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GOT MITTENS BUCKLE GROUP TAKEN DOWN BY FACEBOOK. No warning, nothing, just deleted. Thousands of members, thousands of pictures, all gone... MeWe is crap, not going through this again, I'm takling all my pics/discussion etc. back to web forums. My server, my rules... If you want to talk militaria, see you here on the MCN web forum...

Guys, This short engagement was recorded in the Ulrich Saft book Kriege in der heimat. These photos were taken post war by a young boy that used to play on the wrecked tanks, what a play ground he had! He is now in his 80s and has recently rediscovered these pictures taken before 1949 but after the war. It shows two of the tanks from the battle although he tells me there were 3 British tanks in a row in column of march and they were destroyed on the North South road that goes past the Hotel Kroepke which is still there today. those tanks were on the road circa 3 to 400m South of the hotel just before the slight bend in the road. The Tiger was further South and I will confirm the locations later. The flak was to the North East of the road described above. The old boy (Albert) has offered to walk the locations with me but he is not in the best of health. I will do it as soon as I and he can. Rich

Guys, as stated above. Rich

Guys, few more pics, this time of an exercise, the name of which escapes me but we had 'sim fix' which was some sort of laser quest stuff and the exercise was to determine if we would buy Challenger or M1 Abraham. At the time we believed it but it was apparently a forgone conclusion due to the collapse of the Shah of Iran's power base. It happened down by Wolfenbüttel South of Hannover.

Hi all, I managed to complete a collection challenge that I had set myself: complete an air force uniform for the major participants in the Cold War (minus France as has already been pointed out to me!). So we have USA, UK, West Germany, East Germany, and USSR. Still have a couple of variations (officer or enlisted) to display but really pleased with how this has turned out.

Afternoon all, Well it looks like FB has pulled the plug this time. So,lets make this online forum number 1 again eh. Waffy

Finally it looks like spring is coming here too. I've been doing som service on our 67 model Peugeot 404, and getting it ready for the summer season. We had some very nice weather last weekend, with a temperature around 10 degrees celcius - about 50 degrees fahrenheit. So me and my wife packed up somethimg to eat and the kids in the 404 and went for a small roadtrip/picnic in our local area last saturday. We had a very nice day, and the old Peugeot performed perfectly. 20210417_151315.mp4

Another Quist, 64 shell size., War time repaint, textured anti glare paint. JOSTO strap.

First and Foremost, I am an enthusiastic collector and WWII obsessed (History in general)! As a U.S. Navy Veteran I enjoy collecting WWII Era Kriegsmarine Badges and more. I am also the owner of Operation Overlord Militaria - I don't consider myself a "Dealer" as I keep Inventory at a minimum and focus my efforts on adding to other's collections and not adding to my Wallet. I am known mostly on the Facebook side of things but decided to go old school website after pages and groups started being shut down. My reputation and the preservation of these Historical Relics is the utmost important thing to me. I love being a Curator of our History and have a sense of responsibility to do it! When it comes to selling I never swap passion for profit! My goal is to bring the feeling of joy to.others like I get when a new item arrives. “THOSE WHO CANNOT REMEMBER THE PAST ARE CONDEMNED TO REPEAT IT.” - George Santayana

I seldom if ever buy helmets,but I quite liked this one when I saw it offered.A “rautarn” M35 in great nick and 58-size.Decals can be “guessed” under the thick layer of paint mixed with dirt.

Guys, As stated above. Rich

Hi Hans, welcome to this forum. Bit quiet but I still think it will get busier when FB etc finally pull the plug, they are dyeing to do it. Best Rich

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: A multi-piece constructed linen Banner/flag that measures 56" wide and 97" drop with a printed mobile swastikas in black on a white background. There are five sets of ties along the top to tie to a pole. There are a few small marks as well as obvious fading to the central disks. There is also the maker mark in the upper corner as shown in the photo. Great bring back piece of memorabilia. £250 plus p&p

For your review...DDR NVA-Wachregiment oberleutnat in parade dress...and some more NVA-Wachregiment complete uniforms

Here are a couple of rough WW1 German canteens I have in the collection. The one with dark gray cover was one I got in a mail order auction when I was like 15. $10 I think I paid (Before the internet and Ebay!lol)

A selection of tropical pith helmets...Second pattern army was damaged by friend's son during hands on examination...appears to be easily repairable

Just got this nice Post war German Shelter 1/4 in trade. Now these use to be plentiful back in the '70's and '80's. But You dont see them very often anymore. I was happy to add this one to the collection. The WW2 ones are more plentiful! lol Infact I have a new one of those coming too.

