Heavy Gallery

HMS Suffolk

HMS Suffolk, heavy cruiser, the ship that shadowed the Bismarck by maintaining radar contact from the evening of 23rd May 1941 for 31 long hours until the early morning of 25th May. The Suffolk was one of the famous county class cruisers. She is shown here painted in camouflage and patrolling the north Atlantic in the spring of 1941. Date: 1941

© Mary Evans / IBL Bildbyra

Lancaster Bombers ready to take off, 1942

Photograph of an Avro Lancaster heavy bomber at a British airfield, ready to take off, somewhere in England, 1942. Although the engines are already running, one of the aircrew can be seen standing on the port wing, perhaps carrying out final checks. In the background, one can see the other Lancasters of this squadron, also ready to go

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

German Railway gun captured at the Battle of Amiens - WW1

A huge German Railway gun captured at the Battle of Amiens on 8th August 1918 became a source of some Allied controversy. The Australian 31st Battalion effected its capture, but, in the wake of the continued Allied advance, the gun received a large painted inscription stating that the gun had been captured by the British 4th Army (see picture) of which the ANZAC Corps was a component. A thorough investigation was made of the circumstances of the gun's capture - an insightful example of the contested nature of war material involving notions of identity and ownership - before it was finally transported to Australia for public display (AWM Archive). The gun was originally intended for naval use, mounted in the battleship SMS Hessen. Date: 1918

© Mary Evans / Grenville Collins Postcard Collection