"I love Paratrooper.be - WW2 US Paratrooper militaira"

2022-06-13 20:12:02

↓ JAVASCRIPT IS DISABLED. Please enable JavaScript on your browser to best view this site. Paratrooper.beWW2 US Paratrooper militaira HomeArticlesMaking plexiglass sweetheart grips for your Colt M1911A1Jump wings3rd Zouave badge for the 509th PIBTL-122 FlashlightsParatrooper wrist compassesEscape compassesGas detection brassardsLuminous disksInvasion arm flagsWhistlesAdvertisements with paratroopersWorking EE-8 field phones for re-enactmentGI in BrusselsJohn M. Beatty’s Purple HeartMagazine covers with paratroopersParatrooper sweetheart pillow coversTips for collectorsDick Donnelly of the ParatroopsReviewsBooksComic booksUnit historiesReference booksMoviesMuseumsReproductionsApple Airsoft Springfield M1903A3 reviewDenix M1 Garand reviewKing Arms Thompson M1A1 reviewACM M1918 BAR reviewT5 parachuteBangalore torpedo projectGriswold bagHow to age your repro K-rationsLinksAboutContactHome Post navigation← Older postsTL-122-B and -C white residue?Paratrooper.bePosted on January 15, 2022 by Wouter HasJanuary 15, 2022 If you own a TL-122-B flashlight, chances are you noticed white residue on the olive drab plastic body. Maybe you even tried to wipe it off, only to find that after a while this white sheen reappears. What causes this?The TL-122-B was replaced by the TL-122C and later the TL-122D because of the problems it had with a wax build-up on its surface and a bad smell.Dan Navarro contacted me because he was doing some research on one of the four manufacturers of the TL-122-B, the Gits Molding Company. Gits made small portable chess sets during the war. It appears they used the same plastic material to make the flashlights. The chess sets had similar results. See photo showing an affected chess piece and one cleaned up.White residue on e Gits-manufactured chess pieceDan and I exchanged some thoughts about this, and I also asked my son, our scientist in residence. The white residue is probably paraffin wax. For injection molding in the 1940s, e.g. for flashlights, it was used to easily separate the molds from the plastic.We are not sure though, why the white residue reappears a while after wiping it off. Probably because of the excess use of paraffin, followed by long exposure to heat or sunlight.Dan’s understanding from the literature on the internet is that the U.S. government had the four contractors re-configure the formula to eliminate the problem with the flashlights. Most likely they substituted another chemical that performed the same function as the paraffin but without the bad effects.So, for collectors of Gits flashlights and chess sets from 1942, we will just have to give them all a nice cleaning every two or three years to keep them presentable, or to leave them untouched.Posted in Collectibles | Tagged TL-122 | Leave a replyEd Shames dies at age 99Paratrooper.bePosted on December 5, 2021 by Wouter HasDecember 5, 2021 Announced in the media worldwide today, Col. Ed Shames passed away on Friday at the age of 99. May he join his brothers and rest in peace.We all know Ed Shames from the epic HBO series ‘Band of Brothers’, based on the book of Steven Ambrose. Shames jumped into Normandy on D-Day, participated in Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. He was among the first US soldiers to enter the Dachau concentration camp.At Berchtesgaden, he would ‘liberate’ a bottle of cognac that was labeled to be ‘for the Führer’s use only’. He would later use it toast his oldest son’s bar mitzvah, according to his obituary.Shames was the last surviving officer of Easy Company. With his death, there is only one surviving enlisted member: 97-year-old Bradford Freeman.You can read a lot more facts and see pictures and videos in this article from the Daily Mail.Interview with Ed Shames on YouTube (American Veterans Center)Posted in History, TV | Tagged Band of Brothers, Easy Company | Leave a replyOrigin of the parachute training football helmetParatrooper.bePosted on November 18, 2021 by Wouter HasNovember 18, 2021 Timothy Brown is the author of the very interesting story “When West-Point’s Football Helmets Went to War“, which was published last week. He used some of my own research, which is how I heard from him. Timothy has uncovered a lot about these helmets that was unknown to me and that I’d like to share with you, so be sure to read his article.Apparently, the plastic football helmet we all know was a new invention from 1940 and the West Point football team ordered them in 1941. Cadets lent their helmets to the paratroopers for testing, and that’s how it all started. But there’s lots more to discover in the article.Parachutist wearing the Riddell helmet, HBT coveralls and early jump boots with a strap over the lacingI myself am the proud owner of one of the prop Riddell helmet replicas especially made for the first episode of Band of Brothers, as well as a number of original photos from early parachute training at Fort Benning, some of which were used in this article. It is such a fascinating history and a turning point in modern warfare.Posted in History | Tagged fort benning, Parachute training, Riddell helmet | Leave a replyNew magazines with paratroopers on coverParatrooper.bePosted on November 11, 2021 by Wouter HasNovember 11, 2021 It’s been a long while since I got any new WWII magazines with parachutists or glider troops on the cover. These 3 were sent to me by Darren from the UK and are very nice. The New York Times magazine is actually one you may have seen before, but I never got a decent picture of it. The two other ones are really new to me.As for the one from the Times, the photo caption seems strange, given the magazine is from September 1944 and no paratroops had jumped on Germany at the time.Check out the complete overview of period magazines with parachutistsPosted in Books, Collectibles, Paper