Happy Anniversary

Today is the missus' and my 6th wedding anniversary (I hope - I'm bad at math!). This is what we have to show for it...

It's a 1/2 scale, fully functional Smith miniature replica of a 1941 Boeing Stearman PT-17 Biplane at the Massey Air Museum near our home (it's not ours, but a fella can dream, right?)

By the way...we've never seen the kid in the foreground before ;-)

Happy Anniversary, Babe.

I'm no philatist...

...nor am I a stamp collector, but this 50 year commemorative piece was given to me on said anniversary by my grandfather. He was at Pearl - not for the attack itself - but he was flown in the next day to help with the clean-up. He had nightmares about it for the rest of his life, and of his many WW2 experiences, he talked about this one the least. What I gleaned came from unguarded snippets of story and his hollering in his sleep when he was having those dreams.

Here are a few recollections of his - you can no doubt piece together the horrible scene from just this:

He mentioned pulling bodies and body parts from the water, which although gruesome and vivid, did not seem to stick with him as much as the fact that they were covered (along with everything else) with bunker oil that had spilled into the harbor. I'm sure he flashed to that every time he smelled diesel or kerosene, since smells trigger memories way down deep in our lizard brains.

The other recollection he had was of guys in capsized ships banging on the hull or bulkheads to signal they were trapped inside. From the outside in their little motor launches, my grandfather and his colleagues could hear this banging as recovery efforts got underway. Some of those guys stopped banging before rescue came...

He told a few other bits and pieces to me over the years, but these are the two that resonated with me the most.

He also had a little bit of the red sun from a crashed Japanese plane from that day - it was about the size of a silver dollar and had clearly been cut from a larger piece with tin-snips for distribution to US troops as mementos (souvenir is too light a word). He gave this to me many years ago - unfortunately through college and several moves, I lost it.

SMLE

When starting this blog, I was reluctant to post "modern" weapons, meaning basically centerfire rifles and pistols. However, it would seem that I've already violated that principle in several posts (this one, this one, and this one), so it now seems like not such a bad idea. This is especially so since I've posted a number of WWI, WWII, and even Vietnam items, making my previous decision to shy away from centerfire weapons kind of moot. Thus, I'm going to post some of the "real" guns from my collection.

This rifle is a Britsh Short Magazine Lee Enfield (SMLE) rifle, Mk 4. It is chambered in .308 (the NATO cartridge) rather than the original .303 British. It's a good, robust shooter - not as accurate as the German Gewehr Mauser '98 due to the way the action functions, but the SMLE is rugged and field worthy. This example appears all original, and has not been sporterized or otherwise altered. SMLE's are still used in places formerly occupied by British forces, and I suspect that somewhere in Afghanistan, someone is still taking pot shots at our troops with a venerable SMLE.

Incidently, the SMLE was used as the basis for the blasters used by the Jawas in the original Star Wars movie (now called "Episode IV"). Also, Han Solos's blaster is basically a relatively unaltered "broom handle" C 96 Mauser pistol. How's that for trivia?

Achtung!

This is a German bayonet from World War 2 (at least I think so). There are a variety of resources on the web to track down the arcana of European bayonets, and frankly, I have neither the time nor the inclination to do the research right now. The serial numbers on the steel scabbard and the blade match, which is a good sign for a collector, and overall, the condition is good (appears unused, except for a small dent in the scabbard visible here).

One big hole puncher...

This is a 14.5 mm x 114 mm heavy machine gun round (tracer). This was a Russian (or former Soviet) round. More can be found out about the cartridge here. It has been removed from its brass cartridge case but is unfired. Based on markings, this one is an armor piercing incendiary round, and is very much "ert" with respect to the incendiary filling. Probably won't be throwing this into the campfire anytime soon...

A katana this ain't

Although it kind of looks like one. It's probably a WW2 era non-commisioned officer's (NCO) shin-gunto - a military sword loosely patterned on a katana. The scabbard is iron or steel, and the handle is aluminum. The tsuba is bronze. Condition is very good, and the workmanship is surprisingly good.

I say probably and "surprisingly good" up above becasue there is about an even chance that this is not a Japanese war relic but is a Chinese copy of more recent manufacture. A couple of things that make me think Chinese knock-off include the lack of serial numbers (matching or otherwise) on the scabbard and a little bit of sloppiness in the casting of the tsuba. On the other hand, most Chinese knock-offs use brass for their scabbards (which was not done in Japan) and feature acid-etched blades (this one does not). Furthermore, the accumulated lint and grime on the tang of the blade speaks of use and age (although this could be faked, as well). Finally, the price I paid for this suggests a forgery, although one never knows. Regardless, the sword is well constructed, stong, and solid, with quality materials throughout. To me, this makes the fact that it might be a knock-off moot, since this was purchased more to ward off zombie attacks than as a serious collectors piece ;-)

Poor tree.

