Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

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"Aussies" who bombed the German dams.





Five Australian members of one Lancaster crew from 617 Squadron RAF, the famed 'Dam Busters' squadron, photographed while on leave in London after the raid, 1943.

Shown (left to right) are Flight Lieutenant Jack Frederick Leggo D.F.C and Bar (402367), Flight Sergeant Thomas Drayton Simpson D.F.M (408076), Flight Lieutenant Robert 'Bob' Claude Hay D.F.C and Bar (407074), Pilot Officer Bertie 'Toby' Towner Foxlee D.F.M (404595) and captain of the aircraft, Flight Lieutenant Harold Brownlow 'Micky' Martin D.S.O, D.F.C (68795).

'Micky' Martin was described by journalist Sir Max Hastings as 'one of the three great bomber pilots of the war.' After the war, in 1947, he broke the speed record for flying from London to Cape Town, completing the 6,717 mile journey in a time of 21 hours, 31 minutes in a Mosquito, for which he won the Oswald Watt Gold Medal and the Britannia Trophy.

He continued to serve in the RAF, rising to the rank of Air Marshall and commanding RAF Germany and later serving as Air Member for Personnel, a member of the Air Council, the RAF's controlling body. Martin retired from the RAF in 1974, and passed away in November 1988.

Bomb Aimer Robert 'Bob' Hay sadly lost his life over France on 13 February 1944, aged 30, during the abortive Antheor Viaduct raid in the French Riverina while on air operations with 617 RAF flying in Lancaster DV402. Martin was pilot, Toby Foxlee was front gunner and 'Tammy' Simpson was tail gunner when the aircraft was hit by ground fire, forcing Martin to make an emergency landing in Sardinia.

It would be Martin's last mission with heavy bombers; he would move to 515 Squadron flying the twin-engine Mosquitos. For Foxlee and Simpson it would be their last operational raid, with both spending the remainder of the war instructing in training units. After the war, Foxlee lived for periods both in the UK and in Australia, before settling in England in 1977. He died in Nottingham in 1985.

Jack Leggo survived the war and returned to Australia where he went into the sugar industry in Queensland. He married Mary Best in 1947 and the couple had three children. He died in 1983 aged 67.

Rear gunner Thomas 'Tammy' Simpson likewise made it through the war, returning to Tasmanian after his discharge from the RAAF and resumed his pre-war law studies. He was called to the Bar in 1949, and worked as a lawyer thereafter.

He married Esme Reid and they had four children. He was a guest of honour at the Australian premiere of The Dam Busters in 1955 and returned to Britain several times for 617 Squadron reunions. Simpson died in Hobart on 2 April 1998.

 

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French (215th infantry regiment) and British soldiers (58th Division) playing cards at Bernagousse, near Barisis on the extreme of the newly extended British line, 16 March 1918.

 

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Finns pass by a knocked out BA-10 during the winter war, exact date and location unknown. The closest finn has several soviet pouches with him, two on the bayonet.

The Winter War began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, after the Soviets made several demands, including that Finland cede substantial border territories in exchange for land elsewhere, claiming security reasons—primarily the protection of Leningrad, 32 km (20 mi) from the Finnish border. When Finland refused, the USSR invaded. Finland repelled Soviet attacks for more than two months and inflicted substantial losses on the invading forces while temperatures ranged as low as –43 °C (–45.4 °F). The war ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet Union suffered severe losses and initially made little headway.
Photographer unknown and was provided by Sotasampo.

 

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OPERATION PEDESTAL, 12th AUGUST 1942 : Air Attacks: Arming a Hawker Sea Hurricane fighter on board HMS INDOMITABLE.

Operation Pedestal (Italian: Battaglia di Mezzo Agosto, "Battle of mid-August"), known in Malta as the Santa Marija Convoy (Maltese: Il-Konvoj ta' Santa Marija), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942
Colourised By Colour by RJM

 

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In this picture: German soldiers maneuvering an 88mm Flak cannon. A cannon that could shoot down both tanks and planes. The enormous size of the projectiles can be seen in the photo.

 

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15 October 1918
Men of the British 20th Division unloading limbers to form a roadside dump of 18-pounder shells at Drocourt, Pas-de-Calais

(Photo source - © IWM Q 9609)
McLellan, David (Second Lieutenant) (Photographer)
Colourised by Doug

 

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Australian soldiers after their release from the Japanese concentration camp in 1945 (Changi POW camp)

 

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MG.08 machine gun team of the Kgl. Bayer. 2. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment near Arras, April 1915

Colourised by Doug

 

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An unnamed British Royal Artillery soldier with his kitten, c1917.

 

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Troops of the 8th Battalion, the King's (Liverpool Regiment, Liverpool Irish, 57th Division) entering Lille, 18 October 1918.