items | 2 RepliesA case full of TL-122 flashlights!Paratrooper.bePosted on October 30, 2021 by Wouter HasNovember 16, 2021 Thorsten Becker sent me photos of this minefield marking chest he found. It’s dated 29 September 1944, and it’s in great shape and it still has the packing list on the inside:200 batteries (compartment B)42 flashlights TL-122-C (compartment C)40 flashlights TL-122-C (compartment A)164 bulbs (one in head and one in base) 2 in each flashlight34 filters, amber for flashlights, in flashlight48 filters, green for flashlights, in flashlightThis case was empty, but imagine finding a full one with 82 flashlights…Read the complete article about TL-122 flashlightsPosted in Collectibles | Tagged TL-122 | Leave a replyRadioactivity of luminous disksParatrooper.bePosted on September 25, 2021 by Wouter HasSeptember 25, 2021 Geiger counter measuring radiation from a luminous diskThere has been quite some debate about how dangerous it is to keep these luminous disks in your collection. So I was very glad to finally get some concrete scientific advice on this.Jon Korsmo finally provided a clear and conclusive explanation that I can share with you here. He is a certified nuclear medicine technologist and works with radiation all day as a job.Jon isn’t really worried about the radiation of one disk or two on display, but it depends on what you do with these disks and the condition they are in.Read all about it here, in the updated article about luminous disksPosted in Collectibles | Tagged luminous disks | Leave a replyAB-BL marked Belgian TL-122-DParatrooper.bePosted on September 12, 2021 by Wouter HasSeptember 12, 2021 These photos were sent to me by a collector called Mathieu. This flashlight is probably post-war, but I think it’s an interesting variation to inlcude anyway. AB-BL stands for Armée Belge – Belgisch Leger. Mathieu still has an open question that I can’t help him with: is it possible to date this flashlight to a certain era based on the ‘AB-BL’ marking? When did the Belgian army stop using this marking and changed it to ABL?Go to the full article about TL-122 flashlightsPosted in Collectibles | Tagged TL-122 | Leave a replyTL-122 flashlights new variationsParatrooper.bePosted on August 25, 2021 by Wouter HasAugust 25, 2021 I have just updated the article with 3 new variations sent to me by other collectors:We have one similar to the TL-122-A that is marked ‘L122’.Another one is a TL-122-C made by Bright Star. That’s a manufacturer I hadn’t seen yet.And finally a TL-122-A with a different variation of the advertising for replacement batteries.L122 marked instead of TL-122TL-122-C made by Bright-StarNo.55 USA LITE LOK-TOP batteriesView the complete article about TL-122 flashlightsPosted in Collectibles | Tagged TL-122 | Leave a replyEscape compasses in disguiseParatrooper.bePosted on August 23, 2021 by Wouter HasAugust 23, 2021 Peter Yates was so kind to send me photos from his own collection, including Brass and RAF black fly button compasses, unissued and still attached to the card they were issued on, razor blade compasses by six different manufacturers, and a compass hidden inside a cufflink.Read the complete article about escape compassesPosted in Collectibles | Tagged escape compasses | 1 ReplyTypes of identification scarf (marker panel)Paratrooper.bePosted on June 26, 2021 by Wouter HasJune 26, 2021 I am looking for photos of these scarves in your collections. The one in these pictures is my own. It has a brown hem and bright yellow silk panel. There are no markings, other than a handwritten ‘4b’. As I did with the gas detection brassards, I thought it would be interesting to get photos from as many collectors as possible in order to learn about different variations. I know of 2 basic versions: both have a yellow silk panel. One has a brown hessian hem, the other has a white hem.The scarf in full viewRemnants of black marking?Handwritten marking ‘4b’It was issued to paratroopers at a limited scale and intended for aerial forces to recognize friendly ground forces. With paratroopers often far ahead of regular allied forces, or even behind enemy lines, this was a very useful, even life-saving piece of equipment. In period photographs they are most seen worn around the neck as scarves.The scarves were British made, but markings aren’t always present or legible. So I would like to make an inventory. Bill Rentz’ Gernonimo! U.S. Airborne Uniforms, Insignia & Equipment in World War II shows an identical panel which is marked ‘COURTAULDS LTD. 1942’ in a square with a broad arrow, and another one, also with a brown hem, marked ‘COURTAULDS LIMITED 1943, also with a broad arrow but no square.Even though these are early dates, I have only found photos of the scarves being worn by US paratroopers for Operation Market Garden in Holland and Operation Varsity in Germany. It would be interesting to be able to determine more accurately which units wore these scarves and when and where, and whether they were issued the scarves with the brown or the white hem.Replicas of these scarves do exist and can also be interesting to add to the overview. A replica I oncee had was well made, but the fabric wasn’t silk. The material of the panel was too coarse and a kind of modern-day signal yellow.I am looking forward to receiving your photos, including any markings that may still be legible.Posted in Collectibles | Leave a replyPost navigation← Older postsAbout meWouter HasI have been collecting WW2 militaria since I was a boy. About fifteen years ago, I decided to focus on WWII US Army, specializing in the history and equipment of the US Paratroops.Send me an emailInstagram photos This error message is only visible to WordPress admins Error: No connected account. Please go to the Instagram Feed settings page to connect an account. 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