Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2023 i The Armourer

This month is the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Mogadishu, otherwise known as the Black Hawk Down Incident, which was popularised by the film of the same name. It started with the attempted seizure of two of SNA leader Mohammed Farah Aidid’s top commanders. Unfortunately for the Americans three Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were shot down, leading to an escalating battle in the middle of the city. We have the story of the battle and take a look at the collectables associated with the UN mission in Somalia. Well, the summer has come and gone, with a dismal July and August, only slightly redeemed by an early September heatwave. However, on the Bank Holiday at the end of August, the weather was decidedly changeable, but that didn’t put…

The Deutscher Luftsport-Verband (German Air Sports Association), or DLV, was formed on 25 March 1933, absorbing all other private and national air associations in the process. Thanks to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was banned from building fighter aircraft so the Association initially used gliders to train pilots with a view to future military action. By 1937, with re-armament underway. it was dissolved in favour of creating the Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps (National Socialist Flyers Corps), along similar lines to the NSKK (see September 2023 issue of The Armourer). The task of the new organisation was to train boys and youths, including from the Flieger-Hitlerjugend (Aviation Hitler Youth) in all aspects of aviation, prior to service in the Luftwaffe. That included theories of flying, aeroplane maintenance, wireless communications, hot air ballooning and…

After the end of World War II in 1945 the various marks of No.4 Rifle continued to provide firepower for the British Army and many politically linked countries throughout the world. As the enormous surplus of firearms manufactured during the conflict far exceeded the requirements of the peacetime army some weapons were sold or donated to allied nations such as Belgium, Eire, Greece, Italy, South Africa or New Zealand and others were placed in storage. Rifles that were needed for active duty underwent the refurbishment necessary to ensure that they functioned efficiently. Modifications to trigger systems and similar components were carried out at the Royal Ordnance factories, such as Fazakerley near Liverpool, which wanted post-war work but had little on hand. As time went by and consumer goods had more…

Facebook: www.facebook.com/armourermagazine  Twitter: @The_Armourer Post: Letters Page, The Armourer, Warners Group Publications, West Street, Bourne, Lincs. PE10 9PH Email: armourer@warnersgroup.co.uk HITLER’S PHILOSOPHIES In The Armourer (July 2023) edition, page 3, you mentioned: ‘… Hitler’s far right philosophies.’ despite Hitler being left-wing. He did not have any right-wing philosophies. Please reply. William F. Sheehan, Toronto, Canada Ed says: It is untrue to say that Hitler was left wing. Hitler despised the Marxists and communists, which is why the SA and SS were formed in the first place. His economic viewpoint could best be described as centrist, as he stated in a 1934 interview that Nazism favoured neither the left nor right wing. The NSDAP only won power in the end thanks to support from land owners and big business, ie right…

AUCTIONS 11 October 2023 C&T Auctioneers T: 01233 510050 www.candtauctions.co.uk enquiries@candtauctions.co.uk 12 October 2023 C&T Auctioneers T: 01233 510050 www.candtauctions.co.uk enquiries@candtauctions.co.uk FAIRS 8 October 2023 Wolverley Militaria Fair T: 07816 853878 www.facebook.com/wolveryleymilitariafairs 15 October 2023 The Hertfordshire Militaria & Medal Fair T: 01923 448903 OR 07425 155876 www.hertfordshiremilitariamedalfair.com sovereignfairs22@outlook.com 22 October 2023 Malvern Militaria T: 07976 777117 www.militariashows.com info@militariashows.com 29 October 2023 Stratford Upon Avon Militaria and Medal Fair T: 01753 534777 OR 07871 777062 www.milweb.net/dealers/trader/markcarter.htm markgcarter6@gmail.com 12 November 2023 The Bedford Militaria Fair T: 01832 274050 www.arms-and-armour-uk.com info@arms-and-armour-uk.com 19 November 2023 The International Birmingham Antique Arms & Militaria Fair T: 07955 826009 www.birminghamarmsfair.com info@birminghamarmsfair.com To advertise in the next issue please call Kristina on 01778 392096…

The second part of T our series on British personal kit moves us forward to World War II and for this conflict we are very lucky that the Imperial War Museum had the foresight to photograph a soldier’s complete kit, including the contents of his pockets, just days after he had landed on the Beaches of Normandy. This provides us with a unique snapshot of exactly what a man was carrying on him in 1944 and for collectors and re-enactors there really isn’t a better set of information than these images. Of course, these are just the items carried by one soldier and there would have been variations, ions, but it is an excellent starting point and is very representative of the personal kit carried. The World War I soldier…

Heading into the summer of 1942, Imperial Japan had reached the zenith of its victorious march across the east and was in possession of virtually the entire Western Pacific Basin. British forces had been ignominiously ejected from Hong Kong, Malaya and Borneo and were finally forced into a humiliating defeat at Singapore. Sumatra and Java, with their crucial oil fields, had been lost by the Dutch and in April, 75,000 Philippine and US servicemen were taken prisoner at Bataan, the greatest surrender of American troops in US military history. At the beginning of May, British soldiers had been pushed out of Burma and were retreating to the border with India, and the island of Corregidor in Manila Bay was besieged and finally taken on 6 May by the Japanese 14th…

