Original color photo of the Greek Battleship Kilkis sunk in the Port of Salamis by Ju-87s on April 23 1941.  Kilkis was a 13,000 ton Mississippi Class ship built by the by the US Navy in 1904-08 and sold to Greece in 1914 along with her sister ship, which was sunk during the same attack.

Sunk

One of very few know photos of a Croatian Air Force’s Macchi MC.202. In particular this photo shows the MC.202 “Black 1” of the Croatian ace capt. Josip Helebrant, eleven victories on Eastern Front, commanding officer of 2/JGr. Kro, at Pleso, May 1944. On Spring 1944 the Luftwaffe delivered to Croatian Gruppe, at Kurilovec airport, sixteen Macchi MC.202s Series XII commandeered by the Germans at Breda factory, near Milan, after the Italy’s Armistice. The aircraft, after the pilot’s operational conversion, was employed against the frequent incursions of Allied aircrafts. At the end of Summer 1944 the Croat Squadron claimed some twenty Allied aircraft shot down. According some sources, not confirmed, at the same time the unit received six further Macchi MC.202s, as well as four brand new Macchi C.205s. But the former Italian fighter was not well considered by Croat pilots who thought its armament too light to effectively attack the American bombers. At the end of 1944 the MC.202s was replaced by Messerschmitt Bf.109G and K. Victor Sierra

Croatian Air Force’s MC.202

Francisco Franco, head of the Spanish Nationalist proto-state, (?) early 1937.  Franco's rise to the top of the Nationalist heap was less than an obvious, let alone inevitable, development at the start of the Spanish Civil War.  At that stage, he was regarded as a largely apolitical figure.  He was, however, recognised as one of Spain's bravest and ablest officers.  He was also perceived as lucky, an impression that was hardly reduced by the fortuitous death of a leading potential rival, General Mola in a (suspicious) aeroplane accident.  A further advantage was that his faction (masterminded by his brother-in-law, Ramón Serrano Súner) proved much better at managing relations with the much-divided ideological factions of the Nationalist tendency, and with the Germans and Italians, than any other potential rival.

Correct me if I am wrong, but this has the look of a contemporary-colourised 'photo.  The medal prominently on the left breast is the Medalla Militar with Bars; no mere honorific decoration, these honours were won by Franco for courageous service during the (almost incredibly violent and costly) Rif War, a colonial war fought by Spain (and, for a time, France) against the Rif people in North Africa.  I am not clear about the significance of the green-and-white sash - perhaps a Spanish friend might be able to enlighten me ?  Best regards, JR.