Any fellow militaria collectors here?

Hi, gents, I'm curious if there are any other militaria collectors besides me in the forum. This does NOT include those who buy a reproduction 101st 506 easy company impression then claim they're are god. I'm talking about collectors that buy REAL, ORIGINAL militaria.

What do you collect, when did you start, and what started it? Just basically, as well as any tidbits like fun or rare pieces that you may own.

I'll start off. I collect World War 2 Army Air Forces memorabilia. Mostly flight gear i.e. helmets, oxygen masks, goggles, high altitude leather jackets/pants, flight suits, etc. as well as Class 'A' dress uniforms wearing any AAF patches, preferably named to an actual individual.

My most prized uniform is a Enlisted tunic with the early 'Pinewheel' insignia as well as 18th pursuit group DUI's that was owned by a gentleman that was stationed at Wheeler Field when it was attacked during December 7th, 1941.

I've been collecting since I was a young kid, mostly motivated by my dad's service in the military. I was further motivated to do specifically AAF now that I'm in the USAF myself.

Feel free to post any pics of ww2 militaria that you are unsure of and those of us here may be able to identify it for you!

I'd love to hear others. Even those who have hand-me-down equipment and/or uniforms from fathers or grandfathers who were there!  ;D

Last edited June 6, 2010 at 10:51 PM by HolyHappiness

I'm a collector ;)

Out of my family i have a number of "high important"
historical documents out of the time from 1933 till 1939.

Other stuff is my italian caracano, my Wehrmachts helmet
and other real parts of a Wehrmachts uniform.

Well. And a number of replicas but u hadnt asked for them, so i wont talk about this things  ;)

i don't collect alot, but i have a few odd things from te' war i found in a family chest.

Only few, the biggest is some photos, a Luger P08 and a Walther P38.

Lord wrote:
I'm a collector ;)

Out of my family i have a number of "high important"
historical documents out of the time from 1933 till 1939.

Other stuff is my italian caracano, my Wehrmachts helmet
and other real parts of a Wehrmachts uniform.

Well. And a number of replicas but u hadnt asked for them, so i wont talk about this things  ;)

Please share. My only beef are those 12 year olds that worship Band of Brothers and all they buy is 101st 506 Easy Company stuff.

Hey there, outstanding list of ecuipment you guys have. I do not consider myself a colecter but i have a couple of so called war merit crosses, from Germany stored in a box somewhere on my ceiling. could be awesome if you guys posted some pics from your collection.

I dont collect much, simply because it expensive, but i got some good stuff.

An American feild jacket made in 1943.
An original WWI doughboy helmet.
DDR officers hat.
Spanish-German helmet.
Russian Fur parade hat.
Mosin Nagant.
Confederate money. ;D

not to mention all the belts, ammo pouches, ammo boxes, and other small stuff.

comrade2012 wrote:
I dont collect much, simply because it expensive, but i got some good stuff.

An American feild jacket made in 1943.
An original WWI doughboy helmet.
DDR officers hat.
Spanish-German helmet.
Russian Fur parade hat.
Mosin Nagant.
Confederate money. ;D

not to mention all the belts, ammo pouches, ammo boxes, and other small stuff.

Amen on the expensive part, I paid $350 for a pair of AN6530 flight goggles  :-X! The American Jacket you mention, is it an M41 'Parsons jacket' or the M43 jacket? Post pics if you aren't sure.

SnuGGie wrote:
Hey there, outstanding list of ecuipment you guys have. I do not consider myself a colecter but i have a couple of so called war merit crosses, from Germany stored in a box somewhere on my ceiling. could be awesome if you guys posted some pics from your collection.

I'll wrangle up some photos of some of my collection.

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Post Merge: [time]1275966878[/time]

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Here are few of my pride and joys!  ;D















These are some older photos. I've added a British Type C helmet, B8 goggles, AN6530 goggles, A-14 oxygen mask, and an M3 Flak helmet. You can see all those partially in this last photo.