BEDFORDSHIRE ■ Southams Auctioneers Bedford, Tel: 01234 266366 guns@southamsauction.co.uk www.southamsauction.co.uk BERKSHIRE ■ Special Auction Services Newbury, Tel: 01635 580595 mail@specialauctionservices.com adam@specialauctionservices.com www.specialauctionservices.com BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ■ Bosleys Marlow, Tel: 01628 488188 sales@bosleys.co.uk www.bosleys.co.uk DEVON ■ Greenslade Taylor Hunt Tiverton, Tel: 01823 332525 www.gth.net antiques.saleroom@gth.net ESSEX ■ Reeman Dansie Auctions Colchester, Tel: 01206 754754 auctions@reemandansie.com www.reemandansie.com KENT ■ C&T Auctioneers and Valuers Kenardington, Tel: 01233 510050 enquiries@candtauctions.co.uk www.candtauctions.co.uk LONDON ■ Morton & Eden London, Tel: 020 7493 5344 info@mortonandeden.com www.mortonandeden.com SOMERSET ■ Greenslade Taylor Hunt Taunton, Tel: 01823 332525 www.gth.net antiques.saleroom@gth.net STAFFORDSHIRE ■ Marlows Stafford, Tel: 01785 214100 or 07789 628030 mail@marlowsauctions.co.uk www.marlowsauctions.co.uk SUFFOLK ■ Durrants Beccles, Tel: 01502 713490 AuctionRooms@durrants.com ■ Bishop & Miller Stowmarket, Tel: 01449 673088 www.bishopandmillerauctions.co.uk enquiries@bm-auctions.co.uk WARWICKSHIRE ■ Warwick & Warwick Warwick, Tel: 01926 499031 www.warwickandwarwick.com WEST SUSSEX…

A trove of unique documents relating to the design and development of the Mark I tank has been acquired by The Tank Museum. The collection contains hundreds of pages of documents, illustrations and correspondence that was once the property of Sir William Tritton – who with Major Walter Wilson – is regarded as the inventor of the tank. The museum team will now work through each document to record and catalogue them so that the importance of the trove can be fully understood. But a few gems have already been discovered. Among them, Sir William Tritton’s business card, a telegram sent by Fosters of Lincoln (Manufacturer of the Mark I tank) to the trademark office to ‘register the word tank’ and some sketches that appear to indicate that the rear…

The post WWII-era of tension between the Eastern and Western Blocs is commonly referred to as the Cold War and is officially considered to have spanned the years 1947 to 1991. By the early 1950s it had become clear that evolving long range missile technology had consigned the age of the battleship and battlecruiser to history. The 1960s brought changes in operational ideas to meet the challenges of fighting the Soviet submarine arm in the Atlantic, by then considered the primary threat. During the later period of the Cold War, the Royal Navy centred task force operations around three aircraft carriers, now known under their new nomenclature of through deck anti-submarine warfare cruisers. These new carriers were augmented by a force of frigates and destroyers equipped to hunt and destroy…

The Battle of Mogadishu in 1993 was not the US military’s finest hour, with the battle leaving 18 dead and 73 wounded. Like many military defeats, however, it has become a source of fascination to historians and collectors alike and the release of a blockbuster movie, Black Hawk Down, in 2001 ensured enduring interest. As a more recent conflict, collecting items from the US Army and its allies at this time is an affordable option for the collector, although finding genuine items from Operation Gothic Serpent is far harder due to the small numbers of men involved. Here, then, are a few collecting ideas based on the operation that are currently available. It is of course the Black Hawk helicopters that are most closely associated with the battle and so…

Battle of the Cities ANTHONY TUCKER-JONES If you want an overall view of the conflict on the Eastern Front then look now further than the latest effort from the prolific Mr Tucker-Jones. It’s split into four parts which cover the initial invasion, the turning points, the liberations and the final onslaught outside Russia. As the title implies, it’s done city by city, with an overview of the battle and/or relief for each one. This is an awful lot of ground to cover and while you get some background detail on the place being fought over, there’s little in the way of the personal accounts. But then that’s not the purpose here, it really is a general guide and as such packs a huge amount into a short space. It’s very…

WIN 3 copies of… Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe Discover all the German fighter aces who were awarded the Knight’s Cross. Here are details of their early lives, pre-war careers, how many aircraft they shot down and where they are buried or what they did after the war. The action that led to their Knight’s Cross award is described and each entry gets a head and shoulders photo. Now, thanks to the generosity of specialist military book publisher, Pen and Sword we have three copies to give away. Simply answer the question below and go to the website to enter. WORTH £75 WIN 3 copies of… The Royal Navy and Fishery Protection From the 14th century to the Cod Wars, this is the story of the Royal Navy division…