Daniel Murphy

Chris, This is a privately purchased model as well. It is the "Armee Model" because it is designed for use by officers and NCO's of the army. They are rarely found as complete as this. Dan Murphy

Actually that is the unit marking for the 5 1/2th company of the 2nd Gebirgsjager Battalion. Truthfully it means the grenade has a 5 1/2 second fuze and "G.J.B." is the initials of the company that made the grenade. Dan Murphy

Me either. The only way is if it was already split apart due to solder failure and I bought it for that purpose. Dan Murphy

I have seen a few of these one piece strikes. I have three in brass and 1 in zinc and they are very hard to find in the condition you show. Usually the plating and paint is mostly gone and the brass is coming through. I do believe these to have been made in the 20's. Since EK's were awarded until 1924 and Germany was in a deep depression this is what may have been awarded at this late date. The other possibility is that they were an inexpensive spangenstuck piece since when new they would have looked much better. However I have never seen one on a medal bar. Bill, Yours looks like it may be made from nickel silver or neusilber since I do not see any brass showing on the wear points. If so, It is the first I have seen in that material. Can you confirm this? Dan Murphy

I agree as well. This corresponds nicely to my clamshell. It may be made in the 20's or 30's but not a fake. Dan Murphy

Jens, Thank you for posting this, it reminded me of when I visited in 1991. I have always been impressed with the care taken of the American cemetaries in Europe. I will never forget the imposing view from the ruined abbey and the bunkers in the area made from the stones of the abbey. Do you have a photo of the painting in the ceiling of the chapel, that you could post? My photos are put away somewhere. Dan Murphy

I have had a couple of these for some years. My theory is that these were made due to their being much cheaper to make than an EK with a cast iron or steel center. Thin sheets of steel could be stamped out much easier and placed back to back in the frame and did not require the business to have a foundry. I have been able to identify them in this way. Place your thumb and indexfinger on the front and back of the center core and squeeze. If it is a stamped center there will be a slight amount of give due to the airspace in between them. I have also encountered some very light EK1's that I am sure have the same type of core. One of mine is a spangenstuck with a split ring for a medal bar and the other is an issue type.

Yea right, The ONE balloon observer to get a PLM and here it is, just like that . BTW Since when did ballon observers qualify for a zeppelin badge. Dan Murphy

Actually, The aluminum ones were never made again during the war. The material was too much in demand for the construction of Zeppelins and other aircraft, and would not have been wasted to make dinnerware for the infantry. The final model was the feldgrau enameled steel mess tin dating from 1916. During 1918 some were also enameled black. Judging from the number of surviving aluminum mess kits, I do not believe they were recalled for smelting. Of course many thousands became victims of shot and shrapnel and many of them would have been salvaged. Of course during the Reichswehr period the aluminum ones were manufactured again. Someone told me once that he believed that all of the brass buttons were supposed to be recalled and replaced with steel ones and the brass used for armaments. I believe it is a misinterpretattion of the regulations. Every early issue unifrom I have seen that originally would have had brass or tombak buttons, still has them. Dan Murphy

Christophe, That is a great group of photos that show his progression in rank and awards. His name appears to be F. Bouvenir. His final rank is that of Offizierstellvertreter, A Feldwebel (in this case)serving as an acting officer. It was a wartime rank only created in 1914 due to the heavy officer casualties early in the war. It appears to be a french name, which is not unusual in Germany. I have seen generals and other officers with names of French ancestry.

I can't resist adding a little humor to the thread with this one. In the full size photo there was a sign at stated "Zur Erinnerung and den Komp. Abend im Felde 1918". The "officer's" boards look made up and the ribbon bar looks like it is painted on paper or cardboard. Dan Murphy

Here is another one from my collection.

As requested here is a photo of a bar in wear by a Bavarian NCO who now needs to add to his bar. Unfortunately it is partially hidden. More to follow. Dan Murphy

Great photo, I love pictures like this. I have three pictures of a NCO, One shows him with the EK2 in the button hole and limping on two canes. Another shows him in the mantel with the EK ribbon like this. The other is similar. Period pictures show so many details that normally we collectors would say "Oh, they never did that". But they did! Dan Murphy

Who cares? Marshall, OMFG That is gorgeous. The maker is DAMASCHKE. I do not know anything else about them except they made a number of metal helms GdC, GKR, Kurrasier, JzP, and the 1915 and ersatz types of the above. Dan Murphy

I also say it is a colonial officer's sword since the main insignia on the sword is the reichsadler. The cypher on the bow seems to be secondary. The Seebattalion were not considered colonial forces proper, although they did see service in the colonies. If the cypher designated the unit, I would have thought it would be in a position of honor on the side of the grip or on the langet. Dan Murphy

Fran, I may be showing my ignorance here since TR and especially LC or not my specialty. What is it? Signals badge? Dan Murphy

And last an angled view of the side. I could look at this picture all day. Now I just need to get the standard Hansen I have my eye on. The journey never ends. Dan Murphy

Here is a close up of the markings.

Here is the reverse. I once worked for a jeweler and learned that if you rub you thumb roughly on a piece and it is silver the tarnish will come off. If silver plate it will not. I tried to remove the tarnish from around the lettering and removed more than I wanted. I then used a little polish to even it out. Oops. Note that there is still a ghost of the markings that were polished out by the maker. Also look at the edges of the cross. On the back they have all been rounded so that it does not snag on the uniform.

The the cross and screwplate are definitely real silver. Why were the markings altered? Who knows.

OK, Finally! I have the piece in my big fat hands. After some treatment to the rust with pentrating oil and a toothbrush, Here are the results. Dan Murphy

Bill, Perhaps this was something that was offered as an option by a few makers. Persons who served in areas where the rust resistance was needed, Naval or Infantry troops( fighting in the mud etc.) may have purchased them. I have one by another maker that has what appears to be a copper core but is magnetic. They are no doubt real but scarce. Dan Murphy

Thats a first, I do not think I have ever seen a trapezoid used upside down (from the normal) on a medal bar. Neat. Dan Murphy

And the reverse. Dan Murphy