28 Stunning Historical Photos of Women During World War II (22 Photos)

The Second World War ended the way it did, thanks in part to these fragile but courageous beauties. Examples of everyday female heroism are in this post!

Members of the Canadian Army Mechanized Brigades parade after returning home on September 10, 1941.

A Polish soldier in a defensive position among the beach dunes in 1943.

A British Army Women's Auxiliary Territorial Corps ambulance driver stands at attention in France, 1940 (left) British Army Ordnance Service symbol on a woman's ankle. (on right)

Members of the British Army's West Indies Auxiliary Territorial Corps, November 1943.

Two gunners from a London air defense battery track enemy aircraft in the sky, 1941.

A British Army Air Transport Auxiliary pilot signals the crew from the cockpit of a Supermarine Spitfire fighter, 1944.

Women of the US Army's first Women's Auxiliary unit smile and wave from a military vehicle as they depart for North Africa, 1943.

A territorial self-defense fighter learns to neutralize the enemy, 1942 (left). A British Army sergeant instructs a female guerrilla unit, 1941 (right).

A British Army lieutenant gives hand-to-hand combat lessons to the Women's Territorial Self-Defence Unit, 1942.

These Auxiliary Transport Service pilots are among the first women to join the Royal Air Force. The photograph shows pilots heading towards a squadron of training aircraft they are about to deliver from the factory in 1940.

Auxiliary Transport Service pilots run towards aircraft during a training exercise, 1940 (left). In the right photo, pilots are studying a map on the wing of an airplane.

A British mechanic repairs a tank track, 1940.

Soldiers of mechanized brigades push an ambulance from an uneven area, 1940.

A group of American nurses waiting for their morning exercises, 1944. Shortly after the photograph was taken, this group was transferred to the Pacific front.

A woman from the British Ground Observer Service tracks and documents each aircraft sighting, 1943 (left). Well protected from the cold, a fighter of the Finnish army women's unit "Lotta Svärd", 1940 (right).

Lieutenant James L. Munson administers the oath of office to five American women joining the U.S. Army Women's Auxiliary Unit in New York City on October 15, 1942.

Watford Women's Territorial Home Defense members practice aiming their rifles, 1942 (left). The photo on the right shows members of the North Holloway Hospital fire brigade participating in a training exercise in 1941.

Three female air traffic service representatives smoke in 1939. The rules prohibit them from smoking with hats on.

A group of Polish soldiers take a defensive position among the dunes and grass in 1943.

A group of young Red Army snipers in a town in East Prussia taken by the Soviet army in February 1945. The second woman from the left is the famous Soviet sniper Roza Shanina.

Led by Belgian Lieutenant Maurice Delvoye, a group of Belgian women take up arms to help the army, circa 1939-1945. (left). Italian partisans on the Castelluccio front in Italy, 1944 (right).

Lieutenant Lee R. McDaniel takes the oath of office from a group of recruits of the US Army Women's Unit in London on October 21, 1944. These women were among 43 American citizens in London sworn in that day.