THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP discussion
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WW2 Collectables
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I use to have a 1942 Ford jeep as per above but being young and stupid I sold it to pay for a trip overseas when I left the army :(I have a collection of WW2 helmets and rifles plus a few limited edition die-cast models like this beauty:
S for Sugar
I have a Walther P-38, a P-08 Luger, a Walther PPK, an SS dagger, a Nambu pistol, a Mauser 98 KAR, and an Arisaka type 99 rifle, a samurai sword along with assorted helmets, bayonets, medals and patches. I'll add some photos later.
I also have a Mauser 98 KAR in excellent condition, a Arisaka type 99 rifle, a Russian Mosin Nagant rifle, a Springfield 30.06 plus a few others, all fitted with original bayonets.
I'd like to get my hands on a Mosin Nagant and a British Enfield. Maybe some day an M1 but they are way out of my price range at present.
I have a Knight's Cross, Oak Leaves and Swords, among other deocrations from one of my WW II German veteran friends. Luckily he had a spare set and gave them to me a long time ago.
I have nothing of great monetary value but many hold sentimental value. My grandfathers' medals and my aunt's and uncles' too. The grandparents and uncles at Dunkirk, North Africa, Burma, Palestine and Italy, my aunt as a radar operator in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (The Queen served in the ATS). I also have a gas mask issued to children and a enamelled Air Raid Precautions sign used on a door of a ARP post. I also have a number of sweet heart brooches (unit cap badges worn by wives and girlfriends and sisters) plus cap badges including my own regiment's that was worn in Normandy and Italy.
Sounds like some great collections.
Aussie Rick, how big is that Lancaster? I have a die cast B-17 with an 8 inch wingspan.I had my father's entire USAAC uniform. Unfortunately my grandmother threw it away.
Dr. Michael wrote: "Aussie Rick, how big is that Lancaster? I have a die cast B-17 with an 8 inch wingspan.I had my father's entire USAAC uniform. Unfortunately my grandmother threw it away."
I think it has a 17" wingspan.
As a teenager I started buying WW2 medals from dealers, mostly allied medals but I did pick up an original German Iron Cross 2nd class. I also started collecting shoulder flashes but most of those were post 1945. Recently I purchased a Dragon Armour 1/35 scale Tiger 1 tank for display. I ended up with six tanks in the end, couldn't restrain myself. Here is an example of what they look like:
I have three variants of the Tiger I, a King Tiger, a Panther (as per above) and an Elephant.
As I kid, I collected US Army unit patches. It just at the time when the WW II generation was retiring, mid 60s, so I got some unusual ones. I had a total of about 50.Unfortunately, they disappeared in one of the many moves :(
That's a bummer Happy, I've still got most of mine, nearly all US Vietnam era but a few patches from the USAAF during WW2.
When we went to Germany in 1970, alot of the stuff went into storage for the duration - including the patch collection. When we got home in '73, we were missing a whole lot of stuff. My Mom had several bolts of silk that Dad had gotten in Nam that were gone as well as other material and sewing stuff. Mom and Dad figured that the people who packed it up decided they wanted the material and my collection was in one of the foot lockers with Mom's material. We did get a cash settlement from the Gov't, but it just didn't seem to make up for the loss somehow.
Those sort of items have more than any monetary value as Geevee has mentioned. Shame to hear that you lost your collection.
Awful to lose a collection built during childhood with connections to some fine units and people, including of course your Dad's service.
It does not appear to be an official medal. You can see pictures of all ribbons awarded to the American military on the internet. If I had to guess if there were any connection at all, it may be an award for sailing as a Midshipman at Annapolis, but more likely an award in the Sea Scouts or some related group. I got a medal in the Boy Scouts for hiking the trail at Shiloh National Park. The ribbon was blue and gray in a way that sort of resembled this. Just a guess but a place you could start. Could be a Naval ROTC award.
