Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

[Conhoon]

An Anzac soldier carrying a wounded comrade at Gallipoli.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served".
Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn Islands, and Tonga, and previously was a national holiday in Papua New Guinea and Samoa.
(Colour by Jecinci)

 

[BravoZulu]

**ALL MEMBERS**

Please read the "Help Save Our Home" thread below for the latest updates in regard to our financial situation.
https://militaryimages.net/threads/help-save-our-home.10764/page-3#post-312498
Basically our fundraising through the year has raised 80% of our needs however, we need a small kick to get us over the line for the next 12 months.
If you can spare the price of a coffee we will be set.

Normal programming now resumes

 

[Redav]

Would the He 162 Turned the Tide of War?
By the time the He 162 entered production and deployment in early 1945, the Allies had already achieved overwhelming air and ground superiority.

The Luftwaffe was struggling with severe shortages of fuel, trained pilots, and critical resources, which greatly hampered its operational capabilities.

Even with more He 162 jets, these fundamental shortages would have limited their effectiveness and operational readiness.

On top of that, the inherent design and technical challenges of the He 162 itself would have remained a significant hindrance. The jet was rushed into production, leading to numerous reliability issues, particularly with its engine which were prone to failures.

 

[Redav]

German veteran of the Franco-Prussian War and the First World War in his old uniform for a veteran's rally in Germany, 1936.
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Different online sources will tell you the story of the caption; that the photographed gentleman is a double-veteran of both the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 and the First World War. However, I question if this is really the case.
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There are 44 years between 1870 and 1914. He would have had to been ~16 years old in 1870, which would make him 60 years old in 1914, an extremely old age to be able to enlist - even for the home guard.
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Then again, he almost looks too old to have served in the First World War. 1936 was only 22 years after 1914, meaning he would've been 82 years old by the time of this photograph. Perhaps it's just his beard which makes him look older.
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Unless the year of 1936 is wrong, and this photograph was actually taken earlier. One source, that of @drakegoodmanofficial, dates this photograph in 1914, and that he was a Franco-Prussian War veteran wearing his grandson's uniform - a soldier of the 69th "7th Rheinisches" Infantry Regiment based in Trier.
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[BravoZulu]

Crewmen of M3 ‘Lee’ medium tank of D Company, 2nd Battalion, 13th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Tunisia 1942

 

[santana]

Six US Marines Ira Hayes, Harold Schultz ,Michael Strank, Rene Gagnon, Frank Sousley and Harlon Block raise the 2nd and larger US flag on Mt Suribachi the dormant volcano.

 

[santana]

6th Armies Alamo Prelude Kinda In September 1942 the German commander of the Sixth Army General Paulus assisted by the Fourth Panzer Army advanced on the city .

 

[santana]

Soldiers belonging to the 25th Infantry Division await the order to advance on retreating Japanese forces shorty after heavy fighting

 

[santana]

US Marines of the 3rd Marine Division take cover along the beach line shortly after landing on the island of Guam July 21st 1944On July 21st .

 

[santana]

American British and Canadian troops landed on 5 designated beaches along the Normandy coast The Americans would be the first to land

 

[santana]

British 8th Army vehicles cross a pontoon bailey bridge, constructed by Royal Engineers over the River Po at Ferrara Italy - April 28, 1945In the foreground personnel of the Royal Artillery are sett

 

[santana]

October 1943
Deck crew spot-checking Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless dive bombers of bombing squadron VB-12 on the flight deck of the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Saratoga (CV-3)

OPERATION SHOESTRING 2
After participating in combined fleet exercises off Espiritu Santo between the 7th and 10th of October 1943, VF-12, now part of
Carrier Air Group 12, departed Espiritu Santo aboard the USS Saratoga (CV-3) on October 31,1943; along with Air Group
23 aboard the USS Princeton (CVL-23), to form backbone of TaskForce 38. Here USS Saratoga is underway off Espiritu Santo in October 1943.

