WWI German items

[helmetbuyers]

Hello forum...

I got these items from an up coming estate sale. She would not sell any of the other items.

her father entered a nursing home, and she found these at her fathers estate... along with a shoe box full of German shoulder boards, buttons, and some buckles.

also a nice M16 camo helmet and two German gas masks. These must have been her grandfathers stuff that her dad held on to.

again... this was just a head up to see the collection, and all she was willing to sell to me at this time.

any idea what the metal plates are? they appear to have something to do with aiming a gun?

there also was a DWM marked machine gun belt, and some small cloth banners in English warning about poison gas up ahead, and a yellow armband?

the US WWI veteran must have worked around German POWs, and yanked shoulder boards off. none of the boards were for officers, or fancy for that matter.

most had numbers like 81, 432, etc. But... some had a large letter "K", or "MM"? any idea what these stand for?

thanks for the help Robert

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[helmetbuyers]

sorry for the lousy photos

[ww1czechlegion]

Very Nice Items, Robert, Congratulations!

Wow, a REAL MG Badge by C.E. Juncker, amazing!

Very nice Hessian enlisted pattern buckle!

I'm not familiar with the brass plates with the graduated markings. I'd guess you're probably right, that they have something to do with a sight for firing a weapon. Chip will probably know what they are for.

Congrats again, and good luck on acquiring the other goodies!

Best Regards,

Alan

[Chip M]

The plates appear to be removed from a cannon. Tiefenstreuung refers to "vertical searching fire". So, it seems that "1 Strich (graduation) equals 100m of depth of fire.

The shoulder straps sound interesting. The one with the "K" is most likely a Kraftfahrer (motorized troops, i.e., drivers) or if it is with a crown, it could be from one of the cyphered regiments. The "MM" is probably "MW" for trench mortar. If you get them, make sure to let us have a look.

Chip

[helmetbuyers]

Thanks guys for the help

here are some photos she sent earlier. I just noticed the In True Fest buckle? I should have tried to get that one... since I dont have one in my collection.

she had a few other items not pictured too. Robert

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[Adler 1]

That's a great find! Hope you can acquire the rest of it some day...

Adler 1

[Chip M]

As I had guessed, the "K" are Kraftfahrer straps and the "MW" is Minenwerfer. From the looks of it, he got some of this stuff during the occupation period. The Beamte buttons and some of the straps are from units based in Germany.

Chip

[Don D.]

A beautiful machinegun sharpshooter's badge.