Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

May 20, 1941


The skies of Crete became filled with the crosses of the Luftwaffe and parachute canopies as the Fallschirmjäger of the 7th Flieger Division dropped from their Ju-52 transport planes, often right on top of the Allied defences.
As a result many were shot dead even before hitting the ground. To make things worse, they jumped armed only with pistols or machine-pistols. Their rifles, sub-mgs and heavier equipment being dropped separately in containers. Getting rid of the parachute and finding the containers while under fire from the well prepared defences proved a deadly task and the number of casualties raised accordingly.
In this photo, two Fallschirmjäger, lucky enough to have survived the drop and find their weapons, look towards the coast and their next objective.
The spot has been wrongly identified as being near Suda Bay. Using the mountain tops in the horizon I believe I managed to identify the correct location as the hills near Maleme airfield, looking North-west (comparison in comments). Part of the runway can be seen on the left, half hidden by the soldier.
If true, these men probably belonged to the 1st (Koch) or 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Fallschirmjäger Regiment. They had dropped on Hill 107, defended by the 22nd New Zealander Battalion. It is on the slopes of Hill 107, overlooking the airfield that stands today the German War Cemetery.
Original: B. L. Davis Collection
Color by Rui Candeias

Hall Cicada racer, 1932 - highlighting its very striking paint scheme. this aircraft crashed during testing, killing the pilot

Youthful German prisoners of war, captured near Kinzweiler, Germany, by the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Division. 21 November, 1944.


In World War II, children frequently fought in actions in both the Allied and Axis forces.
In World War II, the youngest member of the United States Military was 12-year-old Calvin Graham. He lied about his age when he enlisted in the US Navy, and his real age was not known until after he was wounded.
The United States Military was not the sole recruiter, albeit unintentionally or intentionally, of underage child soldiers during World War II.
The boys of the Hitler Youth first saw action following the British Air Raids in Berlin in 1940. Later, in 1942, the Wehrertüchtigungslager or WELS (Defense Strengthening Camps) were created in Germany, which were designed to train Hitler Youth boys aged 16-18.
They learnt how to handle German infantry weaponry, including hand grenades, machine guns and hand pistols. By 1943, Hitler Youth boys were facing the forces of Britain, the United States and Russia.
Even younger boys from the ages of 10-14 years could be involved in the Hitler Youth movement, under the Deutsches Jungvolk.
Children as young as 8 were reported to be captured by American troops, with boys aged 12 and under to man artillery units. Even girls were being placed in armed combat, operating the 88mm anti-aircraft guns alongside the boys.
Colourised PIECE of JAKE
Caption: https://military.wikia.org/.../Military_use_of_children...
Photo Source: U.S. National Archives.
Digitized by Signal Corps Archive (Flickr: SC 196558)

Fairey Battle aircrews of No. 226 Squadron RAF, rest at Faux-Villecerf, following withdrawal from Reims-Champagne. 16 May-15 June 1940.


Fairey Battle L5468 survived the French Campaign and was transferred to the Canadian Air Force in 1942.
No. 226 Squadron began the war as part of the Advanced Air Striking Force, making it one of the first squadrons to be sent to France. The Fairey Battle suffered very heavy loses during the Battle of France. No.226 Squadron was forced to retreat west, and had to be evacuated from Brest in mid-June, reforming at RAF Sydenham in North Ireland.

(Photo source - © IWM C 1700)
Royal Air Force official photographer - Devon S A (Mr)
Colourised by Doug

Jagdpanzer 38(t) abandoned by retreating troops likely belonged to the "attached" 20 Panzergrenadier-Division. The location is Żagań, Lower Silesia, Poland, spring 1945.


The “Hetzer”, a famous but improper name to indicate the Jagdpanzer 38 (t), was a light tank destroyer of German design and used mainly by the Heer units during the final stages of the Second World War. Based on the hull of the Panzer 38 (t) it was built starting from 1944 in 2 584 units.

Corporal of the Tank Corps standing beside the camouflaged Mark V tank 'J18' of the 10th Battalion in a cornfield near Albert.
9 August 1918.



The battalion was attached to the III Corps during the Battle of Amiens, and it was hidden from aerial observation by being covered with corn.
Second Battles of the Somme 1918 (8 Aug 1918 - 3 Sep 1918)
The Allied forces gradually pushed the German Army out of its defensive positions in the heavily fortified Hindenburg Line (named the Siegfriedstellung by the German Army) during the Second Battle of the Somme, beginning with the first phase as the Battle of Amiens from 8 August 1918.
(Photo source © IWM Q 9248)
McLellan, David (Second Lieutenant) (Photographer)
Colour by RJM

Conhoon said:

Jagdpanzer 38(t) abandoned by retreating troops likely belonged to the "attached" 20 Panzergrenadier-Division. The location is Żagań, Lower Silesia, Poland, spring 1945.

View attachment 308395
The “Hetzer”, a famous but improper name to indicate the Jagdpanzer 38 (t), was a light tank destroyer of German design and used mainly by the Heer units during the final stages of the Second World War. Based on the hull of the Panzer 38 (t) it was built starting from 1944 in 2 584 units.

