Historiker

One major difference between the Fallschirmjäger and the US Paratroopers was that the Fallschirmjäger jumped with only a pistol and his main fighting weapons were dropped in a parachute container for him to recover when he landed. This was a major problem in Kreta since many of the drop canisters (Abwurfbehälter) fell behind the lines of the British troops the Fallschirmjäger were to attack with disastrous results.

I’ve been toying with the idea of building an Abwurfbehälter from scratch. The version that I’ll try my hand at is the steel one. I’ve found quite a bit of information and posted it on a new page on the site here: DropCanister.

It shouldn’t be too much problem since I’ve already built two airplanes out of aluminum and have the skills and tools… Stay tuned…

I don’t usually rant, but today I’m prepping for March on Rome and I need to reconfigure my zelt tent to make a sun tarp for the registration area…. and argh! the damned holes don’t properly line up on mt repro zelts. (No yes I have some real deal zelts that do work like a champ but I’d like to save them for lighter duty; they are valuable historic items.)

But why in the world can our suppliers not make something even a little bit faithful to the original…mainly because we buy them. It’s time for that to change… It’s time to start the official zeltbahn registry and authentication!

So as from today! Measure your zelt! No vendor I’ve found can consistently make an zelt of the correct size. If it doesn’t measure up correctly - send it back! It will be useless to you in the field except as a decoration.

To be of use the zelt must be able to mate up exactly with other zelts - to make your tents, to make a litter… to be of use to you and your kameraden it must be made to the original specifications. Let’s all join together and insist that our gear be of quality.

Unfortunately the zelt it is often one of the shoddiest pieces of repro gear. Originals are expensive and increasingly rare and so repros are attractive. However… fully 100% of the repros I’ve purchased have huge sizing flaws. The key being that the space between the buttons is not consistent. I’ve even had some zelts where the hole spacing even varies between the sides of the same zelt!

Why does this matter? If you are only a day soldier and all you ever do is button the zelt around you it is only a minor . However if you are making a shelter if they don’t match it renders the zelt that is nonstandard useless.

It’s hard enough if you supply all the zelts and have sorted through them beforehand. However in the field when you and kameraden are trying to build a shelter in the face of the coming cold night mismatched zelts are a huge handicap.

Now why the repro companies cannot (or will not) produce a zelt to the original specifications is a matter of conjecture. I suspect that some MBA has figured out that by making the holes 190mm apart instead of 210mm as the originals will save 1 square meter of cloth per zelt and hence a 50 cent savings per item for his bonus maybe?

Here’s a list of vendors that supply a zelt that matches the standard.

• *** None ***

If anyone knows of one please let me know I’ll happily add a link here and send every Jager your way. - feldwebel@fallschirmjager.net

I’m reworking my MG-34 gas gun to fix up some nagging problems. I got this beauty along with the Kubel, an unexpected and wonderful bonus…

One of the problems is the barrel quick change mechanism. On the real deal with a hardened machined steel receiver the swivel pin holding the mechanism together is well supported. As shown in the photo below:

However when you replace the receiver with a cast aluminum part you no longer have the rigidity of the steel on steel. So over the years the joint there had a bunch of stress and the small aluminum mounting ears sheared off making for a pretty floppy midsection.

So after a lot of pondering I figured out how to add back some rigidity, first I’d add a stop plate on the bottom of the receiver that would limit the travel of the barrel. This is a relatively hidden area that I could use a fairly heavy piece to strengthen the joint. So here is the plate fitted and mounted with two AN bolts.

Now to replace the latch there wasn’t much room on the top to drill into so I chose the side and made a plate that trapped the edge of the barrel shroud. It isn’t really as obtrusive as it looks now since it will be covered by the 50 round drum magazine. But it holds the barrel tightly in place.

Now the last thing to do is rework the trigger as the old switch has shattered…

Lately I’ve seen on Ebay ads for a Drop Case for the MP-40. While I’ve never seen any historical reference to drop cases being used by the Fallschirmjäger I did purchase one to store and carry my SS Room BFNG. It would save the gun from being banged around on the way to events, I wouldn’t show it or place it in any display at an event.

