Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

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Luftwaffe leader Hermann Goring is shown seated with his interpreter after his surrender 1945.

 

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Photograph shows French General Charles de Gaulle studying over a map.

 

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US General Dwight D. Eisenhower is seen here in a staged position saluting.

 

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Major General Carl Spaatz (R) Commander of the United State Air Forces in European Theater of War and Air Marshall Richard Peck (L) of the British Royal Air force

 

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American flags flying from the towers of Ludendorf Bridge after US troops cross the Rhine is shown here 1945.

 

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US General Dwight D. Eisenhower is shown seated at a desk, smiling.

 

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Helen Lindamood tests a 50 caliber Anti-aircraft mount in this photograph, as Ruby Barnett, (right) operates a crank pump which circulates water through the cooling system of gun during a test.

 

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British Prime Minister Winston Churchill visiting Italy and inspecting troops.

 

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In Italy with US Army Engineers locating land mines, 1943.

The conventional method of mine detection was developed in World War II and has changed little since then.

It involves a metal detector, prodding instrument and tripwire feeler.

Deminers clear an area of vegetation and then divide it into lanes. A deminer advances along a lane, swinging a metal detector close to the ground.

When metal is detected, the deminer prods the object with a stick or stainless steel probe to determine whether it is a mine.

If a mine is found, it must be deactivated. Although conventional demining is slow (5–150 square metres cleared per day), it is reliable, so it is still the most commonly used method. Integration with other methods such as explosive sniffing dogs can increase its reliability.

Demining is a dangerous occupation. If a mine is prodded too hard or it is not detected, the deminer can suffer injury or death.

The large number of false positives from metal detectors can make deminers tired and careless.

According to one report, there is one such incident for every 1000–2000 mines cleared. 35 percent of the accidents occur during mine excavation and 24 percent result from missed mines.

 

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Picture of the first Curtiss SB2C Helldiver made its maiden flight. Pictured is the prototype XSB2C-1 with it’s original small tail. This prototype crashed in February 1941 and had to be rebuilt. The Navy ordered almost 900 design changes before clearing the plane for production. The Helldiver was not delivered to fleet squadrons until the end of 1942.

 

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US Navy dauntless dive bombers head back home to the carrier after a patrol.

 

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Happy French civilians return to their homes in liberated Cherbourg, France, and start the task of clearing the debris caused by heavy artillery fire and aerial attacks 1944.

 

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Italian "CB"-type submarine in port on the Black Sea.

 

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The Wehrmacht infantry company prepares to attack Soviet positions morning of June 22nd 1941

 

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GFM Rommel in the Western Desert in a captured British Dorchester command vehicle

 

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Commander David McCampbell of Los Angeles, CA, showing 30 "Meatballs" on his plane, emblematic of his record number of Japanese planes shot down.

 

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19 December 1944
Members of the US 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, Company 'C' pose in front of an M-10. These men were credited with knocking out four s.SS/Pz Abt. 501 Panzer VI 'King Tigers' at or around Stavelot, Belgium.

LtoR: PFC Robert H Crout (3489282), Columbia, SC; T/5 Raymond L Clements (34209815), Indiantown, FL; SGT. Clarence West, Lillie, LA; CPL. Buel C. Sheridan, Sheridan TX; SGT. Clyde B Gentry (KIA 1/18/45), Tucson, AZ; 2nd LT. Arion Revis, Klamath Falls, OR.

(Both Crout and Sheridan were wounded in action sometime after this date)

 

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[Conhoon]

Two American soldiers of U.S. 4th Signal Company, 4th Infantry Division, hold the day’s bag during the Ardennes Counteroffensive of the Battle of the Bulge; one deer and two hares, which will supplement their rations.

Left is Pfc. Clinton Calvert of Bayard, Nebraska, and right is Cpl. Roy Swisher of Washington, D.C.
Location is near Goesdorf, Wiltz, Luxembourg. December 1944.
The 4th Signal Company provided communications support for the 4th Infantry Division, taking part in some of the heaviest fighting of the European Theater, including the Battles of the Hurtgen Forest and the Bulge. In all, the 4th Signal Company took part in five campaigns: Normandy (with arrowhead), Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. The company also earned a Meritorious Unit Commendation along with three commendations from Belgium.
Colourised PIECE of JAKE
U.S.-Signal Corps Photo

 

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Christmas day on Bougainville Island
A group of RNZAF airmen are being served Christmas dinner by their senior Officers, as is traditional at Christmas time.
Christmas day, 1944. Probably at Piva Airfield, Bougainville.

The man serving the drink (extreme right) is Laurie Counsell.
RNZAF Official photo
Colourised by Daniel Rarity