(Photo source : © IWM Q 9579, IWM Q 9574)
McLellan, David (Second Lieutenant) (Photographer)
Colourised by Doug

 

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A group of guards, including Coldstream and Irish Guards, crouching outside a captured German dugout, examining a muddy German rifle, near Langemarck (Langemark-Poelkpelle), October 1917.

© IWM Q 3011

 

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Belgian refugees being taken to the rear in British Army Service Corps horse-drawn wagons in Sint-Janstraat, Rollegem-Kapelle, near Ledegem, 20 October 1918.

Rollegem-Kapelle was entered by the 9th (Scottish) Division on 14th October.
(Photo source - © IWM Q 11392)
Colourised by Doug

 

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Finnish Flamethrower trooper in action in the woods near the village of Niinisalo, July 1, 1942.

 

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1917 Italian front, at Fornaci, Veneto.
Seriously wounded being taken to dressing posts. Italian soldiers carry the wounded on a stretcher. On the left in the photo, with the bicycle, it could be a Bersagliere or a Ardito.

(Photo source - Europeana)
By ROCOLOR

 

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Flight Lieutenant Charles H. 'Smokey' Stover of No. 414 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force with a dog mascot "Blackie" and his Mark 1 Mustang at Dunsfold, Surrey, 15 January 1944.

Charles was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada in September 1915 and gained his nickname from the titular fireman character in the comic strip by Bill Holman, titled 'Smokey Stover - The Foolish Foo Fighter', first published in 1935. The WW2-era term 'Foo Fighter' denoting a UFO likely also has its origins in Holman's publication.

Stover enlisted in Ontario in mid-March 1941, graduating from No.3 ITS in July before being commissioned in November that year. Stover's son Ron has written:

'He received his wings on November 21 , 1941, arrived in England in January 1942 and was posted to Squadron 414 on March 3, 1942 as a Pilot Officer.

At that time 414 was flying Tomahawks. The first familiarization flight in a Mustang was on June 14, 1942 at which time the Squadron was changing to Mustangs. His first mission was Dieppe and the task seemed to be survival as noted by the pictures.

December 1942, he was promoted to F/O . On November 5, 1943 S/L Peters, was listed as missing on a mission and my father was appointed as Squadron Leader for 414.

The Squadron was very active in the time period from January to June flying missions into France to photograph various enemy positions and airfields in preparation for D-Day. This was a key part of the D-Day preparation. May 19, 1944, he received the DFC.

June 6, 1944, the squadron was responsible for directing naval bombardment. Dad was directing the fire of the 15" guns of the U.S.S. NEVADA . His logbook reads on June 6, 1944

"Did shoot with U.S.S. Nevada. Unable to contact second ship so did a cooks tour of Allied landings - Very thrilling sight."

The following two weeks was spent doing a lot of reconnaissance in the Caen area. In excess of 25 hours flight time from June 6. On the 23rd June, he and F/L Norm Rettie were jumped by 7-8 FW190's east of Caen. F/L Rettie (currently lives in British Columbia) was shot up but landed safely at a forward air base.

My father was not as lucky and had to bail out. His logbook entry reads:

"F/L Rettie as #2- bounced by 7-8 FW190's East of Caen - Norm was shot up - landed safely - I was shot down, bailing out at Birville at approx 500-750' landing 500 feet inside British lines injuring back. Air evacuated from France to England."

According to Ron Stover, the 'aircraft was recovered in an archeological dig near Caens in 2003, 6 months after my Dad passed on.' (If anyone has further information on this, I'd welcome hearing in the comments below!)

After this mission of 23 June 1944, Stover returned to Canada with his injuries and continued to serve until May 1945 before moving to the RCAF Reserve, flying Mustang P-51Ds and Harvards until 1956.

In his civilian life, Stover joined Shell Oil and worked with them for almost three decades until his retirement in 1977. He lived a full life, and died in 2003 at the age of 87.

 

