Ships lining up for battle, soldiers battling snow and tanks being fired: Extraordinary colorized pictures bring to life the bloody Korean War which claimed the lives of two million including 33,000 US troops
The photographs have been expertly colorized by electrician Royston Leonard, 54, from Cardiff, Wales.
Marines of the US 1st Marine Division watch F4U Corsairs drop napalm on Chinese positions near the Chosin Reservoir; December 26th, 1950. A mushroom cloud spews into the air after US troops fired at their enemies. A vehicle fitted with a caterpillar track like the ones seen on a tank can be seen up ahead making its way towards enemy territory. The soldiers are all dressed in multiple layers and are carrying their bulky equipment which includes a rifle with a bayonet attached to the end of itOperation Chromite in action as American forces land in Inchon harbor one day after the Battle of Inchon began on September 16, 1950. Four LST ships unload men and equipment while high and dry at low tide on Inchon's Red Beach on the day after the initial landings there. LST-715 is on the right end of this group, which also includes LST-611, LST-845, and one other. Another LST is beached on the tidal mud flats at the far right. Note bombardment damage to the building in center foreground, many trucks at work, Wolmi-Do Island in the left background and the causeway connecting the island to Inchon. The ship in the far distance, just beyond the right end of Wolmi-Do, is the Lyman K. Swenson (DD-729). The landings at Inchon were General MacArthur's masterstroke. As Eight Army struggled to maintain fighting room in the southeast of Korea, he had his thoughts fixed upon a possible landing in the enemies rear to reverse the war. The biggest logistical challenge was to have all units, their equipment and supplies, as well as transports, landing ships and craft, and other ships, ready in time for D-day
Airborne troops of the 187th Regimental Combat Team 'Rakkasans'board a C-119 'Flying Boxcar' of 314th Troop Carrier Group for their drop behind enemy lines north of Pyonyang, Korea. It took place on 20th October, 1950 as part of an airborne assault on the North Korean towns of Sukchon and Sunchon which laid 48km north of Pyongyang. The mission objective was to cut off an estimated 30,000 retreating North Korean soldiers and rescue US Prisoners of War believed to be with those forces. Departing from Kimpo Airfield near Seoul, this was the first operation in the history of the airborne that paratroopers would be dropped from C-119, and the first time heavy equipment would be dropped into enemy territory. During this operation 4,000 men, 600 tons of equipment and supplies were dropped. These included twelve 105 mm howitzers, 39 jeeps, 38 1/4-ton trailers, four 90 mm antiaircraft guns, four 3/4-ton trucks, as well as ammunition, fuel, water, rations, and other supplies
A dozen or so American soldiers rush towards a US Army helicopter which landed in the battlefield of the Korean War. A second chopper can be seen behind the one the soldiers are bracing themselves to pile into. One of the troops' comrades can be seen inside the aircraft ready to help his platoon on board. The helicopter is Sikorsky H-19 and the infantry troops about to board helicopters to be transported to front lines, at the 6th transportation helicopter, are the eighth Army, in Korea in 1953
M40 155mm 'Long Toms' of Charlie Battery 'C', 937th Field Artillery Battalion from the Arkansas National Guard, possibly in the area of Yanggu, Gangwon Province, South Korea. Sometime in May/June1951. Every heavy artillery unit (155 Howitzer, 155mm gun, 8-inch Howitzer, 8-inch gun, 240mm gun) was a former National Guard unit. Each had its own nickname for the unit. The 937th Field Artillery Battalion from the Arkansas National Guard was proudly known as the 'Arkansas Long Toms.' The 155mm gun (towed or self-propelled) was known in World War II as 'Long Toms' due to the longer length of the barrel (tube), which made it more accurate and capable of hitting long range (25000 yards) targets. The code name for the 937th over communication lines was 'NEWFORD'. A very popular reference throughout the central sector of Korea during the entire campaign of the United Nations forces was, 'Get me Newford, Operator,' or 'Here comes the Arkansas Long Toms'
US Cpl. James W. Rezek of Lake Andes, South Dakota (rear) keeps a lookout for communist sharpshooters, while Sgt. First Class Ralph I. Rubio of Tuscaloosa, Alabama ducks down to change positions in their trench on Korea's central front in January 1 1952
Massive balls of flames are released from US cannons firing at the enemy across fields in a mountainous area. At least three of the large weapons were set up during this offensive, which involved dozens of American soldiers. The man-made trenches and lines of barricades can be seen protecting the troops from incoming fire as a conveyor belt lines up behind each cannon to load it with ammunition
Two US troops rest their guns on a snow-covered mounds in the Korean mountains. The Soviet Union defeated the Japanese army north of the 38th parallel - the division line between north and south - while the US forces fought in the south. In the build-up to the Korean War, the two regions had their own regions, both with their own governments, and both claimed to be the true government of the entire peninsula
The propellers on this US Army plane spin as four troops make their final checks before it takes off. It is loaded with a number of missiles and bombs ready to be dropped on the enemy
Troops cover their ears as a massive explosion can be seen from a cannon fired at the Korean enemy. South Korea estimated that the number of civilian deaths in the three-year conflict topped 373,599, and said nearly 138,000 of its troops died in the war
US troops trek through the snow during the Korean War. The soldiers are wearing hoods and headwear under their helmets to stave off the bitterly cold weather, which dropped well below freezing during the bloody battles. One of the men has even taken to wrapping what appears to be a homemade poncho around his chest. The five armed troops, one of which is slightly cut out from the photograph, can be seen walking alongside a huge armoured tank
The cannons mounted onto two tanks are fired from their position in the snow in Korea. The American soldiers around the armored vehicles can be seen covering their ears from the blast. It is estimated that 103,284 servicemen were wounded during the three-year conflict, and more than 7,800 US troops remain unaccounted for
More than 5.7million US troops were sent to war in Korea during the three year conflict, and 36,574 were killed, according to official figures. A further 103,000 were wounded during the brutal campaign, which followed the invasion by North Korea of its southern neighbor
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