War Photography

Combat photographer Raymond Hurley of the 165th Signal Photographic Company sitting on a knocked-out Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II tank in Osterode, Germany. He is holding a Speed Graphic in his right hand while pointing to a shell hole in the turret's side.

Signal photographic companies included technicians for the maintenance and repair of cameras.

Camera equipment laid out for inspection.

Cameras were used to photograph everything from the home front to combat. Here a cameraman takes the picture of some service troops in North Africa.

Combat camera teams of the 163rd Signal Photographic Company stand for inspection with their still and motion picture cameras set up.

Pvt. James D. Witherspoon (left) and Pvt. Sidney Blau (right) of the 163rd Signal Photographic Company prepare their photographic equipment for inspection. Witherspoon is kneeling next to his PH-104 camera equipment case. A Speed Graphic camera on a tripod is visible in the background.

The only way to see exactly what the Speed Graphic was pointed at is by looking through the back of the camera with no film in it. When the camera is loaded a metal wire frame on the top provides a basic sight for aligning the image before taking the shot.

Signal Corps photographer Sgt. George O. Miehle takes a photo of Sgt. Carl T. Delbridge of the 66th Division in his foxhole.

Second Lieutenant Walter Sidlowski kneels over the blanket-covered body of an American soldier he had just helped rescue from the surf off Omaha Beach. Exhausted, Sidlowski appears motionless. His dripping wet uniform hugged by an inflated life belt, his face tortured and staring as though he is looking at someone but can’t find the words to speak. Behind him the scene carries on, other men work to treat those that were saved while waves churn the waters of the English Channel beneath a vast invasion armada. Yet Sidlowski is still, caught in the moment by U.S. Army Signal Corps photographer Walter Rosenblum in one of the most famous images of D-Day.

Edward Steichen: Born in Luxembourg in 1879 and raised in the United States, Edward Steichen showed a strong interest in art and photography at a young age. He became one of the best-known fashion photographers, shooting for publications like Vogue and Vanity Fair, and was at the height of his career when he gave it all up to become a photojournalist. He went on to photograph World War I. When World War II started, Steichen was 62 years old, and set out to document war once again – specifically United States naval operations. Photo: Aircraft of Carrier Air Group 16 return to the USS Lexington (CV-16) during the Gilberts operation, November 1943.

Lieutenant Commander Charles Kerlee, USNR: Before turning to photography, Charles Kerlee worked in the film industry. By the time Edward Steichen recruited him to be one of the official war photographers for the United States Navy, Kerlee was one of the best-known and most successful commercial photographers in the United States. His assignment during World War II was to document the USS Yorktown and the men on board. Not only capturing moments in the air, Kerlee also photographed everyday moments, including those rare moments of downtime. Photo: Two U.S. Navy Curtiss SB2C-3 Helldiver aircraft from Bombing Squadron 11 (VB-11) bank over the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-12) before landing, following strikes on Japanese shipping in the China Sea, circa mid-January 1945.

Lt. Wayne Miller: Wayne Miller was another member of Steichen’s World War II group. He was born in Chicago and attended art school shortly after graduating from high school; however, he left because he didn’t like it and joined the Navy instead. He traveled all over the world, including France and the Philippines, capturing moments of war; indeed, he was one of the first to photograph Hiroshima after the destruction caused by the atomic bomb. During his time in the navy, he took many photographs, with one of the most famous being of an injured airman being pulled from a plane. Photo: Crewmen aboard USS Saratoga lift AOM Kenneth Bratton, USNR, out of a TBF Avenger’s rear turret after a raid on Rabaul on 5 November 1943.

Robert Capa: Born Endre Erno Friedman in Hungary in 1913, Robert Capa was a Jewish wartime photographer known for documenting several different wars, including the Spanish Civil War and World War II. During World War II, Capa captured moments all over the globe from London to Africa to Italy to the Battle of Normandy and more. Indeed, his photographs from Normandy are some of his most memorable, as he was able to capture violence with exceptional aplomb. Robert Capa died in Vietnam when he stepped on a landmine while photographing the First Indochina War. Photo: A field of the dead in Normandy.

Carl Mydans: Capturing life and death and everything that comes with war, Carl Mydans traveled all throughout Europe and Asia, along with his wife Shelley Mydans – they both worked for Life magazine. During the course of taking photos of the war, he traveled over 45,000 miles and captured many devastating moments, including the aftermath of a mass-panic during a Japanese air raid in Chongqing, China. Mydans and his wife were even captured in the Philippines by Japanese forces and were held for almost two years before being released in December 1943. This, however, did not deter Mydans, as he went on to photograph many more wartime situations. Photo: Casualties of a mass-panic during a Japanese air raid in Chongqing in 1941.

