Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

[Conhoon]

Battleship HMS Rodney as seen from the Polish Navy destroyer ORP Piorun, 1943

 

[BravoZulu]

Pilots from 488 NZ Squadron hold up 'V' for Victory gestures while showing off the tail fin of a Ki-46 (of the 81st Sentai) that was recently brought down by two New Zealanders from 243 Squadron. RAF Kallang, 1942

Charles Kronk and Bert Wipiti became great friends during flight training at RNZAF Ohakea and were were posted to Singapore to fly in 243 Squadron, made up mostly of New Zealand pilots flying already outdated Brewster Buffalos in the defense of Singapore.

On the 19th of Jan 1942, they intercepted a Ki-46 'Dinah' and shot it down, both of them sharing the victory and claiming the first Japanese plane to be shot down over Singapore. This was a rather incredible achievement as the Ki-46 was faster and had a higher top speed and service ceiling than the Buffalo.

The Japanese plane crashed into the jungle in southern Johore. Kronk, Wipiti and 243 squadrons C.O. visited the crash site the next day. They found the 2 dead bodies of the crew and they cut off the vertical stabilizer to take back as a souvenir.

Colour by Rarity Color (Facebook)

 

[BravoZulu]

Austin armoured cars, from the 17th (Armoured Car) Tank Battalion, setting out on a reconnaissance on the Arras-Bapaume road near Biefvillers-lès-Bapaume, 25 August 1918.

 

[BravoZulu]

Scots Fusilier Guards 1856

 

[BravoZulu]

9 July 1944 "An Allied soldier keeps a sharp lookout for snipers in the ruins of Caen". (IWM) A posed shot of him with his Lee–Enfield No. 4 Mk I on Rue des Chanoines/Rue Haute, Caen)

 

[Conhoon]

Personnel with captured Fokker D. VII aircraft of the German Air Force, Hounslow, Mddx., UK. 1919.

Ground crew, other ranks, and a least one officer in front of captured Fokker DVII 6822/18 and others at Hounslow, handed over to Canada as war trophies.
Colour by RJM

 

[Conhoon]

This particular photo shows the ease with which German units fused together into Kampfgruppen during Operation Market Garden in September, 1944.

Here an officer of probably Waffen SS Division Hohenstaufen takes charge of a unit consisting of troops of the Luftwaffe, Heer and Police, an exotic combination at least.
The official caption only reads: “Schlacht um Arnheim (…) Zu den rasch zusammengefasste Deutsche Kräften, die gegen die gelandeten Truppen eingesetzt werden, gehören Grenadiere des Heeres, Männer der Polizei, Fallschirmjäger und SS-Panzergrenadiere.”
The location was unknown. The photo is much used in books on the battle because it illustrates the diversity of German troops quite well, and thus the German improvisational abilities. The details in the background have often led to wrong conclusions.
The scene was often wrongly placed at the railway yard in Arnhem, because of the visible overhead lines. It turns out that it is not Arnhem, but a city further south: the photo was taken in the Keizer Lodewijkplein (nowadays the Trajanusplein) in Nijmegen! The trees in the background are in the Hunnerpark.
We are looking northwest, the Waal bridge is behind the trees. The SS Hauptsturmführer, identifiable by the rank insignia, is most likely Karl Heinz Euling, the commander of the German positions in that area.
Colourised PIECE of JAKE
Photograph: Kriegsberichter Pospesch, Bundesarchiv.
Caption: https://vriendenairbornemuseum.nl/vvam-airborne-magazine-13/

 

[Conhoon]

Afrika Korps, 1941-1943

 

[Conhoon]

A photograph taken on 10 July 1918.

