Jump to content

Leaderboard

  1. Davejb

    Davejb

    Lieutenant Colonel


    • Points

      1,844

    • Posts

      1,945


  2. Lenny

    Lenny

    Field Marshall


    • Points

      1,439

    • Posts

      2,654


  3. Desert Rat

    Desert Rat

    Sergeant


    • Points

      1,013

    • Posts

      2,774


  4. Afrikakorpsrat64

    Afrikakorpsrat64

    Lieutenant


    • Points

      945

    • Posts

      1,008


Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation since 07/02/16 in all areas

  1. For anyone who was wondering, which is probably no one
    10 points
  2. A "camo" M35 from my collection.This one has been found several years ago in Northern Italy followed by a few other helmets carrying nearly an identical finish,which thing would lead to suppose that it was done at unit level.It's a DD M35 that has been repainted and later coated with a mix of paint and sawdust/dirt.The eagle has been carefully masked around its contour while the other decal is still under the paint and the camo coating.Personally I would call this a "low viz" helmet,since dirt and sawdust have been eithe mixed with bue paint or with blue distemper and glue.It may have been coated with mud as well but not in this case!Italian collectors call this kind of coating "Zimmerit"! Hope you enjoy Manu
    9 points
  3. Hi All We have just heard that Ofcom have dismissed all the complaints made against World War 2: Battlefield Recovery, the show I was a presenter on that aired on Channel 5 throughout January. This means an awful lot to me. I always knew that neither we nor the producers did anything wrong, but the external regulator has confirmed this and released the following statement..... “We assessed a number of complaints that this series was offensive and disrespectful in its treatment of war graves. We won’t be taking this forward for investigation. “The series dealt effectively with potential audience concerns about the contributors’ methods. It made clear that the specific practices adopted were undertaken within recognised protocols. Scenes that featured human remains were dealt with sensitively, and the contributors appeared visibly moved by their discoveries.” Thanks to all for your support over the past few months. This forum and it's members have always been honest and direct, but at the same time fair and measured in their comments, and I thank you for that. It means a great deal to me to see positive comments about the show, especially from those who watched and enjoyed all four episodes. Kind regards Steve T
    9 points
  4. Broadsword calling Danny Boy.... The grouse is on the moor... Remember me? Sorry I've not been about for while, lots going on with work, family and other hobbies. I'm back now and updating a few things on the website. I've been wondering whether the forum really is working as it seems that more people want to use the Facebook group. Such is life, that seems to be the way these days. I've sort of left it on it's own for a while to see what happened, and basically not much happens. Don't worry, the forum is here to stay, but I'll have to have a think about how it pays for itself, unlike FB, the web forum costs money to run. The NAAFI seems to work, and the adverts get auto posted onto the FB groups, which is neat. I may add a regular quiz to here, but wonder if it's to no avail. Thoughts guys? Cheers, Lenny
    8 points
  5. I was with the 10th Special Forces Group in Bad Tolz, Southern Bavaria in 67-68 and then they moved us to Massachusetts in 68. I left the group in 69 bound for the 1st cavalry Division in Vietnam. That's me in the red circle. Just a boy.
    8 points
  6. Photos from my past reenacting events. I reenacted a Panzer Grenadier with Panzer Lehr in Florida. I was also fortunate to have the opportunity to drive an OT-810 converted to an SdKfz 251 replica.
    8 points
  7. I thought I'd start off this sub-section with my family history, beginning with the First World War, on my fathers side to begin with. Well my Great Grandfather, Arthur Lewis, fought with the 1/4th Battalion Royal Leicesters, and also the Royal West Kents, between 1916-1921, on the Western Front and Northwest Frontier, we believe he signed up early war, and was sent over to France in early 1916 after their disastrous losses at Loos, where they attacked the most heavily defended area in Loos, the Hohenzollern Redoubt, so my Great Garndfather would've been a replacement, or as some of the surviving BEF guys would call them, 'Coffin Fillers'. We know he was the company Sharpshooter, Marksmen or Sniper, as he had the marksmen badge, so he was the best shooter in his company out of 120 men. From research, we believe he fought on the Somme, where he was wounded when a bullet richocheted off of his spade and into his back , and when recovered he was sent the the RWK in Sep 1916. From there he fought throughout the war and in mid-late 1918 was sent to Mesopotamia to guard Ottoman POWs. After war finished he was sent up to the Northwest Frontier, to put down a rowdy rebellion by a local tribe. He was married and a fireman by 1922. He died in the 80s. I also