I have a few links from a Goliath track,currently soaking in oil

Hello, Some recent entries ! A richtkreiss and some measurment tools in their pouch ! Kind regards

Rich, it turned out to be in pretty Good shape. Check it out

£20 your way.

Had I know what these were when I was a boy, I would have got my dad to bye some of these, Back in the 60s there was a market called Portebello in London, there was a trader that had about 20-30 of them on his stall and was only saying that they were cold winter boots, they wer,nt even described as being German, but they were the same as you and Richard have shown, and at that time I can now see why they were descibed as such, I dare say that no one new what they were, or who made them,if people had known then , I dont think there would have been many sales for the guy selling them, where he got them from God only knows

Model. Warning, file is BIG, 16MB. Click on it!

Hello! This account hails from the Swift Current Museum in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada. We don't have a huge military collection but we're happy to be a part of this community.

My newest addition to the family. A M1917 from the 101st Combat Engineer Battalion of the 26th Yankee Division. I don't have any books on the maker stamp on the helmet so if anyone knows how to look it up that would be great.

Here are two that I have to hand the the left one is more repair than sack and has been used post war by a mill. The other 3 picture are again of a repaired sack but they have unfotunately used the eagle part of another sack, it has also been used post war by the looks of the half hearted denazification. Rich

I have just acquired the earlier 1940 dated Gustav Brehmer to go with my display. It will take the place of its younger brother, 1941 Gustav Brehmer. Thank you so much to @DAK D for once again helping make my DAK/tropical collection, shine! The GB 40 is a vet bring back from El Alamein !

Langensalza Medal awarded by the former Kingdom of Hannover, to her sons who fought the Prussians to a standstill during the Bruderkrieg of 1866. Although a temporary victory was obtained, Hannover was forced to surrender several days later, with its kingdom and army being absorbed by the Prussian victors. Interestingly, Kaiser Wilhelm I, allowed the former regiments of Hannover to wear all honors and awards to be worn, including the medals of the 1866 war.An interesting feature of the Langensalza medal is that the recipients name appears on the edge. No doubt due to Hannover's long association with the forces of Great Britain, notably the King's German Legion, who served with distinction during the Napoleonic wars. The medals of England nearly always have the recipients name appearing on the edge.One other interesting fact regarding the Langensalza battle was the appearance for the first time of the Red Cross emblem being worn by medical personnel

Hello Val, I, hope you are well, yes I bought some great and rare French Resistance items - I had a good time in France and bought many French Resistance - flags/ brassards (arm bands) a Very Rare - BBC message Personels- book 1943 / diary of the code messages that the SOE wireless ops (while in "The Field" in France) sent to the UK via the French Resistance - some messages now translated by my teacher mate are crazy, but they were waiting for their own "Special Message" from SOE in relation to parachute drops of arms, ammo, explosives and tobacco, which most if not all Maquis were desperate for....a good English cigarette, and more importantly waiting for the call when the - Invasion would come? I will not add the French message but the translation sent but in English - The little boats have no legs/ The pencil is blue/ Jules likes Italian cigars/ The beer is good/ The woman with the beard is shaved/ To take the taxi you need money/ Archibald is eating the spinach/Fabienne has arrived well/ Jean will have twins/ The white peas are cooked/ Bebert is eating the bannanas/ The Devil plays the Lottery/ ....33 pages of these message sent to England and returned with parachute drops and information - that I don't even understand? But to actually find a diary/ book like this is virtually impossible - it has many different people writing and receiving these messages, but if caught with this book, the Sicherdienstheit ? Gestapo would have this man tortured to extreme to find his Maquis names, members, names and addresses, and more so the SOE wireless operator. if he gave nothing away during this torture - he and probably his family would all be shot. I am still looking for an MCR1 - Biscuit Radio - favoured by the Maquis. I have a friend who has x2 B2 suitcase radio's that he wanted to sell me x1 but he has put them in Museums now...so another lost chance( But I at lease have the BBC- Message Personals" diary dated 1943...which is a treasure to find! Best Wishes Val....Ian

Hi, welcome, it is quiet here but we collectively can probably steer you in the right direction. Best Rich

Guys, I have repented my sins and am now back on WAF for how ever long I last. As such I am going to try and work through things to post sequentially. What ever I post up there I will post here and HWMF too just to cover the bases when stuff starts to get awkward to post in the coming times! Best Rich

everything today is over priced. most think they have stuff that is worth a small fortune and in their mind think it is rear. sure ww1 German helmets are a scarce item and to find/get one all original and complete is hard to find but, the old saying is if you want it you will pay for it. why settle for a rusted junk shell? look and wait- things come if you are willing to wait.

And a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours Richard, and also to all the forum members.