Pistol from Iwo Jima and Invasion Map Come to Auction During 75th Anniversaryhttps://www.gunsamerica.com/digest/pi...
The M1 Carbine: 10 Little-Known Factshttps://www.americanrifleman.org/arti...
The “U.S. Carbine, Caliber .30, M1” was the most produced American infantry arm of World War II. And it's back in production today. As this is written, my cheek is gleefully stained with linseed oil (either that or I have jaundice) from test-firing the M1 Carbine and M1A1 Paratrooper Carbines as made today by Inland Manufacturing in Dayton, Ohio.
The guns look great and capture the nostalgia and function of the originals made from 1942 to 1945 (read an earlier review by B. Gil Horman here and watch a video of it being fired at SHOT Show 2015). But carbines go much further than their use by the “Greatest Generation” during World War II.
Here are some things you may or may not have known about the gun that started out as the U.S. Army’s “Light Rifle.”
1. The M1 Carbine as a round is ballistically effective.
Remember, the M1 Carbine was designed to replace the M1911A1 in the hands of support troops, machine gunners, etc., whoever did not need a full-size rifle. No one doubts it is better than a pistol at any but the shortest of ranges, and, unlike Marines at “Frozen Chosin,” you can use modern defensive ammo.
Our troops back then used 110-gr. ball ammo. At 100 yards, the Hornady 110-gr. FTX delivers 1600 f.p.s. and 626 ft.-lbs. of energy. In contrast, a 55-gr., .223 Rem. at 100 yards delivers 983 ft.-lbs. of energy. A 158-gr. XTP out of a .357 Mag. at 100 yards at 1073 f.p.s. delivers a mere 404 ft.-lbs. Anyone want to call .357 Mag. puny?
2. If the Carbine was so bad, why did Audie Murphy use one?
American’s most-decorated soldier of World War II, Lt. Audie Murphy, used a field phone, a .50-cal. M2 Browning and an M1 Carbine when he fought off a German combined arms attack pretty much by himself on Jan. 26, 1945.
If you ever watch “To Hell and Back” starring Medal of Honor recipient Murphy as himself, you can tell he really knew how to handle a carbine.
3. It was the chosen weapon of our enemy.
During the early fighting in the Vietnam War, our main enemy—the Viet Cong—armed entire units the M1 and M2 Carbines, guns they took from the French, then from ARVN (Army of the Republic of Vietnam) and local forces of the South Vietnamese.
It was in this way that guns given to our allies were used against our troops. The AK-47 become more common as more and more NVA got into the fight.
4. It was the only gun made specifically for U.S. Airborne Forces during World War II.
The M1A1 carbine with its pistol grip and folding metal stock was adopted in May 1942 specifically for use of American Airborne troops. Inland was the only original maker (others were later converted in the overhaul system) and produced 140,591 during World War II.
It even came with a nifty web belt holster called a “jump scabbard.” Okay, there is the Reising 55, too, but that is a story for another day.
5. You can’t get them surplus.
The last big import wave of M1 Carbines came in from Blue Sky and Arlington Ordnance decades ago. In 1963, about 240,000 M1 Carbines were decommissioned and sold (without magazines) to NRA members for a $20 each ($17.50 plus $2.50 S&H).
There is a large quantity of surplus carbines warehoused in South Korea, but there has been no success in getting them to our shores. The good news is that Auto-Ordnance and the new Inland Mfg. offer new versions of the original “Light Rifle” in a host of variations for both collectors and shooters.
6. Winchester—even though it was invented there—wasn’t the largest producer.
Nope, that honor goes to the Inland Mfg. Division of General Motors with 2,362,097. Winchester made 828,059, followed by Underwood Elliott-Fisher at 545,616, Saginaw Steering Gear 517,212, IBM at 346,500, Standard Products at 247,000, Rock-Ola (yes, the juke box maker), with 228,500, Quality Hardware at 359,666, National Postal Meter at 413,017 and Irwin-Pedersen made a few thousand but had trouble.
