Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

[BravoZulu]

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Asia, British Carrier-Borne aircraft Strike at Japanese Occupied Sumatra, Indonesia in the Pacific, A pilot of the Hellcat fighter plane. 18th January, 1945.

This is Charles Lavender from Enfield in North London. He was one of the original members of 1844 Squadron in HMS Indomitable until April 1945

 

[BravoZulu]

Battlecruiser HMS Hood at Princes Pier, Melbourne in March 1924

 

[BravoZulu]

Pz IV and its Panzer-grenadieres entering a Kharkov Suburb (1943)

 

[BravoZulu]

Two US Soldiers inspecting a Beretta M1938 smg in Italy,1943/1944

 

[Conhoon]

Ice forming on a 4.7-inch naval guns on the Polish Navy destroyer ORP Piorun while escorting an Arctic convoy to Russia, 1942

 

[santana]

Troopship SS John Ericsson brings U.S. soldiers back home.

The troops of the 20th Armored Division and units of the 9th Army whoop it up between raindrops as the SS John Ericsson (originally MS Kungsholm) nears Pier 84, North River, New York, August 6, 1945.

These men saw action after D-Day and ended up, deep into German territory until their advance ceased early May, 1945.

SS John Ericsson was among the group of large, fast troop transports capable of running without escorts, that moved freely among wartime theaters as required. They included the large UK liners, several Allied liners, Navy and Army operated ships, and two sets of sister ships operated for the WSA.

 

[santana]

German Grenadiers carrying a casualty in an improvised stretcher, behind them is a Panzer IV Ausf.G Nr. 212 of Panzer-Abteilung 21, 20 Panzer Division.
Russia, January 1944

 

[santana]

'Truce Train from St Nazaire' - 19, January 1945

Fallschirmjäger (Paratroopers) of the St.Nazaire garrison await the arrival of an empty train returning from Nantes after it had transported 13,000 French civilian evacuees from St.Nazaire. They would be checking that no unauthorised personnel may have boarded the train, on it's return journey.
The train had left Cordemais station for Nantes after repairs had been made to the railway lines. The refugees arrived in Nantes, leaving behind them the ruined town that had had no coal, gas, electricity or bread, for months.

(Nb. some of these troopers may be carrying the 9mm MP3008,
also known as the Volksmaschinenpistole ("people's machine pistol"), the weapon was closely based on the Sten MKII submachine gun, except for its vertical magazine; some had additional pistol grips.)

British Paramount News Cameraman, Ronald L Read, reporting on the German Truce at St. Nazaire for evacuation of French civilians;
"This is one of those stories that tend to make one believe that this is a phoney war.

We arrived at the arranged 'Truce' time to find plenty of 'action' photo shooting etc. going on, leaving just a corridor in "No Mans Land" for the train to go through. We walked through to the Station (Cordemais) which was behind enemy lines. There were various meetings of German, French and American personnel. Scenes of the French Railway men repairing the lines, close ups etc. General view of the whole scene showing German armed guards...

Evacuation Train on arrival from St. Nazaire, German guards being replaced with French guards. Various shots with German personnel and the Evacuees. Various shots at the Evacuees Centre at Nantes, children and young babies being carried off the train etc.

National News Archive;
Truce at St, Nazaire
CIVILIANS EVACUATED
London, Jan. 19.— "The seven-day
truce at St. Nazaire began this
morning and the first train carry
ing civilians entered the Allied
lines outside the city a few hours
after the beginning of the truce.
The first evacuees stated that the
German garrison was well supplied
with food.

It is estimated that about 25,000
Germans are still holding the St.
Nazaire perimeter."

 

[santana]

Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. division (Panzer-Lehr-Division).

Normandy 1944.

 

[santana]

Scenes In Florence, Italy, 14th August 1944, View of the damage to the Ponte Vecchio from the east.

The German forces destroyed all of the bridges over the River Arno with the exception of the Ponte Vecchio before evacuating Florence on 11 August 1944.

The Ponte Vecchio was blocked by demolishing the houses at each end and mining the bridge, 14th August 1944.

 

[santana]

Two Shermans on board an LCT at Portland. One is a cast hull, the other welded, part of A Co. 741st Tank Battalion, which had 48 tanks, landed safely on Omaha. However, B and C Cos were less fortunate, they were Sherman DDs, and lost 27 of their 32 tanks before they got to land!

 

[santana]

Gunner's Mate First Class Carrick N. Thomas passes a clip of four 40mm rounds through a hatch in a 40mm handling room of USS Alaska, off Iwo Jima, 6th Mar 1945.

 

[santana]

USS Franklin (CV-13) View on the flight deck, while the carrier was in New York Harbor, circa 28 April 1945. She had just returned from the Pacific for repair of battle damage received off Japan on 19 March 1945.

 

[santana]

A rare colour photograph showing the brand new 03 1081 Reichsbahn train at Bw Amstetten / Lower Danube.

The picture was taken in 20 September 1940.

 

[santana]

King George Vl Of England During The Second World War 1939-1945

 

[santana]

Soviet troops assemble near the end of the "Great Patriotic War" with a beautiful alpine vista.

 

[santana]

United States Army combat engineer placing several half-pound cans of TNT explosive under an abandoned German tank during the Battle of El Guettar, Tunisia, Apr 1943.

 

[BravoZulu]

Men of the Wiltshire Regiment from the 26th Indian Infantry Division prepare a meal beside a temple on Ramree Island. January 1945 © IWM SE 2209

 

[BravoZulu]

Luis Alvarez and colleague of the Tinian team holding a box containing the plutonium core of the Fat Man bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

 

[santana]

Portrait of Havildar (sergeant) Kulbahadur Gurung, of a Gurkha regiment of the 23rd Indian Infantry Division of the British Army, World War II, pictured with his rifle in February 1945. He is possibly part of the 3rd Battallion, 5th Royal Gurkha Rifles.