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A Queen's South Africa Medal to South African Constabulary Cavalryman.

A Queen's South Africa Medal to South African Constabulary Cavalryman.

A rare medal of the Boer War with three bars. Issued to 3rd Class Trooper R.G,Phillips.. 12 squadrons of the SAC were raised in Canada by General Baden-Powell. Many Canadians stayed on to live there after the war's end. One photo in the gallery of a group of SAC probably outside the HQ at Koffiefontein  read more

Code: 21866

245.00 GBP

A Most Rare, Circa 1822, Brown Calf & Morocco Leather Bound Volume of 'The Stranger in Brighton'  &  Baxter's Directory. Compiled and Published by  by J.Baxter of North Street Brighton

A Most Rare, Circa 1822, Brown Calf & Morocco Leather Bound Volume of 'The Stranger in Brighton' & Baxter's Directory. Compiled and Published by by J.Baxter of North Street Brighton

These fabulous English Georgian period pocket directories are a wonderful snapshot of the inhabitants of the town, and it brings to life the characters and history of this extraordinary resort, made famous just a few years earlier by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Baxter’s Stranger in Brighton and directory : comprising a brief, yet comprehensive historical and topographical account of the town, and immediate neighbourhood ...Published circa 1822 by Baxter & Co. North St, Brighton [Only a few hundred yards from our shop in the Lanes]. Finely bound in light brown calf with calf spine and red Morocco leather and gilt title. The directory contains I. An alphabetical arrangement of inhabitant householders. II. An alphabetical arrangement of the professions. III. A list of coaches, waggons, carts, etc. Plus interesting tales of Brighton and its history and sights and places of interest. A wonderful and informative volume. According to J.H.Farrant Directories are an important source of information for studying the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth. For the family historian they help to identify the residence of individual people within narrow time limits; for the social historian they can indicate the internal structures of communities; for the economic historian the relative and changing importance of occupations and industries may be revealed, whilst the historical geographer can plot the spatial distribution of those activities. In few instances are directories undoubtedly better in quality of information than other sources: census enumerator’s tallies are more comprehensive and probably more accurate for identifying individuals; rate books can be much preferable for discovering the distribution of occupations and businesses; and so on. But directories have the indisputable advantage of being printed and published books.
Brighton is a seaside resort on the south coast of England which is now part of the city of Brighton and Hove, in the county of East Sussex, in England.
We are likely Brighton’s oldest gallery owners & family traders. And or over 100 years we have been based in the world famous area Of 'The Lanes' of Brighton, which is located in he very centre of Old Brighthelmstone [Later re-named Brighton]

Brighthelmstone, was recorded in the Domesday Book, the Norman detailed record of almost 1000 years past, of every city, town village and hamlet in England.
A town considered so important by our South Easterly neighbours, the French, that they sailed over the channel and burnt us to the ground.… at least twice.

Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The ancient settlement of "Brighthelmstone" was documented in the Domesday Book (1086). The town's importance grew in the Middle Ages as the Old Town developed, but it languished in the early modern period, affected by foreign attacks, storms, a suffering economy and a declining population. Brighton began to attract more visitors following improved road transport to London and becoming a boarding point for boats travelling to France. The town also developed in popularity as a health resort for sea bathing as a purported cure for illnesses.

In the Georgian era, Brighton developed as a fashionable seaside resort, encouraged by the patronage of the Prince Regent, later King George IV, who spent much time in the town and constructed the Royal Pavilion in the Regency era.
4.75 inches x 7.25 inches. It mentions in the title page a map and three engravings, but in this deluxe calf leather binding [they were initially sold in simple grey board] there are no engravings or any indication they have been removed.  read more

Code: 21263

450.00 GBP

1924 Graf Zeppellin Z.R. III, The USS Los Angeles, Airship Medal, For The Flight of The Zeppelin, Previously Known As The  LZ126, To America. A Most Rare Example