recently found out about my Great Great Uncle, Frank Lewis, Arthur Lewis' little brother, who was 15 when war broke out, and saw his brother go off, and must've felt some national pride, and signed up in 1918. He was drafted into the Drake Battalion, 63rd Naval Division, and landed in France in 1918. On the 25th May 1918, they took over from the Hood Battalion on a stretch of trench line at a place called Mesnil on the Somme. The following day at 4pm, the Germans bombarded their trenches, this was their war diary for that day: "Enemy heavily bombarded our front line with trench mortars - artillery on the main line of resistance...S.O.S sent up by Right Brigade, but no infantry action followed". During the bombardment, my Great Great Uncle was wounded in the face and leg, and didn't recover until very late on in the war. Now onto my mother side in WW1. The only one we know of, as there could be more, is my Great Great Grandfather Samuel Riley. He joined up very early war, maybe just before, and was in the 1/5th Battalion Sherwood Foresters, he spent a lot of time in England due to bad health and was sent over on 17th July 1916, possibly as a reeinforcement for the losses at Gonmecourt, but was instead sent to the 4th Entrenching Battalion, before he was again hit with bad health and sent home. It wasn't until late 1918 when he was sent back to the Western Front, and fought at Le Cateau with the 11th Sherwood Foresters. Now onto WW2, where my dads side is shorter and my mums side longer. So on my dads side there is my Great Uncle Frank, yes I know both my Great Uncle and Great Great Uncle are called Frank Lewis, he fought in the late stages of WW2 and Palestine post war, he was a Driver in a Tank. On my mums side there was my Grandmas 3 uncles, Derrick was an infantryman, Fred was a RASC driver, who fought in all theatres except the Pacific, and was once driving when a bullet came through the windshield and hit his friend who was next to him and subsequently died in the passengers seat. And finally there was Clifford, who was a chauffeur for the top brass, and by pure chance he was in Italy during WW2, he was going one way, and by pure chance who was coming the other way, Fred his brother!
    7 points
  8. I thought I would do a quick guide to cartridge headstamps. I know many of us are well aware of what all the stamps mean, but some people don’t and I think it would be useful to those people not yet as obsessed as me !!! I will only cover American, British and German small arms headstamps in this thread.......artillery casings are much more complicated and need a whole forum on their own, let alone one little thread. To start with, here are the main allied small arms cartridges lined up so you can see the difference in overall shape and size. Take particular note of the difference between a standard 30calibre American cartridge and the British 303. Also note the difference between the standard 30calibre and the M1 Carbine cartridge (this is not live by the way ! I remade it from two bits ). Ok, on to identifying Allied small arms headstamps. We’ll start with 20mm cannon cartridges. A view of 3 cartridges found on various WW2 airbases. Ok. Let’s look at the headstamps. You can see they all follow the same pattern. A letter ‘code’ which represents the manufacturer, a date stamp and a calibre. The right hand case therefore is made by RG (Royal Ordnance Factory, Radway Green, UK), in 1942. The middle case was made by I.C.I. , otherwise known as Kynoch in Standish, UK which is represented by the K2, in 1944. Also, you may have noticed the chunks cut into the rim of the cartridge. This is not modern damage but damage caused by the breech block forcing the cartridge into the breech and then extracting it again as the gun cycles. With American cartridges, the headstamps are usually very short, sharp and sweet ! Take for example these 50 calibre cartridges, again found on various airbases around the UK. The headstamps on these are not as detailed as some. Usually you get the manufacturer ‘code’ and the last two digits of the year, EXCEPT in the case of 1944 which is always represented by a single ‘4’. So on these cartridges you have RA 43, TW 43, LC 43, SL 4 and DM 4. RA is Remington Arms Company, Tw is Twin Cities ordnance plant, LC is Lake City Ammunition Plant, SL is St Louis Ordnance Plant and DM is Des Moines Ordnance Plant. These headstamps are repeated in standard 30 calibre and Carbine rounds. Take for example these 30 calibre cartridges, found on Slapton Sands.The headstamps all follow the same principals as the 50 cal cartridges. British cartridges tended to be a little more verbose. Take for example these cartridges, all found on an old D-Day practice beach. The headstamps, as you can see, contain a little more information. We still have the manufacturer ‘code’ and the year of manufacture (as either 2 or 4 digit), but we also regularly see ‘VII’ which denotes it is a standard Mark VII cartridge, and in some instances ‘303’ which obviously denotes the calibre. Different Roman numerals denote different 'marks' of cartridge. You may also see the marks 'Z' or IZ' which denote