Two men of the 7th Australian Light Trench Mortar Battery operate a Stokes mortar, established in a machine gun post on the new front line.
From left to right: 1916 Lance Corporal A J Ellis and 2700 Private Arthur Lawler. This position was part of a few hundred yards captured from the enemy in a silent daylight raid on 9 July by a party of the 27th Battalion.
The location is just east of Villers-Bretonneux between the railway and the south side of the Amiens-St Quentin main road, alongside a position called ‘The Orchard’.
Light Trench Mortar Batteries were under command of the Brigade of the same numeric designation - in this case the 7th Brigade of the 2nd Division.
Organisationally, Light Trench Mortar Batteries were under the direct command of the Brigade Headquarters but were generally deployed close to the front line so that the enemy was within range.
Light Trench Mortar Batteries went where their parent Brigade went and their involvement in battles/campaigns reflects that of the Brigade.
(From the Australian First World War Official Exchange Collection at the Imperial War Museum, copyright image IWM E(AUS)2677)
Colourised by Doug - DBColour

 

[Conhoon]

10 July 1944

A 6-pounder anti-tank gun of the 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers, part of the 9th Brigade of the British 3rd Division, along with Canadian Sherman tanks in Rue Montoir Poissonnerie near St-Pierre Church, Caen.
Extract from 1st Battalion King’s Own Scottish Borderers war diary, 9 July;
"The attack on Caen. The plan. The Canadians were to attack from the West. The RUR’s in the centre from the North and 1 KOSB from the East. The Bn moved off at about 0930 hrs over ring contour “60”, which was under shell fire, to FUP on the Eastern outskirts of CAEN. The ghostlike houses slowly came to life as civilians began to realise we were entering the town. They came running out with glasses and bottles of wine. As the Bn was forming up on the start line and trying to re-establish wireless contact with companies and Bde, four Boche were seen to withdraw towards the centre of the town. Soon afterwards out [our] HQ was mortared leaving 1 killed and 1 wounded. The Bn then proceeded to clear the town. Little opposition was met.
Progress was slowed down by snipers and an occasional MG. Much assistance and information was offered by eager civilians. Debris and cratered streets also made progress extremely difficult. We eventually reached the RV in the Old Town and established contact with the RUR and pushed forward patrols to the river. Patrols met quite heavy fire from across the river and a number of casualties were sustained."
Sergeant Christie No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit
Colour by Doug
(Source - Imperial War Museum B 6924)

 

[BravoZulu]

US troops in a snow-filled trench during the Battle of the Bulge, 1944.

 

[BravoZulu]

Staff Sergeant William J. "Wild Bill" Guarnere Sr., of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, enlisted in the US Army Airborne on August 31, 1942. At 19 years old, Bill entered the service as a Private and began training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. He soon became a NCO with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army.

According to "Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story", the biography co-authored by William J. "Wild Bill" Guarnere and Edward "Babe" Heffron: "In December of 1944 Bill was hospitalized for a broken leg. Nothing was holding this hero back as he subsequently broke out of the hospital, covered his cast with black shoe polish and returned to the front lines with his brothers. This was a risk he was willing to take. Guarnere had a unique grudge against the Germans. His older brother, Henry, had been killed in combat at Monte Cassino in Italy. During the Battle of the Bulge, Wild Bill’s friend, Joe Toye, suffered the loss of a leg and was calling for help. Despite the ongoing attack, Bill left his foxhole to save his friend, and took shrapnel to his knee. Bill later had to have his leg amputated above the knee."

"Bill’s courageous efforts and how he lost his leg was not known to his family until the release of Band of Brothers. Bill was not the kind of man to discuss much about his service although he remained proud of the fact that Easy Company trained so long together that they became like brothers who risked their lives for each other on the frontlines." (wildbillmemorial.org)

Staff Sergeant Guarnere was honored with the Silver Star, three Bronze Star Medals and two Purple Heart decorations.

After the war Bill returned to Philadelphia. In 1945 he married Frances "Frannie" Peca (pictured) and the couple had two sons. Wild Bill and Babe Heffron remained the best of friends for the rest of their lives. Bill Guarnere passed away on March 8, 2014 at the age of 90. He lies in rest at the Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Springfield Pennsylvania. Lest We Forget.

"Wild Bill" Guarnere was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Frank John Hughes.

Colorization compliments of Johnny Sirlande of Historic Photo Restored in Color.

