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Here is my Deactivated WW1 Lewis Gun, this particular version was made for the Belgian Army, under contract from the Birmingham Small Arms Company (B.S.A.) in Birmingham, England. Although the Belgians did have a factory (Armes Automatiques Lewis Company at Liege) they did not make very many as most of Belgium was overrun by the Germans. The British could make 6 Lewis guns for the time and cost of making a single Vickers Machine gun. B.S.A. produced a total of 145,397 Lewis guns during World War I. The sling is a modern reproduction as real slings are extremely hard to come by. Original slings had the padding made from asbestos, so this one has a synthetic padded area that simulates the look. This weapon weighed in at 28 pounds and a fully loaded 47-round magazine was 4 pounds. Still a relatively light weapon compared to the static mounted machine guns like the U.S. made vickers (M1915) which weighed 42 pounds for the gun and another 56 pounds for the tripod. Maxim Machine guns weighed about 75 pounds as well. The big advantage of this weapon was its portability, it could be operated by a single soldier, and keep up with the infantry advances. These light machine guns were prized by the Germans who often would capture them and use them against the Allies.

Hi, I recently found 4 of these brass Lewis gun barrel jacks at an old British weapons depot. They are an armourers tool for removing the cooling fans from the barrel. Seem to be extremely rare as I can’t find any other examples online. Does anyone know what they might be worth ? Thanks

Here is a Bulgarian M36 Helmet, type C, which was the last version to be produced. Initially these helmets were made abroad, but machinery was moved to Bulgaria to allow for domestic production. The type C was introduced in 1939 and is the most numerous of the various models. The helmet is somewhat similar to the German helmets, but smaller, lighter, and a shorter brim. This particular helmet at a size 54, with the original liner, but missing the chinstrap. I found this at a local estate sale, and it was a cheap pickup.

I’ve been looking for a nice example of the eastern front medal for a while now what are your thoughts on this one ?

Here's front and rear of my own nice Ostfront medal

Hi John333, It took me a long time to find a DECENT Ostfront medal. My advice would be to go for the shown medal if the price is reasonable to you as it is quite a nice example. Especially as it has a makers mark on the suspension ring. You can always keep looking for a better conditioned one and upgrade at a later date. So, if you don't have one yet, go for this one with an eye to upgrade at some point in the future. REALLY GOOD examples of this badge do not come up very often, and when they do they are snapped up quickly!

Is this a good one guys and any ideas on the maker ? Thanks

Fritz: The answer to your question "I assume the buttons on the leather crew jacket are probably of gilded glass? " is "No." All the buttons on the black leather jacket in my collection are of two-piece metal construction with a fouled anchor gilt front and the backs are marked BESONDERS HALTBAR 'Particularly Durable' with makers symbol. A black leather jacket like mine with gilt fouled anchor buttons can be seen below on page 263 of Volume 2, Die Kriegsmarine Uniforms and Traditions by John R. Angolia and Adolf Schlicht. Pictured below is the back of a two-piece metal fouled anchor button on my black leather jacket. Note that various manufactured produced buttons that were used in making black leather jackets for the Kriegsmarine. Along with my black leather jacket having metal gilt buttons pictured below, note that this jacket has the Kriegsmarine ordnance mark (Eagle over M) between two fouled anchor buttons. The Kriegsmarine proof mark like the one on my jacket is pictured below on page 265 of Volume 2, Die Kriegsmarine Uniforms and Traditions by John R. Angolia and Adolf Schlicht. The collar of the neck was closed up by a metal clasp like the one below on my jacket. Note the front corner of the low standing collar are rounded and the button holes are reenforced with a narrow leather trim. Pictured is the interior of my jacket, which is lined with wool. Also I have enclosed a picture of the back of this jacket. For further information I havedenclosed page 288 of Deutche Kriegsmarine Uniforms, Insignia and Equipment of the German Navy 1933-1945 by Eduardo Delgado.

