History

19 Colorized Photos Of Aviators (1900s)

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A young man with dark hair wearing a leather jacket is shown in two side-by-side portraits: the left image is black-and-white, and the right image is a colorized version of the same photo.
Via Colorizedinhistory

These 19 colorized aviators photos are able to transport you back in time to when the skies were being flooded by many aviators who were the first to ever do so. Just to put yourself in the headspace of an aviator who took to the sky in a rickety plane that had no sort of precedent to work off of is humbling to say the very least. Let these 19 colorized aviators’ photos serve as their powerful time capsule.

1. Wally Funk, circa 1960s, lifelong aviator and pilot instructor

A smiling woman in a flight suit holds a helmet and stands in front of a U.S. Air Force jet on an airstrip, with the jet’s cockpit open under a clear blue sky.
darthgato

Wally Funk was one of the Mercury 13, which was the select crew who trained with NASA to go to space.

2. French Aviator, Georges Guynemer, circa 1917

A young man in a blue military uniform with medals and pins poses for a portrait. He wears a matching blue cap and has a slight smile. The background is a neutral gray.
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3. Orville Wright, one of the pioneers of aviation, circa 1905

A man with light skin, blue eyes, and a dark mustache wears a black suit, white shirt, and patterned tie. He poses against a plain black background. The image appears to be an old portrait that has been colorized.
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4. Sergeant-aviator, A.M.L.H. Janssen, Royal Netherlands Air Force, 1925

A side-by-side comparison of the same young man in a leather coat: the left photo is black and white, while the right version is colorized, showing his dark hair, light skin, and brown coat against a muted background.
royalace22

5. An aviator in WWI

A vintage portrait of a young man in aviator gear is shown side by side: on the left in black and white, and on the right colorized, revealing blue eyes, a brown flying helmet, and a gray scarf and coat.
exclipse

Trending on The Scroller

6. Aviators hanging around on the USS Ticonderoga

Four men in tan flight suits prepare parachutes and equipment inside a cramped room, focusing intently on their tasks. Military helmets and gear hang on the wall behind them.

7. Pioneer aviator, Glenn Curtis, 1909

A pilot and a crew member sit in the open cockpit of a U.S. Air Force jet with a yellow-tipped nose, parked on an airfield under a clear sky.
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8. Russian aviator, Krisanov, 1910s, WWI

A man in vintage aviator attire stands on a snowy field in front of an early 20th-century biplane with French roundels. Trees and a cloudy sky are visible in the background.
kimblim

9. Alberto Santos Dumont, an aviator pioneer all the way back in the day

A bald man with a mustache wearing a brown suit, white shirt, and red tie sits against a blue draped background, looking slightly to the side with a calm expression.
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10. This aviator had the mustache on point (early 1900s)

A man wearing a light-colored boater hat with a dark band, a suit with wide lapels, a white shirt, and a lavender tie. He has a small mustache and goatee and a flower pinned to his lapel.
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11. Sweden’s first female aviator with the stoic look to end all stoic looks

A person with a serious expression wears vintage aviator goggles and a helmet, with a close-up focus on their face. The background is softly blurred, highlighting the facial details and headgear.
anonymous

12. Melvin Vaniman and Kiddo, the cat that’d survive an airship crash in 1910

A man in a cap and coat smiles while holding a gray cat. Two other men stand in the background, one wearing a hat, on what appears to be a ship or boat.
vorst17735

13. Helene Dutrieu around 1911

A smiling woman with short hair and a blue jumpsuit sits at the controls of an open-cockpit vintage biplane, holding a steering mechanism, with the sky and wings visible in the background.
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14. Anna Leska, Polish RAF ATA pilot, 1942

A pilot in a leather flying helmet and goggles sits in the cockpit of an aircraft, wearing a thick shearling flight jacket and looking determinedly to the side.
anmenenissis

15. Amelia Earhart Gives a Flying Lesson (1933)

A woman and a young girl operate a small model airplane outdoors, surrounded by a group of children dressed in early 20th-century clothing, with some watching attentively in the background.
jaredanderson

16. Pilots and air gunners of the 566th assault aviation regiment

A large group of uniformed soldiers pose for a photo in front of a military aircraft with a red nose, outdoors on a sunny day. Some men sit on the plane, while others stand or crouch on the grass.
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17. Pilots of the 102 Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment in a shelter in front of the Airacobra aircraft in 1943

A group of seven young men in vintage military uniforms stand smiling with arms around each other in front of a large airplane propeller.
kimablim

18. Amelia Earhart with some aviation students at Purdue University in 1934

A group of ten women stand in front of a twin-engine propeller plane, smiling, while another woman sits on top of the plane, holding onto it. The sky is clear and blue.
anonymous

19. A couple of Swedish aviators training with their pistols way back in the day

Three uniformed naval officers stand outdoors; two aim pistols forward, while the third, in white, observes through binoculars. Trees and a blue sky with clouds are in the background.
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Explore more vintage content:

If these restored pioneers left you flying high, check out 20 Wartime ’40s Snapshots From the Homefront, then finally, scope out 17 Vintage Photos of Wartime Love (1930-1960)
—The perfect encore to today’s color-soaked flight deck.

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Meet the Writer


Matt Staff

Matt has spent over the last 8 years as both a writer and editor, working in Seattle and Brooklyn, where he is now based. He loves escaping the tirelessly fast pace of the “Mad Apple” that is NYC by taking walks and runs through parks where he’s able to catch up on the latest tea about society from the city’s ever chatty, always hungry, occasionally maniacal, pigeons. They always have a lot to say. When he’s not taking his urban nature strolls, or dutifully combing the deepest rabbit holes of the internet to find the content that’s worth sinking your mind’s teeth into, he’s likely holed up at a dark-lit dive bar with a new book and/or some friends, or just as easily he could be on the hunt for the next addition to his steadily growing plant family.

These days Matt’s caught up in trying to provide folks as many vivid glimpses into the days long since passed as he can, through fun and engaging collections of hand-picked vintage photos.



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