the type of cordite/powder used. It is interesting to note that the last three cartridges all have the same ‘odd’ shaped firing pin mark. This elongated mark is made by the firing pin of a Bren gun. A Lee-Enfield makes the ‘dot’ mark in the left hand two cartridges. So not only does the headstamp tell us something, even the firing pin mark can ! Now let’s look at 9mm and .45 calibre cartridges, again found on a D-Day practice beach. Now you can see a pattern emerging ! Hopefully you can now determine what the headstamps mean when you look at them. You have the manufacturer code, the year stamp and the calibre………….It’s easy once you know what you’re looking at ! The Germans used a little more complicated system than the Americans and British. Take for example these 7.92 calibre cartridges, all are ‘safe’ and were bought off a guy in an antiques place for 20p each ! He didn’t know what they were but I did because of a basic knowledge of headstamps. Ok…..all German 7.92 calibre cartridges carry four stamps. As you look at the picture, at 12 o’clock is the manufacturers code. At 3 o’clock is a code with a combination of a roman numeral (I to XXII) for the steel mill supplying the basic case-metal, a lower-case letter for the plating agency and an arabic numeral (1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15 or 17) for the steel-analysis, which all identifies a copper-plated steel case. In some cases you may see (as below) a code such as St or St+ or S*. St or St+ indicates a steel case, either plated or lacquered. * or S* indicates a brass case. At 6 o’clock is a batch number and at 9 o’clock is the year of manufacture represented by the last 2 digits of the year. Of interest is the fact that the Germans changed their manufacturer code system. Between 1937 and 1941 they used the P codes (Patronenfabrik Nummer). Between 1940 and 1945 (there was some overlap between the change of coding) they switched to a letter code and ditched the ‘P’ number. This means all ‘P’ coded cartridges are made prior to 1941, and all letter code cartridges are made from 1940. So, for example, the far left cartridge was made by cg (Finower Industrie GmbH, Finow/Mark, Brandenburg), the case was made of St+ (steel case, plated), a batch number of ‘6’ (yes….i got it wrong on the picture !!! It’s a 6 not a 9 ), and a year of 1942. The far right hand case is made by P490 ( Hugo Schneider A.G., Werk Altenburg), the steel mill code IX (August-Thyssen-Hutte A.G., Duisburg-Hamborn), the plating firm code w, (Hugo Schneider A.G. Messingwerke, Taucha-Leipzig), and the steel composition 1. The batch number is 7 and it was made in 1939. I hope this of use to some of you. I know many will already know it but it’s good to pass on this sort of information ! Here are some useful links. 303 headstamps - http://enfieldking.tripod.com/enfieldking/id12.html General headstamps - http://cartridgecollectors.org/headstampcodes.htm German WW2 headstamps - http://home.scarlet.be/p.colmant/german7_92x57.htm Info about headstamps and cartridge sizes - http://members.shaw.ca/cstein0/riflelist3.htm Have fun !! Steve T
    7 points
  9. I dont like talking politics of any description, in my opinion ,once a government gets into power, everything changes, their promises go out the window and their excuses are never ending as to why they cant do as they promised. Dont get me wrong, I sympathise with anyone who have fears over their livelihood when in business and something happens that changes their prospects, but at the moment everything is up in the air, and this tidal wave of fear and negativity is expected. Now I,m not one of these people who say we should of stayed in or come out, either way, but I felt that after everything that Great Britain had achieved post war and , forget about this immigration issue, because I think that had clouded too many peoples views, We as a nation let ourselves down by allowing other governments and EU policies to dictate to its EU members what we can and cant do ,and holding us to a sort of ransom. Great Britain was involved in freeing these so called occupied countries, and ending the tyranny of one aggressor, then all of a sudden they become the voice of the English peoples, and in particular the one country we helped to defeat, and why,,, because we ploughed billions of pounds into these countries to help them get started again, and after all that we become political puppets, our own economy suffers, our trade agreements are policed by other nations, our food industry suffers, our fishing fleets become stagnant and we,re told you can only fish in certain areas, even though we,re an Island nation and have always relied on our fishing industry to feed our own and other nations peoples. The pound dropped quite badly which was to be expected if we came out because it panicked bankers and the monetary market, but that happened before and has always levelled out after a few weeks, its knee jerk reactions at the moment. I think everyone should just take a step back , wait for a couple of weeks and see where this goes and what happens next. As for Cameron opting to go, to me thats like desertion in the face of adversity, and a baby throwing its rattle out of the buggy. I dont like him,never have, i dont think he was a strong leader and let everyone ride rough shod over him and us. These politicians seem to forget THEY work for us not the other way round, and tevsooner they realise that the better
