Photographs

View from the Us Coast Guard Cutter Spencer (WPG-36), as it is sinking the German U-Boat U-175 with depth charges on April 17th, 1943. Out of a crew of 54 men, 13 were killed and 41 were taken prisoners. Book suggestions ⤵️ 📖 Iron Coffins: A Personal Account of the …

Matilda I Tank of the 4th Royal Tank Regiment (Scottish) and its driver photographed in France, January 12th 1945. As we can see in the image, the tank is nicknamed DEOCH (meaning “drink”). The 4th Royal Tank Regiment was active between 1917 and 1993. It was captured at Tobruk, Libya, …

Greek resistance fighter is sitting in the mountains and overseeing the valleys during the Axis occupation of the country, sometime between 1941 and 1944. Greece had one of the strongest and most active resistance movements against Axis forces in World War II. Book suggestions ⤵️ 📖 Inside Hitler’s Greece: The …

Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) landing on the Island of Crete, Greece, from Junkers Ju 52 transporter aircrafts. May 20th 1941. A burning Ju 52 is seen crashing from the air, while British ships are being sunk in Suda Bay in the background. The Battle of Crete was won by Axis forces …

SS Kurtulus was a Turkish cargo ship (built in 1883) which was used for humanitarian relief during World War Two, carrying food to Greece during the Axis occupation. A total of 6.735 tons of food aid are said to have been delivered by the ship to the famine-struck Greeks. SS …

An American soldier waves off a US Army Air Force Liberator bomber which had just departed for a raid over Japan (we can see the landing gear receding). The image was taken on September 13th, 1943, at an advanced US base in China, one of many American bases on Chinese …

US soldiers enter the ruined French town of Saint-Lo in July 1944, six weeks after D-Day. 95% of the city was destroyed by American bombardments as the Allies retook it from Germany on July 18th 1944. Due to the colossal damage it suffered, Saint-Lo was subsequently nicknamed “The Capital of …

Church in Foy, Belgium, near Bastogne, pictured in January 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge, and in 2019. In the historical photograph we see a wrecked Panzer IV tank. The village of Foy was made famous by the exceptional TV Mini Series “Band of Brothers”. The Battle of the …

Blindfolded Indian prisoners of war, part of the Sikh Regiment of the British Indian Army, are used as target practice by Japanese troops. British troops discovered these photographs among Japanese records when they entered Singapore in 1945. Each prisoner has a target across his heart and is holding a plaque …

Mechelen transit camp courtyard, Belgium, sometime during 1942 (probably in Autumn). The Mechelen Camp, established in March 1942, was used for gathering and holding minorities. Particularly Jews and Gypsies were detained here before their deportation to other places. It was the only such camp in German occupied Belgium, and it …