Featured Relics & Militaria
This is a very rare Navigation equipment panel with maker label attached to the back of it still with most of its maker markings clear to see. The panel is located in the middle of the fuselage in the Navigator’s position.
This aluminium made panel is missing all of its part attached to front of it and has some damage from the impact of the crash it has ripped and bent. The panel still with lots of original black paintwork it has been very nicely cleaned but is still dirty in places from the recovery but still retains a lot of its original colours and is a nice size at 11 inches long by 6 inches wide it is perfect for display or any collection. The panel is from German Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-4 Condor number 0140 on return from patrol crashed in to mountains in Norway on 27 December 1942.The part comes with 2 x A5 laminated information cards with pictures also diagram and map.
On 27 December 1942, a German Focke-Wulf Fw 200C-4 Condor (Werk-Nummer 0140, code F8+AK) belonging to the Luftwaffe unit 2./I./KG 40 crashed into Mount Kvitanosi in the Stølsheimen mountains of Hordaland, Norway. The maritime patrol aircraft struck the mountain slope in severe winter weather while returning to its base at Stavanger-Sola. Out of the six crew members on board, four were killed—including pilot Oberleutnant Waldemar Hackel—while two injured crewmen survived a grueling trek down the mountain to find help. Today, wreckage remains on the mountain, though significant sections (including the port wing) were recovered in 2009 to aid in a major Fw 200 restoration project.
Fatalities (4 KIA):
Oberleutnant Waldemar Hackel (Pilot / Officer in Command)
Unteroffizier Adolf Liebscher (Pilot)
Feldwebel Erwin Kopp (Radio Operator)
Gefreiter Karl Pech [1]
Survivors (2 injured):
Unteroffizier Walter Schwartz (Radio Operator)
Gefreiter Fritz Albrechts (Mechanic)
This is a very rare item from an aircraft flown by a famous German ace it is a electrical distribution box for the MG 131/151 machine guns which distributes and switches power to the aircraft’s armament components,
The box is aluminium made still with some electrical connectors still attached and with lots of original gray paintwork and red undercoat primer still with lots of original colour it is 7 inches long and 4 half inches wide in size it has some damage from the crash and being buried but nothing bad. The box is still very solid and have been very well cleaned it is perfect condition for display or any collection. The part comes from Messerschmitt Bf 110 number 5477 flown by ace Hauptmann August Geiger shot down on 29 September 1943 in the Netherlands. The part comes with 2 x A5 laminated information sheets with pictures also map and diagram.
On the night of September 29, 1943, the German Luftwaffe night fighter Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-4 (Werknummer 5477 / squadron code G9+ER) took off from Twente airfield to intercept Allied bombers. Flying with the unit 7./NJG 1, the aircraft was shot down at 20:35 over the Netherlands by British Wing Commander J.R.D. "Bob" Braham in an RAF No. 141 Squadron Beaufighter. The damaged twin-engine fighter plunged into the IJsselmeer (Zuider Zee) approximately 8 kilometres northwest of Harderwijk. Both crew members, the decorated ace Hauptmann August Geiger and his radio operator Feldwebel D. Koch, lost their lives in the crash and are buried today at the Ysselsteyn military cemetery.
Recently Added Relics & Militaria
This is a very rare 1935 pattern gas mask tin used by a medical soldier with a pair of red cross’s painted on the side This gas mask tin in lovely condition for a semi relic it is pretty much undamaged other then a few dents and knocks from use. The tin has all of its original green paintwork remaining on the outside and on the inside it has most of it’s original colour but does have a bit of discolour in places.
The tin which the lid still opens and closes the tin is very solid it has been nicely cleaned, and is perfect for display or any collection. The tin comes from a private collection originally found in Sedan from the Battle of France 1940. The tin comes with A5 laminated information card with close up picture of the tin and pictures and map.
This is a German soldiers gas mask tin in lovely condition for a relic it is pretty much undamaged it has a couple of dents and is empty of all contents and is missing its internal lid. The tin has some of its original green paintwork remains on the outside a fair bit and on the inside it has most of its paintwork but has discoloured. and has remains of what looks like grease so possibly used as a grease tin on an artillery gun crew. The tin is maker marked on the clip clear to see which is also been put on the information card as a close up picture.
The tin which the lid still opens and closes and locks the tin remains solid it has been carefully cleaned, and is perfect for display or any collection. The tin was found in Copenhagen from the occupation of Denmark and comes with a laminated A5 information card.
This is a German soldiers gas mask tin which is not complete but has lots of original green paintwork clear to see and has the handwritten number remains on the top rim which was done by the soldier themselves. The tin is missing its lid which is rusty with some rust holes and damage and has miss shaped with an explosion or from being lost in the river. The tin remains solid and with lots of original colour it has has been carefully cleaned, and is perfect for display or any collection.
The gas mask tin was recovered from the river in the Diersfordt Forest this area defended by the German 1st Parachute Army on the Rhine river during the battles of March 1945 during operation Plunder and Varsity. The tin comes with 2xA5 laminated information cards with many pictures and a map showing the location of the recovery.
THE RHINE CROSSING – OPERATION PLUNDER & VARSITY
Wesel • Diersfordter Wald • Issel River • March 1945
Historical Background
In late March 1945, the Allies launched Operation Plunder, the major assault across the River Rhine into Germany. On 23 March British and American ground forces began crossing the Rhine around Wesel, followed on 24 March by Operation Varsity, the large airborne assault east of the river. British and American airborne troops landed around the Diersfordter Wald, Hamminkeln and the Issel River to seize key ground, bridges and routes and to prevent German forces from disrupting the Rhine bridgehead.
German Forces
The principal German formation defending this sector was the German 1st Parachute Army (1. Fallschirm-Armee). The formations most directly involved around the airborne landing area included the 7th Parachute Division (7. Fallschirmjäger-Division) and the 84th Infantry Division. Both were heavily depleted by this stage of the war, but they put up determined resistance around the Diersfordter Wald, Hamminkeln and the Issel River.
Allied Forces
Operation Varsity was carried out principally by the British 6th Airborne Division and the US 17th Airborne Division. They supported the British 2nd Army and US 9th Army, which were conducting the Rhine crossings under Operation Plunder, with the Canadian First Army also taking part in the wider Rhine offensive.
The Significance of the Battle
The Diersfordter Wald and Issel River formed important defensive obstacles immediately beyond the Rhine. The German 1st Parachute Army used the woodland, river crossings and prepared positions to delay the Allied advance. The capture of these positions during Plunder and Varsity helped secure the Rhine bridgehead and opened the way for the Allied advance deeper into Germany.
24 March 1945 – Operation Varsity
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This is a nice and very rare massive centre fuselage section from beneath pilots cockpit the aluminium and steel structure section with lots of its blue undercoat primer paint remains this was only used by Japanese air force. The part still has its steel connector bracket on one side and is a few parts still connected together it has been nicely cleaned and retains a lot of its original colours it has ripped, bent and smashed by the impact of the crash it is 26 inches by 10 inches in size and is perfect for display and a rare one for the collection. The part has been recovered from the crash site of a Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter shot down and crashed during the air war over the Island of Guadlcanal from the 1942-1943 battlefield. A very rare part to get hold of from the war in the Pacific.. The part comes with 3xA5 laminated information cards with pictures and diagrams.