Taken by a British combat photographer on 20 May 1941, this photo was edited for propaganda purposes to show a black smoke trail from a damaged Junkers Ju-52 transport. German paratroopers suffered heavy casualties within the first hours of the invasion. Some 400 of the 3rd Battalion’s 600 men were killed before the end of the first day. Germans suffered an estimated 6,000–7,000 casualties during the Battle of Crete, which lasted from May 20 to 1 June 1941.