Hi Eddie, I'm afraid the serial number is just a batch number so would not identify the U boat. Sometimes you will find the letter N which would identify them as belonging to the German Navy North Sea Fleet. Sorry can't help much more. Here is a list of the makers codes but no list of serial numbers as far as I'm aware. b e h ERNST LEITZ. WETZLAR GERMANY b e k HENSOLDT WERK FUR OPTIK UND MECHANIK HERBORN GERMANY b l c CARL ZEISS, MILITARABTEILUNG JENA JENA GERMANY b m h JIRASEK (not in Walter) PRAGUE CZECH b m j M. HENSOLDT & SOHNE, A.G. WETZLAR GERMANY b m t C. A. STEINHEIL SOHNE, GmbH MUNICH GERMANY b p d C. P. GOERZ, GmbH VIENNA AUSTRIA b v f C. REICHERT VIENNA AUSTRIA b y g JOH. WYKSEN, K.G. KATTOWITZ POLAND b z z I.G.-FARBENINDUSTRIE, CAMERAWERK MUNICH GERMANY c a d KARL KAHLES (telescopic sights) VIENNA AUSTRIA c a g D. SWAROVSKI WATTENS/TIROL AUSTRIA c a u KODAK AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, DR. NAGEL WERK STUTTGART GERMANY c c x OPTISCHE UND FEINMECHANISCHE WERKE, HUGO MEYER & CO. GOERLITZ GERMANY c l b DR. F. A. WOHLER KASSEL GERMANY c l n ED. SPRENGER BERLIN GERMANY c r h FRANZ SCHMIDT & HAENSCH BERLIN GERMANY c r n HANSEATISCHE WERKSTATTEN FUR FEINMECHANIK UND OPTIK, FRIEDRICHS & Co. HAMBURG GERMANY c r o R. FUESS, formerly J. G. GREINER & GEISSLER BERLIN GERMANY c x n EMIL BUSCH, A.G. RATHENOW GERMANY d d v OCULUS (optometrist equipment, possibly gunsights) BERLIN GERMANY d d x VOIGTLAENDER & SOHN, A.G. BRAUNSCHWEIG GERMANY d k l JOSEF SCHNEIDER KREUZNACH GERMANY d o q DEUTSCHE SPIEGELGLAS A.G. (telescopes, lenses) LEINE GERMANY d o w WAFFENWERKE BRUNN A.G. (1943-OPTICOTECHNA GmbH) PRERAU CZECH. d p g ADOX KAMERAWERK GmbH (cameras) WIESBADEN GERMANY d p v ZEISS IKON A.G. DRESDEN GERMANY d p w ZEISS IKON A.G. GOERZWERK BERLIN GERMANY d p x ZEISS IKON A.G., CONTESSAWERK STUTTGART GERMANY d y m RUNGE & KAULFUSS RATHENOW GERMANY d y s HEINRICH ZEISS, UNIONZEISS K.G. ('apparently optical' BERLIN GERMANY d z l OPTISCHE ANSTALT OIGEE GmbH BERLIN GERMANY e a f MECHANOPTIK GESELLSCHAFT FUR PRAZISIONSTECHNIK, AUDE & REIPERT BABELSBERG GERMANY e a w R. WINKEL GmbH GOETTINGEN GERMANY e e d KURBI & NIGGELOH (photographic equipment) RADEVORMWALD GERMANY e s o G. RODENSTOCK MUNICH GERMANY e s u STEINHEIL SOHNE GmbH (telescopes & optics) MUNICH GERMANY e u g OPTISCHE PRAZISIONS WERKE GmbH WARSAW POLAND f c o SENDLINGER OPTISCHE GLASWERKE GmbH BERLIN GERMANY f j t PHOTOGRAMMETRIE GmbH (aerial recon. cameras) MUNICH GERMANY f l n FRANZ RAPSCH A.G. (sights, often subcontractor to Busch) RATHENOW GERMANY f v s SPINDLER & HOYER K.G. GOTTINGEN GERMANY f v x BECK & SOHNE KASSEL GERMANY f w r OPTISCHE ANSTALT SAALFELD GmbH SAALFELD GERMANY f x p HANS KOLLMORGEN GmbH BERLIN GERMANY g a g F. MOLLENKOPF STUTTGART GERMANY g k p RUF & Co., formerly CARL SCHUTZ KASSEL GERMANY g u g UNGARNISCHE OPTISCHE WERKE A.G. BUDAPEST HUNGARY g u j WERNER D. KUEHN BERLIN GERMANY g w v ERNST PLANK NURNBERG GERMANY