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With excellent lenses. Ideal for the collector of WW2 German military opticals, perfect as spares or for replacing lost or damaged parts. They would cost many, many times the price we ask to re manufacture, if they could even be replicated today, and may not be needed now, but to save them in case of need one day, would be exceptionally prudent and sound logic. They could also be perfect for a collector of German WW2 Panzer military equipment at relatively minute cost. Photo 3 in the gallery shows a complete binocular with the parts we offer in place The beauty of these parts is that they are universal fit, even though they came from a panzer case originally they would fit kriegsmarine gun sights and luftwaffe anti aircraft sights
Code: 17798
175.00 GBP
The croix de guerre is a military decoration of both France and Belgium, where it is also known as the Oorlogskruis (Dutch). It was first created in 1915 in both countries and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts. The croix de guerre was also commonly bestowed to foreign military forces allied to France and Belgium.The croix de guerre may either be bestowed as a unit award or to individuals who distinguish themselves by acts of heroism involving combat with enemy forces. The medal is also awarded to those who have been "mentioned in despatches", meaning a heroic deed was performed meriting a citation from an individual's headquarters unit. The unit award of the croix de guerre was issued to military commands who performed heroic deeds in combat and were subsequently recognized by headquarters.
Code: 16559
115.00 GBP
A South American Europe Flight, the Hindenberg’s 31st flight, arrived back from Rio to Frankfurt flight and flew to arrive above Berlin at the Olympic Stadium on the 1st August the Olympics of 1936. Superb condition envelope and franked stamps. The Hindenburg Zeppelin flew over the Olympic Arena, on the 1st of August, and the envelope was date stamped just a few days before on the 27th, midway on its journey from Brazil back to Germany, returning in order to fly at the Olympic Games opening ceremony. The Berlin Games are best remembered for Adolf Hitler’s failed attempt to use them to prove his theories of Aryan racial superiority. As it turned out, the most popular hero of the Games was the African-American sprinter and long jumper Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay and long jump. Television Coverage The 1936 Games were the first to be broadcast on television. Twenty-five television viewing rooms were set up in the Greater Berlin area, allowing the locals to follow the Games free of charge. Young Olympians Thirteen-year-old Marjorie Gestring of the U.S. won the gold medal in springboard diving. She remains the youngest female gold medallist in the history of the Summer Olympic Games. Twelve-year-old Inge Sorensen of Denmark earned a bronze medal in the 200m breaststroke, making her the youngest medallist ever in an individual event. Debuts and Firsts Basketball, canoeing and field handball all made their first appearances The Hindenburg made 17 round trips across the Atlantic in 1936, its first and only full year of service, with ten trips to the United States and seven to Brazil. In July 1936 it completed a record Atlantic double crossing in five days, 19 hours and 51 minutes. Among the famous passengers was German heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling, who returned home on the Hindenburg to a hero's welcome after knocking out Joe Louis in New York on June 19, 1936. During the 1936 season the airship flew 191,583 miles (308,323 km), carried 2,798 passengers, and transported 160 tons of freight and mail, a level of success that encouraged the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Company to plan the expansion of its airship fleet and transatlantic service. The airship was reportedly so stable that a pen or pencil could be stood on a table without falling. Its launches were so smooth that passengers often missed them, believing that the airship was still docked to its mooring mast. The cost of one way passage between Germany and the United States was US$400, an especially considerable sum in the Depression era. Hindenburg passengers were generally affluent, including many public figures, entertainers, noted sportsmen, political figures, and leaders of industry. The Hindenburg was used again for propaganda purposes when it flew over the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on August 1 during the opening ceremonies of the 1936 Summer Olympic Games. Shortly before the arrival of Adolf Hitler to declare the Games open, the airship crossed low over the packed stadium while trailing the Olympic flag on a long weighted line suspended from its gondola. During 1936 the Hindenburg had a special Bl?thner aluminium grand piano placed on board in the music salon, although the instrument was removed after the first year to save weight. Over the winter of 1936?37, several alterations were made to the airship's structures. The greater lift capacity allowed ten passenger cabins to be added, nine with two beds and one with four beds, thus increasing the total passenger capacity to 72. In addition, "gutters" were installed to collect rain for use as water ballast: taking on rainwater ballast to compensate for the weight of fuel consumed during a voyage was more economical than venting hydrogen. Another change was the installation of an experimental aircraft hook-on trapeze based on the system similar to the one used on the U.S. Navy Goodyear-Zeppelin built airships Akron and Macon. This was intended to allow customs officials to be flown out to the Hindenburg to process passengers before landing and to retrieve mail from the ship for early delivery. Experimental hook-ons and takeoffs were attempted on March 11 and April 27, 1937, but were not very successful, owing to turbulence around the area where the hook-up trapeze had been mounted. The loss of the ship ended all prospects of further testing.
