Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

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The Sopwith F.1 Camel (Nº D9638) of 2nd Lt. Harold William Skinner, 203 Squadron RAF, crashed landed near Morenchies, just north of Cambrai, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.
2nd of October 1918.

Harold Skinner was wounded in the shoulder while flying D9638 and crashed near Cambrai, he was the squadron's last war-time casualty.

He was born in London, on the 23rd July 1899 and was granted his Royal Aero Club Aviator's Certificate on the 5th of November 1917.

As a Lieutenant, he was awarded the DFC (Distinguished Flying Cross) and the citation published in 'Flight' on the 20th of February 1919, is noteworthy. It states that, ".....in addition to bringing down 4 enemy aircraft, Lt. Skinner flew 500 hours on active service and was engaged in numerous ground support operations."

The crash landing was mentioned in the last notes of his DFC award, in that he had been flying with Ray Collishaw and Lt Fricker, and were strafing a balloon when Skinner was attacked by a Fokker (possibly from Jasta 33), resulting in an arm wound and a crash landing behind British lines. (that would have been Morenchies)

(Colourised by Benjamin Thomas from Australia)

 

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A French sapper with a gas mask and a 'chasuble' in sheep skin.

"The equivalent to the British leather jerkins. The Portuguese also wore something similar to this French model, but shorter. It was called a pelico (based on a sheep herder's vest of the same name), and although good for the cold it was like a 5 star hotel for lice, as I'm sure this French soldier soon found out for himself."
(Text by Rui Manuel Candeias)

(Photo source - Gallica (Bibliothèque Nationale de France)

(Color by Jean-Marie Gillet from France)

 

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A pristine German Albatros D.Va flown by Gefreiter Lothmann from Jasta 65, after it was captured by French forces on 5 March 1918, and being used for evaluation at the airfield Villacoublay.

Carrying bestellnummer D 5695/17, it was one of an early number of an order of some 250 machines [ D 5600/17 - D 5849/17 ] placed in September 1917.

Lothmann was apparently engaged in attacking observation balloons when he ran out of fuel, and was forced to land.

The Albatros subsequently had its German markings replaced with the French roundels, in order to minimise the risk of 'friendly fire' whilst being test-flown over French country.

While at Villacoublay, the machine was photographed from various angles in its original paint scheme before being overpainted with the French cocarde; and another series of photos taken in this configuration.

Unfortunately, there are not known details as to the aircraft's original colour scheme, the only clues being those held in the original black and white photographs. Thus, it has been depicted here in a natural plywood finish with typical two-tone green-purple camouflage on the wings, consistent for this date, and without any indication in the original photo of the lozenge print apparent on the wings.

Image courtesy the Imperial War Museum Duxford

 

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South Canterbury and 12th Nelson Regiments preparing a meal near a damaged German tank, (originally British), after its recapture by a New Zealand Canterbury Regiment at Pont-a-Pierre, France.

Photograph taken in November 1918 by Henry Armytage Sanders.

A field cooker is steaming behind them. Two soldiers are cutting food on a table while others look on.

(Photo source - National Library of New Zealand)

(Colorised by Frédéric Duriez)

 

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Sappers Company I / Iv
Sappeur Thomas Piegl, small silver medal, Isonzo front, probably in the area of Tolmein,

Bildarchiv Austria

 

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A crowd of soldiers on the Western Front celebrating as an officer announces the news of the Armistice

 

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The funeral of Sergeant Henry Nicholas, VC, in World War I, France

 

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This photo shows smiling British men and boys marching out of a trench at captured from the Germans at the Somme. A sign reads 'the old hun line' - referring to where the German front line used to be.

 

[Conhoon]

On 30 November 1939, Soviet forces invaded Finland with 21 divisions, totalling 450,000 men, and bombed the capital Helsinki, inflicting damage and casualties.

Three hours after Soviet forces had crossed the border and started the Winter War, Soviet planes bombed Helsinki. The most intensive bombing raids were during the first few days.
Helsinki was bombed a total of eight times during the Winter War. Some 350 bombs fell on the city, resulting in the deaths of 97 people and the wounding of 260. In all, 55 buildings were destroyed.
The Soviet bombings led to harsh reactions abroad. U.S. President Roosevelt asked the Soviets not to bomb Finnish cities. Molotov replied to Roosevelt: "Soviet aircraft have not been bombing cities, but airfields, you can't see that from 8,000 kilometers away in America." (sounds familiar)
The conflict began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939—two months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland—ending on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the League on 14 December 1939.
(Photos source - SA - kuvagalleria)
Colors by Julius Jääskeläinen

 

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A cheering Luftwaffe Gefreiter poses in the cockpit of a destroyed Dutch Fokker G1 'Mercury' (reg. 302) fighter plane as it was bombed by the Luftwaffe in the early morning of May 10th, 1940 during the German invasion of the Netherlands. Military Airfield Waalhaven, Rotterdam.

