WWII tank photos revealed in amazing colour

Coloured photographs of army tanks during the Second World War show just how the arms race to develop the ultimate tank progressed for all sides during this most devastating of conflicts.

Among the spectacular pictures are infantrymen with a tank of the 11th Armoured Division, 3rd US Army advancing through a smoke-filled street in the German town of Kronach in April, 1945.

One shows German artillerymen shooting Soviet tanks on a desolate plain while another shows American troops sitting on a Tiger II tank captured from the Nazis.

An M4A3 Sherman tank of the 11th Armoured Division, 3rd US Army is seen advancing into the centre of the German town of Kronach on April 12, 1945

This German 'Tiger II' was captured by American troops and restored to a running condition. It forms part of a new set of colourised photographs which show army tanks during the Second World War

This German ‘Tiger II’ was captured by American troops and restored to a running condition. It forms part of a new set of colourised photographs which show army tanks during the Second World War

German tanks in the southern Soviet Union in 1941 during the early days of Operation Barbarossa

German tanks in the southern Soviet Union in 1941 during the early days of Operation Barbarossa

A German Panzer III tank and troops in winter camouflage gear in the 'Demyansk Pocket' - the name given to the Nazis surrounded by the Red Army south of Leningrad in 1942

A German Panzer III tank and troops in winter camouflage gear in the ‘Demyansk Pocket’ – the name given to the Nazis surrounded by the Red Army south of Leningrad in 1942

The photos show just how the arms race to develop the ultimate tank progressed for all sides during this most devastating of conflicts. Above, a German Tiger II, Konigstiger - 'King Tiger'. Part of the 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion, it is pictured in Budapest, 1944

The photos show just how the arms race to develop the ultimate tank progressed for all sides during this most devastating of conflicts. Above, a German Tiger II, Konigstiger – ‘King Tiger’. Part of the 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion, it is pictured in Budapest, 1944

Canadian Sherman tanks from the Canadian Governor General's Horse Guards Armoured Regiment in the city of Arnhem during its liberation in 1945

Canadian Sherman tanks from the Canadian Governor General’s Horse Guards Armoured Regiment in the city of Arnhem during its liberation in 1945

US Captain Willard V. Horne, Communications Officer hands the receiver of a mobile radio to Lt. Stanley James. The crew, from 'B' company, have covered their M4A3 Sherman tank in sand while at rest in Alsace, 1945

US Captain Willard V. Horne, Communications Officer hands the receiver of a mobile radio to Lt. Stanley James. The crew, from ‘B’ company, have covered their M4A3 Sherman tank in sand while at rest in Alsace, 1945

A motorcyclist from the Wehrmacht African Corps and a Panzer tank cross the Oued Maarouf River in Tunisia in 1943

A motorcyclist from the Wehrmacht African Corps and a Panzer tank cross the Oued Maarouf River in Tunisia in 1943

The incredible pictures were brought to life by colouriser Royston Leonard, 55, an electrician from Wales.

‘The pictures show the long journey to victory after D-Day and the hard life of the tank crews,’ he said.

‘They are meant to show life of the tanks and crews in war working with the army in battle.’

Mr Leonard said it has taken him more than 60 hours of work spread over weeks of evenings to complete the set. 

James Gordon and Private Rainwater inspect a deserted Panther tank formerly of the Panzer Division Das Reich near Grandmenil, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge, at the end of 1944

James Gordon and Private Rainwater inspect a deserted Panther tank formerly of the Panzer Division Das Reich near Grandmenil, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge, at the end of 1944

Churchill tanks of 6th Guards Tank Brigade carrying paratroopers of the 17th US Airborne Division in Germany, March 1945

Churchill tanks of 6th Guards Tank Brigade carrying paratroopers of the 17th US Airborne Division in Germany, March 1945

The incredible pictures were brought to life by colouriser Royston Leonard, 55, an electrician from Wales. Above, a Panzer division

The incredible pictures were brought to life by colouriser Royston Leonard, 55, an electrician from Wales. Above, a Panzer division

Troops of the 25th Cavalry Recon Squadron (Mechanized), US 4th Armored Division, turning into Rue de la Croix Quillard in Coutances in 1944

Troops of the 25th Cavalry Recon Squadron (Mechanized), US 4th Armored Division, turning into Rue de la Croix Quillard in Coutances in 1944

A group of soldiers stand between a 3rd Reich Panzer VI  and a Zundapp motorcycle

A group of soldiers stand between a 3rd Reich Panzer VI  and a Zundapp motorcycle

Mr Leonard said it has taken him more than 60 hours of work spread over weeks of evenings to complete the set. Above, the 9th SS Hohenstaufen in Normandy

Mr Leonard said it has taken him more than 60 hours of work spread over weeks of evenings to complete the set. Above, the 9th SS Hohenstaufen in Normandy

His aim is to show the younger generation that war was real and not just black and white art like the way some see it.

‘Life is hard and can be short for a tank crew – there at the front of a battle. And as with all armies, any equipment left by the enemy forces gets re-used whenever possible as shown in the pictures,’ he said.

The Panzer III tank was created to fight other tanks. 

However, during Operation Barbarossa – the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 – it was found that the Soviet T-34 tank beat the Panzer III and IV; its ramp shape could survive most German weapons and its 76.2 mm gun could infiltrate the armour of all German tanks.

This motivated Germans to update their models as the arms race for the ultimate WWII tanks continued to the end of the war in June 1945. 

Infantrymen and a tank of the 11th Armored Division, 3rd US, Army, advance through a smoke-filled street in Wernberg, Germany, in April 1945

Infantrymen and a tank of the 11th Armored Division, 3rd US, Army, advance through a smoke-filled street in Wernberg, Germany, in April 1945

German artillerymen shoot at Soviet tanks on a desolate plain in the summer of 1941

German artillerymen shoot at Soviet tanks on a desolate plain in the summer of 1941

M4 Sherman tanks line up in a snow-covered field in St Vith, Belgium as the town is liberated during the Battle of the Bulge

M4 Sherman tanks line up in a snow-covered field in St Vith, Belgium as the town is liberated during the Battle of the Bulge

M4A3 Sherman tanks of the 9th US Armored Division in Westhausen, Germany on April 10, 1945

M4A3 Sherman tanks of the 9th US Armored Division in Westhausen, Germany on April 10, 1945

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