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Interesing WW1 German pictures.

Warrior1354

ax - hole
Been collecting pictures lately for my display and thought you guys would like to see some interesting ones.

#1 Are two older German Landsturm soldiers armed with Gew 88 rifles

#2 A 75mm cannon artillery squad

#3 A young German soldiers armed with Gew 91 carbine judging by his helmet he is in artillery

#4 German staff car with Kar88 carbines attached to the car never seen that setup before

#5 German MG08/15 machine gun squad
 

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#1 German soldier resting on 75mm artillery piece

#2 Squad of German soldiers cleaning Gew98 rifles we all hope they kept their matching bolts together!

#3 Another squad of German soldiers cleaning Gew 98 rifles most likly at the front

#4 Squad of German soldiers in formation armed with Gew 98 rifles in full battle dress with packs

#5 Young German soldier armed with Kar98a carbine mostly likly belongs to artillery unit
 

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#1 Squad of German soldiers shooting Gew98 rifles also check out the expression of that soldier's face on the left

#2 One of my favorite pictures in my collection. This one is of a young German soldier in full battle dress with a Gew 98 rifle. I believe this one is a family photo. Being how this one is titled Leopold God Amberg. Most likly a family portrait of a love one.

#3 Another picture of a young German soldier with a Gew 98 rifle in full battle dress. Notice how the bayonet equipped is one of the emergency substitute blades.
 

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Jordan, super cool pics, thanks for posting. Really like looking at the details of weapons these guys have, its always cool going over pics with a fine toothcomb, its amazing the details you can notice.

Question on the artillery pics...for example Picture 3 of group 1, you say a 75mm Artillery Squad...does it say 75mm on the back? Just spitballing, but look at the wheels on the carriage, they are very big, almost as tall as the guy standing next to it, and the height of the gun shield is well taller than the men, that's a big gun. Also look at the two rounds standing against the sandbag walls, look big for 75's....

I am not really up on WWI German arty pieces, I'd have tio do some research, but I am guessing it may be a 10,5 cm gun...

Picture 1 in group 2 is also really cool, very clear. Again, I am thinking bigger than 75, look at the size of the breech ring hole compared to the guys fist...could be just from the optical angle, but looks a bit bigger than his fist, and a fist is about the same size as a typical 75mm base, so this too seems bigger, maybe 10cm...I'll see if I can find any candidates.

Another cool thing on the pic is notice the Rundblickfernrohr (panoramic telescope) laying scope in its mount on the left side of the gun. This is the standard sighting unit for indirect fire guns. While it can be used for direct fire, it usually is used to shoot back azimuths to aiming stakes (the red and white striped poles you see a lot of times in pics of German artillery) in order to properly lay the guns. Also you will notice in the pics of one I will post they are painted with a bright orange on the top section. This was so the gunners have a easily visible target to sight other guns with so they can determine the exact relationship to other guns, to compensate for variations of elevation and direction between guns, so when battery fires as a battery they can correct against the other guns so they are all firing at the same point, or correct separation as is required. If you look at the rotating optic head on it in the picture, you can see its actually pointing back behind the gun, likely because it was used to sight the aiming stakes behind it.

The scopes locked into the mounts, but were removeable, and were stored in a special box mounted to the gun when not needed to protect them.

The Rundblickfernrohr design stayed basically the same from WWI through WWII, and many WWI scopes were used in WWII (Rundblickfernrohr 16's and 18's). In fact the scope in my pics is a WWI scope....the mount is for a sFH 18 15cm gun in a SP mount (the Hummel)…
 

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You weren’t kidding Jordan! Those are great pictures, some really good ones in there! I especially like the vehicle mounted G88’s.
 
Jordan, super cool pics, thanks for posting. Really like looking at the details of weapons these guys have, its always cool going over pics with a fine toothcomb, its amazing the details you can notice.

Question on the artillery pics...for example Picture 3 of group 1, you say a 75mm Artillery Squad...does it say 75mm on the back? Just spitballing, but look at the wheels on the carriage, they are very big, almost as tall as the guy standing next to it, and the height of the gun shield is well taller than the men, that's a big gun. Also look at the two rounds standing against the sandbag walls, look big for 75's....

I am not really up on WWI German arty pieces, I'd have tio do some research, but I am guessing it may be a 10,5 cm gun...

Picture 1 in group 2 is also really cool, very clear. Again, I am thinking bigger than 75, look at the size of the breech ring hole compared to the guys fist...could be just from the optical angle, but looks a bit bigger than his fist, and a fist is about the same size as a typical 75mm base, so this too seems bigger, maybe 10cm...I'll see if I can find any candidates.

Another cool thing on the pic is notice the Rundblickfernrohr (panoramic telescope) laying scope in its mount on the left side of the gun. This is the standard sighting unit for indirect fire guns. While it can be used for direct fire, it usually is used to shoot back azimuths to aiming stakes (the red and white striped poles you see a lot of times in pics of German artillery) in order to properly lay the guns. Also you will notice in the pics of one I will post they are painted with a bright orange on the top section. This was so the gunners have a easily visible target to sight other guns with so they can determine the exact relationship to other guns, to compensate for variations of elevation and direction between guns, so when battery fires as a battery they can correct against the other guns so they are all firing at the same point, or correct separation as is required. If you look at the rotating optic head on it in the picture, you can see its actually pointing back behind the gun, likely because it was used to sight the aiming stakes behind it.

The scopes locked into the mounts, but were removeable, and were stored in a special box mounted to the gun when not needed to protect them.

