A selection of colour photographs made during and just after World War Two by Canadian Army photographers. The majority were taken on Kodachrome film--significant, as Kodachrome is by far the most stable colour film, resulting in colours that are just as vibrant today as in 1943 (none of these have been enhanced in the digitization process-- I have seen several from this collection in person!).
The photographs range from staged to very staged, but the view they offer of the kinds of pictures the Canadian government wanted is fascinating in itself. Colour film was still quite rare, as well, and it is clear that most of the shots were chosen to maximize its impact.
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Canadian soldiers and Dutch civilians in a field of wild cabbage. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Airmen prepare for a flying mission in Italy. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Albertan tanksman play a (carefully arranged) card game, France. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Men firing or preparing to fire a mortar. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Canadian tankmen cooking while on manoeuvres. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Italy--this only needs the logo to become a Kodak ad. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Canadian nurses in North Africa. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
An injured soldier strolls with a nurse in North Africa. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Canadians view a church damaged by Allied bombs in France. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Basic training at a park in Ottawa. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Canadian soldiers with a captured machine gun. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Canadian soldiers choosing apples in Italy (the caption doesn't say why). Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
A Russian officer inspecting Canadians. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
A young soldier returns home for Christmas (there are twelve variations of this picture-- straight photojournalism it is not). Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
A Canadian soldier with girls from Armentieres, France (there are a few variations of this one, too). Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Paratroopers in action. Source
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| Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada |
Mortar firing in Italy at night. Source
3 comments:
Kodachrome photos are the best. Always makes the past feel more real.
RE: Russian Officer Inspecting Canadians
That russian officer must be marshal Georgy Zhukov.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgy_Zhukov
Here is another photo from the same period
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zhukov_1945_E010750410-v8.jpg
Second photograph, caption "Airmen prepare for a flying mission in Italy" The aircraft in the photo is a two-place Auster Mark V.The Auster Mark V is a high-wing, single-engine, tail-dragger, fabric-covered monoplane, built during the Second World War. Taking off from grass landing strips, the Auster Mark V flew from various locations behind the front. They flew over the front lines, found targets, conducted reconnaissance missions, assisted road moves with traffic control and route reconnaissance, and, provided VIP transport. Their principal duties were to observe targets that could not be seen from ground and to direct artillery fire onto those targets by radio. The aircraft was flown by Canadian Gunner Oficers.
Given some of the soldiers are wearing tams, they may be Seaforth Highlanders infantry.
With the exception of the pilot, all the other men are ground soldiers, and are probably reviewing enemy ground positions to enhance their attack. The photo was probably not taken at an airbase, nor even an airstrip, as the Auster was capable of operations off-field.
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