Here's a big U.S. Navy Mark 74 telescope - once used for sighting big guns (> 5") on navy ships. The builder's plate indicates a manufacture date of 1944, so this sight may have helped sink some Japanese or German ships - who knows?



This was my first purchase many years ago on the fledgling E-Bay. It's mostly brass, and weighs about 20 lbs. I won the auction for something like $5.00, and I think shipping was around $15.00. The scrap value alone probably makes it a good buy!

Anyway, the optics are good (if a little dirty), and the crosshairs are fine.

Here's a shot through it drawing a bead on my neighbor's tree with no color filter:


Here's a shot through it drawing a bead on my neighbor's tree with a yellow filter:


Here's a shot through it drawing a bead on my neighbor's tree with a red filter:


You're thinking: "What's that poor tree ever done to you?", right?

Nothing. Which is why I ended up not shooting it with the 5" naval gun sticking out of my living room window.

I got you...

in my sights.

This is a M15 Grenade launcher sight, leftover from WWII. A good idea in principle, although reportedly not the best invention in practice...the link tells the tale.

More stuff (someone) pulled from the (beach) #4

This big nasty is a 37 mm shell (don't worry, it's inert). It's stamped "LOT N14-2-1 1943 37 MM M51 B" on one of the ferrules (the "4" is italicized because it's not too legible - some fool appears to have used this as a tack hammer at some point). This piece was given to me many years ago by a benefactor who claims to have found this at an undisclosed location within Fort Miles, Delaware, now part of Cape Henlopen State Park. The problem I have with this questionable provenance is that the M51 B was an anti-tank gun, and would not really have any business at a coastal defense installation. Furthermore, I have seen no evidence that these were even deployed at Fort Miles, although mobile artillery may have transitioned in and out of there extensively. Anyway, I'm suspicious of this thing's reputed origin.

Regardless, check out the folks at FortMiles.org. This base actually captured a Nazi sub, so that at least should be worthy of respect, never mind that many of the old casemates are now sealed off and New Jersey tourists scramble all over the place like so many jogging vegan hipster fucktards.

More stuff I pulled out of the water #3

This is a 30 mm x 110 mm shell casing pulled from Chincoteague Bay in around 1992. The base is stamped: "1944 HP LOT 142 20 MM M21A1". It's hard to tell where this came from - probably not an aircraft since they were not shooting these big calibers out of aircraft until somewhat later, although surplus ammo may have been used later. The modern "Vulcan" on the front of an A-10 Warthog is 20mm.

Given the caliber and the length, this most likely came off of a Navy or Coast Guard gunboat in or shortly after WW2.

Mail call!

This is sort of a personal item, and I'm posting it 66 years to the day after its original composition. This is a V-mail from World War 2. It was sent from my great grandmother to my (now deceased) grandfather who was stationed somewhere in Australia (and who, you may recall, was a personal hero of mine and my best friend). He gave this to me many years ago, it it was only recently that I actually read it. It is illuminating beyond words, both as a snapshot of life in the U.S. at the time, and as a window into my ancestors and their kin that I never really knew. It reads:

Dear Francis,

Yesterday I sent you another package it will contain 3 packages of pipe tobacco and a pipe, a carton of hard candy (23 packs) and 50 razor blades Gillette. By now you should have that candy and gum and flashlight I sent you. Marie is standing on the chair in back of me every once in while [sic] she gives me polk [sic – poke], she wants to write to you. I guess my last letter will be censored I said I figured those pillow tops came from F.J. was I right? All the corners will soon be cleared all the boys from 16 up must help Uncle Sam whether they like it or not. So you see you have over a yr.[sic – year] start, this year you would be in it anyway. I wish Moe was old enough to go it was put some pep in him. You should see the size of him he wears a size 9 shoe and men’s size pants and he must weigh over 150 lbs. and he’s still lazy. Marie’s is fine, she’s a little cranky at night, but the Dr. said her throat gets dry and that’s what makes her cry. Friday she goes back to see him. He wants to look at his [sic] throat. He will be in the Army soon too. Most of Bayonnes Dr. are gone in service. Tonight is the Navy Mothers Club card party so you will get a package from us right after the card party (I hope) thats [sic] what they say they intend to do with the money. Marie said tell you she is a good girl and hurry home she wants to see you. Well Son, I guess that’s all and I hope God will be good to you and the boys thats [sic] so far away from home. So Long Son. Best of luck and love. Mother and [Father? This is cut off by the photoreduction]. XXXXXX [kisses]

My grandfather lied about his age and joined the service when he was 16, which explains that particular reference. Lots of young men did that in WW2 - not so much these days. Moe and Marie are younger siblings - Marie was the baby (and was closest to my grandfather by all accounts) and Moe was his younger brother. Great-grandmother's feelings about Moe aren't really disguised much in this letter. "F.J." alludes to my grandfather's "friend" in Australia - lot's of back story there but I can't really go into in now even after his death and 66 years.