Code: 17968
375.00 GBP
Fresh from many, many hours in the workshop to conserve, preserve, clean and protect. Blade marked by the naval officer's outfitter August Luneburg of Kiel. 'Maiden hair' pattern Damascus steel blade, fully deluxe etched with a sailing ship of the line, swags and swirls and the Imperial German crown over naval anchor. also a large panel with the name of the maker, Linde. The form of dagger as was worn by officer's in the reichmarine in WW1 and by admirals in the kriegsmarine during WW2 [see photo of two such men one in WW1 uniform the other in WW2 in the gallery] Fleet Commander Admiral Wilhelm Marschall, was a talented (and perhaps brilliant) officer who had a thorough grasp of naval tactics. Born in Augsburg, Bavaria, on September 30, 1886, he entered the navy as a sea cadet (Seekadett) in 1906. Commissioned in 1909, he served in several types of vessels, from battleships to hulks. Then, in 1916, he volunteered for U-boat school. In the last two years of the Great War he commanded UC-74 (a mine-laying submarine) and later UB-105 and sent a number of Allied ships to the bottom. Consequently, on July 4, 1918, he was decorated with Imperial Germany’s highest medal, the Pour le Merite. Marschall’s postwar career was also conspicuous and included tours as commander of the survey ship Panther (1924–1926), first officer of the battleships Schleswig-Holstein (1929–1930) and Hanover (1930–1931), chief of staff of the Baltic Sea Naval Station (1931–1934), commander of the battleship Hessen (1934) and the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer (1934–1936), chief of operations of OKM (1936–1937), and commander of German Sea Forces in Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1937–1938). He was commander of pocket battleships (Panzerschiffen) when the war broke out. Marschall first ran afoul of Grand Admiral Raeder in November 1939, when he took the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau out into the North Sea. His objective was to create a diversion in favor of the Deutschland, which was attempting to return home after a disappointing raid into the Atlantic. Just as he hoped, the British Home Fleet came after the two battleships, allowing the Deutschland to reenter German waters safely. Then Marschall not only eluded the British trap, he isolated and sank the British armed merchant cruiser Rawalpindi in the process. However, he received no thanks from the German Admiralty—only unfair and savage attacks and a clear implication that his job was in jeopardy. It seems that the German battleship had withdrawn after seeing the silhouette of a darkened ship at nightfall on November 23. Raeder, ever the chairborne critic, was furious that Marschall had not attacked and sunk the second British ship—whatever it was. Marschall should have attacked an unknown ship at night, in the middle of the British fleet, when any damage that slowed his speed even slightly could cost Germany one of her two operational battleships? This from Raeder, the man who had previously ordered that capital ships should not be risked? “Till now,” Marschall commented, “no one has ever questioned the naval axiom that capital ships should avoid all contact at night with torpedo craft and reconnaissance vessels.” Marschall was quite right, of course: the potential prize was simply not worth the risks. Raeder, however, continued to launch scathing attacks, but never officially and never face-to-face. Hand specialist conservation and preservation of original items is one of our fundamental tenets, it is not unusual for us to expend up to ten times the cost of an item in order to preserve a piece for the future, and to return it to how it once looked for posterity. Of course over restoration can be worse than no restoration at all so every care is made to ensure exactly the right amount of conservation is undertaken by our specialist and highly trained world renown artisans.
