Photos Colour and Colourised Photos of WW2 & earlier conflicts

A Soviet machine gun crew operating a Maxim M1910-7.62×54mmR MG on the Voronezh front in Russia during September 1942.



Early in the German offensive for 1942 the city of Voronezh had stood in the path of the Wehrmacht advance. The greater part of it had been captured after intense battles in July but it had remained under contention, a strategic position on the route to the south. By the middle of September the Soviets had recaptured parts of the city and reconnaissance suggested that a more substantial attack was imminent. It was a battleground almost as fiercely contested as Stalingrad.

(Colorised by Georgiy Stanislavskiy)

"Infantrymen of the 1st Division, U.S. First Army, make final preparations and get briefed before crossing the Roer River at Schneidhausen, Germany. 25 Feb 45."



Photo supplied by 16th Infantry Regiment Historical Society
Colour by Colour by RJM

American troops on board a landing craft heading for the beaches at Oran in Algeria during Operation 'Torch', November 1942

Dewoitine D.520 of Bulgarian Air Force.

Germany:
Battleship Schlesien while transiting the Panama Canal, 8 March 1938

USN:
40 mm quad-mounted guns firing during battle practice aboard the U.S. Navy light cruiser USS Biloxi (CL-80) while the ship was shaking down in October 1943. The view looks forward along the ship's port side, with a 5"/38 twin gun mount beyond the 40 mm guns.

Famous image of Avro Lancaster III (ED592), on it's maiden test flight dated 26th August 1942. She was later delivered to No. 50 RAF at Skellingthrorpe, and designated the letters VN-B.

She would be shot down on the 2nd March 1943 on a mission to bomb Berlin, reportedly by night fighter pilot Oblt Horst Pause of the 1./NJG 1, flying a Bf 110 G-4 from Gilze-Rijen airfield.

Badly crippled the Lancaster crash Wadenoyen sw of Tiel, killing all the crew:

Pilot F/O. F.E. Townsend
Flight engineer Sgt. A. Sandow
Navigator Sgt. H. Wood
Nav ba Sgt. W.C. Yetton
Wo ag Sgt. D.G. Hobbs
Air gunner Sgt. P.J. Rose
Air gunner Sgt. W.A. Dawe

Photographer: Charles E. Brown.

RNZAF F4U-1D Corsairs of 31 SU (Servicing Unit) at Palikulo Bay Airfield (Bomber #1), Espiritu Santo. 31st Oct 1944.

Colorized by Daniel Rarity

Air Force Museum of New Zealand Official photo

On 11 November 1940, Twenty-two Italian CR42s took off at 1200 hours from Eechlou (modern Eeklo), Belgium and climbed to 18,000 feet.
Before the actual combat MM5701, flown by 23-year-old Sergente Pilota Pietro Salvadori broke an oil pipe, fell behind the formation, and the engine overheated. He pressed on and force landed on the shingle beach at Orford Ness, Suffolk. C.¼ mile north of the lighthouse, at c.13.45 hours.
His 18 Gruppo 95 Squadriglia Caccia Terrestre aircraft bore the fuselage marking 13 crest 95 and the serial MM5701 under the tail. Salvadori was taken prisoner and was apparently very proud of his landing when he simply nosed gently over on the shingle.
When interrogated by the British, Salvadori commented that he was happy to be out of the war, was dissatisfied with the Italian officers, and didn’t like Belgian weather, the Germans, or their food!
History:
Built during 1940 as part of a batch of 200 CR.42 aircraft, serial numbers MM5510-MM5709.
On 6 October 1940, MM5701 and the other 18 Gruppo CR.42s moved from their base in Novi Ligure, northern Italy to Maldegem, Belgium, near the Dutch border, to operate as part of the Corpo Aereo Italiano (CAI), flying via Neubiberg and Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany, reaching Ursel on 19th October after being held up by bad weather. Temporarily attached to 56 Stormo, the unit's aircraft carried the squadriglia shield (the claw of an eagle) and the Gruppo shield (an axe with three arrows diagonally enclosed in a vertical rectangle and the motto ocio che te copo. The unit was also given the Luftwaffe designation 18/JG56. The fighters could only operate over England for about ten minutes due to limited fuel capacity/range.
It was restored and allotted Maintenance Serial 8468M. During October 1978, MM5701 was moved to RAFM Hendon for display in the new Battle of Britain Museum. (text credit - http://captured-wings.wikia.com/)
Sergente Pilota Pietro Salvadori:
Post war he rejoined the Italian Air Force but sadly died in 1953 following an accident flying a Republic F-84G Thunderjet.
Colour by Doug
Colourising History