    7 points
  10. Hi All, Here are some photos of my 1940 Lago Berlin made tropical peaked cap and it is about as DAK as you can get. The original owners name is written inside the cap. These early caps are extremely sort after and the prices are very high right now. This cap has an early type of tropical cockade and an not often seen smaller size early tropical cap eagle. D
    7 points
  11. Now I am going to share some photos of original tropical breast eagles from my own collection. 1/ These two photos show the front and back of an original early cotton Heer tropical breast eagle. The early eagles details were more bold when compared to the flatter eagle detail of the later rayon/cotton based versions.. 2/ Another early tropical breast eagle still attached to a part of the tropical uniform. This eagle was stitched by hand to the tropical blouse and it is typical for late 1940 and early 1941. The reverse shows the original hand application and the top part of the key hole stitching for the breast pocket. 3/ A later tropical breast eagle as removed from a captured member of Gebergsjager Reg 756 in Tunisia. Note how the eagle was straight machine stitched to the tropical field blouse. 4/ Points of interest on an original to compare with the best fake available now. The reproduction has four wing feathers and an original has five, please compare the red highlighted areas on the fake and orginal photos. It is also interesting to note that the fakes chest feathers continue onto the upper part of the eagles wings and this is something you will never see on an original.
    7 points
  12. Hi there, I've decided to introduce Cadet rank to the system, this is for all new members and you will stay a cadet until you make 10 posts. You will be unable to sell items or have a gallery, use extra features etc. until you reach the rank of Private. I don't want anyone to feel offended by this, it's just to ensure that people don't join up to sell or whatever without taking part in the community. 10 posts isn't a lot, introduce yourself, comment on an item, tell us about your collection. It's just fairer this way...
    7 points
  13. 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...
    6 points
  14. A few of my panzer/vehicle items.
    6 points
  15. Here is my first post and I figured I would put up some photos of my US WWI uniforms. I don't collect much outside of what would of actually been worn in the trenches, so my uniform collection is probably bland for those expecting to see unit patches and various other adornments that would of been added Post-Armistice. So first up is a rather interesting wool coat. This one in particular was made by Henry Sonneborn & Co., Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland. It is contract number 847 dated September of 1917. It is made of a heavier blanket style wool and does not have the cotton lining that is seen in earlier uniforms. The overall texture of the wool itself is rather soft compared to others that I own or have handled. Specifically, this tunic features the plain US and Infantry disks and a single corporal's chevron on the right arm as was the regulation during the war. So please bear with me as I am trying out a new camera and attempting to figure out the proper settings to get the best shot. So without further ado, here are the photos. Thank you, Mike
    6 points
  16. 6 points
  17. 6 points
  18. Hi guys, I've been working away, updating a lot of things on the forum. You won't notice a lot of changes but lots of things "under the hood" as it were.... Updates to the plugins and applications that run on the site, mainly subtle improvements and updates. I've also changed the top menu, trying to make it more useable and logical. I'll do a video to explain that shortly... Any issues, just let me know...
    6 points
  19. Here is my title collection, mostly WW2, some postwar and the odd repro, but good ones, no rubbish!
    6 points
  20. Hi All Just got back from a fantastic trip to Latvia to work with some very good friends of mine. These guys dedicate their spare time, (and in the leader's case, ALL his time), to finding, recovering and giving a decent burial to men lost on the eastern front. Whilst they search for these fallen men, they obviously often find relics that are not associated with a soldiers remains. Some of these they very kindly allowed me to take home. During the trip I was also greatly honoured to be present at a ceremony where 60+ Russian soldiers were buried with their comrades. These men lay where they had fallen on the battlefield and were recovered by Legenda, given the burial they deserve with their comrades. On to the relics I came home with. This little pedal was found in a trash pit full of tank parts and armour plating, and has a typical three letter German manufacturer code. I have tracked it down to probably being from a Pz IV. Pictures of the pedals in a Pz IV below. German mess tin lids, dated 1936 and 1944. The name on the top of one I can't quite make out..... Half a stick grenade handle. Ammo pouches...... I'll sew them back together over the next few weeks. German fork and spoon. This was found at the bottom of a 2m deep bunker. Looks to have been fashioned into an ash tray. Headstamp is virtually invisible but appears to be a 76.2mm Russian shell. Gas mask, dated 1943. Best find of the trip for me......Maxim spring cover. Looks to have been shot, probably to render the weapon inoperable. Happy with my relics
