Incredible Photographs That Show World War II in Brilliant & Immersive Color As You've Never Seen Before

A new book has showcased an extraordinary collection of rare color photographs of the Second World War. The publication from the Imperial War Museums (IWM) includes color images, many of them published for the first time.

The Second World War in Colour illustrates the most destructive war in history through rare color photographs from IWM's unparalleled archive. The vivid hues of flames and fabrics, the intense blue skies, the sun-tanned faces and the myriad colors of military camouflage bring an immediacy rarely felt through black and white photography. Striking and powerful, these images take away its remoteness and bring the Second World War to life.

1944 – Lieutenant Vernon R Richards of the 361st Fighter Group flies his P-51D Mustang, nicknamed ‘Tika IV’, during a bomber escort mission.

A German heavy cruiser abandoned in a dry dock at Kiel in May 1945.

April 22, 1944 – British paratroopers prepare for a practice jump from an RAF Dakota based at Down Ampney in Wiltshire.

August 1943 – Nurses and convalescent aircrew at Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Hospital at Halton in Buckinghamshire.

c. 1941 – An Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden inspects damaged buildings in Holborn, London.

December 1942 – An Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) ‘spotter’ at a 3.7-inch anti-aircraft gun site.

July 1944 – The RAF’s top-scoring fighter pilot, Wing Commander James ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, with his Spitfire and pet Labrador ‘Sally’ in Normandy.

Local children crowding aboard a Sherman tank of the 3rd County of London Yeomanry in Sicily, August 1943.

Local workers helping RAF fitters change the engine of a Lockheed Hudson at Yundum in the Gambia in April 1943.

March 1944 – Private Alfred Campin of the 6th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry during battle training in Britain.

May 1943 – A crew from the 16th:5th Lancers, 6th Armoured Division, clean the gun barrel of their Crusader tank at El Aroussa in Tunisia.

October 1944 – British soldiers admire the Caryatids on the Acropolis while sightseeing in Athens.

October 1944 – Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery explains Allied strategy to King George VI in his command caravan in Holland.

September 1943 – A 5.5-inch gun crew from 75th (Shropshire Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery, in action in Italy.

September 1944 – Dutch civilians dance in the streets after the liberation of Eindhoven by Allied forces.

February 1944 – General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his senior commanders at Supreme Allied Headquarters in London.

1943 – Lancaster bombers nearing completion in Avro’s assembly plant at Woodford near Manchester.

B-24 Liberator bombers of the 491st Bomb Group, US Eighth Air Force, en route to a target in Germany, 1944.

A Churchill Crocodile flamethrower tank in action, August 1944.

Land Army girls saw larch poles for use as pit props at the Women's Timber Corps training camp at Culford, Suffolk, 1943.

Women producing bullets and cannon shells in an underground munitions factory on the Wirral, Merseyside, 1945.

A wounded British soldier being given a blood transfusion at an advanced dressing station in Italy, October 1944.