1924 Graf Zeppellin Z.R. III, The USS Los Angeles, Airship Medal, For The Flight of The Zeppelin, Previously Known As The LZ126, To America. A Most Rare Example

1000 Hallmarked Silver Coin Medal
GERMANY, Weimarer Republik. 1918-1933. AR Medal (40mm, 25.68 g, 12h). The Flight of Zeppelin LZ126 to America. By A. Holl. Dated 1924. FERDINAND GRAF VON ZEPPELIN, uniformed bust of Ferdinand von Zeppelin right / LZ126 in flight left over Manhattan; Z.R.III above, 1924 below. Kaiser 459. EF, toned.

As part of their reparations payments for the First World War, Germany was required to give its remaining military zeppelins to the victorious Allied powers. This did not sit well with the crews of the ships who, only a week before the Treaty of Versailles was signed, destroyed many of the airships, following the example of their brothers-in-arms at Scapa Flow, who scuttled the German navy earlier that year. Germany was thus required to construct new zeppelins to replace those lost.
Among these was LZ126, destined for service in the United States Navy. The zeppelin was delivered to the US Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey on 12 October 1924, and was commissioned into the US Navy as ZR-3, the USS Los Angeles on 25 November. She would be the first of the Navy's brief foray into light-than-air vessels, to be followed by the Shenandoah, Macon, and Akron, and was the only vessel of her class to not succumb to disaster. Zeppelins, always particularly susceptible to the vagaries of winds and weather, were soon overshadowed by the development of vastly more reliable airplanes of the 1930s. The USS Los Angeles was decommissioned in 1932 and was dismantled in 1939.  read more

Code: 22707

220.00 GBP

A Most Incredible and Intriguing European Art Deco Bronze Table Lamp, Decorated With the Subject of a Prisoner in an Ancient Chinese 'Cangue' Torture Device Beneath a Lamp

A Most Incredible and Intriguing European Art Deco Bronze Table Lamp, Decorated With the Subject of a Prisoner in an Ancient Chinese 'Cangue' Torture Device Beneath a Lamp

A seated figure with the torture block of a Chinese 'cangue' . Likely designed from small portable carved wooden figures purchased and brought back to Europe by travellers to the Treaty Port of Ningbo in China, sometime in the early 20th century. The European fascination with all things oriental, from the exotic east, has influenced western art considerably for centuries, and it is frequently known as Chinoiserie Art, although the depiction of Chinese torture implements was somewhat niche, but they were especially popular, and depicted in decorative art, paintings, prints and sculpture. But this is the first time we have seen an old rendition of one in the form of a beautiful bronze table lamp. This very nice quality and fascinating piece of object d'art in bronze and enamel painted glass, is one of those incredible creations. This kind of tortuous affair using the cangue was usually unique to the far east from the ancient period up to relatively modern times. In fact the legendary Genghis Khan himself was imprisoned in such a terrible device when he was captured by another mongol leader as a youth before he grew into becoming the world greatest conqueror.
the bronze is signed at the reverse base, the front lamp base bears Chinese script, as does the cangue panel around the prisoners neck, which often details the prisoner's crimes, and the French bronze founder's label is on the underneath.
Although there are many different forms, a typical cangue would consist of a large, heavy flat board with a hole in the centre large enough for a person's neck. The board consisted of two pieces. These pieces were closed around a prisoner's neck, and then fastened shut along the edges by locks or hinges. The opening in the centre was large enough for the prisoner to breathe and eat, but not large enough for a head to slip through. The prisoner was confined in the cangue for a period of time as a punishment. The size and especially weight were varied as a measure of severity of the punishment. The Great Ming Legal Code (大明律) published in 1397 specified that a cangue should be made from seasoned wood and weigh 25, 20 or 15 jīn (roughly 20–33 lb or 9–15 kg) depending on the nature of the crime involved. Often the cangue was large enough that the prisoner required assistance to eat or drink, as his hands could not reach his own mouth, or even lie down. The word "cangue" is French, from the Portuguese "canga," which means yoke, the carrying tool has also been used to the same effect, with the hands tied to each arm of the yoke. Frequently translated as pillory, it was similar to that European punishment except that the movement of the prisoner's hands was not as rigorously restricted and that the board of the cangue was not fixed to a base and had to be carried around by the prisoner. the condition overall is very good, the lamp has four hand painted enamel glass panels but the interior somewhat concealed one has been long past repaired in the mid section 13.5 inches high x 7 inches deep, x 3.2 inches wide. If one wishes to use it for illumination once more It will need safely rewiring to approved standards, what remains of any past wiring should not be used under any circumstances.  read more