    6 points
  21. Interesting fact, there have only been Three movies that real Tiger tanks have been used "Their,s is the Glory" 1946 ......"They were not divided" 1950 and of course "Fury". In the first two films the Tanks were seen in proper action and after being knocked out and on fire, Fury differed in that the Tiger did very little movement apart from turret turning before being knocked out from the rear, In 1946 and 1950 the Tigers were literally destroyed by fire and explosives. What a waste, imagine a forward thinking person allowing them to be only used with pyrotechnics back then, we would have 4 or 5 Tigers rumbling about instead of one
    6 points
  22. No offence to anyone, but I see new collectors immediately wanting SS, FJ and cammo helmets. That's a jobby load of misery awaiting the unwary right there... Everybody gets burned, but do the knowledge first, start with cheaper helmets and work your way up. Trust me, been there, done that, got burned big time nearly 20 years ago, turned me away from collecting for years.... If you want to know who ED is, the clue is right in front of your eyes...
    6 points
  23. I was on WRF when Doug B was working with XRF technology, for those of you who dont know, this entails very close forensic examination of items and was used to Flouresce the colours and metallic elements in the decals, thereby giving some indication of authenticity. He was also working on micro examination of the decals and proved ,in a number of instances, what was real and what was fake. This obviously led to a huge amount of critisism , re COAs ,reputations etc, in particular this Champagne Decal was proved to be a fake. Doug was also able to easily tell the difference, re decals that had been "painted" or even finely ink jetted, but XRF was,nt all it was made up to be, mistakes were made but in the main it helped to debunk some decals, However Doug,s continued quest into these fake SS decals paid off, and it has caused many "solid" dealers of SS helmets to back pedal, including KH, Because of dealers lifetime guarantees on their helmets, many will be taking out loans to repay buyers back many thousands of pounds. They say that no-one knows it all but with people like DougB around you have someone who can truly help potential buyers to get what they are paying for. As a matter of fact, if anyone has ever seen his collection you will see that every single helmet he owns is the real deal, and I think I,m right in saying that he found a couple in his collection he was,nt happy with and got refunds. This debunking has resulted in many authors of printed works on SS helmets, having to think again, including KH. To me this just goes to prove that no matter how good you are at collecting, you can still get burned by the fakers out there. Now you see why so many Camo,s are in doubt as well, paint a decent helmet 40 odd years ago, and theres plenty out there that will swear its real until its thouroughly examined and literally pulled apart. Thats one of the reasons I dont get involved with SS collecting, its a minefield and one I,m not confident in walking on, yes they are every helmet collectors dream helmet, but as with everything else you need 100% provenance especially with these
    6 points
  24. Please note, only inert items to be posted in here, also, no discussing how to make live items inert! Thanks for looking!
    6 points
  25. Ok, this is a goer.... I've contacted the badge company and they are preparing artwork and about to give me a quote for badges, sorry tinnies... 20mm, hard enamel with a quality pin brooch on reverse. Once I get a price will let you know, but can I have an idea who would buy, and how many? They'll be reasonably priced. I'll be getting patches done, and various other merchandise..
    6 points
  26. hi, My names Chris and i'm a 31 year old very novice collector in west wales. My interest with Military History began after learning that my late grandfather was a Paratrooper during the war and served in 2nd, 5th and 12th Para Battalions. Although destined for Arnhem as a follow up flight - His flight was cancelled and was then attached to 5th Para Brigade and sent to the far east. personal collection is mainly around the Parachute regiment however - as this is a very expensive regiment to collect I also go for German helmets (also expensive) - I also skirt around ww1 infantry battalions with a family connection - namely 10th Lancashire fusiliers, 1st Queens Royal west surrey regiment 1st Lincolnshire. Granddad also owned a jeep back in the 50s and my big dream is to be in a position to own one - who knows! for note - Grandfather is on left - Edward J. Tipper (No, not the band of brothers E J TIPPER - A British one!!!) hopefully not bored anyone too much - see you on the forums!
