8x50 binoculars MINT

[MAUSER99]

I agree.. If anyone thinks you cant buy a spray can Of testors "Africa mustard" and paint a pair of binoculars you are sadly mistaken. Kov marking I have seen are only on 6x30 dienstglas I don't think they ever made a larger set. I have seen Huet 7x50 with the dienstglas marking and they are legit and tan. Most are painted tan over the black factory paint I think.. The set you posted was a freshman attempt to deceive someone.. But, with knowledge that's getting harder to do.

[Sgt Bilko]

"But, with knowledge that's getting harder to do"

I agree - but sadly the fakers are becoming more knowledgeable too. This was an easy one - but who knows what we'll be fretting over in the future.....

[wilddieb]

By the way - tan binoculars were in Africa if this picture (shown in many books) is to be believed - which I do!


http://fallschirmjager.tumblr.com/po...oke-break-ahhh

Why do you think tis picture was shoot in africa?

[Sgt Bilko]

The comment beside it;

"Ahhh YES! One of my favorites from the Tunisia campaigns!"

And the palm trees behind - and it's been shown in various books as being in Tunisia......

[Mikedenmark]

For your information palms can be found outside africa.
Here are some from the southern part of sweden:
http://www.trelleborg.se/Templates/W...e.aspx?id=5099
( I know, this is cheating. They put the palms up in 1984, and move them into shelter every winter. Was I baffled, when I accidently saw them on a bike ride in 2013.)

you just add some fallschirmjägern, then turn the photo into B/W.

I think the photo´s show uniforms and equipment from a european scene.
Repeat, think.
I recall having seen palms from areas around the black sea, greece, and southern Italy.
But if the origin is known to be Africa, I am surprised. The soldiers certainly do not look "african". And did they have the A-frame in 1942?

[Sgt Bilko]

Someone should tell the author George Forty that he's wrong then - he shows the same picture in "Afrika Korps At War (Part 2)" page 105

[Mikedenmark]

He might be wrong...
Or maybe they used Fallschirmjägers in southern Sweden.... heh heh
There was no lack of german soldiers in Sweden in WWII
One german division moving through the country in train, with swedish soldiers guarding the entire line, to prevent that any german soldier put foot on swedish soil.
In 1941, that was one way of being neutral.

Later on, it was only trains with soldiers going on leave in the fatherland.

I could understand if someone made the mistake of believing palms meant Africa. Or even included it regardless of knowing better. In a book about the Africa corps, this photo will look great.
I don´t even know, if they had fallschirmjägers in Africa.

Correction. They did have para´s. like the Ramcke Brigade, and part of the Hermann Göring division. So far, all photo´s I have found show them to wear ordinary africa uniforms. The photo´s below indicate either drops or cold weather. Were smocks used in everyday service in Africa? Maybe at night?

What about Crete? or one of the other drops later on in Greece? Correction: Crete way too early.
That might fit the bill, early para´s and palm´s. And a paved road like this, with sidewalks. Certainly not part of a cashba.

Last note. I admit, it may be Africa after all. I been looking into photo´s for a couple of hours. The smocks were in use in 1943 in Africa, and I found at least one photo with the tan painted cartridge pouches. Not to mention a weird photo in a mountain area, where heavy rain makes everything look like normandy.
I cannot find anything that exclude Africa. Been fun though.

[Sgt Bilko]

Hi Mike - it was fun but now you've cracked it!

Bundesarchiv Koblenz - show the picture as - "Tunisie, février 1943. Parachutistes de la brigade Ramcke"

[Mikedenmark]

I didn´t want to go into the Bundesarchiv. I wouldn´t come back to the surface for a week or so. But good to know there was a caption for the photo´s.

Btw, 6-7 years ago, someone found 2 german para helmet at a local junk shop in southern sweden. Paid a whopping $ 20.- a piece. So, maybe, they were there after all. ( no, I wasn´t that someone.)