Code: 23902

645.00 GBP

Scottish Silver Buchanen 'Audaces Juvo' Clan Glengarry Badge 1930's

Scottish Silver Buchanen 'Audaces Juvo' Clan Glengarry Badge 1930's

Not hallmarked silver. Clan Buchanan Audaces Juvo I Help the Brave. Is an armigerous Scottish clan whose origins are said to lie in the 1225 grant of lands on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to clergyman Sir Absalon of Buchanan by the Earl of Lennox. A Dexter Hand Holding Up A Ducal Cap Proper., Tufted On The Top With A Rose Gu., All Within Two Laurel-Branches In Orle Vert. Traditionally, the Glengarry bonnet is said to have first appeared as the head dress of the Glengarry Fencibles when they were formed in 1794 by Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry, of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. MacDonell, therefore, is sometimes said to have invented the glengarry - but it is not clear whether early pictures of civilians or fencible infantry show a true glengarry, capable of being folded flat, or the standard military bonnet of the period merely 'cocked' into a more 'fore-and-aft' shape. The first use of the classic, military glengarry may not have been until 1841, when it is said to have been introduced for the pipers of the 79th Foot by the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lauderdale Maule.

It was only in the 1850s that the glengarry became characteristic undress headgear of the Scottish regiments of the British Army. By 1860, the glengarry without a diced border and usually with a feather had been adopted by pipers in all regiments except the 42nd (Black Watch), whose pipers wore the full dress feather bonnet. In 1914, all Scottish infantry regiments were wearing dark blue glengarries in non-ceremonial orders of dress, except for the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) who wore them in rifle green, and the Scots Guards, who wore peaked forage caps or khaki service dress caps.  read more

Code: 21051

65.00 GBP

An Absolute Beauty of a Fine, Koto Period Katana, Signed  Bishu Osafune Kiyomitsu & Dated 1573

An Absolute Beauty of a Fine, Koto Period Katana, Signed Bishu Osafune Kiyomitsu & Dated 1573

A very good Koto period sword, with a beautiful polished blade. Two stage black lacquer saya with two tone counter striping at the top section and ishime stone matt lacquer at the bottom, it has an iron Higo style kojiri [bottom chape] inlaid with gold. The fuchigashira are shakudo copper with a nanako ground decorated with takebori carved ponies in pure gold, with bocage of a Japanese white pine tree above the pony on the kashira. The tsuba is a Kinai school sukashi round tsuba, in the form of an aoi, or hollyhock plant heightened with gold inlays, including Arabesque scrolls, and leaves. the tsuba came from likely a branch of the Miochin (Group IV), this family was founded by Ishikawa Kinai, who moved from Kyoto to Echizen province and died in 1680. The succeeding masters, however, bore the surname of Takahashi. All sign only Kinai [Japanese text], with differences in the characters used and in the manner of writing them.