    6 points
  27. Sunday morning started at 0430hrs with an ambulance at my 90 year old neighbors house myself and the wife rushed around to see if we could help with anything however Ray had died of a heart attack the wife looked after Joan his wife . the reason I post this here is to remember him a veteran of the Second World War he was not a hero or have a chest full of medals but he was one of the many that fought for our freedoms. so I would ask you to take two minutes out of your busy lives to remember one of the many who get fewer every day
    6 points
  28. Last two show my Bren mag box complete. Something that has not fared too well having been stored somewhere with a higher then desirable humidity level.
    6 points
  29. I think the reason why this forum works so well, is that we just dont allow "trolls" to infiltrate, gain a foothold then start to insult other members, its pretty easy to Id these people from the start, just by their attitude. I dont think theres even been an incident on here that has lasted any longer than a few minutes with these types of forum trolls before they are monitered and removed. Plus the rules are strictly adhered to but if you notice they are not rammed down peoples throats, a gentle reminder of the expected behaviour on here is all that is needed. Plus the "Risk of closure" feature is a great idea, and I think thats only been used a couple of times and then removed once everything is back on track. The way a forum gains popularity starts from the top and I think everyone will agree that the Admin staff are more than approachable and friendly. Theres never been an argument on here as far as I can see, nor a heated discussion, friendly debate ,yes, and thats the way it will remain. Let all the other forums deal with all the cockwombles and so called "experts" who have proved to be nothing more than trouble makers. We all learn from each other, no-one can say they know it all, because everyday someone learns something new, thats how a forum stays alive and gains in strength.
    6 points
  30. And how far it has come.... ive left a few things out as they're little pieces I don't want to lose but here you are:
    6 points
  31. It can't have been deact'd by cutting it across the groove. The flash holes for the primer are above the groove, so cutting it there would a) be damn stupid as the primer compound is highly sensitive and b) it would not allow you to access the body of the cartridge containing the main charge. Having thought about it, c) what fool would cut a cartridge THROUGH the propellent??? Still don't like this as an 'inert' cartridge. I'm changing the status of this thread until we can be sure.
    6 points
  32. Found on a British Car group, Spitfire project which is a bit different from what I was expecting on a car group..
    6 points
  33. This is a true story, nothing has been made up, nor embelished to make it sound good, I,ll tell it as it happened. One night back in the late Seventies, I was walking foot patrol in the town where I was Stationed, I was on my way back for a 1am cuppa at the nick, there were obviously places and shops that you checked as a copper, to make sure they were locked and nothing was wrong. Just before arriving at the station, there is a large Community Civic Hall, which holds events, shows, Police and Firemans balls etc, I decided to check these premises on my way back and did so, The premises are in a dip in the ground with large heavy trees that almost form a dark wood at the rear.I was walking around the back ,which was pitch black, with my torch on, Also at the rear of the Hall there is the Public bar which leads out onto this wooded area and a large lawn. To get to the bar area you have to walk along the rear wall, which is about 100 foot long. As I approached the steps to the bar, I heard low whispering but could,nt make out where it was coming from. Naturally I thought someone was trying to break into the bar. I shone my torch at the doors, nothing, I heard this whispering sound again, only this time behind me, I swung round with the torch and scanned the area, again nothing. I knew there was someone there and at least two of them, I could hear them talking in low tones. Now when your on your own in a place like that, theres every chance of being jumped, so I backed up against the wall and kept shining the torch every time I heard voices. Seeing the rear of the Police Station was literally 100yds away. I put out a call for assistance, I could hear running footsteps as 6 or 7 hairy arsed coppers crashed out of the rear station doors, car doors slamming and saw blue lights flashing. Car engines revving up and then racing out of the rear gates, I was joined by the others in a matter of seconds. The Sergeant shone his torch at me then I explained what was happening, We fanned out in a line and started to walk slowly forward, torches on and shining into the trees. We got about 5-6 yrds then a loud noise was heard by all of us, but from behind us. It sounded like a grunt as if someone had fallen over, we all turned, torches shone everywhere, nothing, Then another loud grunt and whispering ,this time right in front of us, all the torches went to one place and there they were, found them. Have you ever heard the noise that two hedgehogs make when humping, My name was spike for a few weeks!!!!!!, and I missed my late night cuppa as well, horny little buggers
