American Paratrooper Before D-Day

Image size: 1279 x 1600 pixel. 384 KB
Date: Monday, 5 June 1944
Place: Greenham Common Airfield, Berkshire, England
Photographer: Unknown 

Lieutenant Rodney Parsons of D Company / 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (502nd PIR) / 101st Airborne Division 'The Screaming Eagles' was photographed in front of his plane by Captain George Lage, the 2/502 surgeon, at Greenham Common Airfield on June 5, 1944. In this interesting study of equipment, we can see a map case, Air Corps ammo pouches, leg scabbard for M1A1 carbine, assault gas mask carrier, binoculars in case, compass in pouch, wrist watch, M3 trench knife worn in M6 scabbard in front of belt, and white unit identification rag for 2/502 PIR around left shoulder. That night of nights, June 5, 1944, spelled a one-way journey to destiny for the 6,670 paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division who boarded more than four hundred C-47 transport aircraft at various air bases in England. The troopers were superbly conditioned and well trained, but they were totally inexperienced in combat and could not have known what was in store for them.

Source :

"101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles in World War II" by Mark Bando

Soldiers of 502nd PIR Donning the Equipment

Image size: 1153 x 1600 pixel. 440 KB
Date: Monday, 5 June 1944
Place: England
Photographer: Unknown

“Suiting up” - two members of the U.S. 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (502nd PIR) of 101st Airborne Division donning equipment on the evening of June 5, 1944, in preparation for boarding a C-47. Notice the white residue typical of CC2. CC-2 Chloramide or CC2 chemical (to "protect" the uniform) was invented during the 1930’s although wide use impregnating garments doesnt begin really, until early in World War II. The 6,670 paratroopers of the 101st Airborne would be delivered in 432 C-47s, with most troopers jumping between 01:00 and 02:00 hours. The Air Corps called this the “Albany mission.” The 82nd Airborne would begin jumping after the 101st was on the ground, with most of their personnel landing between 02:00 and 03:00. The 82nd was delivered in 369 C-47s. This was known as the “Boston mission.” The drop zones for both divisions were all located in the Cotentin Peninsula, behind Utah Beach and south of the port city of Cherbourg. Although Commonwealth forces deployed their own paratroopers of the British 6th Airborne Division closer to Caen, no American paratroopers were dropped behind Omaha Beach.

Source :

"101st Airborne: The Screaming Eagles in World War II" by Mark Bando

https://foxholefashion.wordpress.com/2016/07/24/reenacting-and-replica-cc-2-impregnated-uniforms-a-pursuit/comment-page-1/

British War Correspondent in Holland (1944)

Image size: 1181 x 1600 pixel. 85,7 KB
Date: Sunday, 29 October 1944
Place: Tilburg, Netherlands
Photographer: Unknown

This picture shows a photographer accompanying the British 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division at Tilburg, Netherlands, 29 October 1944. He wore the British Cap (Service Cap) with the British badge for war correspondents. For his pants, he wore a Battledress 37/40 Pattern 37/40 with the British Army leggings and boots. He also wore a USA M1942 parachute jacket in ocher color, shoulder pads with sleeves that bear the insignia with the letters "British War Correspondent". The camera is a German photographic Rolleiflex Automat Type 1B or Type 2 with lens hood attached to the lens. The 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. In World War I the 15th (Scottish) Division was formed from men volunteering for Kitchener's Army and served from 1915 to 1918 on the Western Front. The division was later disbanded, after the war, in 1919. In World War II it was reformed as the 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division on 2 September 1939, the day before war was declared, as part of the Territorial Army (TA) and served in the United Kingdom and later North-West Europe from June 1944 to May 1945.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_(Scottish)_Infantry_Division
http://www.panzernet.com/foro4/showthread.php?11073-Uniformes-mezclados/page4

KNIL Soldiers with Captured Japanese Flag

Image size: 1600 x 1121 pixel. 583 KB

Date: Sunday, 1 March 1942
Place: Koningsplein Station, Batavia, Dutch East Indies
Photographer: Unknown

Mix Soldiers (European and locals) of the 10th Battalion / 1st Infantry Regiment / 1st Infantry Division of K.N.I.L. (Koninklijk Nederlandsch-Indisch Leger) after the retreat from Zuid-Sumatra at the Koningsplein Station in Batavia on 1 March 1942. Despite this retreat the soldiers pose triumphantly with a Japanese flag seized between Palembang and Oosthaven. The soldier on the right is wearing the K.N.I.L. helmet with emblem manufactured at Verblifa. The rest of the soldiers are wearing the K.N.I.L. helmet without emblem manufactured at Milsco. At that time, the battalion was commanded by Major de Vries; the regiment was commanded by Colonel Struivenberg; the division was commanded by Major-General W. Schilling, and the overal K.N.I.L. forces was commanded by Lieutenant-General Hein Ter Poorten.

