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 MG Gunner in Winter Camo

 

 

MG-Schütze from section machine gunner number 1 of a Heer combat team in the Ukrainian village, February 1944. The machine gunner case/pouch usually contains a Kreiskorn (AA sight), spare lock, muzzle cover, two wrenches (big and small), cartridge remover, one or two cartridge belt opening sections, asbestos patch for changing the barrel, and oil bottle. Naturally a gunner could tune his pouch a little if he wished. Photographer: Hugo Jäger

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=226247508965456&set=gm.2747210062212888

Young German Soldier

 

 

Portrait of a young German soldier with a cigarette, around 1941. He wears a nice spring blurred edge carmouflage uniform and helmet cover. No further information

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=408656880403142&set=gm.1637111489807601

Wehrmacht Soldiers After the Battle

After a battle.No further details known

Source :
Archiv für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart
Franz-Paul Peterka photo collection
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2938475636191277&set=gm.1423507071168045&type=3&theater&ifg=1

MG Squad of SS Wiking Division

MG squad of SS-Infanterie-Division "Wiking" (motorisiert) in a village in the area of ​​Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South), 1942.

Source :
Archiv für Zeitgeschichte, Stuttgart
Courtesy Franz-Paul Peterka at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2928069343898573&set=gm.1420020851516667&type=3&theater&ifg=1

SS-Untersturmführer Willi Klein, Adjutant of SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Waldmüller

SS-Untersturmführer Willi Klein, Adjutant of SS-Sturmbannführer Hans Waldmüller (Kommandeur I.Bataillon [motorisiert] / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 / 12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend") in his foxhole near Cambes/Normandy, summer of 1944. Klein (SS number 456 070) was born in 4 August 1921 in Grenzhausen. He started his career in 1.Kompanie / Bataillon der Waffen-SS z.b.V. as SS-Unterscharführer (July 1941), followed by a tour of duty in 2. SS-Infanterie-Brigade (March 1943) and SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 (June 1944). He was killed in action in 1945 as an SS-Obersturmführer and Chef 10.Kompanie / SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25. Photo by Propaganda-Kompanie photographer (SS-PK) Wilfried Woscidlo

Source :
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=196458&p=1766053&hilit=willi+klein#p1766053
http://www.ww2incolor.com/german/D12SSPDHJ_41_2%23.html

Men of the 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" in Normandy

 Junior leaders and men of the 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" in Normandy, summer 1944. The relentless fighting has already left its traces on the young faces. These "Crack Babies" held their position in the trenches tenaciously, defying all attacks by the enemy who was superior in numbers and materials. The division itself was formed around a nucleus of experienced officers and NCOs from the Leibstandarte Division, such as Fritz Witt, Kurt Meyer, Max Wünsche and Wilhelm Mohnke. It would be up to these men to mould the Hitlerjugend into a potent combat unit. They knew how to soldier the Waffen-SS way: aggressively, taking risks to achieve victory. The picture was taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Wilfried Woscidlo

Source :
https://www.tumblr.com/search/12.%20ss%20panzer%20division%20hitlerjugend

SS Hitlerjugend Officers Conferred at Ardenne Abbey

At the building of l'Abbaye d'Ardenne (Ardenne Abbey), regimental command post of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 / 12.SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" in Caen, Normandy, late June 1944. On the left wearing Italian Telo Mimetico M29 camo is the regimental commander SS-Obersturmbannführer Heinz Milius, who was to report the recent battle situation to SS-Sturmbannführer Hubert Meyer (Ia Erster Generalstabsoffizier of 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend", Chief of staff). On the right wearing Demjanskschild is SS-Obersturmführer Bernhard-Georg Meitzel (Ib Quartiermeister of 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend", Supply Officer in the Division staff), while the NCO behind Meyer is SS-Oberscharführer Herbert Reinecker (1914-2007), who served as an SS-Kriegsberichter. He started writing for nazi magazines in 1935 and was a writer for "Das Schwarze Korps" during the war years. He became a famous crime writer for TV series in Germany after the war, and never made a secret about his Waffen-SS membership though. This picture was taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Wilfried Woscidlo

Sources :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/10/album-foto-12ss-panzer-division.html
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=198608
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/325736985524947978/
https://www.ww2incolor.com/german/bs_14_14_1462269s.html

A Young Grenadier from Hitlerjugend Division in Normandy

 This picture was taken in Normandy front (France) in June 1944 by SS-Kriegsberichter Wilfried Woscidlo and showing a young Grenadier from 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" wearing camouflaged cloth and headgear. The division fought superbly throughout the Normandy campaign, its performance a testimony to the training it had received, its leaders and the calibre of its individual recruits. However, its fighting qualities were to no avail in the face of the Allies so-called ‘materialschlacht’, their overwhelming strength in tanks, aircraft, motorised infantry and artillery.

Source :
https://www.tumblr.com/search/hitlerjugend%20division

A Grenadier from Hitlerjugend SS Division Smoking in Normandy

A Grenadier from 12. SS-Panzer-Division "Hitlerjugend" lit a cigarette during a pause in the battle. The picture was taken in Normandy front (France) in June 1944 by SS-Kriegsberichter Wilfried Woscidlo. Described as a "Crack Babies" division, the Hitlerjugend was unique because the majority of its junior enlisted men were drawn from members of the Hitler Youth born in 1926, while the senior NCOs and officers were generally veterans of the Eastern Front. The division, with 20,540 personnel, first saw action on June 7, 1944 as part of the German defense of the Caen area during the Normandy campaign. The battle for Normandy took its toll on the division and it came out of the Falaise pocket with a divisional strength of 12,500 men. The division has been criticized for performing inadequately in the opening days of the Normandy campaign. Following the invasion battles, the division was sent to Germany for refitting. On 16 December 1944, it was committed against the US Army in the Battle of the Bulge. After the failure of the Ardennes offensive the division was sent east to fight the Red Army near Budapest. The 12th SS Division eventually withdrew into Austria; on 8 May 1945, the surviving 10,000 men surrendered to the US Army at Enns.The reputation of Hitlerjugend has been affected by war crimes committed by members of the division during the early battles in Normandy.

Source :
http://www.ww2incolor.com/rating/3.5%3Fg2_itemId%3D1060?g2_itemId=347004

German Machine Gunner in Firing Position

German machine gunner in firing position (feuerstellung/firing position). The Machine gun is Machinengewehr 34 (MG 34). Note the unusual camo of the stahlhelm! In peacetime, the use of grass, twigs, etc. for camouflage may only be authorized by the commanding officer. Smearing the helmet with clay, soil, and so forth is forbidden. In the field (under combat conditions), all possibilities for camouflage are encouraged

Source:
Das III.Reich 43 - Kursker Schlacht