Paratroops of the 22nd Independent Parachute Company, British 6th Airborne Division, with their toy mascot 'Pegasus' at RAF Harwell, 5 June 1944.



During the Second World War it was found necessary and advantageous to form small groups of parachute soldiers into ‘pathfinder’ units, to parachute onto the selected drop zone ahead of the main force. Their tasks were to mark the drop zone, establish directional radio beacons to enable the coming transport aircraft to ‘home’ in on the exact drop point and to clear and protect the area as the main force parachuted or air landed.

The Pathfinder Company also acted as an early warning if the selected drop zone was heavily defended, possibly enabling diversion to an alternative. Once the main force was down the pathfinders were employed as a small reserve or reconnaissance force.
The 22nd Independent Company the Parachute Regiment was formed between May and September 1943 to serve the 6th Airborne Division. Like its sister unit the 21st, the Company consisted of a Company Headquarters and three platoons, each with one officer and 32 men. Each platoon was sub-divided into three sticks, commanded by a sergeant or Corporal. These operated Eureka ground to air radio beacons to Rebecca receivers inside the incoming transport aircraft of the main force. Coloured panels were used to mark DZs by day and 6v battery powered Holophane lamps by night.
22nd Company jumped on D-Day on 6th June 1944 achieving limited success with the subsequent scattered main lift insertion. It fought around Breville and remained as line infantry in Normandy until the break out to the Seine in August.
The Company fought in the Ardennes during the winter fighting of 1944-5 and took part in Operation VARSITY, the Rhine Crossing in March 1945. After the war in Europe the Company was attached and accompanied the 5th Parachute Brigade to the Far East in 1945-6.
Colour: Colourisedpieceofjake

Sherman tanks of the British 8th Armoured Brigade (possibly 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards) and a Chevrolet truck leading ambulances through Amsterdamerstraße in Kevelaer, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
4 March 1945.



Local 17 year old Kevelaer eye-witness, Heinz van Lipzig,
"My father wanted to buy a caravan and horse to move away from home and the fighting, but I was able to talk him out of this idea by telling him that the end could not be far away. I did not know what was to happen a few days later. On the morning of the 3rd March 1945 I woke up to find myself surrounded by English soldiers. The war was over, at least for my family and me."
"Armed with machine guns mounted on a pram the soldiers made their way through Kevelaer – the first town they had found which was reasonably intact. Soon the people of Kevelaer put out the white flags and tried to adapt to the new situation. A camp for displaced persons, mainly Dutch, French and Italian was set up. They were housed in tents, hotels and churches and my job was to find plates and cutlery for them. I remember one morning I went into a bombed hotel which had a bowling club. Hearing shots I was curious to find out what was going on. Two English soldiers were enjoying themselves playing 'bowls' in their own way – namely firing pistols at the pins!"

(Source - IWM B15147)
Sgt. Hutchinson No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit
Photo 1 colourised by Richard James Molloy
(Source - IWM B15145)
Photo 2 colourised by Gabriel Bîrsanu

A member of the British No. 9 Commando at Anzio, equipped for a patrol with his Bren gun, 5 March 1944.

The Bren was a licensed version of Czechoslovak light machine gun ZGB 33, which was a modified version of ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. The later Bren featured a distinctive top-mounted curved box magazine, conical flash hider and quick change barrel. The name Bren was derived from Brno, Moravia, the Czechoslovak city where the Zb vz. 26 was originally designed (in the Zbrojovka Brno Factory), and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory. The original and main designer was Václav Holek, a gun inventor and design engineer.

