Wartime colour picture of a Mk1*
 

Interesting wartime colour shot of Carriers in the UK.

Is the box on the front the long locker which should be on one of the sponsons?


Attachment 104354

Yes, that is the box from the rear left and it is common to see it remounted up front (why waste inside armored space for kit bags).

Can you tell if that is an original coloured photo or, as is becoming more common today, a colourized one? There is a set of WW1 pics that had this done and it's very satisfying seeing grainy black and white photo 'come to life'.

Looks colourized.

I'm not sure if I like the idea of a 20l Jerry Can directly in front of the driver as additional armour. Can't see that ending well!

Wartime Carrier Photograph
 

I can confirm it is colourized. I am no fan of colourizing bw images for several reasons and one of them being that, like this example, the colourized photograph is easily mistaken for an actual colour image.

Here is the original bw image as well as an actual SWW colour photograph.

Judging by the white mark on the Jerry Can, it was most likely for water.

Attachment 104376

Attachment 104377

It relies on the research of the colourizer. It's pretty easy to colourize the sky, grass or a Union Jack, but vehicle colours, unit markings or shoulder flashes are much harder and misleading if wrong.