    6 points
  34. Hi All I have been finding, recovering and preserving WW2 relics for more than 20 years now. For the first 10 years, I was fairly hit and miss and went digging infrequently. In the past 10 years though I have become a lot more focused and have had some great successes over the years. I have built up a substantial collection of WW2 relics that take up an entire room in my house as well as half the garage I am chairman of the WW2 Relic Retrieval & Preservation Group, (www.ww2rrpg.com), and am also one of the presenters on the TV show 'World War 2: Battlefield Recovery' shown throughout January 2016 on Channel 5 in the UK. Over the years I am not afraid to say I have built up a substantial knowledge of WW2 relics, and it is said that I can identify a rusty piece of crap from 50 yards.......so long as it has something to do with WW2!! Look forward to sharing my knowledge and helping make this the best WW2 forum on the net! Just in case you saw the show and doubt it was actually me, here is an unpublished photo of me having a look at a Russian 23mm VYa cartridge case..... Steve T
    6 points
  35. In my collecting career It's happened to me a few times to make interesting discoveries but when ten or so years ago I found a cache of Y-straps which I suppose had been discarded by retreating Germans I couldn't believe my eyes!Leather,web/tropical ones and cavalry/LW were all there and the whole lot was in remarkable conditions;some were used but not abused,some were worn and a few were virtually mint! Cheers Manu
    6 points
  36. Super rare Horse carry rack for the MG. No need for fluffy words I'll let the piccs talk. enjoy.. This will be in the sale section later with the other horse carry rack.
    6 points
  37. Its amazing really, as a kid I had loads of original gear, mainly because it was so cheap and you could go to places like Petticoat Lane or Camden Passage and see it almost everywhere, but now i,m lucky if I can afford a bayonet every so often and thats normally from a jumble sale or junk shop if I,m lucky. In truth I have more or less stopped collecting on a regular basis. I,m 61 years old, the only person in my family who shows any interest is my adult daughter, where most of what I have left, will eventually go to her .Prices now have reached ridiculous heights and I feel sorry for younger collectors as its becoming a wealthy persons hobby, In some cases you can buy a 200year old reasonable looking Antique table ,chairs, or bureau cheaper than a German helmet. But its good that there are younger collectors out there keeping the hobby alive and preserving history
    6 points
  38. Oh Ha Ha, very droll. Ok here goes. During the war my dad was in the RAOC, but at some time he was stationed down at Lymn Regis. He was also a Sergeant in charge of weapons training, for Anti Aircraft Machine gunners, Bren guns were used on their tri-pods for incoming enemy planes, who would strafe the local gun defenses on the coast. He was teaching the gunners how to aim correctly, ie lead the planes. They were using our sea planes as targets with blank ammo, A couple of Air sea rescue walruses and also some rescue boats were also being targeted, ,Any way a Sunderland was preparing to take off, and the lads on the Bren guns were firing away with these blanks, As the plane gathered speed and came into full view , a gunner had to change magazines, and dad was about 7-8 feet away, when he saw the guy change mags, he noticed that the mag had a Red band on it, Live ammo which also contained tracer, as the gunner cocked the weapon Dad ran forward. Just as the guy fired , AT THE SUNDERLAND, dad knocked the barrel upwards and tracer flew high above the plane, it was only a few hundred feet away and would have stitched some very neat holes all along the fuselage. He shouted at the others to cease fire which they did. On checking the remaining ammo he found three more live mags, some berk had mixed them up at the ammo store. He checked every single ammo box after that and found one more over the next couple of months. I think thats why he appeared in front of his Co, not because of what happened, but because he decked the Quartermaster in the Ammo store, he was lucky he did,nt lose a stripe
    6 points
  39. I used to collect German helmets, but stopped about 10 years ago. Here's a pic of my favourite helmet ever. I cried when I let this one go. M35 Normandy cammo, chicken wire, straight from veteran. One of very few chicken wires that are one lookers...
    6 points
