joetauchretter

I have to agree , this is a bad cast repro ! Best Regards, Joe

A real beauty Jody ! This has to be my favorite KM badge ! If you get a chance could we have a close up shot of the rivet on the back ? Joe

I would like to see bigger and color pictures but from what I see here I must agree with Pat , this looks like a cast copy in my opinion . Joe

In my humble opinion I would have to agree that this is a cast copy . I would like some more close up pictures but I do not like the details on the front or back of this clasp . It looks like poor casting pitting instead of bubbling of the silver and the zinc metal due to a reaction of the two . I do not like what looks like crude detailing around the hinge area and even the words on the back look very poor to me . There looks like alot of cast pitting on the front of the badge near the bow of the u-boat . Joe

I must agree , though nice to look at IMHO I think it is a reproduction . This looks like it has a lot of chemical aging to it . Joe

Hello Gordon , I just go my copy of your new book in the mail the other day , GREAT JOB but............ Lite on the tauchretters ! The one and only you show is incomplete ! I own 9 pre 1945 and 4 post 1945 tauchretters complete with all of the rare accessories I would be glad to give you all the pictures needed for your book ! other than that I think you did an outstanding job ! Joe

I would like to see a picture of the bottom of this boot . From what I can see I doubt this is a real u-boat related item . I see now sellers stamping anything possible with a u-boat marking in order to get a higher price . From the side view the sole of the boot looks nothing like what was used on erman military boots at that time . The Upper material looks very new in the picture, the material looks almost white and any light colored material after 60 years tends to turn a brownish color . Also the shape of the boot looks nothing like a standard u-boat shoe , one would think that they would use the same shape and material as the regular shoe with this additional spring loaded bottom . The stamps do not thrill me either ! " u-boot " do you see this on other items like clothes or a tauchretter for example ? Do you really need o u-boot stamp inside a pair of pants or a shirt ? Just my humble opinion , but these are very interesting boots! Maybe post war for mine sweeper boats ? Joe

Hello, I do not think this was a container that would be used in a drop zone . I would tend to think this is a storeage container used in a supply warehouse etc . The top of the box states that it is a weather proof box for would looks like parachutes . The maker code is ebr , but I do not have this code in my book on German wartime manufacturers codes . Joe

Hello, In my opinion this looks like a cast copy . The back of this has that rough cast look to it and the front does not have the sharp , crisp details that I would expect to see on an original item . Joe

If this is a WWII item the only maker code " BA " that I could find is SUNDWIGER MESSINGWERKE , ISERLOHN , WESTPHALIA . This was a firm that made measuring devices , the pressure guage was made by the Dr?ger firm . The box and metal device both are marked with the " BA " code so I would think that they were both made by the same company , sometimes a device would be made by one firm and the carrying case by another ! Is there any paper work or instruction booklet that goes with this device ? A very interesting item whice I would like to see more detailed pictures of ! Joe

In my opinion this is a reproduction badge . I think it looks like a cast badge and I do not like the pin assembly and the way it is attached to the badge . Joe

I wonder if this could be a post war luftwaffe item as the face of the pressure gauge is very similar to my post war Dr?ger tauchretter TR66 pressure gauge face ??? Joe

The top of the wood box states that it contains a supply pressure gauge with table clamping device for a swim vest bottle . I think this was clamped to a table top and the small O2 bottle that would inflate the swim vest would be screwed into this device to check the pressure to make certain that it was full and ready for use . A very interesting item made by the Dr?ger firm . Any date stamps or war time maker codes such as " byd " or " flr " , both are dr?ger maker codes . Can you please post more detailed pictures for us ? Joe

Very interesting looking cloth version badge ! I have never seen the destroyer badge with this type of wire bullion thread , only in a yellow cotton thread . I cannot say for 100 % certain that it is real or a reproduction but it sure does look pretty !

I have a very bad feeling about that sleeve eagle , a reproduction in my book . The stitching looks very thin and the eagles wings seem to be turned down slightly as seen on many repro's .

This looks like a 100% fake badge to me , the rivits look like they are part of the casting and not a seperate item like on the real deal ! This badge looks like a cast copy to me .

I think that badge looks like a very bad Reproduction to me ! A cheap casting with lots of repair work to correct a bad repro , in my humble opinion .