Of the eleven G-1 Mercury present at Waalhaven [ten ready to fly], eight had taken off. The 302 and 334 were destroyed on the ground for their first scramble, two were eliminated in the air battle. Of the eight G-1s that took off, six had entered the battle with good results.
They had managed to secure eleven victories and five possible. Six He-111P, 1 Ju-52, 1 Ju-87B, 1 Ju-88 [crashed in Germany, Münster], 1 Do-17Z and one Bf-109D were confirmed by multiple sources and witnesses. Three BF-109s, a Ju-52 and a He-111 may have also been shot down. It is almost certain that two Bf-109s [landed at Spijkenisse and Hoekse Waard] were shot down in the early morning and could not be attributed to a specific pilot.
A He-111P is booked by the German researcher Dr. Weiss that early morning as having been shot down "six kilometers south of Dordrecht" while Dr. Weiss also separately recognizes the He-111P at Zevenbergschen Hoek. In addition, according to Dr. Weiss, a total of four Ju-52s were shot down by the G-1s and another four emergency landings were made by Ju-52 at Waalhaven because of the G-1’s efforts.
Colour by Jake @colourisedpieceofjake

 

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A German junior officer (Oberleutnant) with Iron Cross First Class medal and MP 40 submachine gun in northern France, Jul-Sep 1944 ww2dbase

 

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SS-Panzerkorps in Kharkov

 

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Russia 1942
SS-UntersturmführerHans-Gösta Pehrsson. Pehrsson was the highest ranking (Hauptsturmführer) and most decorated soldier of the Swedish Waffen-SS volunteers during World War II. He was the company commander of SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs Abteilung 11 which was part of the 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland and had was the only unit that contained a significant concentration of the Swedish SS volunteers.

 

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A Mark IV (Male) tank H45 'Hyacinth' of H Battalion ditched in a German trench while supporting the 1st Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment, one mile west of Ribécourt. Some men of the battalion are resting in the trench, 20 November 1917.

Commanded by 2nd Lt. Jackson, H Btn, 24 Coy, 10 Sec. During the attack it reached the first objective of the day, 'The Hindenburg Line', before falling into the ditch.

(Photo source - © IWM Q 6433)
Photographer - Lt. John Warwick Brooke

 

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On December 2, 1963, in the zoo in Edinburgh was died 22-year-old Miś Wojtek, corporal of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company in the 2nd Polish Corps.

At a railroad station in Hamadan, Iran, on 8 April 1942, Polish soldiers encountered a young Iranian boy who had found a bear cub whose mother had been shot by hunters. In August, the bear endend up with the 2nd Transport Company, which later became the 22nd Artillery Supply Company, and he was named Wojtek by the soldiers. The name Wojtek is the nickname, diminutive form, or hypocorism of "Wojciech" (Happy Warrior), an old Slavic name still common in Poland.
The bear took part in the battle for Monte Cassino. He was given the rank of corporal in the unit.️
He was famous for having fun and drinking beer behind his comrades-in-arms. When he had to carry artillery shells.
Wojtek's story has become a permanent feature of Polish historiography and still arouses interest among many readers who cannot believe that it really happened.

This is not the only case of bear service in the Polish Armed Forces. Near the place where I live, the story of "Baśka Murmańska", a polar bear serving in the Polish army, is still alive.

 

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Guard Lieutenant Yuri Keleinikov, 1942

 

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Mid-day on the 4 December 1943
A Japanese Nakajima B6N 'Tenzan' torpedeo bomber is hit by a 5 inch shell while attacking the USS 'Yorktown' aircraft carrier off Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, North Pacific.

Deck side account, "At 300 yards, the Jap plane took a shell in its left wing and flames spurted out. The pilot then veered to try to crash into the Yorktown, skimming the flight deck so close that the flames singed the beard of one of the Yorktown gunners. The plane finally crashed into the sea 100 yards close aboard and exploded in a ball of smoke and flame."
(Photo taken from the aft end of Yorktown's flight deck, by Chief Petty Officer Photographer’s Mate , Alfred N. Cooperman)
Colourised by Royston Leonard)

 

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The Polish Navy destroyer ORP Kujawiak stationary, 1942.

 

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Original caption: “Two retreating German soldiers cycle on confiscated bicycles through the streets of The Haque, the Netherlands”.
Location is the 'Hofweg' opposite the 'Passage Theater'. The Building still exists today.
Dolle Dinsdag (Dutch: Mad Tuesday) took place in the Netherlands on 5 September 1944 and is still often described as for German soldiers fleeing Holland on Dutch bicycles.

When celebrations were prompted after broadcasts alleged that Breda, in occupied Netherlands, had been liberated by Allied forces, German occupation forces and collaborators panicked. Documents were destroyed and many fled the Netherlands for Germany. Many German soldiers confiscated any means of transportation they could lay their hands on, including bicycles.
The Dutch hang out their national flags and orange streamers and eagerly await the Allies who can arrive at any moment.
The disappointment is great for the Dutch people if it turns out that the message is a mistake. The Allies have not yet crossed the border. On September 14, Maastricht is the first Dutch city to be liberated and on October 29, the Allies roll tanks through the streets of Breda.
The Allied advance could not continue as the Allies had overextended themselves and had to halt in the South of the Netherlands and Operation Market Garden in September was an outright failure since the planned Allied advance across the Rhine had to be abandoned.
The occupiers' nervousness turned to aggression after the landings in Normandy in June 1944 and increased after Dolle Dinsdag. Due to this defeat, the liberation of the remaining Dutch territory was postponed until the next spring, and the northern part of the Netherlands had to wait until 5 May 1945 for their liberation. This last, terrible winter under occupation became known as the “Hunger Winter, killing approximately 25,000 victims.
Colour by Jake
https://www.facebook.com/jakoblagerweij?locale=nl_NL
Photo: Tom Bouman
Source: NIMH

 

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December 6, 1915. Legionaries from the 3rd battalion of the 1st Infantry Regiment of the Polish Legions in the trenches.

Photo: Central Military Archives - Poland