Dickey Chapelle: Born Georgette Louise Meyer in Wisconsin in 1918, Dickey Chapelle was a well-known wartime photojournalist, covering everything from World War II to the Vietnam War. During World War II, Chapelle became a war correspondent for National Geographic and was assigned to cover the Marines during the Battle of Iwo Jima. Chapelle was never one to show any fear, always doing whatever she could to document the war. Like Capa, Chapelle also died in Vietnam – a tripwire was triggered and she was fatally wounded with a piece of shrapnel. She was the first American female war photographer killed in action. Photo: Flight Nurse with wounded on Iwo Jima.

Joe Rosenthal: Even though Joe Rosenthal had a long career that spanned over a half of a century, he is best known for one incredible photo, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima. Russian Jewish in heritage, Rosenthal was born in Washington D.C. in 1911 and became interested in photography when he moved to San Francisco during the Great Depression. He tried to join the U.S. Army as a military photographer, but due to his poor eyesight, he was denied; however, he got a job with the Associated Press and was assigned to cover the war in the Pacific. He captured one of the most iconic pictures of the war; indeed, it won a Pulitzer Prize in 1945 and was used to create the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Photo: Flag raising on Iwo Jima, 23 February 1945.

Toni Frissell: Toni Frissell, born in New York in 1907, was known for her fashion photography, portraits of celebrated people, plus her photos of World War II. Before the war, she worked for magazines such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, creating beautiful images of women outdoors; however, once war was declared, Frissell offered her services to the American Red Cross, which they accepted. She later went to work for the Eighth Army Air Force and the Women’s Army Corps, the latter of which she was the official photographer. Her photos highlight nurses, African American fighter pilots and children, among others. Photo: Tuskegee airman Edward M. Thomas of Chicago, Illinois, Class 43-J.

George Strock: Catching the photography bug in high school where he took a photojournalism course, George Strock became a crime and sports photographer. In 1940, he began to work for Life magazine and was eventually sent to cover the war. Assigned to New Guinea, Strock put his life at risk repeatedly – he was nearly killed on two occasions – in order to capture moments that really showed the destruction and devastation of war. The first photo ever printed in an American publication of dead American soldiers was captured by Strock at Buna Beach. Photo: "Three dead Americans lie on the beach at Buna." Taken on December 31, 1942 or on January 1 or 2, 1943. This was the first photograph published in the United States that depicted American soldiers dead on the battlefield. Due to the number of dead bodies on the beach, the Allies nicknamed it "Maggot Beach".

Dmitri Baltermants: Dmitri Baltermants was a Soviet photojournalist known for his photos capturing the Battle of Stalingrad and battles of the Red Army in both Russia and Ukraine. His photos have been compared to those of Robert Capa, as they show the pain and suffering that war causes; however, in his time, his photos were censored by the government – they wanted to control what was shown. It wasn’t until the 1960s that his best work was shown, including his most famous photo titled ’Searching for the Loved Ones at Kerch’ – depicting a devastated women in complete agony while looking over frozen bodies. Photo: Searching for Loved Ones at Kerch.

Margaret Bourke-White: Another female photojournalist, Margaret Bourke-White was the first woman war photographer allowed to enter the combat zones during World War II. She was located in the Soviet Union, Moscow to be specific, when the German forces invaded – she was able to capture the fighting. She then followed the U.S. Air Force in North Africa followed by the U.S. Army in Italy and Germany. Unsurprisingly, she, like everyone else on this list, was in danger repeatedly, including being on a ship that was torpedoed and sunk. Some of her most memorable works to come out of the war were those of the inmates at concentration camps and bodies in gas chambers. Photo: The Living Dead at Buchenwald, 1945.

Evacuated troops on a destroyer about to berth at Dover, 31 May 1940. [Imperial War Museum H1637]

Two experienced pressmen, Lieutenant Ted Malindine and Lieutenant Len Puttnam, were among the civilian photographers called up to record the experiences of the British Expeditionary Force in 1939 and 1940. Both recorded the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk. Their dedication was such that they themselves were evacuated not once but twice from France.

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, just one British Army photographer, Geoffrey Keating, and one cameraman, Harry Rignold, accompanied the British Expeditionary Force to France.

On 24 October 1941, the Army agreed to form a corps of trained photographers and cameramen. The unit was called the Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU).

