Presentation Army Shooting Prize

[Ron Weinand]

Thought you all would like to see my 1934 Army Trench Morter Shooting Prize. Weyersburg "Ugly Head" with 3 line presentation. These bayonets are rare and I have only had 3 of them in 50 years, but this one is by far the best: A rare bayonet, a rare unit and great condition.

Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria
PS: NOT FORSALE and do you have any you want to sell?

[SCHUPO]

Ron,

That is a rare and beautiful Weyersberg!

George

[Billy G]

I'm pretty sure I remember when this sold. Needless to say I don't think I missed it by much. Really nice piece!

[Frogprince]

Super example of an extremely rare presentation blade !!! No offense, but the late issue 98k bayonet frog doesn't really belong and should be swapped out for an appropriate commercial/private purchase type of frog. FP

[Craig Gottlieb]

Super piece, Ron. Does anybody notice that this prize makes a really interesting statement about how quickly Hitler dispensed with the Treaty of Versailles? Shooting Trench Mortars in 1934? Well, I can buy a glider-pilot hobby club (code name: secret training group for future luftwaffe pilots), but how did they rationalize a trench mortar shooting competition? I guess the question is . . . had Hitler already thrown off post-war restrictions on Germany's warfighting capabilities? Or, were trench mortars somehow allowed under the treaty?

[Frogprince]

Craig, Long before Hitler arrived the German Army High Command was not happy about the restrictions placed on Germany. Horsemanship, competitive rifle matches and other military related activities were pursued which had a military application but did not particularly impact Germany’s ability to project war elsewhere like aircraft, submarines (etc.) did.

Which was the supposed intent of the treaty. And in the era of Bolshevik uprisings the West did not Germany to become communist and so some kind of military establishment was necessary which is why Germany was not completely demilitarized after WW I. Trench mortars, like machine guns, are low level infantry weapons and while their numbers might have been restricted they were authorized.

After Hitler came to power of course all of that changed. But the focus was more on ways to project military power elsewhere as opposed to squad/company level weapons. Regards, FP

[Ron Weinand]

This piece originated in North Carolina and had the frog on it as it came from the veteran's family. I am sure it is not the original frog, but was probably replaced by the veteran. In any case, that's the way it came and I left it alone.

Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria

[Frogprince]

Ron, I understand your reasoning and had a somewhat similar situation where I took a slightly different path. I acquired from a similar source a fairly rare FN contract Lithuanian M1924 bayonet which had a period Luftwaffe issue 98K frog on it in very decent condition. Both had been together for some time with commensurate wear markings on both. Some time later I encountered an equally rare Lithuanian frog in comparable condition with wear marks that matched the bayonet (although they probably originally came from the different sources) which I acquired to put with the bayonet.

After some serious thought I kept all three together with the German frog as an example of a captured arm used by German forces as I found it, and the Lithuanian frog as it was originally issued. I have no quarrel with the item being an example of a GI bring back because they often used whatever was at hand and put together various combinations from different sources. What I am suggesting which no doubt has occurred to you is to acquire a correct period frog to also keep with the rig which is how it would have been worn back in 1934. Regards, FP

[Billy G]

Ron,

I could have sworn it came from California. I saw it a few years back and it was a beauty then as it is now, congrats.

[Terry K.]

Hi Ron,

Wow! What a great find!
Congratulations!
Yours,

[Ron Weinand]

Billy G. Yes, I bought it in CA, but it originated from a veteran in NC to CA. I tried to get the dealer to tell me the vet's name so I could see if he remembered where he found it in Germany, but to no avail.

Ron Weinand
Weinand Militaria