, Ball Turret Gunner
S/Sgt. John E. Guy, Waist Gunner
S/Sgt. D.L. Frans, Tail Gunner (Not on mission)
S/Sgt. W.G. Mosley, Waist Gunner & Bombardier (Not on mission)
Front Row L-R:
1st Lt. H.G. Hesse, Pilot
1st Lt. Rocky Rasmussen, Navigator (Not on Mission - flew on B-17 #423060 "Hell's Belle" and was shot down 12/1/1943 became POW)
Lt. Robert Hunt, Bombardier (Not on Mission)
1st Lt. Tannumbeum, Co-pilot (Not on Mission - was on B-17F #42-3506 'Sir Baboon McGoon' which was forced to ditch in the North Sea off Ijmuiden and was picked up by German Navy and became a POW).
Photo was taken in November 1943.
The crew of Just Nothing on 4-22-1944 consisted of:
Capt. Harvey G. Hesse KIA (In photo)
Flight Engineer/Top Turret Gunner Charles Williams KIA. (In photo)
Co-pilot Maj Charles Lee POW
Navigator John Ryan (401BS) POW
Navigator Jay Suldan POW
Bombadier-Capt Prevost Marshall POW
Radio Operator Fred Snavely POW
Ball Turret Gunner Harlan Bunn POW (In photo)
Waist Gunner John Guy POW (In photo)
Waist Gunner Leon Sterle POW
Tail Gunner 2nd Lt Leon Krahling POW
Production Block: B-17G-10-VE:42-39958 to 42-40057
91st Bomb Group
324th Bomb Squadron
22 Missions
For more information about Mission 311:
Night of the Intruders: The Slaughter of Homeward Bound USAAF Mission 311

German, japanese and finnish officers in Karelia, 1943

American troops on board a landing craft heading for the beaches at Oran in Algeria during Operation 'Torch', November 1942.

Fallchirmjäger with MP40 and hand grenades Eihandgranate 39

US Army Soldiers in Normandy 1944

Spitfire presented to RAF by Uruguayan Railways staff, by Brigadier FD Hammond, chairman of Central Uruguayan Railways.

'Exit Stuka', the words written on the back of this dramatic photo which shows a Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber going down trailing thick black smoke over Tripoli harbour while the loader of a 40mm Bofors AA gun looks on.


The photo was taken using a camera owned by Larry Flinagan, a member of the 14th NZ Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment of the 2nd NZ Division, which would date this photo sometime between 23 January and the very beginning of March 1943. The Stuka appears to be an older B or R model and presumably belonged to III/StG 3, the only Luftwaffe Stuka unit operating in the region at that time.
Many thanks to Larry's grandson, Mitch, for sharing his grandfather's amazing photo.
Colourised by Color Praeterita

The crew of HM Submarine 'UNISON' display their 'Jolly Roger' at Devonport, Plymouth, having returned from a successful 16 months in the Mediterranean. October 10, 1943.


This submarine took passage to UK from Malta for a refit on 9 September 1943 and after sailing from Gibraltar carried out a patrol west of Cadiz before arriving at Devonport on 28th to Pay-off. Refit work was completed in February 1944 and she recommissioned for trials and training duties in the 6th Submarine Flotilla based at Blyth. These duties terminated in May after she had been selected for transfer to the Soviet Fleet and she prepared for her new service at Rosyth.
(Photo source - © IWM A 19673)
Hampton J A (Lt)
Royal Navy official photographer

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