Images du groupe World War II in Original Color

A B-24 Liberator of the 44th Bomb Group leave contrails over Germany

Source - IWM

" a écrit:Final assembly lines of USAF Basic Trainer & Canadian AF Vanguard Pursuit fighter planes at Vultee Aircraft Inc. Plant, Downey CA 1941 / Photo by Mike Roberts As America's involvement in World War II intensified, Mike Roberts documented the final stages of the Vultee Aircraft assembly line in Downey, Calif. for the 1941 special aviation issue of Fortune. Vultee produced U.S. and Canadian air force planes at Downey. Of the climate at the time, Fortune's editors summarized, "The tactics of the battlefield reach back and dictate the tactics on the factory floor... This is the industrial war the American can see for himself every day.... This is the war of the machines, of manpower, of the managers ... the resources of a great industrial power.

Ensign V.A.Prather directs the removal of a damaged F6F Hellcat (#12) aboard the carrier USS Lexington CV-16, during operations in the Gilberts and Marshalls, November-December 1943.

"...any plane that could not be repaired and posing a danger to the other returning aircraft were simply hauled overboard. Commanding these machinists was hard-nosed Ensign Prather, whose growling voice spewed out endless obscenity laced tirades, nothing was ever fixed fast enough or good enough but the men held a grudging respect for their boss".

(Photographed by Commander Edward Steichen, USNR.)

(Color by Lamont)
https://www.facebook.com/lamont.cranston.5494?fref=nf

Messerschmitt Bf 109F's from Jagdgeschwader 52 based in Russia 1942. In the background Junkers Ju 52/3m Tante Ju ("Aunt Ju") visible during the approach to landing. Photographer captured on film very interesting panorama of the airfield.

The fighting in Poland made it clear that while the standard RLM 70/71 Bf 109 camouflage scheme at the outbreak of war was more than adequate for ground concealment, the same did not apply to aerial combat. As a result of these findings, numerous field trials to find a suitable replacement were undertaken during the winter of 1939-40 utilizing various combinations of the colors Grungrau (aka RLM) 02, 70 and 71. The successful outcome of these trials resulted in a new camouflage pattern of 02 and 71 that was considered more practical for air-to-air combat than the earlier scheme.

Accordingly, an order was issued dictating that 02 would replace Black-Green 70 in the pattern. Concurrently, the demarcation for the undersurface Blue 65 was increased in height to cover approximately three-quarters of the fuselage sides, including the entire vertical tail surfaces. Although this change effectively restricted the upper colors to the strict plan view of the aircraft, the actual height of the demarcation varied considerably between aircraft, most prominently on the rear fuselage between the rear of the cockpit canopy and base of the fin.
RLM Colors L.Dv. 521/1 (November 1941)
The colors used by the Luftwaffe were defined by the State Ministry of Aviation (Reichsluftfahrt Ministerium), which established a standard for color shades, their production and application. These directives were promulgated through a series of service regulations (Luftwaffen Dienstvorschriften) designated L.Dv. 521. The earliest edition to survive (L.Dv. 521/1) is dated March 1938 and included a color table (Farbtontafel) that was to be matched by manufacturers, aircraft repair depots, and front-line units. Other regulations, some of which had been established before the formation of the RLM itself in 1933, limited the number of colors and encouraged production from pigments that could be obtained in Germany.

At a time of limited hard currency, such policies simplified purchase and storage, and minimized dependence on imported raw materials. Paints were supplied by different companies and, although aircraft manufacturers could choose which commercial products to purchase, they all were to adhere to these uniform standards, as represented by the Farbtontafel and later by individual paint chips.

Source: https://www.asisbiz.com/Battles/camouflage/pages/Bf-109F-Jagdgeschwader-52-based-in-Russia-1942.html

Arms production in Germany, 1944 / Source Walter Frentz Collection
Production of the type XXI submarine weapon at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, 1944.
Type XXI submarines were a class of German diesel–electric Elektroboot (German: "electric boat") submarinesdesigned during the Second World War. One hundred and eighteen were completed, with four being combat ready. During the war only two were put into active service and went on patrols, but these were not used in combat.
They were the first submarines designed to operate primarily submerged, rather than spending most of their time as surface ships that could submerge for brief periods as a means to escape detection. They incorporated many batteries to increase the time they could spend submerged, to as much as several days, and they only needed to surface to periscope depth for recharging via a snorkel. The design included many general improvements as well: much greater underwater speed by an improved hull design, greatly improved diving times, power-assisted torpedo reloading and greatly improved crew accommodations. However, the design was also flawed in many ways, with the submarines being mechanically unreliable and vulnerable to combat damage. The Type XXI submarines were also rushed into production before design work was complete, and the inexperienced facilities which constructed the boats were unable to meet necessary quality standards.
After the war, several navies obtained XXIs and operated them for decades in various roles and large navies introduced new submarine designs based on them. These include the Soviet Whiskey, US Tang, UK Porpoise andSwedish Hajen classes, all based on the Type XXI design to some extent.

Ditching Practice with the 'Practice Ship', 1944 / Photo by PhotoQuest
View of future B-17 crew members as they practice procedures for ditching (effecting an unintended water landing) their aircraft, 1944.
An instructor explains the procedure for ditching an aircraft.
Note the missing propeller and the sign that reads 'Practice Boat, Do Not Strip.'