The Kinai made guards only, of hard and well forged iron usually coated with the black magnetic oxide. They confined themselves to pierced relief showing extraordinary cleanness both of design and execution. Any considerable heightening of gold is found as a rule only in later work. Dragons in the round appear first in guards by the third master, fishes, birds, etc., in those of the fifth; while designs of autumn flowers and the like come still later. There are examples of Kinai tsuba in the Ashmolean and the British Museum. Made around to decades before but certainly used in the time of the greatest battle in samurai history "The Battle of Sekigahara" [Sekigahara no Tatakai] was a decisive battle on October 21, 1600 that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate. Initially, Tokugawa's eastern army had 75,000 men, while Ishida's western army numbered 120,000. Tokugawa had also sneaked in a supply of arquebuses. Knowing that Tokugawa was heading towards Osaka, Ishida decided to abandon his positions and marched to Sekigahara. Even though the Western forces had tremendous tactical advantages, Tokugawa had already been in contact with many daimyo in the Western Army for months, promising them land and leniency after the battle should they switch sides.

Tokugawa's forces started the battle when Fukushima Masanori, the leader of the advance guard, charged north from Tokugawa's left flank along the Fuji River against the Western Army's right centre. The ground was still muddy from the previous day's rain, so the conflict there devolved into something more primal. Tokugawa then ordered attacks from his right and his centre against the Western Army's left in order to support Fukushima's attack.

This left the Western Army's centre unscathed, so Ishida ordered this unit under the command of Shimazu Yoshihiro to reinforce his right flank. Shimazu refused as daimyos of the day only listened to respected commanders, which Ishida was not.

Recent scholarship by Professor Yoshiji Yamasaki of Toho University has indicated that the Mori faction had reached a secret agreement with the Tokugawa two weeks earlier, pledging neutrality at the decisive battle in exchange for a guarantee of territorial preservation, and was a strategic decision on Mori Terumoto's part that later backfired.

Fukushima's attack was slowly gaining ground, but this came at the cost of exposing their flank to attack from across the Fuji River by Otani Yoshitsugu, who took advantage of this opportunity. Just past Otani's forces were those of Kobayakawa Hideaki on Mount Matsuo.

Kobayakawa was one of the daimyos that had been courted by Tokugawa. Even though he had agreed to defect to Tokugawa's side, in the actual battle he was hesitant and remained neutral. As the battle grew more intense, Tokugawa finally ordered arquebuses to fire at Kobayakawa's position on Mount Matsuo to force Kobayakawa to make his choice. At that point Kobayakawa joined the battle as a member of the Eastern Army. His forces charged Otani's position, which did not end well for Kobayakawa. Otani's forces had dry gunpowder, so they opened fire on the turncoats, making the charge of 16,000 men mostly ineffective. However, he was already engaging forces under the command of Todo Takatora, Kyogoku Takatsugu, and Oda Yuraku when Kobayakawa charged. At this point, the buffer Otani established was outnumbered. Seeing this, Western Army generals Wakisaka Yasuharu, Ogawa Suketada, Akaza Naoyasu, and Kutsuki Mototsuna switched sides. The blade is showing a very small, combat, sword to sword, thrust from a blade tip, or, possibly a deflected arrow impact, this tiny wound so to speak should never be polished away, this is known as a most honourable battle scar, and certainly no detriment to the blade, and that likely saved the owner of the swords life in a hand to hand combat situation. See close up photo 9 in the gallery, tiny impact of around 1mm with slight bruising below over a maximum total length 5mm, max impact depth around 1mm]  read more

Code: 23305

8750.00 GBP

A Fabulous Solid Silver Mounted 'Naval' Captain or Admirals Sword, Near Matching Admiral Don Francisco Xavier Winthuysen's Sword, That Was Surrendered to Commodore Nelson at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797

A Fabulous Solid Silver Mounted 'Naval' Captain or Admirals Sword, Near Matching Admiral Don Francisco Xavier Winthuysen's Sword, That Was Surrendered to Commodore Nelson at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797

