Andartes - "Rebels" - who maintained Greek resistance on the island of Crete following its occupation by the Germans, with considerable assistance from British Special Forces but also in the face of savage, murderous countermeasures on the part of the Occupation security services.  

The young man on the left is carrying a Lee-Enfield-type British rifle or carbine.  The elderly man (his grandfather ?) is armed with what appears to be a M1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauer "Greek Pattern" Carbine, a weapon used by the Greek Army from 1903 on that still has enthusiastic fans among vintage rifle and hunting enthusiasts.  If my identification is correct, this carbine is probably a survivor of the Greek-Turkish conflicts that affected Crete, among other locations, around the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.  Probably a better choice than the Lee-Enfield for warfare in hilly districts in particular; it was not too long, particularly light in weight, reliable and pretty accurate.  Best regards, JR.

Cretan Andartes.

In the unique airplane’s mix, included types definitely obsoletes as the Italian Caproni Ca.133 and the British Vickers Vincent, deployed by both the opposing armed forces, Italians to one side, British Empire on the other, during the East African Campaign, 1939-1941, appear also the German-built Junkers Ju 86Z employed by the South African Air Force as “emergency bomber”. They were originally passenger commercial planes purchased, 17 exemplars, by South African Airlines. At the outbreak of the Second World War, for want of anything better, the South African Air Force seized this planes which were transformed in bombers with external bomb racks and defensive guns. The SAAF’s Ju 86Z were initially used for coastal patrols along with the sole Ju 86 K-1 (bomber) and in May 1940 reequipped the No. 12 Squadron SAAF deployed in the East African Campaign against the Italians from June 1940. It flew its first bombing missions on 14 June 1940. As more modern aircraft became available, the SAAF’s Ju 86Zs, returned in South Africa, were passed from some Squadron and last use was with No. 22 Squadron SAAF at Durban, who used it, along with the Avro Anson in the coastal reconnaissance role. The former German-built airliners was phased out in September 1942 replaced by the American-built Lockheed Ventura. Victor Sierra

“Emergency bomber”

Bulgarian pilots with a former Czech Air Force’s fighters Avia B.534 acquired by the Bulgarian Air Force after the disintegration of the Czechoslovakia made by the III Reich. In total, after the Czechoslovakia’s partition, the Bulgarian Air Force bought 78 B-534s from 1939 until March 1942. The airplane of this photo has the Bulgarian Air Force’s insignias adopted in 1941. Victor Sierra