Extremely rare colour photos of U.S. troops before and after D-Day.

Run_to_da_hills

"Extremely rare and striking photos of the days leading up to and after the historic D-Day invasion have been put on display, nearly 70 years after World War II's dramatic turning point.

The full-colour images, taken by photographer Frank Scherschel, display anxious American soldiers as they prepared for Operation Overlord, the code name for the Battle of Normandy. The photos also capture the celebratory tone upon the June 6 invasion’s success".

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2100326/Stunning-rare-colour-images-World-War-II.html

More on this site:

http://life.time.com/history/before-and-after-d-day-in-color/#1

who what when

For some reason the thing that really struck me was how young they all were! Makes you think

Tony EH

It all looks so modern when in full colour. As if it could have been a few years ago.

Run_to_da_hills

Tony EH wrote: »

It all looks so modern when in full colour. As if it could have been a few years ago.

Quality is exceptional for that period in time. They were more than likely using a German manufactured Carl Zeiss lens.

Also note the commandeered BMW R75 outfit and Kübelwagen with US Military insignia.

HavingCrack

who what when wrote: »

For some reason the thing that really struck me was how young they all were! Makes you think

Actually the average age of a US combat soldier in WW2 was 26-not as young as you might think.

The captured Germans on the other hand all look as if they're only 17 or 18 at most :eek:.

Ardennes1944

@OP....thank you

Jawgap

On a related note......

http://pavel-kosenko.livejournal.com/303194.html?thread=22669914 - these may be of interest.

Kodachrome pictures from World War II - the colours are a bit "wow"!!