g x l FRANKE & HEIDECKE (photographic equipment) BRAUNSCHWEIG GERMANY g x p HOMRICH & SOHN (photographic equipment) h d v OPTISCHE WERK OSTERODE GmbH OSTERODE GERMANY h f o VALENTIN LINHOF OHG (photographic equipment) MUNICH GERMANY h k m CARL BRAUN KG NURNBERG GERMANY h n a KORELLE WERKE, G.H. BRANDTMANN & Co. (photographic) DRESDEN GERMANY h r w HOH & HAHNE (photographic reproduction equipment) LEIPZIG GERMANY h w t IHAGEE KAMERAWERK, STEENBERGEN & Co. (cameras) DRESDEN GERMANY h x h A. KRUSS HAMBURG GERMANY j f n TETENAL PHOTOWERK, Dr. TRIEPEL, K.G. (photographic equipment) BERLIN GERMANY j f p DR. CARL LEISS BERLIN GERMANY j n h F. TUTEMANN (lens holders & optical equipment) LUDENSCHEID GERMANY j o n VOIGTLANDER-GEVAERT (cameras) BERLIN GERMANY j u x NEDINSCO, NEDERLANDSCHE INSTRUMENTEN, (vehicle & aircraft instruments?) VENLO NETHERLANDS j v e ERNST LUDWIG WEIXDORF GERMANY j x n HELMUT KORTH BERLIN GERMANY k h c OTTO HIMMLER (microscopes, optical equipment) BERLIN GERMANY k l n ERNST & WILHELM BERTRAM (photographic equipment) MUNICH GERMANY k n a DER ROBOT, BERNING & Co., K.G. (photographic equipment) DUSSELDORF GERMANY k q c JOS. SCHNEIDER & Co., K.G. GOETTINGEN GERMANY k r q EMIL BUSCH A.G. (assembled from foreign components) RATHENOW GERMANY k w c GAMMA FEINMECHANISCHE & OPTISCHE WERKE BUDAPEST HUNGARY k x v A. JACKENROLL GmbH BERLIN GERMANY l a e HEINRICH ZEISS, UNION ZEISS K.G. GOSTINGEN l f n REFLEKTA-KAMERAFABRIK, C. RICHTER (cameras) THARANDT GERMANY l m q CARL ZEISS (assembled from foreign components) JENA GERMANY l w g OPTISCHE WERKE OSTERODE GmbH (assembled from foreign components) OSTERODE GERMANY l w w HUET ET CIE PARIS FRANCE l w x OPTIQUE ET PRECISION DE LEVALLOIS, PARIS LEVALLOIS-PERRET FRANCE l w y SOCIETE OPTIQUE ET MECANIQUE DE HAUTE PRECISION PARIS FRANCE m b v I.G. FARBENINDUSTRIE, A.G.; AGFA (cameras) BERLIN GERMANY m c a FOTOWERK, Dr. C. SCHLEUSSNER, GmbH (photographic equipment) FRANKFURT GERMANY m t q PHOTOCHEMISCHE FABRIK ROLAND RISSE GmbH (photographic equipment) FLORSHEIM GERMANY m t r VOIGTLANDER & SOHN, A.G. (cameras) BERLIN GERMANY m t u A. LORENZ (MTU also used for AEG electrical equipment) GUTENFELD m t v A. LORENZ DRESDEN GERMANY n m s RICHARD HOLZ BERLIN GERMANY n x t S.A.I. OTTICO MECCANICA E RILEVAMENTI AEROFOTOGRAMMETRICI (stereoscopic aerial photography equipment) ROME ITALY o c p AKTOPHOT GmbH (photographic equipment) PRAG-SABECHTLITZ o c v W. KLAZAR (precision engineering; reportedly photographic equipment) PRAG o k c HAUFF A.G. (photographic equipment) STUTTGART GERMANY p v f C. REICHERT VIENNA AUSTRIA r l n CARL ZEISS JENA GERMANY A.G. = AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT; JOINT STOCK COMPANY GmbH = GESELLSCHAFT MIT BESCHRANKTER HAFTUNG; LIMITED COMPANY I.G. = INTERRESENGEMEINSCHAFT; UNION OF INTERESTS K.G. = KOMMANDITGESELLSCHAFT; LIMITED PARTNERSHIP OHG = OFFENE HANDELSGESELLSCHAFT; PRIVATE FIRM (literally, 'open trading company')