Click to expand...

The most interesting thing for me about that picture is that they have removed and taken the second road wheel off

If I ever win the lottery, one of those is first on the shopping list

US Infantrymen of 'B' Company. 120th Infantry, 30th Division, cut through a field along side a road to avoid crossing in the open and giving German snipers a target. Saint-Bômer-les-Forges, Normandy. August 15, 1944

Colour by Doug
US Signals Corps Archive SC 411764

A Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tank of the 31st Armoured Brigade, 79th Armoured Division, moves past a church at Oberhausen in the Ruhr Area, Germany, April 1945.


Smoke from the burning Ruhrchemie AG synthetic oil plant (Sterkrade/Holten) fills the sky behind.
Photo: IWM

A cheering Luftwaffe Gefreiter poses in the cockpit of a destroyed Dutch Fokker G1 'Mercury' (reg. 302) attack aircraft 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 "perpetrator".

A He-111P is used by the German researcher Dr. Weiss booked that early morning as having been shot "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 yachts.

Dutch Mobilisation winter 1939/1940. Dutch soldiers place explosive charges in a bridge pillar. Location, Twente Canal near Goor, the Netherlands.

In order to delay the German advance the Dutch army blew up several bridges in May, 1940 including this one.




Source: NIMH, Digitale Selecties

This photo comes from a series, published as postcards, and shows the unique and 'world famous' Dutch Cycling Music Corps - 'the only one in the world' - in detail.



The 1st Cyclist Regiment was stationed at Fort Isabella in 's Hertogenbosch. The voluntary music corps was established in 1927, consisting mainly of conscripts. From foundation to closure in May 1940, then sergeant - trumpet player P. Borstlap acted as chapel master.

The bicycles were fitted with elbow rests welded to the handlebars so that the musicians could play their instrument with both hands. Some well-known musicians served in this band during their years of service like the later impressario Lou van Rees as a saxophonist.


Source: NIMH, Digital Collections

A line-up of Dutch military motorcyclists led by a three-wheeled motorcycle with timpanist during an inspection, held by Major General Van Nijnatten, Commander III Army Corps, for the birthday of Princess Juliana on April 30, 1940.



The timpanist belongs to the Hussars Motorcyclists Regiment. The picture was taken during the mobilization of the Dutch army and 10 days prior to the German invasion of The Netherlands.

During the mobilization of 1939, both the 'Regiment Wielrijders' (RW) and the 'Eskadrons Wielrijders' formed war units. The number of infantrymen on the bicycle (but also on the motorcycle!) was about 5600 men.

In May 1940, both regiments of cyclists mainly fought in Dordrecht and the surrounding area. The squadrons of cyclists have distinguished themselves in the fighting around the 'Grebbeline'.

The Dutch army confiscated many civilian motorbikes during the mobilisation in 1939. 'anything goes' applied more or less, although according to the mobilization instructions the following brands were eligible: Indian, Harley-Davidson, Douglas, Gilette, FN, Sarolea, Ariel, BSA, Eysink, Excelsior, Simplex and Triumph. But bikes from other brands were also welcome, such as DKWs and Nortons.

Colour & Restoration: ColourisedPieceofJake

A group of German Luftwaffe Signal Corps soldiers (kradmelders/dispatch riders), treat themselves to a beer on a terrace in the abandoned Dutch city of Breda (Northern Brabant, The Netherlands). May 1940



Two days after the German invasion in the Netherlands, in the early morning of the 10th of May 1940, the massive evacuation of Breda in the southern part of the Netherlands, took place. Breda threatened to end up between the front lines of the advancing Germans and French.
The approximately 50,000 inhabitants were ordered to evacuate the city on Whit-Monday the 12th of May and most of them started walking in the direction of Antwerp, Belgium.
The inhabitants of Breda ended up in different places, some even as far as France, the Pyrenees and northern Spain!

A low point during the evacuation is the bombing of the school in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. On 17 May 1940 a large group of refugees was housed in a girls' school in Sint-Niklaas. The Germans bombed the school on Gasmeterstraat on that day.
During the bombing, 51 refugees from Breda died along with dozens of Belgians.

French troops came from Belgium to Breda to help defending the city, but never reached it. In retrospect, the evacuation had not been necessary: there was no fighting in Breda.

The German occupiers used the large number of military buildings in the city to house soldiers and personnel for the Fliegerhorst (airforce base) Gilze-Rijen, soon to be one of the largest airfields in Europe during WW2.
Gilze-Rijen nowadays is still an active base housing the Royal Dutch Airforce (KLu)

Freddie Oversteegen was only 14, petite with long braids, when she became an assassin and saboteur.



Freddie was raised by her divorced mother in Haarlem. Her mother was politically engaged, fiercely anti-Nazi and offered shelter to Jewish refugees from Germany in the 1930s, even though the sisters Truus and Freddie were forced to sleep together in a small single bed.

It was 1940, Germany had invaded the Netherlands, and she and her sister, Truus, who was two years older, had been recruited by the local Dutch resistance commander, in the city of Haarlem.
When the war started, the girls were only 16 and 14 years old.

