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This is an interesting set of dogtags from a german soldier named Walter (or Walther) Unger. He was born on June 26th 1896 in Saarbrücken. So he would have turned 18 just before the start of ww1. The first dogtag is a model of 1878. It still has the original black and white string and it only shows his name. The second tag is a model 1915. It shows his name, place of birth, date of birth and his unit. It still has most of the original string, but it's not as long as it's supposed to be. It did come with a short piece of thicker string, but I'm not sure if that really belongs with it. Maybe an old repair that came loose again? I think it's really interesting to have these two tags together. The soldier probably kept his old tag when it was supposed to be replaced by the newer one. If anyone has any more information about this person, I'd be glad to hear!

Here are two british armbands from my collection. One from the derby scheme and one from the volunteer training corps. The VTC one is in worn condition and has two period replacement buttons. The derby scheme one is in perfect unissued condition and still has the original zinc buttons attached with multiple strands of thread, exactly how it would come from the factory. Both are very nicely marked on the back.

original

Thanks! Yes, I still have quite a bit more stuff I'm going to share (bayonets, some german equipment, inert grenades...). I'm taking a few pictures every now and then and posting them here.

Opinions on this summer tunic eagle- KM or heer?

Looks like tarnished silver to me, if it came on that jacket, it should be silvery. By the way, the buttons on that jacket are not qute right, they belong on the fieldgrey tunics, they should be bright aluminium Gilt Tombak, Kriegsmarine Silvered Zink, Heer

Could be Kenny with lots of patina.

Looks silver to me

Bronze/ Goldish

Thanks! I'll try.

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

Any tips on how to mount a chinstrap on a m16?Got one and it's pretty hard to get the repro strap on it.

Recently got this 1916 dated MK. VII British Ammunition Crate, this particular one made it to the US as it has 2 labels addressed to Rock Island Arsenal. I replaced the 2 carry straps as the originals were pretty much gone. The retaining pin needs a new twine rope as well, but I got it really cheap, so could not pass it up. Several of the original labels are still present and visible, and the crate itself has a stamp in the wood from 1916.

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.

I also have an EK2 with markings on the smaller ring. It's a 1939 version, so I don't know if it would be the same story as the earlier crosses, but it seems like some makers did add additional markings to the smaller ring. I'll post some pictures below. Depending on how it catches the light, the mark on the smaller ring looks like either a fragment of an X, a kind of misshapen M, or some kind of ohm symbol, but like I said it's extremely hard to make out. I posted it to another forum because the makers mark on the main suspension didn't line up with the font of that maker, and I had concerns about its originality...it's stamped "4" which would be for Steinhauer & Lück, but the style of the 4 doesn't look like any of theirs I've seen. The consensus there was that the cross looked original, and might actually be from maker "24" who were apparently known to have mis-struck or faint 2's on some makers marked examples. They also shared some other examples from that maker with additional marks to the smaller ring as well. I would be really interested to get people's opinions on this cross here, but if we agree that this one is original, it would certainly seem like there are genuine examples out there with marks on the smaller rings.

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting here on the forum, so I'll introduce myself. I'm Bram, I'm 20 years old and I collect all kinds of ww1 militaria. I'll continue sharing bits and pieces from my collection, but I'll start with some Mg08 and Mg08/15 related stuff. I have three standard wooden ammo boxes. Two of them still have a lot if original paint and are marked R. Görs & kallmann on the inside. They have some sort of metal shielding on the inside too. I got the third one for cheap, as it was repainted after ww1. I was able to remove all the postwar paint, but unfortunately there wasn't much original paint left. It still looks much better than it did before though. I also have one metal double ammo box also with a lot of original paint and a parking on the lid. The larger box in the back is a transport case for two ammo drums for the Mg08/15. It has a lot of original paint and it even has the original protective pads on the inside of the lid. The small box in the middle is for the hilfslafette. The inside of the lid still has the schematics for the parts that should be in there. The leather strap is marked 1917. The large flat box in the back that says 'Reinigungsmaterial' used to contain all kinds of cleaning materials for the Mg. It has a papercloth handle on the side. The ammo belt is also an original example. It isn't a full 250 round length anymore, but it's still a nice and rare piece. It's nicely marked and made in 1917. All the rounds in the picture are dated 1916 and 1917. They are all deactivated because I can't own live ammo where I live. Hope you guys like it! Greetings, Bram

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.