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Five of the crew of Lancaster W4984 AR-J posing in front of a Vickers Wellington bomber during training in Canada (as mentioned on the back of the photograph). however, this photo is very likely taken in the UK.
78 years ago, in the night of 23rd-24th of May 1943 in the middle of the 5-month long Bomber Command campaign the “Battle of the Ruhr”, the campaign of strategic bombing against the Ruhr area.
The 460 RAAF Squadron Lancaster W4984 AR-J took off from Binbrook airfield, for their fatal mission. After a 9-day break in major operations, Bomber Command dispatched 826 aircraft to Dortmund, a record number of aircraft in a 'non-1,000' raid so far in the war and the largest raid of the “Battle of the Ruhr”.
The force comprised: 343 Lancasters, 199 Halifax’s, 151 Wellingtons, 120 Stirlings and 13 Mosquitos. Despite the loss of 38 aircraft it was a very successful raid. Many industrial premises were hit, particularly the large Hoesch steelworks, which ceased production.
The Lancaster W4984 AR-J was one of Lancaster’s who were dispatched for the attack on Dortmund.
On its route to their target Dortmund the Australian pilot Flight Sergeant Beresford Milton Troy Davis and his crew, flying the Lancaster W4984 AR-J were attacked by the German night fighter pilot Oberleutnant August Geiger flying a Bf 110 night fighter of the 7./NJG 1 from Twenthe Airbase. The Lancaster W4984 AR-J was bombed up with one 4000 lb. HC Cookie, 48x30 lb. and 540 x4 lb. incendiaries and with high octane fuel on board left for several hours of flying.
The Lancaster W4984 AR-J and its crew crashed at 02.07 Hrs. close to Schoonebeek in the Netherlands after a violent fire on board caused by the attack of the German night fighter killing six of the seven crewmembers, Sergeant Clarence Goldthorpe could bail out in time and was taken POW by the Germans soon after landing close to the Dutch-German border.
Left to right: K.D. Dyce, Navigator Australia (KIA), J.S. Biffen, Wireless Operator, Australia (KIA), C. Goldthorpe, Air Bomber, Australia (POW), F.W. Ralph, Airgunner, USA (KIA), B.M.T. Davis, Pilot, Australia (KIA).
The killed crew members of the Lancaster W4984 AR-J are buried on the Commonwealth War Graves section of the General cemetery in Schoonebeek, Netherlands.

 

[BCNTM]

View attachment 344701

Flight Lieutenant Charles H. 'Smokey' Stover of No. 414 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force with a dog mascot "Blackie" and his Mark 1 Mustang at Dunsfold, Surrey, 15 January 1944.

Charles was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada in September 1915 and gained his nickname from the titular fireman character in the comic strip by Bill Holman, titled 'Smokey Stover - The Foolish Foo Fighter', first published in 1935. The WW2-era term 'Foo Fighter' denoting a UFO likely also has its origins in Holman's publication.

Stover enlisted in Ontario in mid-March 1941, graduating from No.3 ITS in July before being commissioned in November that year. Stover's son Ron has written:

'He received his wings on November 21 , 1941, arrived in England in January 1942 and was posted to Squadron 414 on March 3, 1942 as a Pilot Officer.

At that time 414 was flying Tomahawks. The first familiarization flight in a Mustang was on June 14, 1942 at which time the Squadron was changing to Mustangs. His first mission was Dieppe and the task seemed to be survival as noted by the pictures.

December 1942, he was promoted to F/O . On November 5, 1943 S/L Peters, was listed as missing on a mission and my father was appointed as Squadron Leader for 414.

The Squadron was very active in the time period from January to June flying missions into France to photograph various enemy positions and airfields in preparation for D-Day. This was a key part of the D-Day preparation. May 19, 1944, he received the DFC.

June 6, 1944, the squadron was responsible for directing naval bombardment. Dad was directing the fire of the 15" guns of the U.S.S. NEVADA . His logbook reads on June 6, 1944

"Did shoot with U.S.S. Nevada. Unable to contact second ship so did a cooks tour of Allied landings - Very thrilling sight."

The following two weeks was spent doing a lot of reconnaissance in the Caen area. In excess of 25 hours flight time from June 6. On the 23rd June, he and F/L Norm Rettie were jumped by 7-8 FW190's east of Caen. F/L Rettie (currently lives in British Columbia) was shot up but landed safely at a forward air base.

My father was not as lucky and had to bail out. His logbook entry reads:

"F/L Rettie as #2- bounced by 7-8 FW190's East of Caen - Norm was shot up - landed safely - I was shot down, bailing out at Birville at approx 500-750' landing 500 feet inside British lines injuring back. Air evacuated from France to England."

According to Ron Stover, the 'aircraft was recovered in an archeological dig near Caens in 2003, 6 months after my Dad passed on.' (If anyone has further information on this, I'd welcome hearing in the comments below!)

After this mission of 23 June 1944, Stover returned to Canada with his injuries and continued to serve until May 1945 before moving to the RCAF Reserve, flying Mustang P-51Ds and Harvards until 1956.

In his civilian life, Stover joined Shell Oil and worked with them for almost three decades until his retirement in 1977. He lived a full life, and died in 2003 at the age of 87.

well you learn something every day - never seen one with 2 machine guns under the engine - odd

 

[uktabber]

well you learn something every day - never seen one with 2 machine guns under the engine - odd

Yes......I was thinking the very same thing!!! Tell us more about that??

 

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Transport for the Devonshire Regiment, with troops and horses resting, near Fricourt on the Somme. 7 August 1916.

(Photo source - © IWM Q 1135)
Brooks, Ernest (Lieutenant) (Photographer)
Colourised by Doug

 

[BCNTM]

Yes......I was thinking the very same thing!!! Tell us more about that??

P-51 Mustang - Blueprints, Drawings & Documents | AirCorps Library

P-51 North American Mustang

app.aircorpslibrary.com

Have a look at 6th row down - 1st item - Pilots notes

The picture would appear to show a machine gun cowling under the engine

So must have been a really early version