Superb French hunting hanger with carved hilt with fancy solid silver crossguard and mounts [bearing French hallmark] with pair of carved grip plates held with fancy flower head silver rivets and engraved silver rim edging. With superbly engraved blade bearing stunning mystical talismanic and cabbalistic engravings including the portrait bust of an Ottoman Grand Sultan. It was written centuries past that a fine blade might be engraved with; "a talisman to make one beloved, to defeat the ill wishes of all enemies". They could be a number or combination with a cabbalistic meaning known only to the owner and the magician who sold him the spell. The number might be, for example, 1441, thought to be a combination of the number 7, a specifically lucky number,

From a collection of very fine surrendered swords from senior officer's of French and Spanish warships that fought against Nelson's fleets.


An incredibly similar sword surrendered to Commodore Nelson at the battle of St Vincent 1797 that of Rear-Admiral Don Francisco Xavier Winthuysen the Spanish admiral who died aboard the San José that sword is now in Norfolk museum collection. See photo 9 in the gallery that shows the extremely similar French silver hilt mount [close-up] of the Spanish Admiral’s sword in the Norfolk Museum [unpolished] that shows it may have been made by the same French maker.
We also show the sword surrendered to Nelson at the battle of St Vincent, and standing next to Nelson painted by Sir William Beechy
Sir William Beechey (1753 - 1839)
Location:Norwich Castle.

The Battle of Cape St. Vincent (14 February 1797) was one of the opening battles of the Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808), as part of the French Revolutionary Wars, where a British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeated a greatly superior Spanish fleet under Admiral Don José de Córdoba y Ramos near Cape St. Vincent, Portugal.

After a rendezvous with Jervis in the Atlantic off Cape St. Vincent on the previous day, Nelson on February 14, 1797, found himself sailing in mist through a Spanish fleet of 27 ships. The Spaniards were sailing in two divisions and Jervis planned to cut between the two and destroy one before the other could come to its assistance. But he had miscalculated, and it became clear that the British ships would not be able to turn quickly enough to get into action before the Spanish squadrons closed up. Without orders from Jervis, Nelson hauled out of line and attacked the head of the second Spanish division. While the rest of Jervis’ fleet slowly turned and came up in support, Nelson held the two Spanish squadrons apart, at one time fighting seven enemy ships. The efficiency of British gunnery was decisive, and he not only boarded and captured one enemy man-of-war but, from her deck, boarded and took a second.

The Battle of Cape St. Vincent won for Jervis the earldom of St. Vincent and for Nelson a knighthood, which coincided with his promotion by seniority to rear admiral. His first action in command of a major independent force, however, was disastrous. In the course of an assault on Tenerife, a grapeshot shattered his right elbow, and back in his flagship the arm was amputated.

Overall nice condition with some age pitting to blade.
 read more

Code: 24593

1395.00 GBP

A Wondrous Quality 18th Century Gilt Bronze Hilted Royal Naval Officers Sword of Hunting Hanger Form

A Wondrous Quality 18th Century Gilt Bronze Hilted Royal Naval Officers Sword of Hunting Hanger Form

Due to its superlative quality it was likely formerly the the property of a duke, prince, or an aristocrat of the highest status. It is also very similar to the the Walpole-Suckling Hunting Hanger Sword believed Carried by Capt. Horatio Nelson, sold by Sotheby's special treasures sale in 2003, see photo 10 in the gallery.

Originally intended for use in the boar or stag hunt, but most usually used in the early part of the 18th century by British senior officers in the Royal Navy. There are many portraits of Queen Anne period Naval admirals and the like carrying their hunting swords while in service aboard ship, as it was the perfect size for close combat use, aboard a well and profusely rigged man o’ war.
In the gallery is a portrait of Admiral Benbow holding his very similar hunting sword, another of Admiral George Churchill with his same sword, and once again with his same hunting sword Admiral Sir Cloudsley Shovell.

