Show us your Militaria

[vintage.vendeuse]

Hello again, everyone! May I have some help reading the name on this US Navy black heavy, thick wool bridge coat? It's dated 1942 but is in immaculate, like new condition. Were they generally black? (I thought they were navy blue.) Looks like "Ens" after the name so I assume he was an Ensign. Thanks!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

World War 1 Iron Cross 2nd Class with 1915 Gorlice-Tarnow clasp
The ring bears the maker's mark "W&S" for Berlin jewelers Johann Wagner & Sohn, jewelers to the Imperial Court located at Unter den Linden 30.

Original postcard of pilot trainees of Fliegerbattaillon 3 with an Etrich Taube.

 

[Stearmen]

Great finds V.C.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Antique WW1 era von Hindenberg patriotic coffee cup.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Signed photo of and accompanying letter dated February 22, 1969 from WWI German pilot Robert A. Niemann. Born in 1893, Niemann was a pilot with Fliegerabteilung (Artillerie) 250. After the war he emigrated to the US where he worked in the aircraft industry for many years. He died in 1982 in Lodi, Wisconsin.

 

[Giftmacher]

Great collection you have V.C. Congrats!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

World War 1 German Fliegertruppen Shoulder Boards.

 

[DNO]

Had a stroke of luck at a house contents sale yesterday. Scrounging around the basement I found this WWII vintage sailor's souvenir life ring. I was pretty excited. This sort of thing was usually given by a sailor to a girlfriend/wife/mother and expressed the pride he felt in his ship. In this case, it was a gift from a sailor on HMCS St. Croix. (There was also a small RCN sweetheart pin in the estate, as well.)

To understand my excitement, you have to know something about HMCS St. Croix. It was one of the old WW1 destroyers obtained from the US on Lend Lease. It was escorting a convoy in September, 1943 when it was struck by three of the new German acoustic torpedoes.The Royal Navy frigate HMS Ichen tried to pick up survivors but when more torpedoes hit, and sank, HMS Polyanthus it had to try to chase the U-Boat away. It wasn’t until the next morning that HMS Ichen returned to pick up 81 survivors from St. Croix from the water. But the worst was yet to come. The next morning, HMS Ichen, heavily laden with survivors, was hit and sunk by another U-Boat. Eventually 3 survivors were pulled from the water: 2 from HMS Ichen and one from HMCS St. Croix.



It’s a pretty sad artifact. There was a post-war HMCS St. Croix but this sort of souvenir was typical of WWII practice and the ring has quite a bit of age to it. I've seen these before and they often have the sailor's photo in the centre...always WWII ships and sailors.

 

[DNO]

I've been doing a bit more research on St. Croix. The sole survivor was a stoker named William Fisher. He wrote an account of his experience in the Journal of Canadian Military History: http://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1268&context=cmh

 

[p51]

This is just part of my War Correspondent collection, but this riker case has some of my more impressive parts. Everything is original.
Some of you might know the rarity of most of these items. The ID across the bottom left is a tri-fold one with the green backing. The cards to the right are all named to one person.
Note the metal correspondent insignia in the middle, which is twisted and broken. That was dug up in Europe.

And just for the heck of it, I've included a photo of my wife and myself at a 40s event a couple of weekends ago. I'm wearing a mostly original WW2 officer's uniform with war correspondent insignia:

 

[mr_lits]

Here is a snippet of my collection. They are WWII AAC/USAAF flight helmets and headgear mostly used by the 8thAF (including some adopted RAF gear). Needed to snap a photo of my newest addition of the British Type E oxygen mask (middle right in photo) rigged for AAF planes. A rare jewel.

 

[Jayessgee]

Some of my Dad's things. CBI 1943-45. Dad was the long, tall fellow on the right in the group picture.

 

[Jayessgee]

Some of my Dad's things. CBI 1943-45. Dad was the long, tall fellow on the right in the group picture.

Some more CBI stuff. These are retouched scans of two photos Dad took . There is Pat O'Brien and Jinx Falkenberg. Not so well known today she was quite a name back then. The other is of Ruth (I think) and Jimmie Dodd (later of Disney's "Mouseketeers" who I watched when young).
Dad was an MP and the little pamphlet in Japanese is something he took off a dead soldier as one of his duties looking for items of military intelligence. This is nothing but a war progress note for Japanese soldiers telling them how well they were doing. Somehow, I think soldiers had to of known the difference between advancing and retreating.

 

[Jayessgee]

Some more CBI stuff.

The "Bull Sheet" and "Road Gang" are two issues of apparently local military printings. Dad also seem s to have kept every issue of the CBI Round Up- the theater paper, issued while he was over there which I also have.
Finally, Dad's personal count down calendars. He apparently made these counting every calendar day he was overseas.
I have more stuff but, I think this is about all of interest.
For the record, Dad was not a combat soldier. He was an MP and truck driver. He drove the Burma and Ledo Roads, those marvels of engineering now all but forgotten. He was one of the many unsung heroes who delivered the goods to the guys who needed it to finish what others started. He was a testament to how desperate our need for troops was because he wore glasses and had a bad back and was working in a war industry related steel mill when he was drafted.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

German Zentenarmedaille (1897)
Established on March 22, 1897 by Kaiser Wilhelm II to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of his grandfather Kaiser Wilhelm I (1797-1888). It was awarded to Prussian state and university officials as well as active duty members of the Army, Navy and Schutztruppen (German East Africa police). It was also awarded to veterans of the Wars of Unification such as the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71)

 

[Trenchfriend]

Wow!

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

1909 postcard of German artillerymen in 1870 era uniform demonstrating C68 six-pounder gun from the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71)

 

[green papaya]

Polish Wz63 Paratrooper steel jump helmet , also used by several other eastern block para units, like East Germany's paras, the Makarov pistol & rain pattern camo holster is from East Germany, the bayonet is for the AK74 rifle mfg by E. Germany.

 

[scottyrocks]

World War 1 Iron Cross 2nd Class with 1915 Gorlice-Tarnow clasp
The ring bears the maker's mark "W&S" for Berlin jewelers Johann Wagner & Sohn, jewelers to the Imperial Court located at Unter den Linden 30.

I had a cross like this, without the enameling, when I was a kid. I'd like to know what happened to it. As I throw almost nothing away, it's probably around somewhere.

 

[Giftmacher]

Not mine, but looks interesting. Furniture made from German transport aircraft Siebel Si 204D.
http://www.aero-1946.de/siebel cabinet neu.html