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Thoughts on this medal please

Pictured from my kriegsmarine collection is an emblem and a badge used by the Ubootwaffe as tradition cap insignia. The emblem for the National Socialist League of the Reich foe Physical Fitness( left) was worn as an U-Boat cap insignia by the crew of U-274, as was the Edelweiss gap device of the German Army Mountain Troops (right) by the crew of U-124. Examples of the these tradition badges are on page 77, page 81, and page 83 of 'Torpedo Los! THE FASCINATING WORLD OF U-BOAT COLLECTIBLES' by Gordon Williamson. Pictured from my collection is a U-Boat tradition cap insignia 'Swordfish spearing an enemy sip' for the U-441 being worn by its Commander, Klaus Hartmann (white cap). All 51 hands, including Hartmann, died when U-441 was sunk by Allied depth-charges on 30 June 1944.

Here is my new acquired WW1 Italian Benaglia Rifle Grenade. It is in overall very good condition with small areas of pitting on the main body. This was a rodded rifle grenade used with the M91 Carcano rifle. This is the 2nd model with only one filling hole and stabilizing fins. The range of this was about 130 meters (427 ft) and could be used in both the regular length and carbine Carcano's.

Everything supposedly fake but old fakes maby .EK2 non magnetic one piece, is this cross fake and what gives it away?

This one looks OK

Photos taken at Tverrdalen in 2006 2./I./KG 26 (Löwengeschwader) 1H+FK WNr.3158 29.05 1940 The aircraft in which Walter Neusüß was

they are pretty rusty.

I think I would leave that one.

XCVU, as Fritz said you might have to fiddle with the repro strap fittings to get them to work. Are the lugs clean and free of rust or corrosion?

Hello, does anyone have an opinion on the authenticity of this Iron Cross? It's a 1st class Rudolf Souval.

Update Alexander Married Elizabeth Campbell Baird born 1885 in Govan Glasgow, they were married on the 26 April 1912 and lived at 16 Cogan Street Pollockshaws. They had 4 children Mary Campbell Beveridge born 9th April 1912. George Beveridge born 4th April 1913. Alexander Beveridge born 11th April 1914. John Beveridge born 29th July 1917. This is how they are listed on his Pension Records. Alexander is remembered on The IWM .ORG.UK Lifestory by 2 people. Also on the Hollybrook Memorial Southampton. I also found him on the Roll of Honour of the Citizens of Glasgow, were he is listed twice, first at his Parents address of 24 Bengal Street Pollockshaws were he lived before he got married. and at 16 Cogan Street Pollockshaws were he lived after he got married giving the appearance that they are two different people when in fact they are the same person.

Here is a WW1 Era Italian Vetterli Rifle or Italian Fucile 1870/87/15. Many Nations during WW1 pulled obsolete weapons from storage for use to free up more modern weapons to cover the substantial losses at the front, Italy was no exception. The Italians decided to streamline their logistics by converting the Vetterli 10.4mm rifles to the same ammunition that the Carcano used. The modifications were not too complex and by using these newly modified rifles for rear units, guards, etc. the Italians freed up a lot of the more modern M91 Carcano rifles. This is a very large gun, at 53 inches and weighing just over 10 pounds. It had an internal magazine in which 6 rounds could be stored and used the Carcano 6.5 x 52mm cartridge. During WW1, around 1.3 million of the M1870/87 models were in storage, with many of these being given to the Russians, who were in desperate need of any weapons available. 400,000 remaining rifles were converted to fire the 6.5 mm Carcano cartridge such as this example. Like many other European nations that had colonies, these weapons made their way after WW1 into the hands of native & colonial soldiers to help police their respective empires and were seen in many conflicts including WW2. Barrel is stamped Torino, and dated 1889. It also has an accuracy stamp and a Savoy Crest on the right side of the barrel. The Bayonet is an arsenal shortened version of the M1870 Bayonet; it is stamped TA for Torre Annunziata. Non-Import Marked as well.

Copy

here are backs. What about the badge. Its heavy, could be bronze but seems darker than originals i looked at?

Older dogtags were always issued in pairs, one large one small, in 1916 this was changed to a larger dog tag in two halfs

Opinions on this summer tunic eagle- KM or heer?

Looks silver to me

Do you have any more photos of militaria you might like to post on the forum?

Thanks! I'll try.

You'll have to file the inside of the strap fitting a bit

So what do you think, Fritz? I've followed this thread for a while, and am certainly interested to get your take on the cross above. Does it tick the right boxes for an original?

Thanks Xcvu! Yes, I tested the core and everything and it seems to pass the tests. The core is magnetic, the frame is not, and it does seem to be a multi-piece construction. Not sure how to judge the sharpness of the swastika since it's got some wear to it, and the colour between the chipped swastika and the frame look similar given the tarnishing, but it's difficult to tell. It's tough, I've done lots of research online about these crosses over the years, but I haven't had the chance to handle many that I know are real, so I'm definitely still finding my feet in terms of recognizing all the details and knowing what to look for. It's great to get the input from those who have much more experience with these things.

