A tent riddled with Nazi bullets, bikinis on parade and a spaniel in a life jacket: Colourized WW2 images reveal what life was like for troops when they weren't fighting on the front line
- Images bring colour to photos showing soldiers while they weren't fighting on Second World War front lines
- Black and white photos were painstakingly colourised by design engineer Paul Reynolds, from Birmingham
- They show bikini-clad women at a parade ground in California and a spaniel mascot on board a US Navy ship
- Photographs also show troops taking a break inside a tent riddled with bullets from a long-range Nazi gun
Fascinating colourised photos have revealed what life was like for Second World War troops when they weren't fighting on the front line.
Images, transformed from black and whites by a design expert, show troops taking a break in a hospital tent riddled with bullet holes from a long range Nazi gun in Sicily.
They also show a serviceman standing to attention next to a line-up of bikini-clad women holding rifles at a parade ground in San Diego, California. Another brings colour to an image of a spaniel called Butch O'Brien, which was used as a mascot on board a US Navy ship in the Sea of Japan in 1944.
The black and white photographs were painstakingly colourised by design engineer Paul Reynolds, 48, from Birmingham.
They show Sherman tank crews watching a boxing match between two soldiers in Sicily and Maoris of 'C' Company, 28th Maori Battalion of the 2nd New Zealand Division performing the 'Haka'.
Other striking shots show animals during the war. An American corporal can be seen aiming a Colt M1895 atop a Sri Lankan elephant, puppies greeting Marine tanksman Private Bruce Rutherford as he returns from Okinawa and Unsinkable Sam, the only cat in the Second World War to have served in both the Nazi's Kriegsmarine and the Royal Navy.
![American soldiers sit inside a hospital tent at Anzio Beach Head in Sicily after it was riddled with holes caused by German long range gun attacks which killed five and wounded eight patients. The Battle of Anzio during the Italian Campaign of World War II started on January 22, 1944](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/09/477211A000000578-0-image-a-62_1513677218395.jpg)
American soldiers sit inside a hospital tent at Anzio Beach Head in Sicily after it was riddled with holes caused by German long range gun attacks which killed five and wounded eight patients. The Battle of Anzio during the Italian Campaign of World War II started on January 22, 1944
![A corporal from the US Army's 30th Infantry Division - based in the San Francisco Presidio - stands to attention with a group of women in two-piece bathing costumes, doughboy helmets, and heels. They are each holding an M1917 Enfield rifle, on a parade ground in Camp George Derby, on the grounds of the California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park, San Diego California. The image was taken on August 1, 1935. Mostly obscured behind the women is the entrance to the expo's so-called 'Indian Village'](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/09/4772118800000578-0-image-a-59_1513677215676.jpg)
A corporal from the US Army's 30th Infantry Division - based in the San Francisco Presidio - stands to attention with a group of women in two-piece bathing costumes, doughboy helmets, and heels. They are each holding an M1917 Enfield rifle, on a parade ground in Camp George Derby, on the grounds of the California Pacific International Exposition in Balboa Park, San Diego California. The image was taken on August 1, 1935. Mostly obscured behind the women is the entrance to the expo's so-called 'Indian Village'
![Butch O'Brien, a spaniel mascot of the US Navy, is pictured on board his ship in the Sea of Japan on January 1, 1944. He had been fitted with a lifejacket with his name on it. Mascots were essentially pets of military ground and air units and naval crews kept to boost the unit's morale](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/09/477211AC00000578-0-image-a-63_1513677221269.jpg)
Butch O'Brien, a spaniel mascot of the US Navy, is pictured on board his ship in the Sea of Japan on January 1, 1944. He had been fitted with a lifejacket with his name on it. Mascots were essentially pets of military ground and air units and naval crews kept to boost the unit's morale
![An American corporal aims a Colt M1895 fixed to the top of an elephant in Sri Lanka in 1914. It is not clear why the serviceman was using the elephant in this way since the animals have never been adopted as a weapons platform by the US Army](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/09/4772118F00000578-0-image-a-65_1513677224940.jpg)
