Airmen of RAF 213 squadron repainting a captured German Ju-87 Stuka.
The squadron participated as part of the British Expeditionary Force; then at Dunkirk; the Battle of Britain and finally in the Middle East as part of the Desert Air Force. It flew Supermarine Spitfires and North American Mustangs. 

Paint-over "job"

British soldiers of the 1st Battalion of The Leicestershire Regiment search captured POWs of the German 6th Parachute Division (6. Fallschirmjäger) in a field near the Dutch town of Soest. 



Kneeling can't run away

HMS Nelson equipped with UP Launchers on her main turrets. Photo shows a UP launcher and its operator.

UP or "Unrotated Projectile" Launchers were 20 round rocket launchers designed to form a protective barrier against attacking aircraft.

Rockets were fired 10 at a time. Once they reached a preset distance from the ship they would deploy a mine suspended from three parachutes via a length of wire. Aircraft that flew into the wires would detonate the mine. The idea was that that launchers could create a aerial minefield around the ship.

However, the minefield was rarely dense enough to provide an obstacle to attacking aircraft. In addition, the slightest wind could disperse the mines over a wide area, even onto friendly ships and even back onto the ship that launched them. Last but not least, the supply of rockets stashed aboard a ship posed a significant fire hazard. During her final battle, HMS Hood took a hit on her boat deck that ignited her UP rockets, causing a large fire.

Though an interesting concept, the weapon was largely ineffective and quickly removed from British ships in 1941 in favor of additional AA guns.

IWM - A 1995/taken from fb