"......Operation ‘Partridge was next in December 1943 in the river Garigliano area. The Commando suffered heavy losses during the bitter fighting in the early months of 1944 at Monte Ornito and Anzio , before leaving the area mid March ’44 for Naples, and then onto Molfetta. The next few months were spent rebuilding the Commando from replacements sent from the UK already Commando trained, and when there no more available, from volunteers from Regiments operating in North Africa and the Central Mediterranean . These then had to undergo their training from the Commando training group that had been formed in Italy."

February 24 1945.
M4A3 (76)'Sherman' of the 771st Tank Battalion, US 84th "Rail -Splitter" Division after the fighting in ruins of the German town of Linnich.

On the right is an 'HQ' Dodge WC-52f (with what looks like 9th Armored Div markings on the fender)

'Operation Grenade'
The Roer River rose to historical prominence in the winter of 1944/1945 when it became an integral part of the German western border defenses. It effectively closed the 25 mile gap in the Siegfried Line which the American advance through Aachen had made. For the 9A a further invasion of Germany to reach the Rhine depended upon the forcing of the Roer River.

Roughly, the Roer River runs parallel to the German frontier from Roermond in the north, where it joins the Meuse River to Düren in the south. It also parallels the Rhine River about 25 miles further east and is an effective barrier to any attack from the west aimed at the Ruhr Industrial Area. The advance to the river had been a slow fight against determined resistance and the enemy was quick to respond to any probing of the east bank. The situation called for the build-up of a powerful attacking force before a crossing could be forced. Detailed plans for the Roer crossing were formulated early in December after elements of the XIX Corps and the XIII Corps in the 9A zone reached the river at Jülich and Linnich. However, the operation was delayed for more than a month by the German Counter Offensive in the Belgian Ardenne.

USS Salt Lake City (CA-25) off the Mare Island Naval Shipyard on 21 June 1944 (19-N-67713)

Salt Lake City received 11 battle stars for her World War II service.

Beaufort Mark I, L9878 'MW-R', of No.217 Squadron RAF based at St Eval, Cornwall, in flight. In late 1942 the group would be moved to Malta.

The Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber. At least 1,180 Beauforts were built by Bristol and other British manufacturers.

The Australian government's Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) also manufactured variants of the Beaufort. These are often known collectively as the DAP Beaufort. More than 700 Australian-built Beauforts saw service with the Royal Australian Air Force in the South West Pacific theatre, where they were used until the end of the war.

Beauforts first saw service with Royal Air Force Coastal Command and then the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm from 1940. They were used as torpedo bombers, conventional bombers and mine-layers until 1942, when they were removed from active service and were then used as trainer aircraft until being declared obsolete in 1945. Beauforts also saw considerable action in the Mediterranean; Beaufort squadrons based in Egypt and on Malta helped interdict Axis shipping supplying Rommel's Deutsches Afrikakorps in North Africa.

Although it was designed as a torpedo-bomber, the Beaufort was more often used as a medium day bomber. The Beaufort also flew more hours in training than on operational missions and more were lost through accidents and mechanical failures than were lost to enemy fire. The Beaufort was adapted as a long-range heavy fighter variant called the Beaufighter, which proved to be very successful and many Beaufort units eventually converted to the Beaufighter.

Two US Marines of the 4th Marine Division stand atop Mt. Suribachi, overlooking the remainder of Iwo Jima, part of which is still held by the Japanese. Feb 25, 1945

Photo provided by the Marine Corps University.
Photographer - S/Sgt Mark Haufman

A few more. I looked through the thread to be sure I wasn't repeating pics, but might have missed some. I lifted these from a Russian site where there were no captions, so I can't offer much info about them.