Hello all Another new member seeking Historical WWII information. I recently inherited some German WWII memorabilia from a close family friend whose husband just passed away. They emigrated here to Canada in 1980. Their parents and relatives were part of the war effort in Germany during WWII. Her father was in the Luftwaffe and his items are displayed en mass in one photo. Her uncle was in the 5th SS Wiking division and his items are in the second and third photo's. I will be receiving more information and possibly photos when she receives them from her mother who is still alive in Germany. I am not an expert on these types of items however I do have a keen interest in WWII Hx. Any info or referencing to other sources would be hugely appreciated. I am looking to preserve these items in frame along with my families war memorabilia from that era. Thanking you all in advance.

Some of my fathers medals and photo's of him which are either training in Iran or the south of Italy. One of the two.

Now that's a monster of a tank.Thanks for posting. Always been impressed on a visual level by the Char B1 as a young lad into WW2. It was that massive cannon & the fact it had 2 guns that did it for me. Still grabs me now. Photo source Wikipedia

This is a Mk14 bombsight, it’s been refurbished post war though as it has the ferranti gyro fitted to it.

I have decided to display some of my WW1 era Bayonets by using resin made stands that resemble the muzzle of the corresponding rifle. I think it turned out nicely. I am just missing one bayonet now to finish the display, the Mauser Kar98A, which are hard to find and heavily faked.

First of all , can I say thankyou for the membership . I'm currently writing a book on CONTRACTS OF THE USAAF which will give information on equipment and clothing etc used by the USAAF Just a few random photos of my collection , I will, if allowed post more detailed information and photographs

Here is my latest find, a VB Launcher for the US M1917 Enfield rifle. This is the twist on type, with a metal spring band to hold the sight and muzzle firmly while in operation. Un-Dug examples are very hard to find. Near the muzzle of the launcher you can see a knurled band, this was so that soldiers could feel the difference at night or in dark conditions. This version and the version for the M1903 Springfield are virtually identical, the M1903 does not have the knurled band however.

Here is a nice colour photo. Göring, Keitel and Dönitz. Photo stated as taken on 20. April 1944, possibly on an airfield, during a weapon presentation on Hitler's 55th birthday.

I managed to acquire this a couple of days ago I wondered if anyone on here has more information about it. My understanding is that they were given to members of the Afrika Korp upon arrival in Africa ?

Hi Ian, I have info on Pte Ian Fraser 43183 16 HLI He was my other half’s grandfather. Wanted to ask a few questions though, can I message or contact you directly?

Here’s my Luger - 1915 DWM manufactured - all matching numbers complete with hard leather case dated 1916 and two WW1 issue magazines. The Luger has an interesting story behind it which I am researching at the minute and will comment further on when I’ve verified the facts. However, as it stands, it’s a lovely Luger, in great condition, which may or may not be related directly to Passchendaele.

Greetings, new to the forum. Was hoping someone would help me understand the inscriptions on the rear of my Iron cross. Are these campaigns/ dates?Appreciations in advance

Pictured from my collection of Kriegsmarine antiques are the instructions for firing torpedos from U-Boats. The classifications marking for the instruction is 'Geheim!' Secret. This hardcover manual contains five foldouts/diagrams. The foldout below shows the distribution of the fire control devices on a Type IX U-Boat.