M-1 helmet as worn by members of the 5th and 6th Engineer Brigade during the D-Day invasion. Helmet is not owned by me. A friend allowed me to handle and photograph...

I’ve got a few parachute mine related bits. My Gran always referred to them as ‘land mines’, but they were actually ‘sea mines’. (Try telling her that, as one destroyed the street in South London she lived in, which was some distance from the sea!) This is the end cap I have from one that was recovered from the Thames Estuary. The cap was jettisoned as the mine fell, releasing the parachute which was designed to break its fall in order to protect the delicate magnetic influence components within. – I have some bits of the parachutes and chords – I did pick up one piece of parachute that I am a bit sceptical about as it is of a different type of material from that normally seen, like that above. – I acquired this from somebody in America. They didn’t know anything about it and were not aware of the significance of the writing on it – If the writing is to be believed, then this was from the first magnetic mine that the British successfully recovered, thereby learning the secrets of how they worked. As a result, degaussing of ships could be developed into an effective counter-measure. At that time Britain’s supply lines were being choked off by these mines, so it was a major turning point, so not just related to acts of extreme bravery, but a major historical event in WW2 – hence I framed it with signatures of the men involved in its recovery. I’m always a bit dubious about ‘fake’ provenance, but I paid absolute peanuts for this. Like I say – jury is still out as to its authenticity, but worth a chance as it is documented that the parachute was recovered from that mine. I also acquired the condolence slip that was in the medal box, (no medals unfortunately!), and some photographs relating to CPO Baldwin who was one of those involved with the recovery. CPO Baldwin was killed attempting to recover another mine a few months later. Below is a hydrostatic clock from a German mine. As I understand it, if the mine reaches a depth of around 24 feet or more, water pressure going in the small hole you can see in the above photo, causes a switch to operate that energizes a fuse delay switch. The clock in this unit runs down until the point is reached when battery current is applied to the magnetic firing circuit. Basically it makes the mine become live after a set time in suitably deep water. These bookends were made using the brass ring that held one of these clocks in a parachute mine. The bookends are written on stating the ring came from a mine that fell at Newton Green, Sudbury, Suffolk. Another item I have is a clicker unit and a photo of the mine it apparently came from. This unit could count the number of times the magnetic influence occurred. So, for instance, a ship could pass the mine 11 times without it going off. But the 12th time it would go off. This meant it could be set to catch a big ship in a convoy rather than the little ones that went before it. Also the same stretch of water would have to be swept numerous times. The guy who disarmed the mine was Lt Crane, (back to camera). I’ve not been able to find a good photo of him. Here he is looking through a telescope somewhere on the Norfolk Broads with other RMS, (Rendering Mines Safe), personnel, with his hand in front of his face. Anyone would think he didn’t want to be photographed! – Below are some fingerless gloves and text book that belonged to a Lt Cdr Hodges. He got the George Medal for working on parachute mines. Every day as I drive to work I go over a railway bridge at North Sheen, S.London. Hodges worked on a mine that fell unexploded on this bridge, along with Lt Spiers. As they worked on it the fuze started ticking. These fuzes only ticked for up to 17 seconds – might be the full 17 or just tick for 1 second. Both men made a run for it. Spiers got further away and took cover behind a fence. Hodges decided not to run so far, but instead lay down in the gutter hoping not to be upright when the mine detonated. Referring to the subsequent explosion, Hodges said ‘It hit me hard, tore my coat, half wrenched off a shoe, seemed to fill me with black grit and left my ears bleeding.’ You’ll notice some of the houses around the bridge are newer! As I said earlier these mines were meant to blow up ships but the Germans realised how effective their blast was in cities. They were actually fitted with a self-destruct mechanism that would blow them up should they fall in shallow water, or on land, thereby protecting the secrets of how they worked. This self-destruction would occur around 17 seconds after the mine struck, unless in the meantime the pressure of surrounding water over-rode the self-destruct switch. These mechanisms often failed, however, when the mine hit a hard surface, despite the parachute, (which was really meant for a water impact). The mine would then remain unexploded, but further disturbance, even the slightest vibration from a nearby vehicle, or a man attempting to defuse it, could re-start the self-destruct mechanism running down the final seconds to detonation. Last item that’s mine related is this cup. I picked it up at auction for literally the price of a burger. It is engraved ‘In appreciation from the Officers of SS Salvestria 27th July 1940.’ I was fascinated to know the story behind it. Found a photo of the Salvestria – I located the Court of Inquiry record at The National Archives. The ship was en-route from her South Atlantic base to Grangemouth with a cargo of oil. Along with other ships it steamed in line up the narrow safe channel marked by buoys at the entrance to the Forth Naval base. On its final turn to approach the gate ships of the boom guarding the entrance to the port, a mine exploded beneath her, killing 10 of the crew of 57. The ship was on fire, with the stern sinking first, the bows settling in the shallow water. HM Drifter Betty Bodie went along-side and took aboard surviving crew. The Norma also came to the rescue, picking up men who were in the water. Many were injured, suffering from burns. The water was thick with oil, one of the men on the recue ships described it as ‘so thick, on going through it, was just like churning through butter’. The Inquiry concluded that the cause of the explosion was a magnetic mine. The Salvestria is one of the largest wrecks in the Forth.

