Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2024 i Military Trader

England’s Desert Rats Museum hit by thieves THETFORD, England — The wrong kind of collectors paid the Desert Rats Museum in Thetford, UK, a visit after hours to snatch and grab several significant World War II pieces in the museum’s collection. The incident occurred one weekend in August, whereby the burglars cut through a fence and entered the museum’s buildings to find items. In the overnight robbery, the thieves broke display cases and made a mess of the museum’s exhibits to find sought-after items. Among the stolen militaria were a baton that belonged to Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, numerous SS knives and SS badges, and multiple medals and badges, according to a report by BBC News. Given that some of the items — notably the baton that belonged to Rommel…

The September 2022 issue of Military Trader ran a detailed article telling the story of a major rebellion in 1794 by Western Pennsylvania farmers and distillers against a whiskey tax imposed by the federal government. That event would become a major test of federal authority in the early days of the United States. This newly imposed tax was particularly egregious to these early farmers, many of whom were veterans of the Revolutionary War. Many settlers felt that the federal government had failed to protect them from Indian raids or open access to the Mississippi River in order to transport their produce down river. It was a particularly “obnoxious” tax since many of the farmers grew rye and distilled it into whiskey, providing enough cash for the necessities of life. Many…

In 1917 the British Army broke with centuries of tradition and allowed women to enlist in the ranks of a new formation being created to release more troops to serve in combat roles. The units was known as the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, with members serving in various roles including, drivers, cooks and telephonists. The title was changed to the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps in April 1918 and by the time it was disbanded in September 1921 more than 57,000 women had served in its ranks — including some 17,000 overseas. Many believed that was the end of a women’s branch in the Army, but in the late 1930s as tension in Europe increased, it was decided to once again accept women into the service. On Sept. 9, 1938…

The Prince William Sound Museum in Whittier, Alaska, has added a new and unusual item to its collection — a Japanese Type 99 light machine gun. This particular firearm is especially noteworthy for being captured from Japanese forces during the Second World War’s Battle of Attu along the Aleutian Islands. Though largely overshadowed by the island hopping campaigns that were fought in tropical climates, the Aleutian Islands engagement in May 1943 is notable for being the only land battle in which Japanese and American forces fought in snowy conditions. It was also part of the only campaign of World War II fought on North American soil. It was in June 1942 that the 301st Independent Infantry Battalion of the Japanese Northern Army landed unopposed on Attu, and came a day…

Many countries have created special awards which are the highest honor that can be bestowed on men and women serving in the armed forces for actions during military operations. America has the Medal of Honor and France has the Legion d’Honneur, while in Britain it is the Victoria Cross which was instituted by Royal Warrant in 1856, during the reign of Queen Victoria. Since that time it has been awarded 1,355 times, with the most recent being the posthumous award to Lance Corp. James Ashworth of the Grenadier Guards for actions during operation in Afghanistan in 2012 and confirmed in 2013. The history of the Victoria Cross has been well documented, but just a very brief recap as a refresher is always helpful. The design of the award is a…

MILITARY COLLECTOR SHOWS Sep 14 KS, Overland Park. Kansas City Military Collectors Club Buy-Sell-Trade Show. American Legion Post #370 - 7500 W. 75th St. 9am-3pm. Jeff Barthol 816-550-8095, jeffbarthol@yahoo.com Sep 14-15 NV, Carson. Carson City Gun, Knife & Collectibles Show. Carson City Community Center Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-3pm. American Dream Gun Show: Chad Moxley 775-392-2735, chad@strategicsupplies.net Sep 15, 2024 IL, New Lenox. Midwest Militaria Military History & Collectibles Show. V.F.W. Post 9545 - 323 Old Hickory Road. Setup 8-9am, public 9am-1pm. Paul 815-641-6411, Bob 708-598-4156 Sep 19-21 PA, York. MAXX Show. ovms@fuse.net, www.sosovms.com Sep 22 IL, Schaumberg. Chicagoland Toy Soldier Show. Schaumberg Marriott. www.chicagotoysoldiershow.com Sep 27-28 OH, Zanesville, Ohio. National Road Military Antique Show, held in conjunction with Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-in and car show. Zanesville Municipal Airport. Dealer setup…

Car boot fairs, or simply “car boots” as they are referred to in the U.K., have been around since the 1970s and have steadily grown in popularity. The idea is believed to have started in Canada, where they are called “trunk sales” and proved a popular way of disposing of unwanted items. Today, these events are held in towns and cities across Europe, including France where they are called “vide-grenier”, meaning to literally “empty the attic”. Even on islands such as the Isle of Wight, just a short boat trip from Portsmouth, car boot fairs are held most weekends. If you have visited one, you will know people don’t sell from the boot (trunks), they display their items of table tops, so buyers can better see. The popularity of these…

For years I’ve tried to believe, and even suggested to others, that video games could serve as a gateway to militaria collecting. It certainly seemed that as the games became more visually accurate with detailed depictions of equipment, small arms, and vehicles gamers would gain an interest in the history, and that could lead to their becoming collectors. Simply put, I was wrong. I should have also known as much from past experience. I have numerous friends who could be described as “gamers,” but they never really understood my desire to collect historic objects. It struck me as odd as these friends had an interest in military history, read many of the same books that I did and on their travels to European cities visited the military museums and battlefields.…

From the beginning of Adolf Hitler’s and the “Nationalsozialischtische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei” (NSDAP) fight for ultimate power in Germany, a great emphasis was placed on bringing as many young people into the new movement as possible. In 1922, an official organization for male adolescents was begun with the forming of the “Jungenbund der NSDAP” (Youth group of the Nazi Party). A separate organization for younger boys from 10 to 13 years of age was founded six years later in December, 1928. The following years saw this group go through a series of name changes from the “Jungmannschaften”, to the “Deutsch Knabenschaft”, and finally, on March 27, 1931, the “Deutsches Jungvolk in der HJ” (DJ - German young people in the Hitler Youth). The organization of young DJ boys would later be…

ETHANOL WARNING? Q: I have heard a lot about ethanol in gasoline. My question is, will it cause trouble in 6-cylinder flathead Dodge engines from WWII? —B. Morgan A: There is a lot of misinformation about gasoline and what’s been/being done to it. Based on my experience and also many things I have read on the subject, the usual mix of 10 to 15 percent ethanol added to much of today’s gasoline will not harm the engines of WWII or early M-series HMVs, which were, after all, designed to run on the lower octane and often poor-quality fuels of their times. However, most of today’s gasoline will damage vintage rubber, such as NOS fuel pump diaphragms and some carburetor gaskets and seals, so these items should be updated. Likewise, since…