Code: 24354
PriceonRequest
Original Polar Expeditions collectables are most highly desirable and we have been delighted to acquire two such connected lots. These are 12 original photographic postcards, published at the time, by two publishers, Traldi and Ballerini & Fratini. For example one is entitled "La Spedizione Nobile - 11 - Esplorazioni di Alpini." Ed. A. Traldi, Milan, n.d. c. 1928. and another "General Nobile to edge of Italy before leaving." Umberto Nobile January 21, 1885 ? July 30, 1978) was an Italian aeronautical engineer and Arctic explorer. Nobile was a developer and promoter of semi-rigid airships during the Golden Age of Aviation between the two World Wars. He is primarily remembered for designing and piloting the airship Norge, which may have been the first aircraft to reach the North Pole, and which was indisputably the first to fly across the polar ice cap from Europe to America. Nobile also designed and flew the Italia, a second polar airship; this second expedition ended in a deadly crash and provoked an international rescue effort.The N-class airship Italia was slowly completed and equipped for Polar flight during 1927-28. Part of the difficulty was in raising private funding to cover the costs of the expedition, which finally was financed by the city of Milan; the Italian government limited its direct participation to providing the airship and sending the aging steamer Citt? di Milano as a support vessel to Svalbard, under the command of Giuseppe Romagna. This time the airship used a German hangar at Stolp en route to Svalbard and the mast at Vads? (Northern Norway). On May 23, 1928, after an outstanding 69 hour long flight to the Siberian group of Arctic islands, the Italia commenced its flight to the North Pole with Nobile as both pilot and expedition leader. On May 24, the ship reached the Pole and had already turned back toward Svalbard when it ran into a storm. On May 25, the Italia crashed onto the pack ice less than 30 kilometres north of Nordaustlandet (Eastern part of Svalbard). Of the 16 men in the crew, ten were thrown onto the ice as the gondola was smashed; the remaining six crewmen were trapped in the buoyant superstructure as it ascended skyward due to loss of the gondola; the fate of the six men was never resolved. One of the ten men on the ice, Pomella, died from the impact; Nobile suffered a broken arm, broken leg, broken rib and head injury; Cecioni suffered two badly broken legs; Malmgren suffered a severe shoulder injury and suspected injury to a kidney; and Zappi had several broken ribs. The crew managed to salvage several items from the crashed airship gondola, including a radio transceiver, a tent which they later painted red for maximum visibility, and, critically, packages of food and survival equipment which quick-witted engineer Ettore Arduino had managed to throw onto the ice before he and his five companions were carried off to their deaths by the wrecked but still airborne airship envelope and keel. As the days passed, the drifting sea ice took the survivors towards Foyn and Broch islands. A few days after the crash the Swedish meteorologist Malmgren and Nobile's second and third in command Mariano and Zappi decided to leave the immobile group and march towards land. Malmgren, who was injured, weakened and reportedly still depressed over his meteorological advice that he felt contributed to the crash, asked his two Italian companions to continue without him. These two were picked up several weeks later by the Soviet icebreaker "Krasin". However there were persistent rumors that Malmgren was killed and cannibalized by Zappi and Mariano They would look incredible suitably bespoke framed [with UV protected glass]
Code: 18032
675.00 GBP
A good holster from the Luger like pistol used by Finland in the 1st Winter War against Stalin’s Soviet Union, caused by the invasion of the Russian bear against their relatively tiny neighbour Finland. It did not end well for Stalin, it took around 10 times the amount of material and manpower to overcome little Finland, they won but at a terrible cost to Russian lives. None least it demonstrated to the world [and to Hitler particularly] just how easily an over armed but foolish despot could be humiliated by a small but seriously resolute and determined nation, that responded valiantly to a despicable act of war. And incredibly effectively. It has been speculated, with some considerable good reason, that it was because of Stalin’s near failure against a massively inferior force, that Hitler was