Source :

"The Dutch Steel Helmet 1916-1946" by Kevin de Joode

https://www.kaskus.co.id/thread/54091a8dbecb17e1358b456d/order-of-battle-knil-saat-menjelang-invansi-jepang-ke-hindia-belanda/

Dutch Soldiers Surrender at Lutterhoofdwijk (1940)

Image size: 1600 x 922 pixel. 428 KB
Date: Friday, 10 May 1940
Place: Lutterhoofdwijk Canal, Drenthe, Netherlands
Photographer: S. Pfitzer

Exhausted Dutch soldiers from 2e Compagnie / eerste Grensbataljon - who fought in the casemate 3056 at the 'Goseling' bridge over the Lutterhoofdwijk Canal - surrender to the Germans after heroic defense on 10 May 1940. From left to the right: privates Martinus Vugteveen, Sipke Beetstra, Barend Schuiling, and Sergeant Klaas van der Baaren. The sergeant in the background is equipped with the hemet M.27, while the other three soldiers in the front wear the helmet M.34. Sergeant K. van de Baaren and three of his men succeeded in surprising and halting a German reconnaissance group from a well camouflaged casemate at the Lutterhoofdwijk Canal on the southernmost tip of the Q Line. They were able to hold out for nearly four hours against a force of up to three squadrons of the reconnaisance group from 1. Kavallerie-Division. After the four exhausted defenders had finally surrendered, a further drama was only narrowly avoided. The irritated Germans, who had seen a well-loved officer killed, wanted to put them up against the wall as they had apparently misused the white flag during the battle. Luckily, the local innkeeper reported that he had waved a white cushion out of fear. The mayor of Coevorden, who happened to be passing, was able to convince the German officers that the defenders could not have seen the white flag from their casemate. The incident blew over. This picture was taken by S. Pfitzer and later published in the German magazine "Die Woche" for propaganda purposes.

Source :
"May 1940: The Battle for the Netherlands" by Herman Amersfoort and Piet Kamphuis
"The Dutch Steel Helmet 1916-1946" by Kevin de Joode
http://www.drentheindeoorlog.nl/?pid=45&Duitse%20inval

Fallschirmjäger Soldier during Operation Mercury

Image size: 1160 x 1600 pixel. 655 KB
Date: Tuesday, 20 May 1941
Place: Southern Greece
Photographer: Unknown

A German Fallschirmjäger (Paratrooper) with the rank of Gefreiter (Corporal) in his light olive green jump smock of the early version, armed to the teeth, during Unternehmen Merkur (Operation Mercury), German invasion of the Crete Island in Greece, May 1941. Unternehmen Merkur began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany began an airborne invasion of Crete. Greek and other Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, defended the island. After one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered heavy casualties and the Allied troops were confident that they would defeat the invasion. The next day, through communication failures, Allied tactical hesitation and German offensive operations, Maleme Airfield in western Crete fell, enabling the Germans to land reinforcements and overwhelm the defensive positions on the north of the island. Allied forces withdrew to the south coast. More than half were evacuated by the British Royal Navy and the remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan resistance. The defence of Crete evolved into a costly naval engagement; by the end of the campaign the Royal Navy's eastern Mediterranean strength had been reduced to only two battleships and three cruisers. This picture was first published in a very heavily illustrated book, 'Fliegende Front' (Flying Front), as written by Hauptmann Walter Eberhard Freiherr von Medem, and published by Verlag Die Wehrmacht in Berlin, Germany, in 1942. The book must be regarded as typical propaganda material to show the German population how well the war was progressing. ‘Die Wehmacht’ published a series of other propaganda books during the war. They also released sets of photo postcards from the war.

Source :
https://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2019/02/german-fallschirmjager-during-operation.html

Maneuvers of British Armored Division

Image size: 1106 x 1600 pixel. 531 KB
Date: Tuesday, 29 September 1942
Place: Malton, Yorkshire, England
Photographer: Unknown

Malton in Yorkshire, 29 September 1942. Maneuvers of the 42nd Armored Division. On the right is General Sir Bernard Paget (Commander of the Territorial Forces), who takes the top of the two pieces with his greenish color and brown pants of the Battledress. On the left is Sir Anthony Eden (Minister of Foreign Affairs), who takes the complete set of two pieces and has inserted the underside of the jacket inside the pants. British soldiers usually wear the two piece suit of work (Two piece denim overalls), as it serves as an instruction suit work, a combat uniform in summer, or can be worn over the Battledress in winter. The colors vary from a very light brown to a whitish greenish hue. The Denim Tank Suit itself is a whole plethora of color that varies from green to yellowish-green. This suit began to deliver from 1944 onwards, so what the officer wear in this picture is the two pieces, except the one on the right that carries the Battledress jacket. Denim Overalls is defined by Jean Bouchery in the book "The British Soldier" volume one.

Source :

http://ww2colorfarbe.blogspot.com/2019/01/maneuvers-of-british-armored-division.html