Fantastic box, what a find!

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.

Thoughts on this medal please

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.

Thoughts on this please gentlemen

Shortened but looks original

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

Gold or Silver?

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

Very Nice

What item in your collection would be your favourite piece that you would not part with, could be that first item you aquired, price or rarity not important anything from a day badge to cloth items or even autographs.

Sorry Paul, I Know I said I would not part with them, but sold them years ago.

Can you post pictures of these?

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?

Another new item, this is a Russian Dyakonov rifle grenade. This grenade and Laucher were developed in March of 1916, the subsequent trails went very well and the impressed General Brusilov immediately requested 40,000 launchers and over 6,000,000 grenades to be fabricated in December of 1916. From what I have been able to gather on this grenade and system was that while production was ramping up, the revolution broke out and production was halted, so it's unclear if these got to see any use. The launcher was kept in inventory updated and modified in the 1920's and was in use up till early WW2 when it was replaced with a more modern system. The grenade was cylindrical with a pointed nose, and there were 2 versions, a smooth body and a segmented body. The grey painted nose indicated a TNT filling. The grenade is 115mm long, and weighs 350g. Last 2 images show the rifle with the grenade launcher and bi-pod (source, internet).

Found this image on the internet, showing how the rifle grenade system worked for the Dyakonov.

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 .

I'm about to arrive home and I'll post a picture of the marking.

Here are some reference links over 13 pages of photos, to some interesting pictures on another forum (milsurps sticky) that members many may enjoy viewing. I wish mg1918 would join here. I also would love to see more of your specimens. Any post cards with Mg08s? Are those cartridges from WW I, please, how about a photo of the cartridges' headstamp . MG08 https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=42631 MG08/15 https://www.milsurps.com/showthread.php?t=42632 On this forum see this amazing post:

can you send detailed photos?

I have one marked with an ,,u" in the exact same spot besides mine I've never seen another EK2 marked on the smaller ring.

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

A collector enquired on a forum about the markings on the scabbard tip of K.98 bayonets, something that had not come to my attention before. On my two examples, there is nothing much to note, the one clc 43 has an illegible marking to the rear of the ball tip, which has some corrosion and light pitting rendering almost completely illegible, I had previously understood this to be a WaA mark. On my other early, almost mint example S/155G, there is simply a rounded indentation to the rear of the tip. The bayonet scabbard in question looks as though it has been post-war re-worked and the tip almost completely ground down and re-blued, the rear bearing a mark, which looks like "GAELE" or "EAGLE", which is puzzling. Has anyone come across marks like these before?

Welcome to the forum Thoran98, I would say it is a MK4 helmet rivets on the MK4 helmets were lower down the side than the MK3 helmets which were higher up. These helmets were produced by three companies. Briggs Motor Bodies Ltd ( BMB ) of Dagenham Fisher & Ludlow Ltd ( F&L ) of Castle Bromwich Ruby Owen Co Ltd ( RO & CO ) of Leeds Looks like the rivets have been replaced by nut and bolts. hope this helps.

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?

Remind of the ammunition boxes in the film "Zulu", the lid attached with screws and the lead foil below.

I would find it hard to let go of my AH formal pattern fork that was taken from the Eagles nest, it came via a dealer direct from the vet with a porfolio of pictures of him and his unit removing the silverware. The sale of the vet's silverware was used to rebuild his local church's roof.

I have two I would never part with. My combined pilots and observer's badge by W.Deumer.....And my Flier's Commemorative badge by C.E.Junker.