David Gregory

Hi Pikestaff, I know a guy who will able to provide a metric figure for this, but he doesn't frequent the Internet is generally not easy to contact. I'll ask him when I see him next. David

Hi Pikestaff, While I am not sure what you mean by spring rate, the spring arrangement was contained within a blued telescoping tube made up of three sections of stamped and rolled sheet steel. The firing pin was retained by a cross pin in a machined block at the bolt end of the largest section. The smallest section at the rear of the gun ended in a formed metal cup that pressed against the upright part of the lower receiver/trigger group assembly. David

Miguel, The word Anerkennung means acknowledgment or recognition. I would like to see examples of these awards, too. David

So you got it! Congratulations, Mike. Unfortunately, I have no information on Rittmeister Peters.

Mike, Thanks for showing the close-up of the "armpits". The finish does indeed look a lot better than some of less elegantly "cut-and-drilled" corners of the obvious reproductions. How does the size, quality of raised portions and general finish compare with a suspended cross? Are there any signs of a ribbon loop having been removed? Intriguing! David

Damn, I missed it!. Excellent piece, whose owner I hope can be confirmed.

Kavallerie-Sch?tzen-Kommando 45 was assembled in early May 1918 from the staff of 45. Kavallerie-Brigade and formed part of 6. Kavallerie-Sch?tzen-Division on the Western Front. It mainly consisted of Husaren-Regiment Nr. 13, J?ger-Regiment-zu-Pferd Nr. 13, Reserve-Dragoner-Sch?tzen-Regiment Nr. 7 and 5. Eskadron/Ulanen-Regiment Nr. 13. Most of the men in these units were dismounted cavalrymen used as infantry, with some reinforcements provided by younger men combed out of units following the 1917 ceasefire in the East.

Miguel, Those are very nice bars. I try to limit my collection to one period (1914-18), but I also find myself drifting into other areas, too. The Balkans in the pre-1914 period are fascinating and I look forward to seeing more of your collection. David

Paul, The hardest to find are probably those for some of the smaller and more obscure Reserve, Landwehr or Landsturm units. The J?ger formation histories also seem hard to find. This is probably due to the small unit size and, consequently, the low number of copies originally printed. I have never been able to establish any correlation between desirability and "sell the fastest on eBay". Fairly common histories sometimes sell for silly (i.e. high) prices. Genuinely rare books sometimes sell for very little. Some of the more luxurious examples for cavalry or guards units tend to command very high prices, presumably because book collectors want them for the high quality bindings. Condition is of secondary importance for me, as I want the books for their contents when researching the circumstances relating to the documents I collect. However, this doesn't always work out as planned. For example, I have a Milit?rverdientstkreuz (a.k.a. enlisted man's PLM) award document to an Unteroffizier in RIR 262. The large and well written regimental history does not refer to him by name. He is merely the recipient of one of "a number of MVK awarded at the time" in late 1918. Daniel, There is also another FR 73 history I have with the title: Erinnerungsbl?tter aus der Geschichte des F?silier-Regiments Generalfeldmarschall Prinz Albrecht von Preussen (Hannoversches) Nr. 73 w?hrend des Weltkrieges 1914-1918, bearbeitet von Dr. Max von Szczepanski, Berlin 1923 David

David, I've got in book form and an index is on my long list of to-dos. Scanning it is something I've decided not to do because of the poor condition of the binding of my example. I also have a couple L?beck Hanseatenkreuz documents to men of IR 162 which I will post in the L?beck thread. Let me know if there is anything I can look up for you. Cheers, David

The bottom half of the first tin shown above looks like a post-war item. The lid may be also, but might be older.

Looks like a lapel pin has had most of the pin removed and then been added to a ribbon bar.

Brian, Sorry I cannot help you, but I would also like to know the best way to mount groups like this without ruining a length of ribbon by trial and error. David

Rod, Although I am not entirely sure about the name Eskorit (or whatever it may be), this might shed some light on the death notice: David

The recipient may not have lived long enough to receive one.

Although the word Panzer is synonymous with tanks in the English-speaking world, it also refers to "armoured", i.e. strengthened, items when used in German engineering jargon. Therefore, the lamp is probably designed and built to withstand general heavy-duty airfield use.

I thought the same when I first saw the bar, but then discounted the idea due to the difference between the lighter colour of the last ribbon and the white of the Hohenzollern ribbon. But different ribbons may lose their colour in different ways. Is it possible to see any of the clean ribbon beneath the backing? Is there a published roll for the Saxon ZVO?

Apollo, You probably already have most of the information that can be related to the sword. Garde-Dragoner-Regiment Kaiserin Alexandra von Ru?land Nr. 2 was established in Berlin in 1860 and was one of the Imperial German Guards units (whose motto was "Suum Cuique" (To Each His Own) as featured on the sword). The regiment was named after Empress Alexandra of Russia, born Charlotte, Princess of Prussia, who died in 1860. Together with its sister regiment Garde-Dragoner-Regiment K?nigin Viktoria von Gro?britannien und Irland Nr. 1, the regiment formed the Berlin-based 3. Garde?Kavallerie?Brigade, which was part of the Garde-Kavallerie-Division at the outbreak of WW1. As the largely static nature of fighting rendered cavalry superfluous in the course of the war, most cavalry formations were reorganised and their various elements were spread among other formations. At least one squadron of the regiment became part of 3. Garde-Infanterie-Division towards the end of World War 1, for example. As Rick mentions above, the sword was probably kept by a soldier and decorated to commemorate his pre-WW1 military service. I don't know of any site that contains much specific information on the regiment, but a smattering of German will probably help. David

That is a rare bird! I saw one of these in very good condition at a flea market a few years ago and didn't know what it was. The seller was convinced it was a Bundeswehr trade badge, so I left it. When I checked my reference material at home and realised what it was, I almost kicked myself. Needless to say, the seller did not have it a week later. I hope it went to a good home.

Not my collecting field, but it looks like a nice addition to your collection. The utilitarian design may also have been influenced by the economic constraints of the post-war period. The "austerity" look seems to have been a fairly common fashion statement in other parts of Europe at that time. I am frequently surprised how many historical items of clothing, including uniforms, have survived until today and were not just used up or recycled over the years. Good luck with your search for the matching shoulder boards. How did an item from post-war Hungary find its way into a collection that lives in the US?

EK, GMVK or MEZ1, MEZ2, Schaumburg-Lippe Kreuz f?r treue Dienste, DA1, China, SWA, ???

Rod, Any public records that may have existed concerning the Scharnhorst rifle club were probably lost during the many air raids towards the end of WW2. There may be something in private hands, but I don't know of anything. Perhaps some more information will turn up one day. David

Perhaps it is a Jutland commemorative. Edit: I thought the marks might have been symbolic smoke on the site of the battle. On closer inspection, it just looks as thought it has been knocked about badly. Whatever it is, I like it, too.

Tony, Since RWS is a German manufacturer, I'd guess it is the tail fin of a German 5 cm mortar round (which it resembles in any case). David

Thanks for adding another detail.