Sergeant Harold Rogers of the 401st Bomb Group with his dog mascot "Mister", in the waist gun position of a B-17 Flying Fortress nicknamed "Un Petit Peu". Image stamped on reverse: 'Passed for publication 2 Jul 1943.' [stamp] and '30195.' [Censor no.] Printed caption on reverse: 'US ARMY OFFICIAL PHOTO. This dog "Mister" belongs to Sgt Harold Rogers, of Miami, Okla, in the US Army 8th Air Force. "Mister" has already been in five missions, including the raid on Huls, German. He rides in tail of plane- a Fortress called "Un Petit Peu"- with his master. His master designed the respirator worn by the dog.' http://www.americanairmuseum.com/media/12128



Any landing from which you can walk away is a good one.
The crew of B-17G 'Bolo Babe' (42-102601) of the 546th Bomb Squadron, 384th BG, pose on top of their plane after a crash landing in France. Bolo Babe crash-landed near Moyeuvre-Grande, West of Thionville, France after she lost an engine and her electrical system during a mission to attack a BMW plant in Ludwigshafen Germany, 9 September, 1944. The entire crew returned to the UK by C-47 and returned to flight status on 13 September, 1944. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...wly-colourised-images-WWII-allied-airmen.html



The Final Embarkation: Four 'stick' commanders of 22nd Independent Parachute Company, British 6th Airborne Division, synchronising their watches in front of an Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle of No 38 Group, Royal Air Force, at about 11 pm on 5 June, just prior to take off from RAF Harwell, Oxfordshire. This pathfinder unit parachuted into Normandy in advance of the rest of the division in order to mark out the landing zones, and these officers, (left to right, - Lieutenants, Bobby de la Tour, Don Wells, John Vischer and Bob Midwood), were among the first Allied troops to land in France. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Four_'stick'_commanders_of_22nd_Independent_Parachute_Company,_6th_Airborne_Division,_synchronising_their_watches_in_front_of_an_Armstrong_Whitworth_Albemarle_at_about_11_pm_on_5_June_1944,_just_prior_to_take_o_H39070.jpg



Leading Aircraftman R.P. Coulson removes the guns from a Canadian (RCAF) Spitfire which was heavily damaged.
“A thousand and one dangers awaited the airmen. In this case, an RCAF Spitfire has been blasted on the ground at Grave, Holland, in March 1945. The damage was inflicted by a fragmentation bomb dropped during a hit-and-run raid from the Luftwaffe.” https://www.militaryimages.net/threads/colourised-images-of-ww2-earlier-conflicts.7084/page-20



18 September, 1944
American Airborne Troops of the 101st Airborne Division (probably 501st PIR) that landed behind the German lines in the south of The Netherlands examine what is left of one of the gliders that had ‘cracked up’
https://www.militaryimages.net/threads/colourised-images-of-ww2-earlier-conflicts.7084/page-15



Consolidated Liberator V Mark IV of RAF 70th squadron that was hit in friendly fire during a daylight raid on the shipbuilding yards of Monfalcone, Trieste, Italy, in 1945 .Although the bombs had not fallen far enough to become 'live', the perspex of Pilot Wally Lewis's mid-upper turret was completely ripped away. Lewis later described the incident: 'I was looking up and saw a bomb leave an aircraft above us. I saw it getting bigger and bigger as it came towards us. The next thing I realised was that the fuselage had been hit near the flight deck and I seemed to be pushed down in front of my seat. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...wly-colourised-images-WWII-allied-airmen.html



I've no idea what's shown here. If it was a current pic, I'd say they were servicing a UAV.
A party of riggers working on the tailplane of a Supermarine Spitfire of No. 601 Squadron at Lentini West, Sicily, 7 September 1943. . It was taken days after the successful completion of Operation Huskyhttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/...i_West,_Sicily,_7_September_1943._CNA1329.jpg

WOW, those are some cool ones!! That spitfire and B-24 took a shellacking!

NebrHogger said:

A few more. I looked through the thread to be sure I wasn't repeating pics, but might have missed some. I lifted these from a Russian site where there were no captions, so I can't offer much info about them.

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Any landing from which you can walk away is a good one.
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I've no idea what's shown here. If it was a current pic, I'd say they were servicing a UAV.
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Hope you don't mind @NebrHogger but I edited your post with info I was able to find out about these photo's

Adolf Hitler (second from right) and Albert Speer (right) in front of the 800mm Gustav railway gun in the year 1943