It's also interesting to see what was happening on the home front - most of the doctors in Bayonne, NJ had been called off to war, and teenage boys weren't loitering on street corners anymore - they too were called upon to serve. The last thing I find interesting is the package containing a flashlight - my grandfather was never more than three feet away from his knife and his flashlight, even as he began to succumb to Alzheimer's in the early 2000's. I must have picked this up from him, becasue I always carry a knife and have numerous flashlights near to hand - always.

Don't worry, it's INERT

This old thing is exactly what it looks like. It's a hand grenade. It's from WWII. It's Japanese. It's a Type 97 fragmentation grenade. It's unused (duh!). It's also inert.

There is a sticker with Kanji on the bottom, but I can't read it. Can you?

Anyway, I always flash back to that scene in that old movie Private Benjamin, wherein the drill instructor says something like the following during basic training:

"Beware... there are mine fields out there. Most of them are inert. However, some of them are ert."

Hysterical.

The SPRA

What, pray tell, is a SPRA? Well, it's none other than Schermuly's Pistol Rocket Apparatus. OK, I know it's not a weapon per se, but it's a ROCKET LAUNCHER! This device was used in various capacities to launch line (that's rope to you lubbers) between two ships, between ships and shore, from shore to wrecked ships, etc. The model pictured here includes the brass launcher and an inert Smith and Wesson rescue rocket with wooden float attachment. Also pictured is an unopened box of the original line that came with the launcher. To use, one would simply open the box, clip on the line (making damned sure that the OTHER end was attached to something!), and fire the rocket.

The many uses of this versatile life-saving device are well documented on this interesting site.





Evidently, this device (or similar) was also used to fire flares and grapnel hooks used for clearing beach defenses before landing (e.g. concertina wire).

Of course, I will always remember the day I brought this thing home, burst through the door brandishing the SPRA, and said to the missus, "Ha ha ha, now I have a ROCKET LAUNCHER!".

She was not as impressed as I was...

Flintlock's Arsenal is here

The purpose of this blog is to document one unusual, unique, antique, or otherwise interesting weapon or weapon-like item from my personal collection per day, for as long as i can. I reserve the right to miss a few days here and there with the promise to catch up!

My initail a priori assumption was that I'd have enough goodies to do this for a year...but after a count, I don't think it'll happen. So I'll go as long as long as I can keep coming up with interesting pieces, or longer if I hit the lottery and go into acquisition mode!

In the process, I will tell you what I know (or think I know) about each piece. I'd love to have viewer comments correcting or augmenting what I think I know about these pieces...and I sincerely hope that this becomes a two-way learning street.

Additionally, many (if not all) of the pieces shown here could be available for purchase if you contact me with heartfelt interest and we can agree upon terms and conditions. I don't part with my treasures lightly, so please don't contact me about buying unless you are serious.

Lastly, and by way of preview, this blog will feature knives, guns, swords, axes, and other military or related equipment ranging in age for hundreds of years. However, my first piece (today's in fact) is neither particularly old or unique: it's a World War II era, British Fairbairn-Sykes style fighting knife (see picture) with a Sheffield stamp above the hilt. The handle is brass, and the double-edged blade shows signs of repeated sharpening.

The reason it is my favorite is two-fold. First, it was given to me by my late grandfather, a Pacific theater veteran and my number-one personal hero (I sure do miss him). He and I actually made the pictured replacement sheath out of one of his old belts - it took hours.

Second, the knife comes with a (probably apocryphal) story of how he acquired it. According to legend, when my grandfather was stationed in New Guinea, he and his mates from his PBY 5A Catalina crew (Black Cats) got pretty chopped up in a local watering hole. Supposedly, this British soldier was at the bar, and Grandpa's mates got the limey passed-out drunk. Legend has it that they dragged the poor slob down to the local tattoo parlor and got an American Flag and the phrase "God Bless America" tattooed on this poor bastard's chest. Then they rolled him for valuables.

This is probably a made-up story, but I so associate it with the knife that I consider it true for sentimental reasons.

By the way, if you're a British WWII vet with a similar tattoo and a missing knife - I am a fiction writer living in California and this story never really happened ;-)