Historiker

For Christmas I had the thoughtful gifts of some items to fill out my impression… first was a nice wallet to keep my soldbuch and a pocket mirror. I also can put my photo album and Ekstein cigarette card collection.

I also got some items to fill out my toilet kit… pictured here laid out on my Luftwaffe hand towel are left to right; lighter and cigarette rolling papers, an original Whermacht marked can opener, comb, shaving brush, aspirin container, bakelite razor, shaving soap, razor blades, and a field dressing.

I added a new page to Fallschirmjager.net that lists the basic gear needed in reenacting as a jager. If you are thinking about reenacting as a fallschirmjager this is a good starting point. My list is biased toward FJR/2 here in central Texas. So adjust accordingly… i.e. if your unit is Northern France or Ostfront you would not need any tropical gear.

After my many adventures in purchasing FF33’s I decided to write a little buying caveat emptor tutorial… I hope this proves helpful!

FF33 are still relatively plentiful, having been used by quite a few European countries including Switzerland, Norway and Sweden well into the 1970’s.

Current prices range from $60 to $125 with some being offered for the ridiculous prices of $200 and up. Check the telephone or the photos of the telephone well. Almost always the telephone will be missing the carry strap and the patch cord. Many will be missing the hand crank, look for it either attached to the end of the telephone on the generator shaft or stowed in its pocket on the top of the telephone under the handset.

Check the handset; sometimes it will be missing the carbon speaker and receiver cartridges. And in instances the microphone side will be replaced with a receiver end as the microphone cover with its elongated cup is more easily damaged. The other regular handset problem is the bridge of the handset being cracked. The cabling to the handset is often frayed or damaged at the exit due to the rubber cable grommet being deteriorated. The handset PTT button should function freely. The plug on the cable will have 4 or 5 pins, the middle pin was unconnected. Later in the production the middle pin was omitted to save materials and production time. The same is true of the socket on the telephone.

The battery case is another piece that is often missing. This is easily discovered by lifting the battery compartment cover. The battery case is designed to protect the telephone internals from any leakage by the corrosive battery. A missing battery case isn’t fatal to operation of the telephone and isn’t a piece that isn’t on view when the telephone is on display.

Test the battery connector nuts, sometimes these will be corroded in place. Depending on the amount of the corrosion damage it may be possible to free them. However do not use heavy force as these terminals are mounted on a bakelite insulator plate that will not stand stressing.

If you have the opportunity to remove the telephone internals, do so. This is done by loosening the two capture screws on the top of the body. Depending on the production date of the telephone it may have metal side panels. Most telephones will not have too much dirt or dust inside dure to being well shielded. However if the telephone was stored in a moist environment or immersed in water the internals may be ruined. Rusting or bubbling or evidence of repainting on the top panel of the telephone is a good sign to walk away from a purchase, except for scrap or spares.

The only other butchery I’ve seen in telephone internals is where someone attempted to disassemble the components. The wiring harness is soldered and well run such that all of the parts must either be unsoldered or removed in a very specific order. Watch for cut wires between components, a sign of the some amateur disassembly.

Remedies

If the generator crank is missing it is easy to make a replacement, it may not be as pretty but workable. The generator shaft is 8mm x 1.5mm thread. The quickest is to tap one end of a piece of aluminum tube and bend it into a crank shape. More time consuming is to machine a substitute.

For fixing a cracked handset bridge, epoxy resin is best. Disassemble and clean the handset thoroughly. Then fasten the two pieces together in a jig to hold them properly. Use peel ply on the exterior to keep the finish clean. Case cracks in the bakelite can be handled similarly. Use a reverse mold of an undamaged section and fiber cloth to help in forming the case if the damage is extensive. Dye may be added to the resin help disguise the repair.

Repairing a frayed handset cable end can be accomplished by shortening the cable. Repairing wiring in the telephone requires care in stripping and soldering to make sure of a good connection. The wire is cloth insulated. So stripping is best done with a razor cutter, straggling threads can be burned back with the soldering iron. Use muriatic acid to clean the wires and terminals, neutralize the acid with soda after. All terminals must be soldered for a good connection, do not use crimp terminals, the electrical connection will not be good and introduce noise. Also most crimp connectors are too large for the small gauge of the wiring in the FF33.