AFPU photographers and cameramen were recruited from the ranks of the Army. Many had been press photographers or cameramen in peacetime. All recruits had to undergo compulsory training in battle photography at Pinewood Film Studios. Badges and permits were issued after attempts to confiscate film by overzealous British soldiers.

The first AFPU section deployed to North Africa. More men were recruited and deployed to Syria, Palestine, Cyprus and Iraq. Desert Victory (1943), a film formed almost entirely from AFPU footage, won an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1943.

No. 2 Section covered the campaigns in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy, producing a number of successful films, including Tunisian Victory (1944).

On D-Day, 6 June 1944, ten AFPU men from newly formed No. 5 section accompanied the first wave of troops ashore, while others landed with airborne troops by parachute or glider. In the following months, the AFPU accompanied the British Army as it fought its way across Europe.

 

Troops of 3rd Infantry Division on Queen Red beach, Sword area, circa 0845 hrs, 6 June 1944. In the foreground are sappers of 84 Field Company Royal Engineers, part of No.5 Beach Group, identified by the white bands around their helmets. Behind them, medical orderlies of 8 Field Ambulance, RAMC, can be seen assisting wounded men. In the background commandos of 1st Special Service Brigade can be seen disembarking from their LCI(S) landing craft. [Imperial War Museum B5114]

This image of troops of the 3rd British Infantry Division was taken at 8.30am on D-Day and is one a series of acclaimed photographs by Sergeant Jimmy Mapham, who spent most of the day under constant fire.

Despite the tough battles they had experienced, nothing prepared the AFPU for the scenes that they encountered at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp when they entered the camp on 15 April 1945.

In vivid contrast, the AFPU covered the surrender of the German forces in Europe. Many then joined No. 9 Section to cover the ongoing war in the Far East. The AFPU disbanded in 1946.

Since the invention of photography in the early 19th century, war photographers have risked their lives venturing into war zones, in an attempt to document the reality of war with a camera.

Throughout history, particularly during the Second World War, many images were heavily censored and the use of cameras were banned in certain circumstances. Strict rules posed challenges for both the censors and photographers.

Men of the Army Film and Photographic Unit training at Pinewood Studios, Buckinghamshire, June 1943. Two AFPU sergeants give an introductory lecture to trainee cameramen. [Imperial War Museum H30987]

 During the Second World War Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire was requisitioned for use as headquarters for the Crown Film Unit, the Army Film and Photographic Unit and the RAF Film Production Unit.

The AFPU set up a training school for its cameramen there.

A photographer and cameraman of the Army Film and Photographic Unit, Sergeant W A Greenhalgh, uses a daylight changing bag to load his camera during Exercise FABIUS, a training exercise for the D Day landings in Hampshire, England. The photograph clearly shows how the AFPU were equipped for the landings. With only a few minutes’ worth of film to use before they had to re-load, cameramen had to learn to be careful about what they chose to film. [Imperial War Museum H38275]

Sergeant W A Greenhalgh, Army Film and Photographic Unit, with his jeep during Exercise 'Fabius', 6 May 1944. [Imperial War Museum H38276]

The official film and photographic record of the D-Day landings was taken by No. 5 AFPU (Army Film and Photographic Unit) under the command of Major Hugh Stewart. Members of the unit were ‘embedded’ with formations preparing for the invasion. Ten of them went in with the assault troops.

Cameraman Sgt George Laws, accompanying No. 4 Commando, was the first AFPU man ashore, landing on Sword Beach at 07.45am. He was followed shortly after by photographer Sgt Jimmy Mapham with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, Sgt Desmond O’Neill with the 2nd East Yorkshire Regiment and Sgt Billy Greenhalgh with the 1st South Lancashire Regiment.

Other photographers and cameramen landed on Juno and Gold beaches. Sergeant Jim Christie was the only member of the AFPU to go in with 6th Airborne Division, and although parachute trained, he landed by glider.

The men of the AFPU were exposed to the same risks as the fighting troops. Sgt Greenhalgh was wounded by a mortar explosion. Sgt O’Neill was wounded by machine gun fire. In the days and weeks that followed, No. 5 AFPU suffered further casualties, with some killed, including Sgt Norman Clague.