Pictured from my collection is a flag of water sports vessels. Kriegsmarine owned sail boats and yatchs were. required to fly this flag. A flag like this one is on page 361 in Volume 3, Die Kriegsmarine Uniforms & Traditions by John R. Angolia and Adolf Schlicht.

Pictured from my collection of Kriegsmarine antiques is a second pattern Reich war flag with Eagle over M (Kriegsmarine Ordinance Proof) Dt. (Deutsch 'German') Reichskriegsfl. 'Imperial War Flag' 100x170 (size in centimeters) marked in ink on flag's bunting. A flag this one is on pages 328-331 of Volume 3, Die Kriegsmarine Uniforms & Traditions by John R. Angolia and Adolf Schlicht. Pictured below is an illustration of a first patter Riech war flag (top) and a second pattern Reich war flag (bottonm) on pages 330-331 of Volume 3, Die Kriegsmarine Uniforms & Traditions by John R. Angolia and Adolf Schlicht.

72 usms: I am not familiar with US submarines and surface ship militaria. My research/collecting is Kriegsmarine/U-Boat service during World War II. I know of no modern day books that address your question for either the United States of America and/or Germany navies during W.W.I/W.W.II., "Any books that show tools and tool chests of WW I or WWII subs?" What I know of tools in my area of interest comes from research . It is my experience that finding hand tools, as well as documentation, is not common. I only own the three tools I posted today, plus a wrench not shown. I would recommend asking this question to the Forum by starting a new category/thread. Sorry I am not of any help. Best regards, John R.

A stupid question, were wrenches like the Ford and American tractor wrenches marked in a special way for sub or ship tools? Any books that show tools and tool chests of WW I or WWII subs?

My Dads WW II USMC photo album found! After 69 years my brother stumbled across my dads missing WW II photo album and K Bar. My dad and his 7 brothers enlisted in 1943 and since he worked on airplanes at Timmerman field in Milwaukee when it was a dirt airfield, he was assigned as an aircraft mechanic. He was on the USS Block Island shown in the photo. It had an all USMC air squadron on the carrier. The album is kind of a disappointment, it has mostly pictures of all his girlfriends, and brothers since all 7 went into the service after Pearl Harbor. The cruising record in the service album indicates he was at Cherry Point NC, Miramar Ca, Oaku- Hawaii, Johnstone Island- Pearl Harbor, Majuro Island, Eniwetok, Gaum, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. He must not have had a camera on board ship. He has pictures of some of his wood models he made and then utilized in the classroom for pilots. He enlisted 16 Dec 1943, and got out in 1946. I am still wondering if the old house has a later album with pictures of his Island work. I remember him telling me he got tired of working on planes so he volunteered to go hunt down Japanese snipers on Iwo. He said it was like deer hunting in Tamerack swamp, except a wee bit more fun. After he died, I got his trunk of goodies: M1 carbine, 45 auto and a Arisaka with mum with his uniforms, 782 gear, and aircraft manuals. Ya, Jar Heads have sticky fingers. But the K Bar and photos were missing. So on the 4th, my brother found the album in some boxes of old photos. It is about 1 1/2 inchs thick with lots of pictures of girl friends and uncles so I will not bore you with all the photos. I was looking for island views, aircraft carrier views, and Corsair planes that are shot up- no such luck. But since Grandpa (WW I) was a Marine, dad (WWII) , and myself (Nam), I consider it a great find. It came so close... my brother generally throws out all old stuff. But he asked me if I wanted the family photos- just by luck, and maybe my dad looking out for me, my brother called and they were saved instead of going into the paper recycle bin at Menominee Falls. Here are a few of the pictures: On the platoon photo, dad is shown in the second row, 5th in from the right. Makes one wonder how many hard ass Marines in that photo survived the war? All volunteers- part of the old generation with balls. Next is some of the girlfriends ( some nice looking gals for 1943) and my mother Marcy, She was 20 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 334th fighter sq. 4th Group 1944 My Ma's brother that crashed his Mustang after gettin shot up by a 109 and a French family hid him in an attic for one month. He could speak only Polish and English. That must have been a time. That age has passed and its hard to believe Dads been gone 10 years, and my Uncle about 7 years.

