Daniel Murphy

Here is a Lippe-Detmold War Merit Cross "For honor in war". Dan Murphy

Here is a ribbon bar of mine. EK2 with the Saxe-Meiningen military merit cross and a Turkish war medal thrown in for good measure. Was there a way to differentiate between the officer and the enlisted versions when on a ribbon bar? Dan Murphy

Sorry, this supposed to be the winged crescent and star worn on the Kalpak. Length is about 6 inches. Here is a photo from a locket of a grouping I own showing one in wear. Note: I am not saying this is the same badge, the items came from two different sources at different times. Dan Murphy

And the reverse.

I know this is not a pilots badge and I hope you will excuse me for posting this. Since you were talking about the Kalpak, I would like to show you this and get an opinion. This insignia was purchased by me some time ago and may not be real, but I have seen no others for sale. It is made of very thin brass with wires on the back for attachment. Tim, and everyone else, I would like to hear your comments on this. Dan Murphy

Well, we may neve know who Unteroffizier Frebe? is but I will say one thing. You have got a very good eye to pick up that marking. Nice piece.

Makes sense, they pretty much did invent drums to start with. Dan Murphy

The dragging straps were designed for open warfare as the past wars had been. In open warfare it would be easy to drag the gun into position on a hill, etc. As trench warfare set in the dragging straps were not very useful, but were kept on and still worn as it was the distinguishing badge of a machine gunner. Would you drag a sled through a trench or carry it by the legs? Common sense dictates you would carry it. There is also no way someone would expose themselves to enemy fire by using the straps to emplace the gun on the parapet of a trench. As the war went on the leather straps were changed to linen and they were worn until the end of the war. Since machine gunners were prime targets of artillery, trench mortars and enemy machine guns, they suffered a disproportionate number of casualties. This could account for a shortage of the dragging straps later in the war. Many photos I have seen later in the war show only 2-3 men of the standard 8 man crew wearing the straps. As far as what the books say, books have been wrong before. It is twice as easy to carry it by the legs than to drag it (it is impossible to carry it with the straps since there is nowhere for the straps to attach on the rear of the mount). Take it from someone who has one. Here is another shot of mine (from the rear) at a living history event, next to it is my MP 18I and extra snail drums. Both photos courtesy of my unit commander Max Stiebritz. Dan Murphy

That mask was probably displayed once at a VFW or American Legion hall. I have seen pieces like that before. Dan Murphy

I did not realize any were any born before 1918, were still alive either. Georg Wilhelm would have been at least 90 years old at his death. Any remaining will slowly slip away in few years. Of course the royal families still exist but it is just not the same. Somehow the princes of Schaumburg-Lippe were able to keep their castles and other property after 1918. I believe they were the only ones. Dan Murphy

Mark, The dragging straps were not normally used for transporting the gun, they were used for dragging the gun into its final firing position which could be done by crawling if need be. First you release the spring locks on both legs and move them up and back where they catch on two springs to hold them in place. This can be done with the gun mounted. Then normally two men would each attach the hook on one end of the dragging straps to a ring on each side of the front of the mount. The mount is called a "sled" mount for a reason, so that it can be dragged along the ground without hanging up on stones etc. The men would then pull the gun using the leather covered rope handles at either end. If something has gone terribly wrong and there is only one man left, he can attach both hooks on his straps and pull from the center of the strap. At this time though he is probably trying to get out and keep the gun from being captured. Of course it is much easier to carry it like a stretcher if circumstances permit and there are wooden pieces inset into the inside edge of the end of the legs to serve as handles. MG units were also issued two wheel carts and horse drawn wagons for moving the guns, ammo and accessories. Here is a frontal shot of my MG08 at our last reenactment with the blank fire adapter on it. On the front cross bar on the sled there is a ring at each corner. One is hidden. Dan Murphy

I know this will look like crap compared to what Ralph and Andreas just posted, but this is the only thing Waldeck that I have. A heavily worn ribbon bar that was purchased only because of the second ribbon. The backing is blue. Dan Murphy

Bob, You just couldn't resist hauling that old thing out again. Ho Hum.... ..... ..... .... Just kidding Bob, I would be showing that to everyone who would look at it. Dan Murphy

No Maxim people here? OK. For those of you that are not familiar with aircraft maxims (Luft Maschinengewehr 08/15), Here is a photo of the right side of one. This one has a newer style pivoted klingstrom device (which is turned 180 degrees in the wrong direction for the gun to operate). When the cocking handle was operated, the attached piece would come into contact with the roller and would force the recoil mechanism to its rearmost position. The recoil mechanism is connected to the feedblock and advances the belt every time it is at full recoil. The pilot could therefore clear a round that failed to fire, advance the belt and load a new cartridge to resume firing. And all with one hand.

Here is a photo of the inner workings. When the cross shaped piece is turning, the centrifugal force causes the ball bearings to be forced to the outer wall. When the ball bearing strikes the tip of the spring loaded plunger it forces it outward. The piece screwed to the plunger normally protruded up into the receiver (this one is broken) and when the plunger moved back this piece would come in contact with the front of the trigger bar and prevent the gun from firing for a split second. It is very difficult to explain and perhaps understand, but all of this would have taken place several times a second.

Micha, That is a super piece. I had a shot at one like this that was in Hong Kong, but I was leary of sending the money there. If you decide to part with one, give the forum members a shot at it please. Thanks, Dan Murphy

Tom, Nice pieces. The Meybauer appears to be a later war variation when silver was hard to get. It looks like a zinc back plate and a plated brass nut. I have never seen one like this before. The clamshell is nice too. Is the screwback steel? I have never seen that before either. And the pillow back, what can I say, sweet. All in all a super nice group. Dan Murphy

Here are the markings on the other side. "Rev III" stamped sideways, the serial number again and an intertwined "WM" or "MW" also stamped sideways. I could not get a better pic, sorry. Somewhere out there may be the gun that is missing these or this may be all that is left.

Here is a close up of the crown marking.

And here is a top (actually the bottom) view. In the lower right corner is the "FWF" Fokker Flugzeug Werke marking. The serial number of the device "11630" is visible on the ring which is drilled for numerous possible adjustments.

The other side. This would be mounted upside down on the bottom front edge of the MG receiver.

This piece however makes the thread. This is the Fokker Interrupter Device. The arm (left) would be attached to a cable that was attached to the rear of the engine. When this spun, the gears would transfer the RPM 90 degrees to a cross shaped device hidden inside. When the cross shaped device was spinning it struck 4 ball bearings which made contact with the spring loaded plunger (right). Here the device is upside down. Dan Murphy

And the markings. The marking on the right should be "C. Lindstrom" but it was stamped off the edge

The reverse. Someone had the smarts to keep the original bolts with it.

Here are a couple of bits and pieces from a circa 1916-17 LMG 08/15 aircraft Maxim machine gun. I got these by luck in an old tin cigar box full of old mauser parts and for many years had no idea what they were. First off is part of the "Klingstrom" device. This mounted in front of the cocking handle on the side of the reciever and has a roller which the special cocking handle uses to load the belt when the gun is cocked. Therefore a jam can be cleared without the aviator having to pull the belt when cocking. Less than 10% of these guns have survived and these parts are very rare. Dan Murphy