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This set could and would have been "one in a million",since the MP40 and pouches (with full mags) had been together since the War and belonged to an Italian Army General who had the lot in his collection of military weapons;only a handful of people have such a license in Italy and they are no more than ten/twenty individuals IIRC. Upon his death his wife couldn't keep the collection and the lot was consigned by the authorities to a friend who owned a small weapons factory where the MP was consequently liberally "castrated" (read butchered!)to render it legal....barrel holed and filled with a rod,the disassembling knob under the receiver and the extractor were welded and the bolt could stay back only by engaging the safety,but at least he has made a clean job on a matching number early MP40. The magazines became part of the factory inventory(they couldn't be detained by civilians at that time!) and instead of butchering the six of them my friend kept five in his own mouth-watering collection and welded the follower of the one that came with the MP.He’d have “demil’d” the other five but they got lost in the warehouse. I managed and get the original pouches (run of the mill "clg"s) with the mag loader though,and that sort of compensated for the butchering!😅

After the initial Blitzkrieg campaigns, the army decided it wanted a number of improvements made to its small portable radiotelephone (see Fuspr.a.1). Although the concept was proven the FuSp.a.1 had a number of weaknesses. The switching between receive and transmit, the weak aluminium casing and the short battery life were addressed by a brand-new design using the new 2.4 Volt valves. Rather than an Anode battery, the new radio received a switched power supply (Wechselrichter) to supply the high voltage to the valves. The volume control and receiver fine tuning were fitted to a remote control unit that could be plugged onto the radio or worn on the belt. At the same time, the frequency range of the new models was slightly adjusted, the new "b" model would operate from 90 to 110 MHz. Like before, the frequency dial was calibrated in channels, this time channels 211 to 240. The new radio was called the "Feldfunksprecher b" (Feldfu.b) and had a range of approximately 1.2 km. With that the channel distance about half that of the Fusp.a.1, two Feldfu.b's operating on different networks should be kept at least 20 meters apart and have at least 2 channels separation. To tell the Feldfu.b apart from other models, a red dot was painted on the rear lid and a red feeler shape added to the top of the casing. The antenna was also marked in red to avoid confusion. The early Feldfu.b's had a 80 cm long two part sectioned antenna: a short antenna rod on the bottom and a longer "whip" section on the top. In 1943 the two part antenna was replaced with a 72.5 cm long foldable "Bandantenne". The bakelite casing of the Feldfu.b still proved too weak, the rim of the casing and the hinge of the rear lid would easily break so in early 1944 a sturdier casing was introduced and with it the Felfu.b1 model. In late 1944 a final modification was made, the electronic circuit was re-designed to contain one less valve, this simplified model was the Feldfu.b2. The Feldfu.b, b1 and b2 models remained fully compatible with each other. Below a comparison of the b, b1 and b2 models: From the front angle, the main identification is the the name of the Feldfunksprecher painted on the box. Likewise on the back of the box: Note the metal two part hinge for the back compartment door introduced with the Feldfu.b1. The b2 reverted back to the one part hinge. The early b-type box on the right shows its typical weakness: the rear lid has broken off at the hinge. From the top view, some changes to the shape of the bakelite box between the b and the b1/b2 models become apparent. Note the red feeler dots on top of the boxes. A comparison of the early b1 two-part antenna and the later foldable antenna. The next two photographs aim to highlight the differences between the early b and late b1/b2 boxes: the early box on the right has a considerably thinner rim than the later box on the left. Also note that on the later models, rubber buffers were added to the box. Another view highlights the thin-rim early b model left and the thick-rim b1 model on the right. The front panels show a slight evolution between the models: The only difference between the b and b1 models is the tag plate for the frequency calibration lock screw (top right of the panel). The B2 model is identical to the b1 apart from the colour change to grey. The back panels show a similar slight evolution (from the left: b2, b1, b) The early b lid on the right has a simple hinge. The inside of the lid has a plate describing how to fold the antenna and what accessories belong to the radio. The b1 model in the centre no longer has the data plate and a modified hinge design. On the b2 model the hinge design reverted back that of the earlier b, but a metal sliding guide was added to prevent the lid opening too far and breaking off. The inside of the detachable front lid contains a plate with the operating instructions for the radio: Although the operating instructions remained the same, different versions of the heading "Bedienungsanweisung für die Feldfunksprecher b, c, f und h" can be found. Early examples only mention the b and c, while later versions mention the b1 etc. This particular lid would be correct for a 1942/43 Feldfu b, c f or h. Each Feldfunksprecher was supplied with a number of accessories: Here the accessories for the Feldfu.b1 are shown: 2,4NC28 battery (2,4 Volt, Nickel Cadmium, 28 Ah); a lumbar support, foldable antenna, Dfh.f headphones and Kmf.c throat microphone and remote control cable. The battery was connect to the battery leads of the radio, these were shaped so that they could not be switched between + and -: Note how the shape of the positive