inspired to realise just how easily Stalin could be defeated by another determined yet far greater armed enemy. Thus Operation Barbarossa [the 1941 invasion by National Socialist Germany into the Communist Soviet Union] was conceived, and very nearly succeeded, due to Hitler’s over optimism in his belief that his Third Reich war machine could succeed in crushing Stalin comfortably before the onset of the all consuming Eastern winter. He was very nearly right. Therefore, one could say, if Hitler had not invaded Russia, in his act of despicable betrayal, WW2 might have had a very different end game. All thanks to tiny Finland, some might conclude. A Lahti L-35 is a semi-automatic pistol designed by Aimo Lahti that was produced from 1935 to just after the war. About 9000 pistols were made in four production series. The weapon had a bolt accelerator to improve reliability in cold conditions or when fouled. This kind of system was rare for pistols. It also resembled the German Luger P08 pistol. The Finnish army used the L-35 in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and it was the official Finnish service pistol until the 1980s when it was replaced by the FN HP-DA pistol. (Finnish military designation 9.00 PIST 80 / 9.00 PIST 80-91) Finnish L-35 pistol was also known with nicknames Lahti-pistooli (Lahti-pistol) and Suomi-pistooli (Suomi-pistol) among Finnish military. It was reliable, accurate and sturdy pistol, but also one of the largest and heaviest 9-mm military pistols ever manufactured. Structure of the this strong looking pistol had its week point: Powerful submachinegun-ammunition often used by Finnish troops with these pistols could crack the pistols slide quite easily. As all 9 mm x 19 ammunition manufactured during World War 2 in Finland was hot loaded submachinegun-ammunition using this ammunition also pistols of same calibre unfortunately wasn't exactly unusual during World War 2 and years after it. When the slides of L-35 broke down in larger numbers Finnish military soon found itself needing replacements for them. Because of this many series of replacement slides were manufactured for Finnish military after World War 2. Most of these pistols (all but series 4) have shoulder stock attachment lugs. While the Finns developed and tested wooden shoulder stocks and wooden shoulder stock holsters for these pistols, these were never manufactured in real numbers and the pistols were issued without them.
Code: 24344
145.00 GBP
Awarded to Greek and Allied forces that fought agianst the Germans in Crete Battle of Crete 1941 and in Albania, Macedonia, Thrace and Epirus against the Italians. The Battle of Crete (German: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, also Unternehmen Merkur, "Operation Mercury", Greek: Μάχη της Κρήτης) was fought during the Second World War on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany began an airborne invasion of Crete. Greek and other Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, defended the island. After only one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered heavy casualties and the Allied troops were confident that they would defeat the invasion. The next day, through communication failures, Allied tactical hesitation, and German offensive operations, Maleme Airfield in western Crete fell, enabling the Germans to land reinforcements and overwhelm the defensive positions on the north of the island. Allied forces withdrew to the south coast. More than half were evacuated by the British Royal Navy and the remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan resistance. The defence of Crete evolved into a costly naval engagement; by the end of the campaign the Royal Navy's eastern Mediterranean strength had been reduced to only two battleships and three cruisers. The Battle of Crete was the first occasion where Fallschirmjäger (German paratroops) were used en masse, the first mainly airborne invasion in military history, the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from decrypted German messages from the Enigma machine,and the first time German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. Due to the number of casualties and the belief that airborne forces no longer had the advantage of surprise, Adolf Hitler became reluctant to authorise further large airborne operations, preferring instead to employ paratroopers as ground troops. In contrast, the Allies were impressed by the potential of paratroopers and started to form airborne-assault and airfield-defence regiments.