An American corporal aims a Colt M1895 fixed to the top of an elephant in Sri Lanka in 1914. It is not clear why the serviceman was using the elephant in this way since the animals have never been adopted as a weapons platform by the US Army
![Armed German servicemen stand on board a U-boat submarine and pose in front of a dead polar bear in the Russian Arctic in 1943](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/09/4772114A00000578-0-image-a-67_1513677230841.jpg)
Armed German servicemen stand on board a U-boat submarine and pose in front of a dead polar bear in the Russian Arctic in 1943
![Seconds out: British troops take a break from fighting on the front line as they fight each other next to a Sherman tank on August 1, 1943. The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II, in which the Allies took the island of Sicily from the Axis powers, Italy and Nazi Germany. It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian Campaign](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/09/4772117E00000578-0-image-a-70_1513677236999.jpg)
Seconds out: British troops take a break from fighting on the front line as they fight each other next to a Sherman tank on August 1, 1943. The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II, in which the Allies took the island of Sicily from the Axis powers, Italy and Nazi Germany. It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian Campaign
![New Zealand soldiers are pictured using their rifles to fish for trout near the Syrian and Turkish border on July 9, 1942. The black and white photographs were painstakingly colourised by design engineer Paul Reynolds, 48, from Birmingham.](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/09/4772116D00000578-0-image-a-71_1513677246903.jpg)
New Zealand soldiers are pictured using their rifles to fish for trout near the Syrian and Turkish border on July 9, 1942. The black and white photographs were painstakingly colourised by design engineer Paul Reynolds, 48, from Birmingham.
![On hand to greet their master when he returned from the front lines on Okinawa, Japan, were these puppies, Nansi, Shoto, Sake, Zero, Banzai, and Okinawa. Marine tankman Private Bruce Rutherford, of Bristol, Tennessee is pictured cleaning his gun as the animals play on the rock he is sitting on](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/09/4772119700000578-0-image-a-74_1513677253380.jpg)
On hand to greet their master when he returned from the front lines on Okinawa, Japan, were these puppies, Nansi, Shoto, Sake, Zero, Banzai, and Okinawa. Marine tankman Private Bruce Rutherford, of Bristol, Tennessee is pictured cleaning his gun as the animals play on the rock he is sitting on
![Maoris of 'C' Company, 28th Maori Battalion of the 2nd New Zealand Division, perform the Haka war dance for the visit of King George II of Greece, his wife the Queen, his cousin Prince Peter and Major General Freyberg. The location was at an army training camp at Helwan in Egypt in June, 1941](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/09/477211A100000578-0-image-a-75_1513677254712.jpg)
Maoris of 'C' Company, 28th Maori Battalion of the 2nd New Zealand Division, perform the Haka war dance for the visit of King George II of Greece, his wife the Queen, his cousin Prince Peter and Major General Freyberg. The location was at an army training camp at Helwan in Egypt in June, 1941
![A Finnish soldier is pictured with a pack Reindeer on an ice covered lake, near the tiny village of Nautsi, in northern Lapland, Finland on October 26, 1941](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/16/4772117600000578-5194087-A_Finnish_soldier_is_pictured_with_a_pack_Reindeer_on_an_ice_cov-a-15_1513701912987.jpg)
A Finnish soldier is pictured with a pack Reindeer on an ice covered lake, near the tiny village of Nautsi, in northern Lapland, Finland on October 26, 1941
![Two skulls rested on top of a warning sign at the US Army's 363rd Station Hospital at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea during World War II. Also known as quinacrine and mepacrine, the drug atabrine acts against the protozoan that causes malaria](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/16/4772115D00000578-5194087-Two_skulls_rested_on_top_of_a_warning_sign_at_the_US_Army_s_363r-a-16_1513701913247.jpg)
Two skulls rested on top of a warning sign at the US Army's 363rd Station Hospital at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea during World War II. Also known as quinacrine and mepacrine, the drug atabrine acts against the protozoan that causes malaria