As part of Operation Shoestring 2, Task Force 38 was assigned to raid the Japanese airfields on Buka and Bonis Islands off the northern tip of Bougainville, in order to cover the landings being made at Cape Torokina and Empress Augusta Bay. For the first two days in November 1943, the Saratoga, and Princeton made
vicious assaults on the Buka and Bonis Islands airfields, approaching so close to shore (13 miles south east of the islands (06* 25’ S 154* 53’ E) that the twin fields were almost visible from the ships

 

[santana]

Pearl harbor fighter pilot 1st Lt. Samuel W. Bishop poses for a photo with a P-40B Tomahawk. Dec. 1942

Lt. Bishop was one of 3 pilots from the 44th FS on station at Bellows Field on Oʻahu on the morning of December 7th, 1941.
All three pilots attempted to get their P-40s into the air that morning.

2nd Lt. Hans C. Christiansen was strafed and killed while climbing into the cockpit.

2nd Lt. George A. Whiteman came under fire during take-off, although he managed to get into the air, his plane was hit and burst into flames before crashing at the end of the runway, ground crew attempted to save Whiteman, but he did not survive.

1st Lt. Samuel W. Bishop got his P-40 into the air. He was directly behind Whiteman on the runway and witnessed the crash.

He kept the trigger held down on takeoff as Japanese planes flew over him. After retracting the gear, he kept low over the water, trying to gain speed, but he was quickly shot up by Zeros.

Bishop was able to ditch his badly damaged P-40 in the ocean about half a mile offshore and despite suffering a bullet wound to his leg, he was able to swim back to shore.

Bishop was awarded the Silver Star for his actions.

His Citation reads -

"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to First Lieutenant Samuel W. Bishop, United States Army Air Forces, for gallantry in action while serving with the 44th Pursuit Squadron, 18th Pursuit Group, at Bellows Field and over the Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, and waters adjacent thereto, on 7 December 1941. When surprised by a heavy air attack by Japanese Forces on Bellows Field and the vicinity, and while under fire, First Lieutenant Bishop attempted to take off to engage the enemy, and in so doing was wounded and his plane so badly damaged that he was forced to make a crash landing in the waters nearby, and though wounded managed to swim ashore. Lieutenant Bishop's initiative, presence of mind, coolness under fire against overwhelming odds in his first battle, and determined action contributed to a large extent toward driving off this sudden enemy air attack."

 

[santana]

Free French soldiers attend a mass at sunrise during siege of Bardia Libya 1940

 

[santana]

Women Airforce Service Pilots 'WASP' during ferry training at Lockbourne Army Air Force base in Ohio.

 

[Newtonk]

 

[Redav]

One of the last German Tiger II tanks in service, May 1945.

In case you are wondering about the modern looking building in the background:

Columbushaus - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[BravoZulu]

German troops run through their trenches during an allied artillery bombardment. Perhaps between Monfalcone and Gorizia, Isonzo front on 25th Aug 1917.

 

[santana]

German fallschirmjägers studying a map on a BMW R75 and a DKW NZ 350 motorcycle somewhere in Normandy, summer 1944.

 

[Conhoon]

Flying Officer Raymond Newton (from Wellington, NZ), serving in 112 RAF squadron, stands next to a Mustang III on an airfield in
Italy.
Photograph taken 12th September 1944 by Cedric Raymond Mentiplay.

112 Squadron was initially equipped with the Gloster Gladiator, but in July 1941, it became one of the first squadrons in the world to become operational with the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk, which it used as a fighter and fighter-bomber. In December, the Tomahawks were replaced by the improved P-40 Kittyhawk. In 1944 the Kittyhawks were replaced by the P-51 Mustang.
112 Squadron was nicknamed "The Shark Squadron", due to the fact that it was the first unit from any Allied air force to paint the famous shark mouth on their P-40s. The squadron copied the shark's mouth logo painted on some German Bf 110s of Zerstörergeschwader 76.
The nose art was carried over onto the Mustang III's and IV's they later flew.
The squadron had many personnel from the air forces of Poland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.
Colourised by Daniel