There is of course a lot more, but that would require a lot of effort to drag out.  ;D

Last edited June 8, 2010 at 3:14 AM by HolyHappiness

Lol Nice room.

I dont collect alot,  but my grandfather has 1 thing that beats all your other things.

An M1 Sherman.

I dont know where it is now, but my grandfather owns one. When I was 9, I went inside it. Its wasnt comforble. My grandfather was in ww2 and he's a collector. Hes rich and has alot of boring things but I think thats the coolest thing about him.


I love my Grandpa!

M-43

Good deal! If you ever get a chance, get an M41. I only have 2 but the average price for a decent original is $150 at the moment. Needless to say they're a good investment.

I got mine at a place called Canton, in East Texas. Its basically a giant redneck garage sale. There is this old veteran guy that always sells military stuff, and I got it from him.

Seeme wrote:
Lol Nice room.

I dont collect alot,  but my grandfather has 1 thing that beats all your other things.

An M1 Sherman.

I dont know where it is now, but my grandfather owns one. When I was 9, I went inside it. Its wasnt comforble. My grandfather was in ww2 and he's a collector. Hes rich and has alot of boring things but I think thats the coolest thing about him.


I love my Grandpa!

Hah! That's Awesome! My Grandad owns a Opel Blitz, planning to go to me when he dies. Still, That's quite Awesome!

My great-grandfather was a Hauptscharführer in SS-Panzer Artillery Regiment 11...currently, I have some of his stuff in storage:
- BCD G43 7.92x57mm w/ ZF4 dow scope and G43 cartridge pouches
- PPS-43 7.62mm SMG by Sestroryetsk Arsenal taken from Narwa '44
- AC42 P38 9mm pistol with hard-shell leather holster
- M31 mess tin and M31 field flask
- M39 Tornister
- M40 SS single-decal Stahlhelm
- Eisernes Kreuz 1st and 2nd Class
- Silver Wound Badge
- Close Combat clasp in bronze
- Sudetenland and Winterschlacht im Osten Medals
- "Nordland" cuff title and Danish armshield
- a pair of Knobelbecher boots
- Soviet private-purchase armored crew NCO's leather coat taken from Leningrad '44
- SS-HAUPTSCHARFÜHRER'S DER SPIEß M36 ARTILLERY FIELD BLOUSE w/ "SUBDUED" SHOULDERBOARDS AND M44 DOT PEAS PATTERN CAMO TROUSERS (SS-Panzer Artillery Regiment 11 - 11. SS Panzer Nordland Division)

plus some other things I've collected on my own
- Organization Todt Arm Band (Kampfbinde)
- Officer's Allgemeine-SS 37TH Foot Rgt.
1st Coy. (SS-UNTERSTURMFUHRER'S SERVICE TUNIC)
- Artillery Officer's Greatcoat (SS Motorized Artillery Regiment 3 - 3. SS Panzer Totenkopf Division)
- M35 SS single-decal Stahlhelm "Unterscharführer Willi Albert Weiß (KIA 2/2/44, Narwa)"
- Flammenwerfer-Schutzenanzug
- Jägertruppen reversible parka w/ hood
- Panzerbüchse Pz.B 39 7.92mm Anti-Tank Rifle
- Erma MP40 9mm SMG (w/ original spare magazine)
- Luger P 17 "Artillerie" 9mm pistol
- Suomi m/1931 9mm SMG (a gift from a Finnish friend)
- Württemberg IOD 89 sabre (m. WKC- Weyersberg Kirchbaum, Solingen)
- SS Liederbuch
- Estonian anti-aircraft defense ring
- glass AS-1 white phosphorus ammo
- damaged Flammenwerfer 35 tank
- Poljot Sturmanskiye Aviator's watch

...the others I haven't mentioned are all reproductions. :-[

My grandfather, on the other hand is an aviation buff who owns a restored Mitsubishi A6M Zero. I have never flown in it.

Last edited July 18, 2010 at 3:46 AM by Werwolf