Here’s a couple of photos of mine…

I heard from Jim from Iowa a few days back and he was wondering about the historical provenance of the drop cases he was seeing on Ebay as well. He sent along references to several current auctions. Two were for the type that I’d purchased and one for a style I hadn’t seen before.

The larger style bag on Ebay…

We’ve chatted a bit via email and he’s also done a bit of research but neither of us have found anything close. Well know examples are the breech covers for the K98 and I’ve also seen similar covers for the MG34, however those are for travel protection; and not for jumping with weapons.

Every reference book and photograph I’ve seen shows Fallschirmjäger jumping with only a pistol as was the original practice, retrieving heavier weapons after landing from the drop canisters. Or written accounts of later jumps where the Fallschirmjäger jumped with their primary weapon.

The only photo I could find with a Fallschirmjäger preparing to jump with a weapon is this famous photo, and that weapon is a wooden mockup of an SMG.

For a while I’ve had a period style movie camera, a Bell & Howell Filmo. I’ve been looking for a way to make it work so I can record digital video at reenactments but without the jarring note of having a modern camera in hand. Much like I did with my Matryoshka (Матрёшка) Nesting Doll Camera Leica.

I’ve found a fairly small point of view (POV) camera in the Contour HD 1080P. For now I’ve mounted it on the side where I can cover it mostly with my hand. But as soon as I find a suitable donor film camera body (this Filmo still works well so I don’t want to ruin it). I’ll move it into the shell behind the lens. I’d really like to find a 16mm vintage Bolex with the pistol grip to use as a donor.

The Contour camera mounted on the Filmo…

I’ve updated the transit case I received with the purchase of the Kübelwagen. It was a pretty well made box, however it was painted yellow and I wasn’t totally happy with the lettering on the box.

So after a bit of sanding, the adding of the cross pieces on the top and bottom and of course some authentic stencils from Axeholme Signs it’s looking very presentable.

The stencils that I custom ordered from Axholme Signs have arrived. And they are great!

Tony even included a practice stencil so I could get used to the operations. It worked fine and the first real application was to my BMW R-71. The test will be the symbol used by von der Heydte fallschirmjager on their vehicles. The stencil is two part due to its intricacy.

Here’s the base portion of the stencil, the diamond, in place, masked off and painted…

Here’s the second portion of the stencil, the R, in place, ready to spray…

And the end result, wunderbar!

One problem with owning vehicles is keeping up with the keys at a event and also what key fob to keep them on. There are very few period key fobs available.

I want something large enough to so if they are dropped or misplaced I can see them from a distance. Or not forget them on the dresser when I leave for an event. I recently picked up two new key fobs off of a vendor on Ebay. They meet my criteria and are simple and well made. The topper is that they are Fallshirmjager themed!

I love them, and the slogans embroidered on them too…

Don’t whine, fight!

Fallschirmjager, fall from the sky and fight!

Several months ago I’d written about my project to add a skirt to my zelt text so It would be a bit more habitable. I forgot that I never posted pictures of the finished result. The tent is much more roomy with space for two cots and a small table.

It also creates a space to store gear away from prying eyes and sticky fingers during shows; as well as just a place to take a break in privacy for a few minutes…

Here’s the tent at the Brownwood/Messina tactical…

I’ve almost completed my fix for the MG mount. From the previous post you’ll know that the Chinese made part was crap so I elected to redesign it.

I turned my new one out of T-6061 bar. Rather than an undersize pipe this is a size fitted machined piece. The bottom fits down into the elevation shaft, the larger portion prevents the shaft from dropping too low and hitting the top of the sidecar and the top portion is fitted to the MG cradle. The groove is where the machined Allen screw fits to capture the cradle and prevent its coming off.

Here it is all assembled and fitted for testing. Works nice, free swivel without binding like before and also done away with the previous canting because of the undersize shaft. Now it’s usable…

Tonight I’ll cut a groove for the rack from the old part to attach to the new machined shaft. Then I’ll have working elevation too…