Painting the Plane

A B-25 ground crew painting their plane.  Tarawa, 1944.  In the background is the "Rose of SanAntone".

Officers in Poland

This photo was taken in 1943 in the ghetto of Warsaw during the abolition of the Jewish uprising. The commanding officer on German side is the 3rd soldier from the left: Brigadeführer Jürgen Stroop. He confirmed the death of 37359 jews. Because of his crimes against humanity he was executed in Warsaw in 1952.

A prison photo of Jurgen Stroop

Brazilian Tank Crews

M4 Sherman tanks and their Brazilian crews, circa 1950.  

Kharkov, 1943

From time to time I run across scale model dioramas that make me stop, and look again.  A lot of work goes into these.  This is a fantastic model of Kharkov, 1943.

The description:

"This is the third battle of Kharkov. Some SS panzergrenadiers supported by a Panzer IV Ausf G are in their way to recapture the city"  

Source

Crete, 1941

German paratroopers during the Battle of Crete, 1941.

German paratroopers on the ground in Crete, May, 1941

Train to Berlin

This picture was taken at Falkenhain, Brandenburg, Germany, 1942.   The train was bound for Berlin.

Rangers

Troops of the 3rd Battalion 475th Infantry pass through village of Ngware after a long climb from the point where they crossed the Shweli River enroute Mong-Wi, China. January. 1945.

German Machine Gun Crew

A German machine gun crew.

Omaha Beach

An American soldier helps treat a comrade at Omaha Beach, D-Day.

Uniform Repairs

A Royal Artillery Bofors gun crew making repairs to their uniforms during operations to cross the Garigliano river in Italy, 19 January 1944. Transport on the Via Appia can be seen in the background.

Source: IWM

More photos of the crossing of the Garigliano here

Focke-Wulf FW-190

A Focke-Wulf FW-190 at Immola airfield (Finland) getting its prop removed for maintenance.  This is a colorization by Mike Gepp.  I had to look several times to make sure this was not an original photo.  

Here's an excellent graphic by Barry Munden providing some specifics about the FW190A (click to enlarge).

  

Our Luftwaffe

A Luftwaffe poster.

The Selarang Barracks Incident

In 1942, four Australian POWs tried to escape from their Japanese prisoner of war camp. The Japanese became so incensed that they ordered every POW in the Changi peninsula to sign an agreement promising not to escape. These prisoners refused.

In retaliation, the Japanese ordered them to assemble in the Selarang barracks without food or water—all fifteen thousand of them. For four days, the men were forced to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a space only constructed to hold as few as one thousand people. After four days suffering from dysentery, malnutrition, and dehydration, the Australians relented and signed the agreement.

Artist Des Bettany 

Source: World War II in Color

Dodge WC51

A very well done scale model of a Dodge WC51, of the type used during world war II.

Available for purchase here

London, 1942

Oxford Street, London, 1942.

On the Dock

German and Romanian soldiers and sailors on a dock in Constanta, Romania, 1941.

Japanese Pilot

Photo of a Japanese Pilot during World War II.  This fantastic colorization was done by Doug Banks and serves a great benefit as there are so few color photos of Japanese soldiers during this time.

New Zealand Fights for the Future

A World War II poster from New Zealand.

Soldiers from New Zealand leaning out of a train as they depart to serve in World War II 

Libation Liberation

American GIs liberating wine from French civilians after liberating the village.

Video: Berlin - May, 1945

Video showing the complete destruction of Berlin at the end of the war.
Gleb Vasiliev. Berlin. May 1, 1945, Potsdamer Platz

Patton

General Patton takes a break.

Operation Citadel

"Operation Citadel" - Battle of Prokhorovka - A soldier gives comrade a light for a cigarette.  Colorization by Mike Gepp who does some really awesome work.  And my apologies for not giving credit earlier, but I can't say I ever noticed his name underneath the cat.

Operation Citadel, June-July 1943: Motorized elements are advancing toward base areas. "Traffic cop" belonging to the motorcycle field gendarmery (military police) is directing traffic. The scout on the motorcycle faces hundreds of dust-filled miles.

SG 500 Jagdfaust

The SG 500 Jagdfaust was an experimental airborne anti-bomber recoilless rifle designed for use in the Me 163 Komet rocket plane by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The weapon featured a simple form of automated trigger in which an optical photocell detected the dark silhouette of an Allied bomber replacing bright blue sky and triggered the firing of the armed Jagdfaust guns.

A restored Me 163, shown without the Jagdfaust launchers

A Doctor's Field Kit

Dr. Andrew Duncan's WWII field kit, containing bandages, morphine, and other emergency medical supplies. Duncan was an army field surgeon during the Second World War. He was sent to the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) and given the rank of Captain. On the field, he saved the lives of soldiers by performing emergency operations, often in bombed-out houses.

German Paratroopers

German paratroopers in Italy.  Credit to Wlocho for his work.  He posts his photos at WWII in Color.

Doubtful Doris

Doubtful Doris”, the Northrop P-61B-6 of the USAAF’s 414th Night Fighter Squadron. 

Field Marshall Rommel

Field Marshall Rommel near Tobruk, Libya, apparently during the Allied Operation Compass.

German Anti-Tank Team

German antitank team, France 1940.

 And an interesting model, replica of the same.

Chips, the War Dog

War dog "Chips", the only animal to hold the Silver Star, is greeted by his family after return to U.S. He was decorated for heroism in the invasion of Sicily.  Credit to myself for colorizing the photo.  Post it anywhere you like, with our without giving me credit.  I'm not going to cry about it.  

Dud

Working to remove a bomb dropped by the Germans that failed to detonate, London, 1943.

 

P-40 Warhawk Fighters

P-40 Warhawk fighters of the 65th Fighter Squadron in North Africa, 1943.

Tracking the Target

A Soviet sniper.

Lublin, 1940

Photograph of two women in the Jewish Ghetto in Lublin, 1940.

MG34 Machine Gun

German MG34 gun crew in action on the Eastern Front.  Credit to Mike Gepp for the colorization.  In my opinion, he is the best I've seen at colorizing World War II photographs.

Snowball Fight

Wehrmacht soldiers have a snowball fight during a rest stop on their way to the Eastern Front.

Shaving Kit

This is a US Army field gear item. It is a shaving kit, as issued during World War two. The kit came in a metal box that was lined with a khaki cotton cover. The lid was hinged to the main body. Separate compartments are built into the carrying case to hold the different components of the shaving kit.

Loose Talk Can Cost Lives

Don't be a dope.

Panzer III in North Africa

Panzer III tanks are unloaded from a ship onto a dock in North Africa.

A Panzer III model