The Rundblickfernrohr design stayed basically the same from WWI through WWII, and many WWI scopes were used in WWII (Rundblickfernrohr 16's and 18's). In fact the scope in my pics is a WWI scope....the mount is for a sFH 18 15cm gun in a SP mount (the Hummel)…

No it does not I was guessing 75mm due to the size of the German WW1 artillery shell I own in my collection. But I may be wrong on the size of the round. From what you stated the size of these pieces are more up in the 105mm caliber.

Did you also notice the R.F.V 55 marking in the picture Mike? I'm wondering if that is a unit marking.

By the way Mike you do have one of the most impressive ordnance collections I have ever seen. You really do surprise me when you post stuff. Really there is no telling what you may post up always is a surprise. I'm betting one day you will posting your complete German 88mm gun thats stored in your garage!
 
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I found the arty pictures the most interesting also, especially P1G2, - after the war, the AEF wrote quite a few articles regarding German artillery, probably one of the most written about subjects in ordnance journals of the period (rifles are almost never discussed... though the T-Gewehr and ammunition is sometimes)

Picture 1 in group 2 is also really cool, very clear. Again, I am thinking bigger than 75, look at the size of the breech ring hole compared to the guys fist...could be just from the optical angle, but looks a bit bigger than his fist, and a fist is about the same size as a typical 75mm base, so this too seems bigger, maybe 10cm...I'll see if I can find any candidates.

A
 
No it does not I was guessing 75mm due to the size of the German WW1 artillery shell I own in my collection. But I may be wrong on the size of the round. From what you stated the size of these pieces are more up in the 105mm caliber.

Did you also notice the R.F.V 55 marking in the picture Mike? I'm wondering if that is a unit marking.

By the way Mike you do have one of the most impressive ordnance collections I have ever seen. You really do surprise me when you post stuff. Really there is no telling what you may post up always is a surprise. I'm betting one day you will posting your complete German 88mm gun thats stored in your garage!

I did notice the marking, curious, I will do some snooping on that, doesn't seem like a unit marking, but maybe...

And thanks for the compliment, although, really, I have seen some much bigger ones that make mine look like a mere smattering...just have been collecting a long time, and have been lucky...lets see, I bought my first item with my own money when I was about 10, a German bayonet, asw marked...$20 with my lawn mowing money....couldn't afford the extra $10 for one with a frog...so that's 40 years of collecting this Thursday!

So I did a little looking around on the guns...I am thinking the gun in Pic 1, grp 2 is a 10cm Kanone 14....here is a pic of one at the Artillery Museum at Ft. Sill (which I have been too, and if you are into Arty, it is a MUST see!) Shield looks about the same, the moveable cover for the opening for the Rundblickfernrohr is in the same spot, trails look alike, and handwheels look to be the same...(2nd pic, first is a K 17, the far one in the first pic is the 14...))
 

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Or, hell, maybe the 10,5cm Feld Haubitze 98/09...

OK, I think the second gun is the FH 98/09, while the pic ingroup 1 is either a K14 or K17...

ETA Here is an interesting link to a restored K 17, definitely thinking 1st pic is a K14 or 17 for sure...

https://lovettartillery.com/10cm_Kanone_1917.html
 

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Hey at least were getting somewhere and thanks for taking the time and effort with this Mike. You really do surprise me how much you know about artillery and ordnance.

By the way I will be posting a few more pictures as well. Some in the K98k section too.
 
I love the weapon's maintenance photos. I think #2 is either just after the turn of the century or possibly Bavarian based on the tunics.
 
Some more pictures to add to this thread

1. Jager troops learning marksmanship on the Gew98 rifle really like this one

2. Another squad picture of a group of young German soldiers with their Gew98 rifles
 

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Interesting German Photos

How our Gews got mismatched bolts!
 

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How our Gews got mismatched bolts!

I enjoy your very much 'tongue in cheek' comment, however also likely true! Most soldiers/armorers were probably not anal-types concerned about "all-matching" firearms! Leave that to certain collectors. Just think, some of the guys in this photo are probably responsible for 'forced-matching' workmanship we see on the auctions and board sales.
 
Interesting that they wear their neck cloths even without their tunics. I assume the vests were private purchase additions, although they seem uniform in color.
 
I enjoy your very much 'tongue in cheek' comment, however also likely true! Most soldiers/armorers were probably not anal-types concerned about "all-matching" firearms! Leave that to certain collectors. Just think, some of the guys in this photo are probably responsible for 'forced-matching' workmanship we see on the auctions and board sales.

In reality, probably not. Swapping bolts gets us into potential headspace issues, & that's something they would choose to avoid, just as we would now...
 
Try taking a dozen bolts and intermingling the parts, only then will you realize the parts were serialed because of Montana's observation regarding human nature, - sure soldiers are young men and cleaning their rifles and equipment were a chore, not a pleasurable pursuit, but that is why "generally" you see someone in charge at group cleanings and the men with their components neatly in front of them on a cloth.. rare is a group cleaning can, though typically a small can of cleaner or grease (I assume).

You can not compare a group cleaning of bolt action rifles by young soldiers 100 years ago, before interchangeability of parts were perfected, with Marines and soldiers today cleaning their M16's. I understand human nature because I was one of those 18-23 year old's who group cleaned M16's after the rifle range and the last thing I wanted to do was clean the rifle (I wanted the knucklehead at the armory to take the damn thing back so I could beat the crowd at the chow hall), however the circumstances are not the same, my M16 wasn't serialed down to the individual components and if I swapped parts with Louis Santiago's M16 it would still work, but if Sgt Steiner swapped internal bolt parts with Private Kruger's G98 they very well could be issues...

Do these guys look like they would swap parts? (Munich 1916)

In reality, probably not. Swapping bolts gets us into potential headspace issues, & that's something they would choose to avoid, just as we would now...
 

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Saxony 1916, better view of the can, looks like a cut open grease can, hard to say..
 

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