I'm not a big expert on ww2 ek2's but I don't think there is a big difference between these and their ww1 counterparts. Try checking if the core is magnetic it should stick and then try checking the silver frame it shouldn't be as reactive as the core and you can feel the difference. Also the swastika's edges should be sharp and not dull. On your cross you can see that the color of swastika faded in some points try to compare the color of those points to the one of the frame they shouldn't be the same as it would indicate a one piece construction. While for the markings I did some research and they could be hallmarked just as their ek1 counterparts which may differ from a manufacture to another. Also try to slide a thin piece of paper between the frame and core it should slide in between. Hope this helps you.

Got it 1 year ago and it looked very interesting . It used to be mounted on a medal bar. Even if it was listed as an original I am still not convinced about it's authenticity .

Thank you for the assessment, Fritz! I guess it just has an usual marking.

Here they are. I did the tests recommended in this thread and it does check out.

Hello Fritz. Yes, here they are. I noticed something on the other side too but I can't make it out.

Hello. I hope I am posting in the right place. I have a question about a WW1 Class 2 Iron Cross, if I may. It doesn't have any markings on the larger ribbon ring, but it has a W engraved on the smaller ring. Is this something that can occur on authentic medals of this type?

Here I show an EK2 Spang by the top quality maker Wilhelm Deumer. Wiederholungsspange 1939 zum Eisernen Kreuz II. Klasse 1914 It's a Prinzen size (smaller than the standard one) hence only 2 prongs to the rear rather than the usual 4. Beautiful patina and frosting. This would be really hard to upgrade!

The maker and batch number do not coincide with this being an SS helmet, Heer and Luftwaffe HKP M42's dominate this series.

Hi Alex, I'm afraid these are copies, the Spanish cross was not enameled or screw backed not official issues anyway, but other than that the quality is just not there.

It is indeed, wstevenson, welcome to the forum

KG 26, losses for September 1939, found in a Russian archive.

Can anyone recognise who this Luftwaffe guy is or read the words on the back.It is possible to make out the word 'Fritz' and a strange word which looks like'Afrbrink'(?) Hope someone can help. Andrew.

Here is one of the latest fake SS helmets, quite scary really , refurbished helmet with fake decal.

Here's an A.R.P. Illustrated Practical Guide booklet, I've scanned a few pages you may find of interest. The chapter on Domestic Surface Shelters I can relate to personally. When we moved to Skegness we bought a Semi-Detached house build in the late 1930s, this was in 2002 which still had one of these shelters still standing in the rear garden build of brick and had a concrete roof of at least 5 inches thick, it was a type F as depicted in this booklet and stood about 8 feet away from the house. Next door had demolished their half of it and as far as I know was the only one left standing on the street, there was not much room in side them you could get two people sitting down or four people standing. they were about the size of a small tool shed and that's what I used it for. How practical they would have been during the war I don't know, but if the house had been hit with a 500lb bomb I think the blast would have took the shelter with it. As far as I know it's still there.it was in 2010 when we moved up North.

Hi Colin, Hauptfuhrer would be the equivalent to Hauptmann which is a Captain

Thanks Mr B. I know he would have worn a shoulder board with 2 pips, so i'm thinking Captain ?.

Yes! It has helped immensely! And who would have known? Verra interesting. And today I was given another "mystery item" by my boyfriend who has all sorts of mystery items. I will post it as a separate topic. So, as you have solved this puzzle, I thank you with all my heart for your kindness! Kindest Regards, Joanie

So... the mystery item remains a mystery for a bit longer... actually, I love the suspense! Thanks so much for your TIME and Expertise.

Hi Seeker, bad news I'm afraid my reference books turned up nothing ,however I have a very advanced badge collector coming into the shop next week ,I will ask him if he can shed any light on it.

No Problem! I hope that Hectic means lots of Business! I can wait, no worries.

Chris or one of our other German members should be able to tell us what it says , or even Gregs wife.

Allot of good points raised there, always hard to tell what it says because of the old style script looks like Fritz Thassrbrink or Tessbrink, as Greg says as this is Black and white the chap might not even be a pilot kind of looks red to me for flak but really hard to make a judgement with out seeing any more of the picture such as awards etc to clarify whither he is a pilot or not.

you need to be careful with the date though, it is clearly lighter than the rest of the writing hinting it could have been added later or with a different pen... it also could have simply been an issue with the fountain pen that wrote the script on the back. The numbers are written in proper German style though (a 1 always looks likes a 7 when drawn in correct German style)

It is also dated before the Waffenfarbe change in 1943, so the collar tabs, though black and white in the photo are a light colour. Possibly light blue (medical) or pink (engineers) maybe even light green (air traffic control). Whatever it is, he is not a pilot and of very low rank.

ahh thats a German Name!

Yes I was talking to Mikey a few weeks ago , although I think I might know what it is, just need to check my books when I go back into work on Tuesday.