 

[BravoZulu]

Soldiers of the 55th Armored Infantry Battalion and one tank of the 22nd Tank Battalion, move through smoke filled street. Wernberg, Germany, 1945.

 

[BravoZulu]

Tiger I #332 and it’s crew from the 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion, Eastern Front, January/ February 1944

 

[santana]

View attachment 321128Staff Sergeant William J. "Wild Bill" Guarnere Sr., of Philadelphia Pennsylvania, enlisted in the US Army Airborne on August 31, 1942. At 19 years old, Bill entered the service as a Private and began training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. He soon became a NCO with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army.

According to "Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends: Two WWII Paratroopers from the Original Band of Brothers Tell Their Story", the biography co-authored by William J. "Wild Bill" Guarnere and Edward "Babe" Heffron: "In December of 1944 Bill was hospitalized for a broken leg. Nothing was holding this hero back as he subsequently broke out of the hospital, covered his cast with black shoe polish and returned to the front lines with his brothers. This was a risk he was willing to take. Guarnere had a unique grudge against the Germans. His older brother, Henry, had been killed in combat at Monte Cassino in Italy. During the Battle of the Bulge, Wild Bill’s friend, Joe Toye, suffered the loss of a leg and was calling for help. Despite the ongoing attack, Bill left his foxhole to save his friend, and took shrapnel to his knee. Bill later had to have his leg amputated above the knee."

"Bill’s courageous efforts and how he lost his leg was not known to his family until the release of Band of Brothers. Bill was not the kind of man to discuss much about his service although he remained proud of the fact that Easy Company trained so long together that they became like brothers who risked their lives for each other on the frontlines." (wildbillmemorial.org)

Staff Sergeant Guarnere was honored with the Silver Star, three Bronze Star Medals and two Purple Heart decorations.

After the war Bill returned to Philadelphia. In 1945 he married Frances "Frannie" Peca (pictured) and the couple had two sons. Wild Bill and Babe Heffron remained the best of friends for the rest of their lives. Bill Guarnere passed away on March 8, 2014 at the age of 90. He lies in rest at the Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Springfield Pennsylvania. Lest We Forget.

"Wild Bill" Guarnere was portrayed in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers by Frank John Hughes.

Colorization compliments of Johnny Sirlande of Historic Photo Restored in Color.

Amazing Story of a true heroe, thanks for sharing !!!

 

[Conhoon]

Troops of the US 35th Division move towards Saint-Lo on 10th July 1944 to reinforce the 29th and 30th Infantry Divisions.

The 35th ID "Santa Fe" entered combat on 11 July and suffered 2,400 casualties in the hedgerows. They held Emelie, just north of St.Lo, against twelve separate counter-attacks by various German forces.
The "Santa Fe" division assisted the 117th and 119th Infantry Regiments of the 30th ID in their actions at Mortain, holding off the German push towards Avranches.
The 35th then supported Patton's advance across France.
(Photo source - US Signals Corps)
Colorised by Gabriel Bîrsanu

 

[BravoZulu]

Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) officers and a Canadian Mounted Policeman in Quebec in 1943

 

[BravoZulu]

An M-10 'Accident' of the 3AD's 703rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, Co A, is seen near Saint-Jean-de-Daye in Normandy on July 11, 1944. This was the day that the German Lehr Division launched a counter-attack, and the 703rd was credited with destroying ten Panther tanks.

 

[Conhoon]

RFC Captain (MC medal) using a telescope on a stand improvised from a front wheel of a bicycle on a wooden tripod. Nº2 Aircraft Repair Depot at Rang du Fliers, Pas-de-Calais, France. 12 July 1918.

Aircraft, l-r SE.5a B8424, DH.9 D1720
(Photo source - © IWM Q 12083)
McLellan, David (Second Lieutenant) (Photographer)
Colourised by Doug

 

[BravoZulu]

A 7.2-inch howitzer of the British Army's 75th Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery being towed through the narrow Via Giuseppe Mazzini by the corner of Via Oreste Bandini in the commune of Borgo San Lorenzo. Florence, Italian region of Tuscany, 12 September 1944.