7. It was the U.S. military’s first night-time sniper rifle.
When fitted with an ungainly infrared scope, the T3 Carbine was used as night-fighting weapon in the closing days of the Pacific Theatre of Operations during World War II.
It’s also the main plot device in Stephen Hunter’s novel “Black Light.” Darn, I just ruined the book for you. Read it anyway.
8. The M1 Carbine was used by police, too.
In the 1960s, Jim Cirillo, from the NYPD’s Stake Out Squad, and author of “Tales of the Stakeout Squad,” used a NYPD-issue M1 Carbine with G.I. ball ammo. Cirillo was involved in more than 20 gunfights. Doubt the Carbine’s use for law enforcement? You should ask one of the NYPD’s top gunfighters.
9. You can shoot the National Matches with one.
During the National Matches at Camp Perry, Ohio, the Civilian Marksmanship Program conducts the M1 Carbine Match to be sponsored this year by Inland Mfg., on July 21.
You can also shoot them in some classes of NRA High Power, but the bullet drop is pretty severe at long range. That’s why the CMP match is fired at 100 yards.
10. Carbines aren’t cheap.
The days of the $400 gun show carbine are over. There are dedicated collector’s groups (the Carbine Club) and books by Carbine historian Larry Ruth as well as Field Editor Bruce Canfield that have upped the collectability of the carbine greatly. Good research does that.
Original carbines, especially in high condition, are rare, and they are a collecting field unto themselves Even beat up guns go upward of $700 these days. How ridiculous are the prices? In 2008, an Inland M1A1 “paratrooper” Carbine with ironclad D-Day provenance sold at auction for $20,125.
Great post Gregg, my dad use to own an M1 Carbine and it was a lovely little weapon, he also had one with a paratroopers folding stock, very nice :)
Thanks AR! I haven't been into rifles since I left The People's Republic of California ten years ago. I once had a 1938 dated Mosin-Nagant 91/30 I used for Red Army reenacting. It only saw blanks in my hands. When I bought a 1945 dated M-44 carbine I set it aside since it was still in cosmoline and paper. When a school friend's son left the USMC as a sniper, with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, I asked if he'd mind cleaning the M-44 and gifted it to him when he had finished cleaning it. He said it was the best M-44 he's ever seen, having seen beaten and cracked stock copies over there.I changed my photo to an old pic of me as an Krasnaya Armiyets. ;-)
You will be happy to know that I still own a WW2 era Mosin-Nagant rifle (with bayonet). I also had a Mosin-Nagant carbine but sold that many years ago. The Mosin-Nagant rifle shoots wonderfully and is quite accurate for its age :)
I have my grandfather's actual medals, ribbons and various badges from World War II. He was a B-29 pilot and was part of the bombing campaign against the Japanese home islands from November 44 to the end of the war. He was based on Saipan , but flew more than a few times from Tinian as well. He had to make two emergency landings on Iwo Jima. Among his medals is the Distinguished Flying Cross with four oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster and the Air Medal with silver oak leaf cluster. He passed away in 2013 and grandmother sent me the shadow box. They were married in 43 and she was pregnant with my aunt Kathy while he was flying missions. She has a different take on the war. She told me that she knew I would appreciate the medals and that I can make sense out of them. She also sent me most of his library about the war. She was right; I do appreciate the medals and I understand what they mean. The shadow box is on the wall in our living-room.
That's a great family story and a great bit of family history that you are now responsible for passing on.
'Aussie Rick' wrote: "That's a great family story and a great bit of family history that you are now responsible for passing on."I was honored when she sent them to me. I had no warning. One day Fed-Ex showed up with a box that I had to sign for. It was a real surprise.
In this thread members can display and/or discuss any WW2 collectables they have, be it die cast planes & tanks, to helmets, flags, medals, etc.