No, question isn't about testing area and we shouldn't end it either. Actually here are several sub-forums that allow so called "guest posting", without having registered account. I tested it - you just fill a form with random info, resolve captcha and you can post all that nonsense after that. It's just time to close this anonymous guest posting forum-wide and require strict registration for any posting. This is however out of my power and only @Lenny can do it.

Can't make out anything meaningful. Early French F1 were wick ignited, however they had totally different wick holder design (at least those i've seen). Never seen this. However E & S is known British marking - Edison & Swan Ltd. http://tgrm.foxed.ca/British Markings.html Can you make close up pictures of that wick holder separately? For "E & S" reference see first post here: https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/188323-ww1-grenades-both-british-and-enemy/page/24/

This nice Prussian Golden Merit Cross arrived today. Instituted Jan 1912 it is a three piece design and could be awarded to both civilian and military personnel. This award came in silver also.

Who the hell is this bloke LOL

Here is a nice little gadget i came across in my local area a couple of years ago. It's a British Mark one Magnetic moored mine. This mine is part of a minefield that the british placed here on the 8.th of April 1940 (The day before the German invasion of Norway in 1940) This was actually a breach of Norway's neutrality by the British, as they placed mines in the middle of norwegian civillian sea-lanes. The mine is placed up-side-down, as the Mooring mechanism would be facing down in the water By the way, this example is empty and does not contain any dangerous substances. The magnetic mine had a rather ingenious trigger mechanism. In a easy and understandeble explanation, It had an elecric coil that would detect the signature of a large metal hull (boat or ship) that was passing by, and if close enough it would generate a low electric current, wich would set of the detonators and the main charge. The main charges on these mines consisted of a barrel containing 280 pounds (127 Kg) Amatol - wich is a mixture of TNT and Ammonium nitrate, wich would provide a huge detonating effect when set off. These mines were known to detach themselves from the anchor after some time, and would be washed ashore. The good news with these mines, is that the Mooring mechanism had a very good safety function. If the wire was to break, and the mine lost the tension on the wire from the anchor, a strong springloaded mechanism would disarm the mine, preventing it from detonating. Anyway, these mines were placed in the middle of shipping lanes in Vestfjorden. The minefield is marked on the map here: In the upper part of the map you see Narvik. And on this I have marked with a small red dot, where I live. Only a few hundred meters from where the minefield started: The anchoring mechanism on these mines, were alo a brilliant mechanical patent. Anyway, my example is standing up-side-down as you can see. The top lid is unfortinently missing. I am looking for a top lid to complete the hull of this mine, so if anyone know where I can find one of these, i would be very interested Best Regards Björn

Hi there, A lot of our members use our Facebook page, and that's ok. It's convenient and handy on your phone, but I made a commitment to keep running our web forum, in the same way we started in 1998. I intend to keep doing that. However, software licence fees and hosting costs mount up, around £395 or so per year to keep the forum running. I do this because I love this hobby and am passionate about sharing knowledge. It would be really good if you could help by donating towards the costs of the forum, even the price of a cup of coffee will help. It's not mandatory but would be gratefully received. If the MCN has helped you or saved you from buying a fake or overpriced item, or if you just appreciate what we can do, please help support the forum. You can donate here... https://www.militariacollectors.network/donations/donate-to-the-mcn-2020/ Regards, Lenny

Bavarian Military Merit Cross 3rd Class, 3rd form (1913-1918) with matchbox type case.

Guys, My favourite bit today, patriotic pencil with a siver top holding a picture of Hindenburg. Rich

Thanks for you reply Bjorn and theres nothing to stop you posting your weapons .but I think we have a policy regarding live ammo, being shown, on the forum especially "prohibited" ammo like the type you have . It may be different in Norway but here It could get us shut down if someone reports us, I will confirm this with Lenny on his return,Thankyou

Nice display, indeed a lot of equipment to ferry around! I did an event last weekend where there was a steam train as well although I did not see it. Somebody was kind enough to bring a plane though, which was kind of cool!

Here are the liners.