Some WW II relics

T

Thorsten

Established Users
Hi to all,

as a German relic hunter I cannot contribute much in terms of CW finds but I can show some WW II items in case someone is interested. The following items were found at a retreat route of a SS division. The picture shows

fired round of a German 8.8 cm / 3.46" anti aircraft gun

empty German "egg" hand grenade M38.

Italian Carcano bayonet

possible carrying device for 8.8 cm grenades

German Machine pistol MP 40 "Schmeisser"

Italian Carcano rifle 6.5 mm / 0.256"

leather bullet pocket for German K98 rifle ammunition. K98 was the German standard weapon in WW II

All found firearms have been reported to the authorities. The rifle was disarmed by a gunsmith. The MP was handed over to the authorities. To avoid misunderstandings I will repeat this in German at the end of this posting. Hope somebody enjoyed it.

Greetings from Germany,
Thorsten

DIE HIER ABGEBILDETEN WAFFENFUNDE WURDEN DEN BEHÖRDEN GEMELDET. DIE MP WURDE ABGEGEBEN, DAS GEWEHR VON EINEM BÜCHSENMACHER IN EINE DEKOWAFFE UMGEARBEITET.
 

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Hi Gary,

in general the possession of firearms is prohibited in Germany as well as in most European countries. The German weapon law is strict and very complicated and probably of rather limited interest to readers of this forum. So I won't go into details.

It is possible, however, to keep found non-automatic weapons legally under certain circumstances, e.g. when they are disarmed by a gunsmith. I found and legalized a 19. century pinfire revolver, a WW II 7.65 mm Mauser HSc pistol, the shown Carcano rifle and a 8 mm Mauser rifle "Gewehr 98" , the standard weapon of the German soldier in WW one.

Bye,
Thorsten
 
I regret to learn that you are not allowed to keep some of the excavated weapons you find. Certainly they not not in firable condition! I guess the government destroys them. What a waste!
Best regards,
Gary

PS...please send more pictures of WWII artifacts you have found!!!
 
Hi Gary,

the legal situation is not as bad as it seems. You can legalize non-automatic weapons for some 25-50 US$.

As of April 1, 2003 a new weapon law came into effect in Germany. It is possible that now even the legalization of certain automatic WW II firearms like the shown MP 40 is possible. I will check that as soon as I find one.

Bye,
Thorsten
 
Hi Gary,

this starts a series of pictures of WW II item I found.

A fired US BMG 50 bullet. (Heavy Browning machine gun 0.5" calibre). Note that the ruler shows cm. 2.54 cm = 1"
 

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Next a German gas mask container I found on the surface. Drink can for size comparison only. A German signal gun cartridge with production date 1943 is also shown.
 

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Next comes the first rifle I found which was quite exciting! A Mauser Gewehr 98.
 

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The results of searching a lonely hill in a swampy region. Apparently, German troops hid there and waited for the war to end... I brought the bullets to the police who were pretty surprised to receive some 160 rounds of live ammunition.

The variety of ammunition suggests that the hill was occupied by irregular troops (so called Volkssturm).
 

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To keep loading time bearable I will post further WW II relics in a new post 'More WW II relics'. Hope you enjoyed it so far!

Bye,
Thorsten
 
I'm loving it so far! Question: are the round objects in the last series of pictures eye-pieces for gas masks? Also, are the items that look like large sewing needles tent stakes?
Great stuff,
Gary
 
Hello Thorsten,
What kind of metal are the tent stakes made of? I cannot tell from the pictures.
Thanks,
Gary
 
Hi,

the shown specimens are made of aluminium. But I have also found one made from steel.

The pictures show a) a stake in its original position *before* I touched it. The last person who handled it was probably one of the soldiers hiding on that hill. Apart from signs of corrosion the stake looked as if it was placed yesterday.

b) is a closeup of a stake's head showing the manufacturer code and the production year 1938.

Well, I received an error when I tried to show both pics in the same post. So I will show them one after the other.

Bye,
Thorsten
 

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Hi to all,

I just re-posted two W II relic hunt stories. Often we hobby historians value the story behind the finds as much as the finds themselves. If anybody is interested though there will be not much new in terms of pics of WW II relics here are the links. One story is enriched with an original US reconnaissance aerial photo of April 1945 showing the searched area.

Please read them in the suggested sequence, since they are partly referring to one another.

Title "A hint in an US forum and a German WW II site hunt (very long and many pics)"

http://216.194.97.71/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=1746


Update with further information

http://216.194.97.71/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=1747


Title "A journey to relic land "

http://216.194.97.71/cgi-bin/config.pl?read=1748


Bye,
Thorsten
 
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