In the seminal works, 'Swords for Sea Service' by May and Annis, shown in photographed plates 80 and 81, are two other 18th century hunting swords used by noted naval officer's, one by Galfridus Walpole, said to have been used by Nelson and the other sword of Admiral Don Francisco Xavier Winthuysen, that was surrendered to Commodore Nelson at the Battle of St Vincent in 1797

Finest gilt bronze hilt engraved and cast throughout of scenes of hunts. With sharkskin grip, cast repousse decorated shell guard, knuckle bow and pommel, decorated with full relief very finely engraved blade with hunting scenes of wild boar. The wild boar is the ancestral species of the domestic pig. It is native across much of Central Europe
Unlike the Romans for whom hunting boar was considered a simple pastime, the hunting of boars in Medieval Europe was mostly done by nobles for the purpose of honing martial skill. It was traditional for the noble to dismount his horse once the boar was cornered and to finish it with a dagger. To increase the challenge, some hunters would commence their sport at the boars mating season, when the animals were more aggressive. Records show that wild boar were abundant in medieval Europe. A charging boar is considered exceptionally dangerous quarry, due to its thick hide and dense bones, making anything less than a kill shot a potentially deadly mistake. Hunting dogs have been used to hunt boar since ancient times. Boar hunting dogs are loosely divided into two categories, bay dogs, and catch dogs.
Bay dogs harass and harry the boar, keeping it cornered in one place and barking loudly. This behaviour is known as "baying" or keeping the boar "at bay". The bay dogs' barking alerts the hunters to the bay, so that the hunter may catch up and kill the boar.the clergy demanding tribute from commoners in the form of boar carcasses or body parts. In 1015 for example, the doge Ottone Orseolo demanded for himself and his successors the head and feet of every boar killed in his area of influence.

In this period, because of the lack of efficient weapons such as guns, the hunting of boars required a high amount of courage, and even the French king Philip IV died from falling off his horse when charged by a boar.

The sword is in fine condition for its age. It lacks the small quillon end  read more

Code: 21041

1195.00 GBP

A Superb Medieval, 13th - 14th Century Carved Stone Head of a Bearded Man,This Stunning Sculpture Would Grace and Compliment Any Interior Decor or Collection

A Superb Medieval, 13th - 14th Century Carved Stone Head of a Bearded Man,This Stunning Sculpture Would Grace and Compliment Any Interior Decor or Collection

A most captivating piece of original medieval sculpture. Possibly removed from an old abbey or monastery during the dissolution and destruction of the monasteries in the time of Henry the VIIIth. Probably a portrait of a person connected to the construction of the medieval building that it once adorned. Possibly even a mason that worked on the building. At some time it's body has been very well conserved and restored around some cracking, probably in the last century. The head was the chief symbolic part of the body for Western culture in the Middle Ages, from the waning days of the Roman empire to the Renaissance. Since antiquity it signified not only the intellect, the centre of power, but was also regarded as the seat of the soul. The face is not only central to identity, but is also the primary vehicle for human expression, emotion, and character. As such, the depiction of the head becomes a true test of the quality of the artist and a telling indicator of style. By focusing on this one genre of object, the Middle Ages can be seen in a new light. Few sculpted heads of the Middle Ages were portraits in the modern sense. The reasons for representing the human face were far more various than recording the physical likeness of an individual. During the High Middle Ages, portraiture did not rely on likeness so much as attributes, coats of arms, inscriptions, and other identifying signs. Thus individual selfhood was subsumed in broader forms of corporate identities. At the same time, the notion of a "true" portrait encompassed such miraculous images as the Veil of Saint Veronica, imprinted with the face of Christ.

