BW FJ Statue

[taube]

Gents,

picked this up today from a veteran.
Reportedly, he bought it in Bruchsal in 1961
serving as a Fallschirmjäger.
The metal part is 17cm high.

Cheers,
taube.

[taube]

One more.
Soldbuch is his father´s, not FJ related.

[Gordon Craig]

taube,

Nice Luftlande statue and NORTHAG breast hanger. Thanks for posting these photos.

Regards,

Gordon

[taube]

Damned, you´re good!
Correct, the man served at NorthAG at
Rheindahlen from 62 until 64.
He was chosen following a positive security check.

[Gordon Craig]

taube,

Then you obviously have more info on this man other than just the statue and the breast hanger. Good to hear that. Always nice to have background information to go with an artifact like a statue.

Regards,

Gordon

[Proud Kraut]

Looks like the statue is posing on a photo album. If from the FJ, would you share some of the shots?

[taube]

It´s an album indeed but it contains WW2 era pics.
The man´s father was a Feldgendarm in WW2.
The photos are mostly private and of little interest to collectors.
It just completes the group a bit.

My photos do not do the statue justice.
Will try a different setup over the weekend.

[taube]

Different pics.

[Gordon Craig]

taube,

Thanks for the additional fotos. They really bring out the details of the statue. It looks like he is wearing an American style pistol holster. Is that correct? Can you tell what type of rifle he is carrying?

Regards,

Gordon

[taube]

Can't really comment on the guns, Gordon.
The former owner told me they had Walther P38 and FN rifles.
The statue's holster looks similar to one for a Colt1911 but not exactly.
Does a Sig Sauer make any sense here?

[Gordon Craig]

taube,

Thanks for the response. I guess that the person who produced the statue didn't really work from a model. More than likely from a photo so what you see is not 100% accurate for what was actually worn/carried. That doesn't make the statue any less interesting though. A P38 and an FN would be reasonable for the time frame.

Regards,

Gordon

[Proud Kraut]

I believe this statue is representing an U.S. parachutist. Long before the Bw started to train Airborne units, U.S. Airborne and SF units (and schools) were based in Germany. And of course German manufacturers like Schurig e.g. made patches, wall hangers, badges, etc. etc. and also those figures for them.

With the bildup of the German Army these manufactures for sure offered the same things to the Germans as well. Big difference? No. I'm sure these figures were sold to the U.S. and German customers.

Somebody with more knowledge of parachutes might correct me, but this one looks quite similar to the one depicted here:

http://www.usarmygermany.com/Units/8...%20Abn%20h.htm

[Gordon Craig]

Proud Kraut,

You could very well be correct. Here are some pictures I pulled off the net of BW paras. In the picture where BW paras are boarding a Transall they look very similar to the statue.

Regards,

Gordon

[Reibert-Austria]

In my opinion the buttstock of the rifle on the statue shows an Enfield.
http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...php?t=732597´