I’ve had my Schoessler’s MP-40 Blank Firing Non-Gun (BFNG) for a couple of months now and used it in two reenactments. What fun! The only thing that can be considered negative is that unless your learn to curb your itchy trigger finger you will burn a lot of ammunition.

In order to carry enough ammo (yeah I like to shoot) I’ve gone from a pair of 3 magazine pouches to adding a six-mag pouch on a bread bag strap slung over my shoulder. Now with 12 mags I feel prepared, though I’ll probably still stuff some extra mags in the pockets of my smock too.

The only way you can tell the BFNG from the MP-40 at a distance is the slightly longer chamber area and the cocking handle’s resting position on closed bolt; back rather than forward. It’s a little heavier than an MP-40 too, but an MP-40 would lighten my wallet to a much greater degree so neither of these things bother me in the least.

Here’s the difference between the real deal and the Schoessler’s BFNG…

Here’s more detail of the handsome Schoessler’s BFNG…

and my solution to carry six more mags with me…

I recently picked up a feldmessgerät 30 (a field test unit) for use in my role as a signals guy in the unit. It’s a nice solid little unit.

The field tester was developed in 1930. It was designed for demanding use in the field. It was the most indispensable tool of the signals soldier. It is the forefather of today’s multimeter. The following basic electrical test functions are supported; voltage testing, battery testing, resistance measurement and continuity testing.

The unit is housed in a hardwood box with a hinged lid. It is compact, measuring 5 ¾ x 4 ½ x 3, it is light and has a leather carry handle. Inside the bottom behind a sliding metal cover is stored the 4.5 volt battery and test leads.

The basic operating instructions are written in German on the cover. The tester internals are modular and fastened by 4 screws in the battery compartment. When the tester is removed from the case you can easily access all of the components.

I’m working on adding a skirt to my zelt tent. At Camp Swift I had a plain zelt tent, which is 4 zeltbahns with a center pole. I know the German army slept 4 in a tent like that, but sleeping on the ground is a bit uncomfortable. Others in the unit have side skirts which allow you to raise the height of the tent which allows you to set up a cot to sleep on…plus you don’t have to get dressed and undressed on your knees.

My tiny tent at Camp Swift… I’m between two with small skirts, the tent in the back of the picture uses 8 zelts for sides for an even taller tent.

So I decided to make a skirt for my tent. I’m trying something different. I have several 6 foot square Italian zelts. They have a seam in the middle, by splitting them at the seam I can make two 3×6 sections, buttoning several of these together will make my skirt. All I have to do is finish the edge and add buttons to meet the sides of my top zelts.

The Italian version of the zelt…

Here’s the zelt split down the middle and buttoned end to end. Part of my skirt.

I’ll keep you posted as it goes together….

I had the privilege to meet two really talented photographers who were attending the Waxahatchie reenactment. These guys took some of the best photos I’ve ever seen of a reenactment! - and not because they managed to get a flattering photo of decidedly un-photogenic me - more because they captured reenactors in character - in moments that reflect back in time… they seem to make history come alive. I’m captivated by the shots they took.

The photographers whom I know only by the handles of “TXZeiss” and “Yo Spiff”.. here are the links. Thanks again!

TXZeiss’ photos are here.

Yo Spiff’s are here.

I added the zeltbahn page to the site… it’s actually more of a rant about the current state of repro zelts… I was really bugged that zelts I’d bought which were supposed to be standard size aren’t.

I’ve been working on the main site a bit more as time free from work allows. I managed to make live the Book Reviews page starting off with a great little book written by a man who grew up in Germany during the war. Though it’s not mentioned in the book, and initially I just thought the last name of the author coincidental the author is the nephew of General Reinhard Gehlen. That aside the book is good on it’s own merits, well written and interesting!

I recommend it!

Maybe I should say … looking for modern ways to power old equipment. I have one real lead-zinc cell battery that was the original 1.5 volt power source for the FF33 field telephone, but I think it ran out of charge somewhere in 1945… that’s a problem with these old things.

Original battery, vintage 1945!

I found that a standard D cell battery works but is a little under amp’ed to power the telephone plus it doesn’t have the wire terminals that are needed to connect. My solution is to solder two in series and attach a wire lead.

The main trick is that you need to leave enough slack for the batteries to lay a bit sideways in the battery compartment as they won’t fit side by side. Here they are installed in the telephone.