contact prevents it to be connected to the minus side. The battery slides into the battery compartment and is secured with a webbing strap: Note how on the b1 model, the double hinge allows the rear lid to be folded underneath the radio. Doing this with the the early b lid would cause it to break off. The rest of the accessories tightly fit into the bottom compartment: To prepare the Feldfunksprecher for operation, the accessories are attached: Note how the cable from the headphones and microphone are held to the remote control cable with leather straps, this prevents the cables from snagging to other equipment worn by the infantryman. The Feldfunksprecher would be supported by the standard "Y-straps" of the infantryman with the lumber support held to the belt with leather loops. The infantryman's "A-frame" could be attached to the back of the Feldfunksprecher: A number of manuals and documents were supplied with the Feldfunkspecher: For those interested in the technology contained in the Feldfunksprecher, here is the circuit diagram: During reception, valve 1 serves as the HF amplifier stage, valve 2 as the oscillator/detector (superregenerative receiver) and valve 3 as audio ampllfier. During transmission, valve 3 serves a microphone amplifier with valve 2 as HF oscillator/power valve while valve 1 acts as a feedback amplifier. Also note that the receiver fine tuning uses an electromechanical drive to adjust a small capacitor. The supply voltage to this drive is controlled by a voltage regulator (EW = Eisen Wasserstoff Wiederstand = Iron hydrogen resistor) resembling a small lamp. If this resistor is missing or replaced with an ordinary lamp, the remote control drive will burn out. So never operate a Feldfunksprecher without first checking that the correct voltage regulator is in place! In the later b2 model, the audio amplifier valve was omitted: Due to the omission of the low frequency amplifier stage, the Feldfu.b2 had a slightly reduced range from 1200 to 800 meters. The reduced range was however offset by a much longer battery life (roughly 50% longer) and a slight reduction in manufacturing cost and time. Note: The development of the Feldfu.b2 demonstrates a key difference in the portable radio design philosophies between the German and particularly the US army. The Germans pushed their designs to achieve maximum battery life while the US pushed the levels of technical sophistication (using FM, AFC, squelch circuits etc.). This reflects the differences in the logistical situation faced by the German and US armies; the radio battery supply demands for a US unit were no doubt a multitude of those of a comparable German unit. The Feldfunksprechers were designed to be used by relatively untrained operators, they were typically carried by a runner staying in shouting distance to the unit commander. In some cases, unit commanders can be seen carrying the Feldfunksprecher themselves. Simple cartoon like instructions taught the operator the basic do's and don'ts: The final pictures give an impression of a "Sprechfunker" an infantryman carrying the Feldfunksprecher: He carries all the normal equipment of an infantryman. He has replaced his left hand ammunition pouch for a belt loop to make some space for the remote control of the radio. With the switchbox of the throat microphone he can switch between receive and transmit while the remote control allow him to adjust the volume and fine tune the receiver. The Feldfunksprecher is attached to the belt and the Y-straps. All the normal infantry equipment can still be carried as normal. Normally the front lid would be fitted to the radio, the Sprechfunker is carrying the lid under his Y-strap until it can be refitted. Note how the remote control cable plugs into the radio. The A-frame is strapped to the back of the Feldfunksprecher. The infantryman has to be a bit careful shouldering his rifle but it just about fits next to the radio. The infantryman is now ready for his mission The Feldfu. b is probably the most common of the Feldfunksprecher types found today. This is not surprising as every infantry company had four Feldfu.b's assigned to it. The Company commander could assign the Feldfunksprechers to his individual platoons as he saw fit. In defence the Feldfunksprechers were often use to back up important field telephone lines while during fast moving battles the Feldfunksprechers would become the main means of communication in the Company. For security the operators would use code words for important commands, terrain features, commander names etc. These code words could be written with pencil on the white pad on the front lid. Some care had to be taken choosing words used, as with a throat microphone some letters like "s" and "f" can not be distinguished. To avoid confusion, a tag with the phonetic alphabet was also attached to the front lid. As with most radio equipment, finding the radio itself is only the start as the accessories are typically far more difficult to find.

Albert Lampl Gerade eben I want you to meet my transformer for my radios today. The transformer was made by Roller & Fischer according to my wishes. Input 230 Volt. Output 130 Volt, 90 Volt, 4,5 Volt 2 Volt (DC) 2 volts and 4.5 volts were stabilized, under full load 1.93 volts were measured at 2 volts and 4.42 volts at 4.5 volts. Thus this transformer is suitable for almost all Wehrmacht radio sets. You can order this transformer from the manufacturer: Roller & Fischer Ringstraße 4, 71739 Oberriexingen Telefon: 07042 92510 E-Mail: info@rollerfischer-trafo.de Internet: www.rollerfischer-trafo.de

You know, I,m slowly going off you Manu, you post some of the best quality items and this one is no exception, what a great looking cap, in damn fine condition, and the insignia is so clean, yep I,m slowly going off you!!!!!!!!!

@Desert Rat wins September's Caption Competition, but alas we hardly had any votes, or answers...

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