Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

THE BRITISH ARMY ON THE ITALIAN FRONT, 1917-1918
Despatch riders on Triumph motorcycles, exchange their despatches on a mountain road in Northern Italy.


(Photo source - © IWM Q 26298)
Brunell, W. J. (Photographer)
Colourised by Doug

Today in 1965, a soldier of 3 armies who dedicated his adult life to waging war against The Soviet Union, perished in a helicopter crash near the Laos-Vietnam border.

Born in Viipuri, Finland in 1919, Lauri Törni would join the Finnish army at the age of 19. Quickly rising to the rank of captain, Törni would serve as a ‘ski trooper’ in the Winter War against the invading Soviet Union.

Törni was one of many Finns who frustrated their Soviet invaders. His reputation would be made by conducting operations deep behind enemy lines. So successful was the Finn against his country’s invaders, that the Soviets placed a bounty of three million Finnish marks on his head (there is no record of any other bounty of this amount issued by the Soviets). When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Finland became an immediate ally and their renewed struggle against the Soviet occupiers would be called the Continuation War. During this second stage of the conflict Törni would be bestowed the Mannerheim Cross, Finland’s most prestigious medal for valor.

In 1944, Finland surrendered to the Soviets, but Törni did not. He fled to Germany where he was commissioned as a Waffen-SS officer and returned to combat against the communists at Schwerin, Germany. He was again decorated for valor while in the German army. As the war came to a close, Törni surrendered to the British army. He was kept in a British POW camp until extradition to Finland, wherein he was imprisoned for joining the German Army. The Soviets were pressuring the Finnish government to turn him over, so he could stand trial in Moscow. But in 1948, the President of Finland pardoned the war hero despite is multiple escapes from prison.

The Finn would not retire to a typical life and left Finland soon after. Adopting an alias as a Swedish seaman, Törni travelled across the Atlantic before jumping overboard in the Gulf of Mexico. He swam ashore near Mobile, Alabama and claimed political asylum. Congress granted him citizenship in 1953 and Törni adopted the ‘Americanized’ name of Larry Thorne. Larry would join the United States army the following year as part of what is now known as the U.S Special Forces. Larry became an instructor of skiing, mountaineering, survival and guerrilla tactics for the Green Berets, in addition to being commissioned as an officer.

Larry was well respected for his toughness, physical fitness and strength of will. In 1962, he led soldiers in an operation on top of the highest mountain in Iran to recover the bodies and classified material from an American C-130 airplane that had crashed. Despite multiple failed attempts by others previously, Larry and his men successfully completed the mission. When the conflict in Vietnam began heating up, Larry was sent to the Southeast Asian country to fight communism as part of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) .

During his second tour in Vietnam, Larry would lead the first cross-border MACV-SOG mission into Laos, to disrupt communist use of the Ho-Chi Minh trail. This would be the Finn’s last mission. Larry insisted on being in the last helicopter, so he could ensure everyone had been extracted. This helicopter encountered trouble when flying in low-visibility conditions and crashed. It was unknown at the time if Larry died in the crash as his body was not found during subsequent recoveries, but in 1999 his remains were discovered and successfully IDed.

During his short time in Vietnam, the career soldier was awarded 5 purple hearts, a Bronze Star and was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Larry served with valor and was recognized for it in each army he chose to serve with. His family in Finland gave permission for his body to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, where it now rests alongside the bodies of South Vietnamese servicemen whose bodies were recovered with Larry’s. Larry was 46 years old at the time of his death.

[Online References]




Authored by CS

On August 27, 1940, the Italian Caproni Campini N.1 took to the skies thus becoming the first jet aircraft to fly, or so it was thought at the time. Today we know that the first jet aircraft to fly was the German Heinkel He 178, having done so on August 27, 1939, but because Heinkel kept it a secret - even from the German authorities - the Caproni made it to the podium, albeit only out for a moment.

Although called a jet, the Caproni N.1 propulsion system was actually a hybrid between a piston engine and a jet engine, as it had a piston engine driving a fuel-burning fan compressor system for superior propulsion. additional. It was an experimental aircraft, designed to demonstrate the practicality of jet propulsion and its feasibility as an aircraft engine.

In terms of its basic configuration, it was composed entirely of duralumin and was of a monoplane design, fitted with an elliptical wing. The initial aircraft lacked such items as a pressurized cabin; however, these improvements were included in the second prototype. However, flight tests quickly revealed that due to the excessive heat output of the pioneer propulsion system, the canopy would have to be left permanently open as a mitigation measure.

In practice, the engine was capable of providing enough thrust for flight even without activating the tail burner. Campini referred to this configuration as a thermojet, although it has since been commonly known as a motorjet. However, despite the elaborate design, the relatively small size of the duct limited the mass flow and thus the propulsion efficiency of the engine. In modern designs this is offset by high overall pressure ratios, which could not be achieved in the N.1, resulting in relatively low thrust and poor fuel efficiency. Ground tests conducted with the static test stand produced a thrust of around 700 kgf (1,500 lbf).

The Caproni Campini N.1 was considered revolutionary, but its performance was far from impressive. With a top speed of just 375 km/h (233 mph), it was slower than a Fiat C.R.42 biplane. It was also heavy and had insulation issues that caused the cockpit to overheat, so we see the crew fly it with the cockpit open. However, Il Duce saw in it a publicity opportunity and a year later, on November 30, 1941, a second prototype made a highly publicized 168-mile flight from Milan to Rome, where it made a flight for Mussolini himself.

