Battle of Naha, Okinawa (May 1945)

The color footage of the Battle of Okinawa filmed in May 1945 by Marine Corps combat cameraman Norman T. Spangler captures the brutal final stages of the Pacific War with striking realism, particularly around the ruined city of Naha. His vivid Kodachrome reels reveal the devastated urban landscape, shattered by relentless bombardment, as U.S. Marines and Army troops push through mud, rubble, and smoke under torrential rain and fierce Japanese resistance. The rare color imagery provides a haunting visual record of the campaign’s ferocity — from tanks advancing past smoldering wreckage to exhausted soldiers sheltering in foxholes — transforming what might otherwise seem like distant history into a vivid and deeply human document of war’s cost at the doorstep of Japan.

Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cgl-sfzgff8

German Infantry Using Luger and Flamethrower

German infantry on the attack with cover by flamethrower in Ukraine, late summer 1941. The soldier in the back is holding a Luger pistol. The adoption of the Luger by the German Army—as the P08, or Pistole Parabellum 1908—played a major part in establishing the automatic pistol for military use. The German Army was so well regarded that their decision to adopt an autoloader influenced numerous other countries to do the same. Photographer: Artur Grimm.

 
Source :
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/soviet-union-ukrainian-ssr-world-war-ii-german-infantry-on-news-photo/548130245?phrase=artur%20grimm
https://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/the-iconic-p08-luger-autopistol/
https://waralbum.ru/371547/

German Flamethrower

A German solider aims a backpack flamethrower across a field of tall grass, Soviet Union, 1941 or 1942. The image was originally published as 'Das Heer im Grossdeutschen Freiheitskampf' (translated as 'The Army in the Greater German Freedom Struggle'), a collection of 50 plus images taken by the German Army's combat photography unit (Propagandakompanie) during the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

The Flammenwerfer 35, or FmW 35 (flame thrower) was a one-man German flamethrower used during World War II to clear out trenches and buildings. It could project fuel up to 25 metres from the user.

It weighed 35.8 kilograms (79 lb), and held 11.8 litres (2.6 imp gal; 3.1 US gal) of flaming oil, (Flammöl 19), petrol mixed with tar to make it heavier and to give it better range, which was ignited by a hydrogen torch providing about 10 seconds of continuous use. The firing device is activated at the same time with the Selbstschlussventil and is inside the protective pipe. The Flammenwerfer 35 was produced until 1941, when the lighter, slightly redesigned Flammenwerfer 41 began replacing it.

This flamethrower, like all flamethrowers employed by the Wehrmacht, was exclusively used by sturmpionieres (assault pioneers); specialist pioneers who were to assist the infantry in an assault, by overcoming natural and man made obstacles for the infantry, clearing enemy fortifications with flamethrowers and then destroying them with demolition charges. The sturmpionieres that exclusively used these flamethrowers played an important part in overcoming French fortifications blocking the German advance during the Battle of France. More specifically the Battle of Sedan (1940).

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flammenwerfer_35
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/german-solider-aims-a-backpack-flamethrower-across-a-field-news-photo/103118678

Sherman Tanks Set Fire to Japanese Aircraft

Marine flamethrowing Sherman tanks set fire to Japanese aircraft in Sasebo, Japan, on November 2, 1945. Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. The city which had 206,000 inhabitants in 1945 suffered severe damage by bombing on June 29, 1945 during World War II and was destroyed by 48%. Sasebo was one of the original 17 targets selected for the dropping of the atomic bomb. After the end of the war, part of the base facilities were taken over by the United States Navy, forming U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo.

Source :
National Archives and Records Administration 127-GW-137979
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasebo
https://www.flickr.com/photos/airandspace/albums/72157715574200936

The M1 Flamethrower

 

 

Camouflaged U.S. Army engineer with his flamethrower, 1941.

The M1 and M1A1 were portable flamethrowers developed by the United States during World War II. The M1 weighed 72 lb, had a range of 15 meters, and had a fuel tank capacity of five gallons. The improved M1A1 weighed less, at 65 lb, had a much longer range of 45 meters, had the same fuel tank capacity, and fired thickened fuel (napalm). Development of the weapon began in July 1940. The first prototype had the designation of E1. The prototype was further refined into the E1R1 model, which resulted in the adopted M1 model in August 1941. These man-portable weapons saw little use in Europe. They were more common in the Pacific, where they were used extensively when attacking pillboxes and fortifications. The M1's unreliability and lack of developed tactics resulted in the failure of the first flamethrower attack on a Japanese fortification in December 1942. The M1 was gradually replaced by the M1A1 in 1943. The M1A1 was replaced by the M2 flamethrower later during the war.

Source :
Bettmann Archive
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1_flamethrower?fbclid=IwAR26fIvT2J84OFfmebNLcph_smlulynrT75k1K4gSZ4QkQRUG7hDmA2zX_k
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=450225342912962&set=gm.1689193411266075

German Flame-Thrower in Action

Flammenwerfer 35 – from a german postcard printed in 1944. The Flammenwerfer 35, or FmW 35 (literally, "flame thrower") was a one-man German flamethrower used during World War II to clear out trenches and buildings. It could project fuel up to 25m from the user. It weighed 35.8 kilograms (79 lb), and held 11.8 litres (2.6 imp gal; 3.1 US gal) of flaming oil, (Flammöl 19), petrol mixed with tar to make it heavier and to give it better range, which was ignited by a hydrogen torch providing about 10 seconds of continuous use. The firing device is activated at the same time with the Selbstschlussventil and is inside the protective pipe. The Flammenwerfer 35 was produced until 1941, when the lighter, slightly redesigned Flammenwerfer 41 began replacing it

Source:

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/articles/in-their-own-words-german-veterans-of-wwii-by-rob-schafer.html