Photos WW2 British & Commonwealth Forces

HMS ANSON arriving at the Fleet anchorage, Scapa Flow
bw1cm4jcmy561.jpg


HMS VICTORIOUS on operations with the Home Fleet, October 1941
j8a8lz6lpx561.png
 
13th November, 1941. The sinking of HMS Ark Royal after being torpedoed by U-81. Ark Royal sank the following day

View from HMS HERMIONE of HMS ARK ROYAL making smoke in the attempt to raise steam after being hit by a torpedo.
large_000000.jpg

© IWM A 6324

View from HMS HERMIONE of HMS ARK ROYAL after she had been hit, listing heavily to starboard.
large_000000.jpg


A small party of officers and men remained aboard HMS ARK ROYAL. Second from left is Captain L E H Maund, the Captain of the ship. Photograph taken from HMS HERMIONE.
large_000000.jpg

© IWM A 6337

From on board HMS LEGION, the destroyer that took off the survivors, showing some of the last to leave ARK ROYAL.
large_000000.jpg

© IWM A 6315

The last scenes from the flight deck before abandon ship.
large_000000.jpg

© IWM A 6314
 
HMS KING GEORGE V casts a shadow on her own wash as she steams through the Atlantic, March 1941
883ux05311661.png


Battleship HMS KING GEORGE V, October 1941
kfljujqwm5661.png


HMS Victorious at sea for Norwegian operations, October 1941
awowwcoom5661.png
 
December 1943. At Scapa Flow the funnel and bridge of HMS ONSLOW, riddled with splinter holes as the result of hits received during her successful engagement of the North Cape.
fmffFG6uBrgqEtzGp32-qWtYlBIi8m6aYO1eNMvB4A0.jpg
 
HMS Barham sinking after being torpedoed by U-331, just prior to exploding, November 25, 1941
3pomn45tbq661.jpg


HMS PRINCE OF WALES coming in to moor at Singapore. The ship was sunk by Japanese torpedoes six days later on 10 December 1941 with great loss of life .
9gxiliyhki661.jpg


Keppel Harbour, Singapore Feb 1942, port bow view of the cruisers HMS Glasgow (left) and HMS Enterprise.
dvtq6cechj661.jpg
 
9th Division Cavalry Regiment Xmas dinner Menu for 1942.

Notable items on the menu, green peas (1/4" ball bearings and cigarettes for desert. And musical items by both talented and untalented artists...
20201223_094442.webp
20201223_094510.webp
20201223_094523.webp
 
HMS Rodney
S1rkmzgnUnweKMc7SbmIBJyEC_DpvemO2VfkNukHvc4.jpg


HMS Victorious and HMS Implacable seen above Avenger and Chance-Vought Corsair aircraft of HMS Formidable as the ships turned into position. At this time the three aircraft carriers were operating off the shore of Japan, July 10, 1945
cae3ysk43x661.jpg
 
Indian troops with Axis prisoners in the Western Desert, December 1941
yxePkwwE7XmYD70f2NvXZXnrKvs69DNEemtDaahxdRc.jpg
 
Fusilier W. Nodder of the Royal Welch Fusiliers writes home from his slit trench before the attack on Evrecy, Normandy, France, 16 July 1944.

132958420_10158875909784376_4258177408065474035_n.webp
 
Clean, uncluttered reference shots of an Infantry Tank Mk II (A12) "Matilda 2", easily the best tank of the early war years.
132385065_2778837972332093_1764611682996847562_n.webp
132422644_2778837968998760_6447693748507412007_n.webp
132570612_2778837965665427_6807800764729795994_n.webp
 
The issue of the "rum ration" was always guaranteed to raise a smile!
These tankies of the 7th Armoured Division have just been issued theirs as an accompaniment to their tradtional Christmas pudding.
Nieuwstadt, Netherlands, December 25th, 1944.

132263884_2778797482336142_3061381228015605223_n.webp
 
The Light Tank Mk. VII ( A17) "Tetrarch" was an innovative, but ultimately unsuccessful design.
It was manufactured in small numbers and saw limited service with the British Army in WW2.
Its small size made it suitable for transportation in the new generation of gliders such as the Horsa and Hamilcars, so a number were allocated to the Airborne Forces as reconnaissance vehicles ahead of D-Day.
Here we see Airborne troops securing a Tetrarch within the capacious interior of a Hamilcar glider.
(IWM)

132189862_2778793062336584_3763125159973611415_n.webp
132230768_2778808352335055_8429050188517894446_n.webp
132318612_2778793382336552_1000860166959184600_n.webp
132427085_2778792969003260_7886685011250765925_n.webp
132644044_2778793155669908_6224260285488296304_n.webp
 
The British Ordnance QF 25 pounder (3.45-inch / 87.6 mm) was arguably the best all-round field gun of WW2.
It was produced in large numbers and saw service in all theatres where British / Commonwealth forces fought.
The Royal Artillery was both respected and feared in equal measure by the Axis because of their ability to lay down accurate and devastating 25 pounder barrages in support of Allied operations from the deserts of N. Africa to the jungles of the far east.
It went on to serve as the standard field-piece of British and Commonwealth armies for many years after the war.
Since its withdrawal from service by the British Army, a number of examples are maintained in immaculate condition and used as "saluting guns" on special occasions.
The following images document the manufacture of 25 pounders at a Royal Ordnance factory "somewhere in England", circa 1942 and were produced under the auspices of the Ministry of Information.
(IWM)

132268536_2778772819005275_6778511151453761627_n.webp
132297546_2778773045671919_5923091577464678425_n.webp
132419954_2778772942338596_5133736710293521434_n.webp
132494114_2778772975671926_6400067373221873862_n.webp
 
Flight Sergeant Robert Mehew “Zip” Zobell, from Raymond, Alberta, and a member of 401 Squadron, RCAF, returned from Dieppe Raid with a wound on his forehead and his Spitfire damaged by enemy fire. According to the original caption, “his only complaint was that the medical officer would not allow him to fly during the rest of the day. ‘I missed a lot of fun,’ he said bitterly.”
https://amzn.to/3nv7tXe

131424562_1470414999829657_5697936697975990919_n.webp
 
Christmas at the front, December 25th 1944.
These men of the 1st Battalion / 8th Hussars / 7th Armoured Division / British Liberation Army, have found themselves a space to eat and drink in a bombed-out cafe in Nieuwstadt in the Netherlands.
Their table is dressed with a small Christmas tree and their smiles are prompted by the arrival of their rum ration, being delivered by the trooper on the left.

132522610_2778206522395238_2461056039888551583_n.webp
 
British soldier eating his Christmas meal in his slit trench with holiday cards from home propped up somewhere in the Netherlands - December 25, 1944
LIFE Magazine Archives - MANSELL Collection

131472162_3665391023546352_6837577501364449228_n.webp
 
A Sicilian woman stands on her doorstep amidst the ruins of Regalbuto and watches Allied armour pass along her street during the advance on Messina, August 1943.
Emerging from a cloud of dust and exhaust smoke, the tank is a Sherman V ( M4A4) of the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade.
(IWM)

132039616_2777993349083222_9079743545700535316_n.webp
 

Similar threads

Back
Top