Code: 24329
55.00 GBP
The West Wall Medal (German: Deutsches Schutzwall-Ehrenzeichen) was a military decoration of Nazi Germany. Maker marked Carl Poellath on the packet of issue. It was instituted on 2 August 1939 and was given to those who designed and built the fortifications on Germany's western borders, known as the West Wall or, in English, the Siegfried Line, and to the troops who served there prior to May 1940. In 1944, as Germany was expecting the arrival of the allied invasion, it was again awarded to those who took part in the fortification of the western borders.The medal was struck in bronzed brass. Its oval shape featured on the obverse (from bottom to top) a bunker, a crossed sword and shovel, and the German Eagle. On the reverse it bore the inscription "Für Arbeit zum Schutze Deutschlands" (For Work for the Protection of Defense of Germany).The medal was designed by Professor Richard Klein, of Munich. Excellent plus condition
Code: 24330
135.00 GBP
The second most important Greek medal for bravery in the battlefield. The War Cross (Greek: Πολεμικός Σταυρός) is a military decoration of Greece, awarded for heroism in wartime to both Greeks and foreign allies. There have been three versions of the cross, the 1917 version covering World War I, the 1940 version covering the Second World War and the Greek Civil War, and the 1974 version covering peacekeeping missions in the subsequent years. The months that followed the Italian invasion from Albania on October 28, 1940, brought enduring glory to the Greek arms. Despite the enemy’s superiority in everything but courage, the Italian forces were quickly driven back across the frontier and subjected to relentless pressure. Adding to their glory, Greeks did not seek external support, since they were fully capable of dealing with the invaders, refuting Mussolini’s infamous speech in Palazzo Venezia on November 18, 1940. By the dawn of 1941, the Greeks had occupied nearly one-third of — capitulated to the Axis powers — Albania and were still advancing. By the end of February 1941 the Italian losses were estimated at 100,000 and the prisoners of war at 23,000. Thus far, all had gone better than ever imagined for the Greeks, who had proved themselves the only relatively small power able to successfully resist the Axis, and the collapse of Italy in Albania seemed imminent at the time. But with the German occupation, first Romania and then Bulgaria, which also joined the Axis pact on March 1, 1941, it became more likely that Hitler would take a hand in Greece and come to Mussolini’s long-awaited rescue. As a response to the Nazi aggression, British and Commonwealth troops began to arrive in Greece in early March and at their peak, numbered approximately 58,000, of whom 35,000 were combatants. At 6:30 a.m. on April 6, the German Ambassador in Athens informed Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis that Germany was about to invade the country, on the pretext of British troops presence. On that very day, the Germans crossed the frontiers of both Greece and Yugoslavia with overwhelming mechanized forces. The Greeks began holding the “Metaxas Line” along Nestos river and the Rupel Fort on Strimonas river until these were turned by armored divisions that descended the valleys around them. Next, an attempt by the Anglo-Greek forces to hold a line running north-west from Thessaloniki was called off by a powerful drive across southern Yugoslavia, while the SS Armored Division descended on the Greek army’s right flank in Albania, forcing it to capitulate on April 20. The rest of the Anglo-Greek forces fought rearguard actions in Thessaly and the historic Thermopylae Pass. The next day, though, the Greek government informed the British Commander that the Greeks could no longer resist and urged the withdrawal of the expeditionary force, as the overwhelming superiority of the Germans in tanks and aircraft made any further resistance meaningless. The evacuation was effected from numerous small ports and beaches in Attica and the Peloponnese. The Germans entered Athens on April 27, marking an endless and painful “winter” for the Greeks.
Code: 24327
Issued for the Greek German war awarded for service to the Greek Sacred Squadron, the oldest special forces in the world, and to SAS and SBS combatants that fought in co-operation with Greek units, the Rimini Brigade and the Ist Greek Brigade, in North Africa S. Aegean, & Italy Rimini. The Medal for the War of 1941–1945 was established on 2 March 1946 and awarded to members of the Royal Hellenic Armed Forces who had seen action. It was created as a star for land operations. The medal was bestowed upon Royal Hellenic Armed Forces personnel for operational services to the Army in North Africa, the South Aegean Sea and Italy. Several thousands of Army personnel, the majority of the Fleet and the remaining airplanes escaped to Turkey or were evacuated to Egypt after the capitulation of the Continental Greece and the battle of Crete respectively. At the British controlled Middle East the Hellenic Armed Forces were reorganized and reequipped (with British assistance) while more personnel either from Greece or from the existing Greek population in Egypt joined their ranks. Soon the Hellenic Armed Forces of the Middle East were able to form 2 Brigades, a Special Forces Unit (Sacred Band or Sacred Company in Greek) attached to 1st SAS. The Hellenic Royal Navy with 44 ships and over 8,500 men, became the second-largest Allied Navy in the Mediterranean after the RN, accounting for 80% of all non-RN operations. The Hellenic Royal Air Force formed 3 Squadrons (the 335 and 336 Fighter Squadrons – equipped with Hurricanes and later with Spitfires – and the 13th Naval Cooperation Squadron which operated with Blenheims and later with Batimores). The Hellenic Armed Forces participated to the Battle of El Alamein, to the Operations for Liberation of several Greek islands of the Aegean Sea after the capitulation of Italy, to the operation in Sicily and South Italy while several ships of the Hellenic Royal Navy supported the landing in Normandy.
Code: 24328
95.00 GBP
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