By the fourteenth century, veristic portraiture re-emerged as a supplement to symbolic representations of identity, especially in the main European capitals?Paris, London, Prague [Verism refers to a hyper-realistic portrayal of the subject's facial characteristics]. A 1925 photograph in the gallery [for information only] of early stone sculpture on display at the Cloisters that was originally acquired by George Grey Barnard (1863?1938), a distinguished American sculptor, and an avid collector and dealer of medieval art. We show in the gallery a 14th century carved heas in Southwell Minster, and a row of four carved heads in St Magnus' Cathedral in Kirkwall Orkney, probably carved by Durham masons. The second head from the left is incredibly similar to our example. Founded in 1137 by Earl Rognvaldr, in honour of his murdered uncle St Magnus aka Earl Magnus Erlendson. At least some of the early masons that worked on the cathedral came from Durham. One of the hidden gems of St Magnus' is that in the best traditions of cathedrals everywhere the stonemasons decorated the cathedral with little carved heads. They're supposedly caricatures of some of the masons or of their foreman but no-one really knows for sure, and some are definitely not totally human, with half man/half beast faces: Our head is 7.5 inches x 5.25 inches x 5 inches. Weight approx 3.5 kilos  read more

Code: 22419

1195.00 GBP

Fabulous, Very Rare WW2 German Luftwaffe Falshirmjager Mobile Artillery Shells & Case with Luftwaffe Falshirmjager Issue stamps

Fabulous, Very Rare WW2 German Luftwaffe Falshirmjager Mobile Artillery Shells & Case with Luftwaffe Falshirmjager Issue stamps

Original falshirmhager issue transit case containing two original [unfired] shell heads and three original shell cases, held by its transit rack. As used by the elite German Falshirmjager special airborne troops during the Invasion of Crete. Also the type that was used by special SS combat groups, Heer Mountain Troops, and the Luftwaffe Falshirmjager Special Trained Special Forces Unit Troops of II/KG200. This set was used by the Luftwaffe Falshirmjager and marked accordingly as issue Luftwaffe for falshirmjager. The German small mobile artillery cannon was an incredible piece of artillery in that it was small enough to be transported in back packs, through mountain terrain and even dropped with falshirmjager parachute troops. During the invasion of Crete the German paratroopers found themselves attacked with clubs, knives and farm equipment as they scrambled to get out of their parachutes. There were numerous reports of citizens firing old rifles at landing infantry and even joining the New Zealander, Greek, or English counterattacks around the island. Believe it or not the Germans were outraged that common citizens, wearing no uniform, were actively skirmishing against their soldiers, [in other words, how dare the ordinary Greek peasants have the cheek to attempt to defend their homeland, from the noble and valiant German invaders, especially while dressed in poor quality civilian clothes!]. Thus, and consequently, the German invaders soon felt threatened by attack at all times, from any civilian quarter [poor things].
By this time, the Germans had gotten enough supplies to the island by sea and air to begin to wage conventional war against Crete's defenders. A big surprise to the Allied forces was German artillery. It had been thought that artillery was far to heavy and difficult to deploy in a primarily air based invasion. Unfortunately for the men on Crete, the Germans had developed a recoilless gun, named the LG40, that Fallschirmjager units were able to carry with them. The 7.5cm gun fired the same shells as the full size 7.5cm artillery being used by conventional units, albeit at around 2/3rds of the range. It was lightweight, easy to use, and generally very effective. This is a complete shell and detonator case that takes 3 shells and it this one is complete with 2 fuze heads and 3 charge detonator bases with adjustable charge discs. This case is clearly marked Luft for issue and use Luftwaffe Fallshirmjager. The 7.5 cm Leichtgeschuetz 40 could be air-dropped and had a maximum range of 6,800 m. Para-trained commandos of II/KG200 (also known as the 3rd Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 200), were a Luftwaffe special forces unit who were para-trained commandos. II./KG 200 remain a mostly unheard of arm of Germany's World War II parachute forces due to the nature of their role and were listed on II./KG 200's ORBAT as the 3rd Staffel. Please Note* Shown in the photographs, there are two shells with their heads included, 3 steel shell cases, but two heads. Inert and perfectly safe, but not suitable for export.  read more

Code: 22502

1575.00 GBP