  40. Deactivated in England many years ago as required by the Italian laws but not butchered!The sling is WaA stamped on the metal parts and on the leather and the Gurttrommel is in its original continental yellow(Schlamm)
    6 points
  41. I collect anything which takes my fancy, but specialise in steel helmets and British WW2 cloth insignia....
    6 points
  42. Forgot about this one,, had it for years and never cleaned it,, was quite surprises how it came out,, a little bit of time a patience
    6 points
  43. Hi guys. Just registered here so thought I had to introduce myself. My friends call me Inka so I choose that name to use here. I'm from Norway,up north almost where the polar bears roam,na,not so far north,but by the Polar Circle. Always been into ww2 history,I got it in early from my grandma who always spoke about the war and I grew up in an area which maybe held the largest concentration of POW camps in Norway during ww2. In my valley there was 18-20 camps where Red Army POWs slaved and Yugoslav partizans was sent to perish. I write articles,working on a few new books,I build miniature models/dioramas,I metal detect and am part of a soldier recovery team, and I m running my website Hobbyhistorica So,that's alittle bit about me,now it is time to get some coffee and check out the forum Cheers
    6 points
  44. Yes Dave, thank you very much for pointing that out!I think that we all know what Zimmerit is....I said that Italian Collectors refer to this kind of camo as "Zimmerit" because "Elmetto ricoperto di una strana pasta composta da un miscuglio di segatura e/o terra e vernice o colla in modo da renderlo rugoso e non così atto a riflettere la luce" would be too long! I've been into AFVs for decades as well and I think that I know very well what Zimmerit is,in fat I had a few sections off a Pz IV with original camo which I sold for crazy money to a German collector!That said, if you're ever in Saumur,France,take a good look at some of their vehicles coated with ORIGINAL Zimmerit ( the guys who restored tanks like the KT applied "home.made" Zimmerit)...you'll discover interesting things like fingerprints,initials of names and even the texture of the workers' clothing! Just in case you'd be interested to add that to your very interesting lecture it's worth noting that it was hardened by torches,that it took 200kg of the stuff to coat a Tiger I and that there were at least 11 different patterns,and that doesn't include the field-made ones or those rare cases in which stick or even fingers had been used to add a pattern to hard-to-reach areas! For the records,the "Polyvinyl acetate" is but our "Elmer's or "Carpenter's glue"!
    6 points
  45. I understand why people call these textured helmets "Zimmerit" but in actual fact zimmerit was only applied to Armoured vehicles, but there is some evidence that a thinned down version of the paste was used to coat some helmets, but this was done mainly by the individual soldier and still resulted in a relatively thick covering. The true Zimmerit was produced by Chemische Werke Zimmer AG, and was a thick paste consisting of 40% Barium Sulphate,25% Polyvinyl Acetate, 15% pigment(ochre), 10% Zinc Sulphide,10% sawdust, the whole process of applying the paste took days and was dried using blow torches, which hampered the production of turning out the armoured vehicles, If the true paste was applied to a helmet it would increase its weight significantly and be very thick, but it was,nt readily available other than in the factories, but some vehicles might have been done in the field whilst in field depot,s while under repair. The idea was to minimise the chances of having magnetic explosives attached to the hulls of vehicles. Your M35 is a classic sawdust paint and dirt camo and a very nice one . I have a soft spot for textured helmets, and I would love to have this one on my shelf
    6 points
  46. Here is a great LWFD Uffz/Flak tunic. A friend of mine picked it up directly from the woodwork about 10 years ago. I was lucky enough to finally buy it from him late last year. It came complete with a party badge and train ticket in the pocket.
    6 points
  47. The rings on the two fuzes above were attached to the launching rail or aircraft pylon by wires which pulled and activated the fuzes on launch. The bottom threads are were the gaines attached(Penthrite wax filling) The collection graced by this smashing booklet i was given when i left my last firm.
    6 points
  48. Please be aware that any pictures of live ordnance posted in this forum will be deleted. MCN does not condone the handling of live ordnance in any way. Every year, live ground dug ordnance from WW1 and WW2 still kills and maims people every year. Live explosive ordnance should only ever be handled by fully trained explosive disposal experts. MCN will also not tolerate the showing of illegally held items. For example, many types of live cartridge and even projectiles are illegal to possess without the relevant licence in many countries. In England, possession of any intact pressure bearing component (section 5), is also illegal. All such posts will be fully reviewed to ensure items are held legally.
    6 points
×
×
  • Create New...