Gildwiller1918

Here is an image from the US Army Signal Corps Museum, you can see the lamp and battery box on top by the sandbags.

Here are the batteries themselves, most I have are dated Sept-Nov 1918. The last picture shows one in the original wrapping.

Currently I have 4 lamps, which are all in working order, the 3rd lamp (L-R) is still in its original brown wrapping paper. The next image shows how the lamp connected to the boxes. These lamps had a belt clip that could be worn on the operators belt, and just hand held, however the handle was hollow allowing for a wood shaft to be used to increase elevation.

Here is the larger box that held 5 batteries, this could also be worn on the belt, however it is fashioned with a shoulder strap, which allowed for freedom of movement.

Here is the spare battery box that held 4 batteries. It has belt loops on the back side to be worn on the belt.

Here is the single battery box, inside were 2 wood strip dividers that held the battery in place and the quick connect wires ran over the top of the wood to the lamp connection, the big brass circular opening in the picture.

Here is an interesting item, a WW1 era US Signal Corps battery powered signal lamp kit. I love oddball items such as this by the way. So this kit was used pre-WW1 and probably would have been used into WW1 if not for advances in radio and field telephones. Although this and other obsolete items were still in the manuals of the time, realistically it most likely was not used in WW1. This kit typically consists of a leather belt and suspenders, a small leather box capable of holding 1 battery and a key switch, this was used to communicate Morse. Additionally a spare battery box was worn that held 4 extra batteries, and sometimes a larger shoulder strap leather box could be used that held 5 batteries and had a lamp hook up and signal key (shown on back of mannequin). I got this kit complete in the original packing crate, which held 4 lamps, and several leather straps, as well as extra batteries, which were wrapped in paper, and spare bulbs (these are particular hard to find spares for). The batteries were 3 volt and lasted about an hour if constantly used. I did test one of the original batteries, added water and charged it, and it still worked!

Here is a WW1 Era shell casing for the 121.92mm FeldHaubitze. This gun was developed by Krupp in Germany, and the French company Schneider also supplied a similar gun of the same caliber for the Russian Army. The gun itself was designated the M1909.

Here is the WW1 7.7cm, which was a rapid fire field gun similar the French "75". The German forces valued the mobility of these guns during advances, however when the front lines were stabilized these guns were not very effective. Interestingly enough these guns were used in some fashion or another up till 1945. The St mark at the top stood for strengthened case.

Here is another WW1 shell casing, this one is for the 15 cm sFH 13. The field howitzer used short brass casings and about 3000 guns were made up till 1918. These guns gave the German forces an edge early in the war as the allies did not have much in the form of equivalent weaponry.

Here is a WW1 era 8cm shell casing. This was used on the 8.0 cm Zug-Flak gun, made by Krupp, the shells were made by Fritz Neumeyer (the circled FN on the case). These guns were developed in 1917 as the need for anti-aircraft weapons became a necessity. Last image is from the internet showing the gun itself. This is not the famous "88", however more of a precursor.

Here is a WW1 era shell casing for the 15 cm/45 (5.9") SK L/45 naval gun. These casings weighed 22.6 kilos filled and the shell itself weighed 45.3 kilos. I got this shell casing from a museum that was clearing out some of their inventory. These naval guns were a secondary armament on battleships and battlecruisers as well as on most cruisers, however towards the latter half of the war, a lot of these were removed to be used on land.

Here is a WW1 era 13.5 cm shell casing which was used on the 13cm L/35 Kanone M1909. Last image is off the internet, showing the gun in action and the shell being loaded.

Here is a WW1 era, 105mm or 10.5cm shell casing which was most likely used on the 10.5 cm SK L/45 The markings include: Karlsruhe 485 Patronen Fabrik Karlsruhe Juni 1917 Sp255 which was an inspection mark for Karlsruhe / Spandau

My thoughts as well Leon, I have seen some WW2 era South African helmets with similar chin strap attachments.