Pictured from my collection of Kriegsmarine antiques are fine examples of tailored double-breasted greatcoats for an officers(front left) and senior NCO. The officer greatcoat with braid shoulder boards with two gold pips for the rank of Kapitän sur See belonged to Hans Michahelles (1 899-1975). He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the the Iron Cross near the end of W.W.II in 1945 while serving as Commandant of Sea-Fortifications Gascogne and Fortress Commandant Giromdemundung-South.

Recent acquisition. The later version with the belt hook. The ring holder is badly corroded but it’s still holding the ring in place….. just about. Nice manufactures stamp.

I would leave it as it is, it's been that way for a long time and probably adds a bit of character, also nice to see how they are constructed. If you wanted another in nice condition you could always pick one up.

I have not yet picked up one of these. Its on my Wishlist however. Nice examples posted here.

Here is my KM Narvik shield.

nice group

the obvious way to see a fake /space filler is that the original ones had cast names standing up wheras the repro's can only be engraved into. the repro specialists would not consider worth casting the name in individually on a one off basis wheras multiple casting blanks is cheaper. although you call them fakes they are being sold by dealers as space fillers while waiting for the original to come up. Collectors know but unsuspecting family members probably will not until they come to sell them. on the BMF, I keep the plaque list updated , currently there are over 3800 requests for missing plaques for collectors.

Very good. You can even read the full newspaper, all the most important news of the day, apart from "censorship". U-Boot successes around northern Scotland and successful attacks on the south of England, airfields etc., light British bombing raids in the West, little damage, 2 intruding aircraft shot down by naval flak and fighters. This issue was the last daily issue, after which a weekly issue on Tuesdays was planned.

Yes it still has the map inside and it’s just the front cover that is faded. I don’t really want to sell it though I have no idea what it is worth to be honest

Fritz, Thank you again for your knowledge. The ribbon in the background wasn't placed over the 39' cross intentionally, I was sorting through many of my crosses. You say that ribbon + bar is worn with 1914 cross or 1870? I'm in the process of sorting through my father's collection which was passed down to me. I want to make sure all documents, cases, bars ect. Are kept with the corresponding awards. He was more the expert and was teaching me but sadly past before we completed. Here are a few 1870 crosses I have as well. I enjoy the subject and very much appreciate the time you're taking in your responses.

This must be almost unique, there were very few pieces with such detailed histories recorded in engraving. If anyting, there is the place and date of the award, or maybe even the name or initials of the recipient. This must be worth thousands. This is a personalised inscription, rare to find, and even rarer with so much detail. The recipient has had this engraved: Hauptmann der Reserve Ernst Weichmann, Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment 52, Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment 208 - M.G.-Offizier beim Regiments-Stab 1914 Belgien, Sempst(?), Mecheln, Antwerpen, Yser, Langemarck 1915 Russland Bulgarien Jaroslav Rawa Rusla Pinsk 1917 Chémin des Dames 5.V.1917 - März 1920 1915 - 1920 Frankreich Verdun, Noyon-Roye Somme Orléans, Montoire, Cholet, Chateauroux in Französ. Gefangenschaft So, as can be seen, he was finally a prisoner of war (in France), he served as a Hauptmann of the Reserve with the staff of the Machine Gun Company of Reserve-Infantry Regiment 52 and Reserve-Infantry-Regiment 208 on several fronts. He was a prisoner of war till March 1920. This is a very rare find indeed. If there is no paperwork to go with this decoration, at least all the details are inscribed on the back of the cross, so you know who it belonged to and his history. Possible to research even more about this officer. Details would be at the Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt in Potsdam or the Deutsche Diensstelle in Berlin (formerly WA St, Wehrmachtsauskunftsstelle), now Bundesarchiv in Berlin, you can reach them online. Many records were destroyed in February 1945 when Potsdam was bombed for the first time and entirely destroyed, but some records may have survived. There are also regimental histories for most regiments, which were published after World War I, in the late 1920s or early 1930s. You may be lucky to find an original regimental history at a specialised book dealer. The Iron Cross looks like a very good quality. There may be a maker's mark on either the pin or below the pin loop, check this out, and make an extra photo of this. Value: Very hard to estimate, but very high, I would say a good thousand at least. N.B.: Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment 208 was raised on 1. September 1914 in the Braunschweig area, X. Armee-Korps. There is a brief detailed history of Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment 208 found here: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment_Nr._208 Literature: Das Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 208. Fritz Haleck, Verlag Gerhard Stalling, Oldenburg i. O./Berlin 1922 - gibt hier abweichend den Aufstellungsbeginn mit 10. Sept. 1914 an. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment 52 im Weltkriege: Erinnerungsblätter dt. Regimenter, Gerhard Stalling, 1925