The average flight speed was 130 mph (209 km/h). By November 1941, both Britain and Germany had already submitted their own more advanced turbojet aircraft designs. This fact, together with the diminishing economic and industrial capacity of Italy, condemned the Caproni Campini N.1 to be nothing more than a mere technological curiosity. However, it was still a step in the right direction and for that it deserves to be remembered. One of the prototypes survived the war and can be seen today at the Italian Air Force Museum in Vigna di Valle near Rome.

The RAF’s top-scoring fighter pilot, Wing Commander James ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, with his Spitfire and pet Labrador ‘Sally’ at Bazenville landing ground, Normandy, July 1944.

A Messerschmitt 262 is discovered by American troops in a forest south east of Munich, 1945.
The Me 262 was the world's first jet-powered fighter aircraft and ushered in a new age of plane design

Studio portrait of General James M. Gavin, 1945

Secretary of War Henry Stimson inspects the 2nd Armored Division in Berlin, Germany during the Potsdam Conference. - 20 July 1945

Also present: Major General Frank Parks, General George Patton, Colonel W. H. Kyle, J. J. McCloy, H. H. Bundy, and US Secretary of War Henry Stimson.

On the threshold of Hitler’s visit to Warsaw on 5th October 1939, the center of the city, a maiden part of the upcoming motorcade route, had been practically sealed from the locals, abandoning the presence of any polish citizens in proximity to the event.

A number of buildings along the planned route were now covered with the Nazi banners and a good few special security squads, armed with machine guns, were disposed within the windows and roofs across the city center.
The local population of the occupied Warsaw was now forbidden (at least on October 5), under penalty of death, to leave their accommodation across the route or to open windows facing the chosen streets.

The day before, Hitler personally alleviate the concerns of some SS soldiers and officers, who had already participated in mass killings in Poland.
On October 4th he issued a secret order on amnesty, an act of oblivion for the Germans soldiers, who were now beyond the law in committing crimes within occupied territories.

Photography An RAF flight crew waits for their Blenheim bomber to be prepared to take off for a daylight bombing raid over Occupied France. 1942.

German artillery on the advance in the Ukraine: Sd.Kfz.7 KM m8 half-track pulling a field gun, summer 1941.

The use of half-tracked prime movers for artillery was common in the German forces but not elsewhere. Compared to wheeled vehicles, half-tracks are more difficult to maintain, they often suffer track breakages, and are slower on roads.

However, they have better off-road mobility compared to wheeled vehicles. Photographer: Artur Grimm.

Maintenance of a Junkers Ju 88 bomber at a German air force base in Northern France, autumn 1940 (or spring 1941). Photographer: Artur Grimm.

The Ju 88 sported a rather ungainly appearance but was consistent with the German bomber design trend of the period. The heavily-framed cockpit was held in a stepped arrangement overlooking a short, glazed nose section.

The fuselage was expectedly tubular and terminated in a single rounded vertical tail fin at rear. The wing mainplanes were low-mounted along the forward section of the aircraft with the engine nacelles installed at each wing leading edge.

The engines sported large spinners and drove three-bladed propeller units. Most Ju 88 versions held a belly gondola for a defensive machine gun position.

The undercarriage arrangement was of the typical tail-dragger configuration featuring two main legs.

A pilot takes a moment to shave as he camps next to his Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter plane, Italy, 1943.

It was during this year that the Allies launched their Italian Campaign with the invasion of Sicily

Memorial day for those fallen in the Winter War 1939-1940. May 1940, Joensuu, Finland. General Hägglund leading and speaking.
Finnish losses 26000 KIA. Russian losses 165000 KIA. The war lasted 105 days. This shows the intensity of fighting. Finland lost an average of 250 men, Russia 1600 men every day. Russian tank losses were 15 per day.
Photos SA-kuvat, original colour.

From 24th February 1930—when the Bureau of Aeronautics issued preliminary instructions pertaining to the identification of aircraft—until the beginning of World War II, the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps had some of the most colorful aircraft in the world.

Color photography was just becoming available to the general public at a reasonable price in 1940 when these photos were taken.

The photographer was Lieutenant (junior grade) Francis F. Hebel, who flew from the Nevada (BB-36), which was based at Pearl Harbour.

Shortly after these photos were taken, Lieutenant Hebel was transferred to a carrier-based fighter squadron, VF-6, and was killed while trying to land at Ford Island following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Ar-196 had a single BMW 132K engine that was capable of propelling it at speeds of up to 310 kilometers per hour.

The first production model of the series was the A-1, a ship-launched variant, only had 7.62mm machine guns mounted in its wings.

However, this model was in reality more limited production with only twenty being produced. While the floats made for worse maneuverability and a slower maximum speed, the Ar 196 was still a highly adaptable platform and very successful in practice.

The more produced A-2's armament consisted of two MG FF autocannons mounted in a forward firing position in the wings with a 7.92mm machine gun mounted in the rear gunner position and another 7.92mm machine gun in a forward firing position.

Optional armament consisted of up two 50 kilogram bombs

A good exception to the adjacent external colors being used in the wing folds and landing gear areas- the SB2C Helldiver.

Interior Green in those areas, as well as the bomb bay.

Local workers helping RAF fitters change the engine of a Lockheed Hudson at Yundum in the Gambia, April 1943.

An Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden inspects damaged buildings in Holborn, London 1940.

PICTURES FROM THE FINNISH-RUSSIAN WAR 1941-44.​

Photos SA-kuva

US Army in Sicily 1943