The sisters worked as nurses in Enschede, on the German border in eastern Holland, where they could surreptitiously report on a German military airport. They also distributed leaflets and anti-Nazi posters.
Their anti-Nazi activities brought them to the attention of Frans van der Wiel, the Dutch underground leader in Haarlem, who visited them and, with their mother’s blessing, persuaded them to join the Council of Resistance.

“Only later did he tell us what we’d actually have to do: Sabotage bridges and railway lines,” Truus Menger-Oversteegen recalled in a 2014 book, “Under Fire: Women and World War II.” “We told him we’d like to do that.”

Then the commander added, “ ‘And learn to shoot — to shoot Nazis,’ ” she said.
“I remember my sister saying, ‘Well, that’s something I’ve never done before!’ ”Their mother gave them only one rule, Ms. Oversteegen said: “Always stay human.”

Retaining their humanity became more challenging once the sisters joined the seven-member underground cell based in Haarlem (they and Ms. Schaft were the only women) and learned that their job would entail blowing up bridges and railway tracks — and murder.

“Yes, I’ve shot a gun myself and I’ve seen them fall,” Freddie Oversteegen told a TV interviewer. “And what is inside us at such a moment? You want to help them get up.”

They were engaged by the resistance for the distribution of illegal magazines, helping people in hiding and the transport of weapons. "They were young and would not be searched as well as older girls and women. That was especially true for Freddie. She was small and seemed two years younger than she actually was. If she was arrested with all kinds of weapons, she would look with an innocent look and would often be allowed to drive on.

Together with Truus, she carried out attacks and sabotage actions, such as setting fire to a German storage facility in Overveen using aspirin tubes filled with a flammable liquid. On a visit to Enschede they met Hannie Schaft. Truus and Freddie Oversteegen already had pistols with them. They got shooting lessons in an empty potato bunker.

The sisters, along with a lapsed law student, Hannie Schaft, became a singular female underground squad, part of a cell of seven, that killed collaborators and occupying troops.
The three staged drive-by shootings from their bicycles; seductively lured German soldiers from bars to nearby woods, where they would execute them; and sheltered fleeing Jews, political dissidents, gay people and others who were being hunted by the invaders.

Just like Hannie Schaft, the girls did not hesitate to liquidate Nazis. Freddie Dekker-Oversteegen said that they seduced Germans and bad Dutch in cafes. "We asked if they wanted a party in the forest and then liquidated them. We had to do that. It was necessarily evil, because they killed good people. "When asked how many people she had wound up, she replied," You shouldn't ask soldiers anything like that. "Hannie Schaft was arrested and did not survive the war. Both sisters do.

The three women drew the line once.
They had been ordered to kidnap the children of the politician and senior Nazi officer Arthur Seyss-Inquart, reichkommissar of the occupied Netherlands. The plan was to swap the children for imprisoned members of the Dutch underground. The three refused because the children could have been killed if the exchange went awry.
“We are no Hitlerites,” Ms. Schaft was once quoted “Resistance fighters don’t murder children.”

In 2014, Freddie and Truus received the Mobilization War Cross from the hands of Prime Minister Rutte.

Source Caption NY-Times

Artillery crossing the Yser, Battle of Flanders, 1917.


Original via Nationaal Archief.

Operation Mercury - The Battle of Crete, May 20 - June 1, 1941

Close-up of the conning tower of the Polish Navy submarine ORP Sokół, 1941.

Riggers inspect the exit-holes of enemy machine-gun bullets in the fuselage of Bristol Blenheim Mark IV, N6207 'VE-G,' of No. 110 Squadron RAF, while under repair in a hangar at Wattisham, Suffolk. The MG burst hit the aircraft only a few feet from the the dorsal gunner with at least one bullet hitting the red roundel almost dead center.


There's no date on the original photo but on the 22nd of May, 1940, N6207 returned to Wattisham with combat damage and crash landed. Taking this into consideration, this photo must have been taken between September 1939 and May 22nd, 1940.
Together with No. 107 Squadron, No. 110 Squadron led on 4th September 1939, the RAF's first bombing raid of World War 2 when five of its Blenheims flew from the civil airport at Ipswich (to which No. 110 had been detached from its base at Wattisham on 2nd September) to attack German warships near Wilhelmshaven.
Prior to and during the Battle of Britain, it carried out attacks on coastal convoys, invasion barges and coastal targets and then after the battle added enemy airfields and industrial targets to its list.
The squadron moved to India early in 1942.
Original: IWM (CH 372)
Color by Rui

An iconic image by Frank Hurley in an Australian Advanced Dressing Station, Ypres, Sept 1917.

Identified: 4186 Private Albert Doust, 5th Field Ambulance (left foreground); B Barwick [probably 2807 Basil Cecil Barwick, 5th Field Ambulance] (partially obscured by Doust, writing on a pad); Sergeant C W Smith (extreme right background, standing up); F McCaffrey (standing, right foreground, bandaging a patient's left arm); possibly 3109A Private (Pte) Herbert Alfred Hunter (centre, seated behind man with sling). Pte Hunter, of the 5th Pioneer Battalion, a farmer from Wagin, WA was killed in action on 30 July 1918.