The grave of Sgt Norman Clague, a cameraman serving with No 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit who was killed in action at Amfreville on 12 June 1944. Sgt Clague had covered the D Day landings on 6 June 1944 and was the first AFPU official photographer to be killed in North West Europe. [Imperial War Museum B7298]

Army Film and Photographic Unit photographer Sgt Norman Midgley in his jeep, his official issue Super Ikonta camera at the ready during the assault on Caen, France, 24 July 1944. Sgt Midgley was a staff photographer with the Daily Express newspaper in Manchester before joining the Army Film and Photographic Unit. He served with 5 Section AFPU from 1944 until the end of the war. His assignments included the D Day landings. [Imperial War Museum B7947]

AFPU cameraman Sergeant J H Goddard uses a turret-lensed Eyemo camera to film a German military direction sign attached to the only part of the Hotel Moderne left standing amidst the ruins of Caen, 10 July 1944. [Imperial War Museum B6804]

A rare photograph of Captain Edward G Malindine and his younger brother, L/Sgt William T Malindine (both serving with No 5 Section, Army Film and Photographic Unit) together at Aunay sur Odon shortly after the Normandy landings, France, July 1944. The Malindines are the only brothers known to have served together in the Army Film and Photographic Unit during the Second World War. Both brothers were professional press photographers by training. However, while serving with the AFPU, they carried out very different roles. At this time, Captain Malindine was Officer Commanding, Stills, while L/Sgt Malindine (who had earlier served as a darkroom developer and processor with No 1 AFPU in North Africa), was one of the senior NCOs running the Section's mobile darkrooms. Sgt Malindine took relatively few photographs during the war. However the brothers were often confused with each other. [Imperial War Museum H102750]

AFPU film cameraman and photographer, Sergeant Richard Leatherbarrow relaxes with three former women camp inmates at Belsen. Sgt Leatherbarrow served with No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit and worked primarily as a film cameraman. On D Day, he accompanied and filmed the Canadian forces who landed on Juno Beach. [Imperial War Museum HU48482]

Sgt George Laws, cine cameraman and photographer with No 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit, poses with his cine camera for a final picture before leaving the North West European theatre in June 1945. George Laws served with the Royal Corps of Signals from 1939 until transferring to the AFPU in 1942. Equally at home using a cine or still photography camera, he was posted to No 5 Section during the preparations for the Normandy landings. On D Day, he landed at 07.45am at Sword Beach with No 4 Commando Unit. His cine camera failed early on in the landings, so he concentrated on still photography for the rest of the day. He continued to cover the Allied advance across Europe to Berlin until 2 June 1945. His assignments during this time included the liberation of Belsen. After the war, George Laws worked for the Daily Mirror newspaper. [Imperial War Museum BU8353]

Coast Guard cinematographer Charles W. Bossert shows off the damage to his Bell & Howell Eyemo 35mm movie camera caused by shrapnel from a Japanese mortar on Iwo Jima. Many combat photographers were killed or wounded while trying to get “the shot” and visually document the war.

Navy photographer William Barr snapped this dramatic moment as a kamikaze exploded on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise, May 14, 1945.

Barr also took this shot after a TBM Avenger missed the arresting wire during landing and crashed into parked planes onboard the Enterprise, April 11, 1945.

Corporal Hugh McHugh, shown with his 4×5 Speed Graphic PH-104, was killed by a sniper January 15, 1945 in Belgium.

A German newsreel cameraman focuses on an armored column moving into the Soviet Union. Like their American and British counterparts, German cameramen superbly documented the war.

Emil Edgren shot this image of an American GI with a Browning Automatic Rifle looking at a B-17 that crash-landed in a Belgian field.

A helmetless American paratrooper from the 82nd Airborne Division carrying a tommygun in full gallop across a Belgian field was captured by the lens of Emil Edgren.

A dead German soldier photographed by Emil Edgren.

This photo of General Douglas MacArthur at the microphone was taken by Charles Restifo during the Japanese surrender ceremony aboard the USS Missouri.

Charles Restifo behind his 4×5 PH-104 camera. Although big and bulky, the PH-104 used large-format sheet film that resulted in crisp, detailed photos.

Charles Restifo’s photograph of the desolation at Hiroshima. He was one of the first photographers allowed into the destroyed, radioactive city.

William Wilson’s color photograph of a temporary U.S. war cemetery on the northern coast of Sicily, 1944.

Probably A. G. Yeremenko, Company political officer of the 220th Rifle Regiment, 4th Rifle Division, killed in action in 1942, Voroshilovgrad region, Ukraine, USSR. Photographed by Max Alpert who, during World War II, took a number of iconic photographs at the Soviet frontlines and also documented military events in Prague and Berlin. For his work during the war, he was awarded the Order of the Red Star (1943), the Order of the Patriotic War (1945) and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.