Yes that's for sure Kenny. But having said that you get what you pay for, they are sold as genuine but sold for a quater of the genuine article. The trick is to be very wary when buying privatley & always run pics through a forum like this for scrutiny. Here is a fallschirmjager badge I bought a few years back. Cheers Wolf.

Love your VB Launchers. Here is a display of US Rifle Grenades I did for a collector show in 2018.

Captured US Boeing B-17 Bombers.

Here is an early US P-51 Mustang, most likely a "B" model

Captured British Hawker Hurricane fighter.

In the 1930's Coca-Cola was struggling to get a foothold in other countries, with one exception. Germany was by far the most successful location in which the Coca-Cola beverage thrived. In 1939, Coke sold almost 4.5 million cases in Nazi Germany. Reportedly, even Hitler enjoyed the beverage from time to time while watching movies in his private theater. However as the war in Europe got going, tighter German restrictions on imports and what the US would export kind of sealed the fate on Coca-Cola for a time. This however led to development of a new drink - Fanta. Coca-cola production resumed in Germany in 1949. This bottle has the Coca-Cola style script around the bottle, with schutzmarke (trademark) below it. The glass itself is quite heavy, much more so than today's versions. On the bottom are more markings. First is "Ruhrglas 37" Made by Ruhrglas in 1937, followed by 0.2L for the size.

Thanks Guys, Yes he was a very brave man, his medals are displayed at the Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum in Glasgow. My Aunt and my Grandmother presented the medals to the City of Glasgow in 1972. The Lord Provost of Glasgow had lunch with them and it was a very special day. Here is a picture of his medals from Museum, the V.C. here is a copy as they keep the original in the safe. Here is also a painting of my Uncle with his Lewis gun by the artist Duncan Brown, he was kind enough to visit us in the shop when he heard I was one of the few relatives still living in Scotland. He has painted all 14 winners of the V.C. from Lanarkshire. Apparently there are more V.C.'s in Lanarkshire per square mile than anywhere else in the world, as Duncan said, there must be something in the water. Medal entitlement of: Company Sergeant Major Thomas CALDWELL 12th Bn, Royal Scots Fusiliers Victoria Cross 1914 - 15 Star British War Medal ( 1914-20 ) Victory Medal ( 1914-19 ) King George VI Coronation Medal ( 1937 ) Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal ( 1953 ) (Picture - Thomas Stewart) Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum 518 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow G2 3LW

Wow ! - That is a thing of beauty. Envious, not in the slightest

Here is another nice M16 German helmet with the stamp "B.F. 62" B.F. = F.C. Bellinger, Fulda which made helmet shell sizes 62 and 64.

Breast Eagles, M.36 for officers and for all parade tunics Hand embroidered example, fine quality, removed from uniform, minimal wear Machine woven example, flatwire, removed from uniform, minimal wear, slight moth nip Metal breast eagle for white Summer tunic, zink 2 Breast Eagles, M.36 for other ranks field tunic First example, removed from uniform Second example, unused, was found inside the breast pocket of a vey well battle-worn and soiled signals officer tunic, together with an old paperclip 2 Examples of M.40 breast eagles, both tunic removed, some slight wear and fraying to edges where removed. Eagle for the M.44 uniform, unused.