![Dinner time: US troops huddle around a M1937 Field Range cooker while Sgt Louis S. Wallace of Meadville, Mississippi prepares turkey for Thanksgiving. It is not clear where or when the image was captured](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/16/4772114900000578-5194087-Dinner_time_US_troops_huddle_around_a_M1937_Field_Range_cooker_w-a-14_1513701912866.jpg)
Dinner time: US troops huddle around a M1937 Field Range cooker while Sgt Louis S. Wallace of Meadville, Mississippi prepares turkey for Thanksgiving. It is not clear where or when the image was captured
![Other striking shots show animals during the war including Unsinkable Sam, the only cat in the Second World War to have served in both the Kriegsmarine - the navy of Nazi Germany - and the Royal Navy](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/16/4772113C00000578-5194087-Other_striking_shots_show_animals_during_the_war_including_Unsin-a-6_1513701912335.jpg)
Other striking shots show animals during the war including Unsinkable Sam, the only cat in the Second World War to have served in both the Kriegsmarine - the navy of Nazi Germany - and the Royal Navy
![A US Marine feeds bananas to a goat, in Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific in 1944](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/16/4772111F00000578-5194087-A_US_Marine_feeds_bananas_to_a_goat_in_Saipan_the_largest_of_the-a-8_1513701912412.jpg)
A US Marine feeds bananas to a goat, in Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific in 1944
![A C-47 Air Transport Command plane flies over the pyramids in Egypt loaded with urgent war supplies and materials. It was one of a fleet flying shipments from the U.S. across the Atlantic and the continent of Africa to strategic battle zones in 1943](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/16/4772111700000578-5194087-A_C_47_Air_Transport_Command_plane_flies_over_the_pyramids_in_Eg-a-7_1513701912407.jpg)
A C-47 Air Transport Command plane flies over the pyramids in Egypt loaded with urgent war supplies and materials. It was one of a fleet flying shipments from the U.S. across the Atlantic and the continent of Africa to strategic battle zones in 1943
![A Coast Guardsman examines his battered helmet after it saved his life on the invasion beaches of France. He was knocked down when a Nazi 30 caliber machine gun bullet tore a two inch hole in his tin hat. He escaped the incident with a minor scratch to the head](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/16/4772118200000578-5194087-A_Coast_Guardsman_examines_his_battered_helmet_after_it_saved_hi-a-11_1513701912599.jpg)
A Coast Guardsman examines his battered helmet after it saved his life on the invasion beaches of France. He was knocked down when a Nazi 30 caliber machine gun bullet tore a two inch hole in his tin hat. He escaped the incident with a minor scratch to the head
![British Prisoners of War celebrate their liberation from Stalag 11B at Fallingbostel, in the German state of Lower Saxony on April 16, 1945. From left to right: Private Smyth of Downham, captured at Cherbourg in 1944; Private Ryan of Bradford, captured at Hertogenbosch, 1944; Corporal Beardmore of Cheadle, captured at Arnhem, 1944; Private Still of Manchester, captured at Arnhem, 1944 and Private Greare of Glasgow, captured at St. Valery, 1940](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/16/477211BC00000578-5194087-British_Prisoners_of_War_celebrate_their_liberation_from_Stalag_-a-9_1513701912535.jpg)
British Prisoners of War celebrate their liberation from Stalag 11B at Fallingbostel, in the German state of Lower Saxony on April 16, 1945. From left to right: Private Smyth of Downham, captured at Cherbourg in 1944; Private Ryan of Bradford, captured at Hertogenbosch, 1944; Corporal Beardmore of Cheadle, captured at Arnhem, 1944; Private Still of Manchester, captured at Arnhem, 1944 and Private Greare of Glasgow, captured at St. Valery, 1940
![Revenge: The final victory over Nazi Germany achieved, soldiers and allies of the British, American and Russian armies mimic and mock Adolf Hitler and his ideas on the dictator's famous balcony at the Chancellery in conquered Berlin on July 6, 1945](http://web.archive.org./web/20171220065249/http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/19/16/477211B800000578-5194087-Revenge_The_final_victory_over_Nazi_Germany_achieved_soldiers_an-a-10_1513701912591.jpg)
Revenge: The final victory over Nazi Germany achieved, soldiers and allies of the British, American and Russian armies mimic and mock Adolf Hitler and his ideas on the dictator's famous balcony at the Chancellery in conquered Berlin on July 6, 1945
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