In Photos: The Second World War in Color

Avro Lancasters of the 44 (Rhodesia) squadron in September 1942 from War in the Air: The Second World War in Color, which includes images of planes and people who flew them for bombing raids over Germany, desert warfare, training and squadron celebrations.

RAF pilots in training with the Embry-Riddle Company at Carlstrom Field near Arcadia in Florida in 1941. Ian Carter, author of War in the Air and senior curator at the Imperial War Museum, said: “Color photography was a rarity during the second world war; film was scarcely available and images were expensive to print. Each photograph has been carefully optimized by the museum’s team of expert restorers to bring back the accuracy, color and detail over the years, which have faded from both paper and memory”

Kittyhawk IIIs of the 112 squadron preparing to take off at a desert airstrip in Tunisia in April 1943