The Naval Air Station (NAS) Atlantic City in 1945 / Source OFFICIAL US NAVY PHOTOGRAPH
View of the flight line with Vought F4U 4 Corsair NAS White 4F24F34F84F10 and 4F11 at NAS Atlantic City, New Jersey. 1945
Just a week before Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941, Bader Field became the first location in the nation to host a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) flight. Many of the local pilots joined the CAP. Like many airports at the time, Bader Field was essentially a large smooth landing pan as opposed to a network of runways. Naval Aircraft Factory N3N Yellow Peril biplane trainers, built in nearby Philadelphia, were seen at the field for several years. The US Navy had a large wartime presence at Bader Field until Naval Air Station (NAS) Atlantic City, located on the mainland in nearby Egg Harbor, began training carrier air groups in 1943.
After the activation of NAS Atlantic City, Bader Field was utilized as an outlying practice field by naval aviators in training. Like most stateside Air Stations, both NAS Atlantic City and Bader Field experienced student aviator attrition and plenty of crackups. The tidal marshes between NAS Atlantic City and Bader Field also saw their share of mishaps. The student aviators were flying relatively hot Vought F4UCorsairs, Grumman F6F Hellcats, Grumman/Eastern TBF/TBM Avengers, and Curtiss SB2C Helldivers in the area at first, but later in the war the Air Station switched to fighter pilot training only.

Exhausted enlisted crew members aboard aircraft carrier USS Lexington, CV-16, sleep in tangled patterns after 24 hours at General Quarters, off Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands, 5 December 1943.

On January 31, 1944, the 7th Infantry Division, spearheaded by the 111th Infantry Regiment performed an amphibious assault on Kwajalein. On February 1, 1944, Kwajalein was the target of the most concentrated bombardment of the Pacific War. Thirty-six thousand shells from naval ships and ground artillery on a nearby islet struck Kwajalein. American B-24 Liberator bombers aerially bombarded the island, adding to the destruction.
Of the 8,782 Japanese personnel deployed to the atoll (including Korean slaves), 7,870 "Japanese" were killed

Colour: Colourised PIECE of JAKE
Source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

A rare color photo of an Horten Ho 254 H.VII V1 at an airfield, 1943 / Publisher "Signal" magazine
The Horten H.VII was a flying wing fighter-trainer aircraft designed by the Horten brothers during World War II.
Development:
The H.VII was originally allocated the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM) designation 8-226, but was later given the new RLM designation 8-254, so it was known by inference as Horten Ho 226 or Horten Ho 254, though these designations were little used in practice.
In 1942 the H.VII design began as a test-bed for the Schmitt-Argus pulse-jet engine but this project was cancelled in 1943 and the aircraft's role became that of a trainer. It was based on the Horten H.V but with more powerfulArgus As 10C engines. Walter Horten piloted its first flight in May 1944 and took part in many hours of a series of test flights, partly intended to quell concerns about the tailless aircraft's controllability in the case of an asymmetric power loss.
Two prototypes were built and the H.VII V-3, nearing completion by the time that the allied advance reached the Peschke factory in Minden, would have been the first of twenty production aircraft. Two H.VIIs were destroyed in the advance and one taken to the USSR.

B-17s of the 602nd Bomb Squadron, 398th Bomb Group, at very high altitude, in one of their last bombing raids of the war over Germany, 1945.

The Chin turrets were largely being removed for extra speed as there was no Luftwaffe resistance at this point.

Image Repair & Colourisation - Nathan Howland HowdiColour Image Recovery & Colour

USS Copahee (CVE-12) escort carrier left the Garapan anchorage off Saipan on 8 July 1944 with a load of captured Japanese planes (13 Zekes and 1 Kate) and equipment (37 engines) to be used for intelligence and training purposes, and arrived in San Diego on 28 July.

In the summer of 1944, the U.S. landed on Saipan and captured Aslito Field, a major JNAF installation. There, the Americans recovered a large number of Mitsubishi A6M5a Model 52 Ko Zekes of the 261st and 265th Kokutais captured at Aslito Field on Saipan, in relatively good condition. The best of them, along with several additional engines, were loaded aboard the escort carrier, USS Copahee and taken to the U.S., where the Navy used one of them for evaluation testing and the rest for spare parts.

Photo: Wordpress.com

Image Repair & Colourisation - Nathan Howland @HowdiColour.

A Macchi M.C. 200 of the Regia Aeronautica being loaded with ammunition, c. 1942.

Some very nice shot of a Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver on the ground in 1940s / Photos by Hans Groenhoff
View of Curtiss SB2C-4 Helldiver (BuNo 19951) on the ground with wings folded. You can also see an unknown Pin Up Girl posing on several pictures.
The Curtiss SB2C Helldiver was a carrier-based dive bomber aircraft produced for the United States Navyduring World War II. It supplemented the Douglas SBD Dauntless in US Navy service. The SB2C was much faster than the SBD it replaced. A few examples are extant.
Delays marred its production -- by the time the A-25 Shrike variant for the USAAF was deployed in late 1943, the Army Air Forces no longer had a need for a thoroughbred dive bomber. The majority order of the A-25 was transfered to the US Marine Corps. The U.S.Marine Corps (e.g. VMSB-151 AliBaba) flying out of Enjibe Island, Enewetok Atoll conducted bombing missions on bypassed strongpoints.
Poor handling of the aircraft was another factor that hampered its service introductions; both the British Royal Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force cancelled substantial orders.
Crew nicknames for the aircraft included the Big-Tailed Beast or just the derogatory Beast, Two-Cee, andSon-of-a-Bitch 2nd Class (after its designation and partly because of its reputation for having difficult handling characteristics). Neither pilots nor aircraft carrier captains seemed to like it.
The Truman Committee investigated Helldiver production and turned in a scathing report, which eventually led to the beginning of the end for Curtiss. Problems with the Helldiver were eventually ironed out, and in spite of its early problems, the aircraft was flown through the last two years of the Pacific War with a fine combat record.
Nonetheless, the type became the main USN fleet divebomber by late 1944 and provided the carrier dive and attack squadron complements of numerous fleet carriers and light carriers