La Segunda Guerra Mundial en Color

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"Troops cleaning their weapons on board a ship, part of the invasion force on its way to Ramree island, 21 January 1945."

These men could possibly belong to the 1st Battalion, Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, connected to the 71st Indian Brigade, 26th Indian Division, as they were one of only a few British Regiments in the landing party at that time and place.

Third Battle of Arakan
12 Dec 1944 - 28 Feb 1945
On 21 Jan 1945, Anglo-Indian forces landed on Ramree island just off the Burmese coast with intention of occupying and establishing airbases on those islands. The invasion was preceded by a bombardment by the battleship 'Queen Elizabeth' and the light cruiser 'Phoebe', while aircraft from carrier 'Ameer' spotted for them; B-24 Liberator and P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft from the No. 224 Group RAF also participated in the pre-invasion attacks. One hour later, the Indian 71st Brigaded landed unopposed. On 22 Jan, the British 4th Infantry Brigade landed to reinforce the beachhead, followed by the 26th and 36th Brigades. On 26 Jan, Royal Marine forces landed on Cheduba and found it unoccupied. While the Japanese did not challenge the landing at Ramree Island, a defense in depth was planned to fight the invaders on this 2,300-square kilometre island in the Bay of Bengal. As the weight of four British and Commonwealth brigades pressured the first line of defense, 900 Japanese troops fell back to the second line of defense, as planned.

 

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"Scramble!"

RCAF pilots race to Hawker Hurricane Mk.Is at RAF Northolt. 'Battle of Britain' 1940.

The RCAF’s No 1 (Fighter) Squadron was the only Canadian squadron that took part in the Battle of Britain. Transferred overseas in June 1940, the pilots went through intensive training to be up to the level of their RAF counterparts before being sent to the front. In their Hurricanes, the pilots of No 1 Squadron had their first encounter with the enemy on August 23rd, 1940, and took part in the action until October 8th. Three pilots were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC): Squadron Leader E.A. McNab, Flight Lieutenant G.R. McGregor and Flight Officer B.D. Russel.

In 1941, No. 1 (F) Squadron was renamed No. 401 Squadron and transitioned to new aircraft (later-model Hurricanes and early Spitfires). The squadron ended the war as the top-scoring unit within the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force, with 186 ½ kills—29 of which were from 1940 under the old No. 1 Sqn moniker.

RAF Northolt;
On the 15th of September 1940 during the Battle of Britain, No. 1 Squadron RCAF, No. 229 Squadron, No. 303 Polish Fighter Squadron, No. 504 Squadron, and part of No. 264 Squadron were based at the station, all under the control of No. 11 Group RAF, headquartered at RAF Uxbridge. All flew Hawker Hurricanes except No. 264 Squadron's contingent, which operated the Boulton Paul Defiant.

 

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'Cabeza'

Los soldados estadounidenses tomar cover de fuego de una ametralladora en las filipinas durante la segunda guerra mundial. Las tropas son parte de la primera ola de aterrizar en la isla de leyte en la invasión de Filipinas.

 

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September 1935, London, England, UK --- Leaning out of train windows at Feltham Station, soldiers departing for Egypt kiss their wives and girlfriends goodbye.

 

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American soldiers comfort a little girl and her puppy after the invasion of Normandy. Colleville-sur-Mer, 1944.

 

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Mission Albany - Taking off just after midnight June 6th 1944 over 2000 airbourne troops would drop behind enemy lines 5hrs before the first troops got their boots wet on the Normandy beaches.

As the sun sets over Exeter airfield, England, June 5th 1944, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert l. Wolverton (CO 3rd Battalion/506th Parachute Infantry Regiment/101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles"), and the headquarters staff are checking their gear before boarding transport aircraft C-47 "Dakota" 8Y-S # 292717 "Stoy Hora" of the 440th Troop Carrier Squadron.

Of the 15 paratroopers pictured, 5 would be killed and 9 would be captured by sunset the following day.

 

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A German MG34 MMG (medium machine gun) Team with long range optical sight.

For long range fire (in theory up to 3000m, indirect 3.500m) the optical device was used. Also in the night with the "Strichplatte" giving the degrees +/- from basic sighting. There was a lamp and also a bubble level.

In sustained firing the tracer was used often for aiming, in that case the aiming soldier is not looking through the optic but over it for a better view.

 

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On board U-175, quick thinking by the boat's engineer to blow the ballast tanks had prevented them from sinking further and helped right the boat, but communications had been knocked out and it became clear to Bruns that the only option was to surface. Giving the order, the boat rose to the surface; as it did so, Spencer and Duane began firing at close range, while Spencer's commander, Berdine, closed with intent to ram. But Bruns was not intending to fight it out and, seeking to save his crew, led the way onto the conning tower to signal his intention to surrender. The Coast Guard crewmen, however, did not immediately understand the Germans' intentions and maintained a devastating fire on the conning tower that cut down Bruns and a number other men and forced the others to delay their exit. During the firing, stray rounds from one of the merchant ships hit Spencer killing Radioman Julius T. Petrella and wounding several others.
More to come on this action...

 

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Private 9th U.S. Army Harvey Clark with Anti-tank rocket launchers, captured German 88mm "Pantsershrek" (RPzB.54 / 1 Panzerschreck) left, and American 60-mm "Bazooka" (M1A1 Bazooka) on the Right.

The Panzerschreck (Tanks Fright) was developed as a copy from captured bazookas of American origin, they were either captured in 1942 on the Eastern front from Soviet forces that had received a shipment of bazookas or they were captured in Tunisia from American forces in February 1943.
The Panzerschreck's combat success caused the Bazooka to be completely redesigned at the close of World War II. A larger, 90 mm (3.5 in) model was adopted; hence, the M20 Super Bazooka. Though bearing a superficial resemblance to the Panzerschreck, the M20 had greater effective range, penetrating capability and was nearly 20% lighter than its former counterpart.

 

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Crewmen of USS Hornet (Essex Class Aircraft Carrier) firing their 40mm Anti aircraft guns.

The Bofors 40 mm gun, often referred to simply as the Bofors gun, is an anti-aircraft/multi-purpose autocannon designed in the 1930s by the Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors. It was one of the most popular medium-weight anti-aircraft systems during World War II, used by most of the western Allies as well as by the Axis powers. The cannon remains in service (as the main armament in the CV 90, among other uses) making it both one of the longest-serving and most widespread artillery pieces of all time. Bofors itself has been part of BAE Systems AB since March 2005.

 

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Japanese night raiders are greeted with a lacework of anti-aircraft fire by the Marine defenders of Yontan airfield, on Okinawa.
In the foreground are Marine Corsair fighter planes of the “Hell’s Belles’ squadron. 1945

 

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USS Macon over New York City in 1933

USS Macon (ZRS-5) was a rigid airship built and operated by the United States Navy for scouting and served as a "flying aircraft carrier", designed to carry biplane parasite aircraft, five single-seat Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk for scouting or two-seat Fleet N2Y-1 for training. In service for less than two years, in 1935 Macon was damaged in a storm and lost off California's Big Sur coast, though most of the crew were saved. The wreckage is listed as USS Macon Airship Remains on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Less than 20 ft (6.1 m) shorter than Hindenburg, both the Macon and "sister ship" USS Akron (ZRS-4) were among the largest flying objects in the world in terms of length and volume. Although the hydrogen-filled Hindenburg was longer, the Dos Hermanas (Two Sisters) still hold the world record for helium-filled airships.