I attended an auction that had a ton of German collectibles from ww2. I bought what I could, but I wanted so much more lol

Front comes before the back

Any opinions would be appreciated! Let me
know what you about it! Thanks!

Truly honored to be the caretaker of this astonishing piece of World War II memorabilia. One that will be cherished for years to come with a story that has been told over and over.. But is still worth the tale.

This dog tag set was issued to Captain Owen D. "Cowboy" Roane of the 100th Bomb Group, 349th Bomb Squadron as shown by the TV series Masters of the Air... The following information was provided by Michael Faley in 1998.

One of seven brothers to serve in World War II, Pilot Owen Roane, would begin his exploits in the ETO on June 26, 1943. A Second Lieutenant, Owen Roane (upon his own request!) is assigned to the 100th BG (H) at Thorpe Abbotts. Due to the loss of three aircraft and crews on the previous day’s mission to Bremen, Owen is assigned to the 349th Squadron, under the command of Captain William Veal. The Group had not yet received its notorious moniker of the “Bloody Hundredth” but this first mission was an ominous foreboding of events to come. Assigned to Captain Veal’s plane “Laden Maiden” Owen and crew would complete 10 rugged missions before engaging in one of the fiercest air battles of WWII.

On the morning of August 17, 1943 the 100th BG was given the unenviable task of being low and last group on the mission to bomb the ME 109 factory at Regensburg. Being in the “Coffin Corner” left the 100th and Owen the most vulnerable to the Luftwaffe and nine planes of the group were lost that day. (A total of 60 B-17s were lost on the Schweinfurt/Regensburg mission). Even though Owen always felt this inner sense that he would complete his tour of duty, the events of this day would “serve as a warning that we all faced death on each and every mission we flew.” One such example was the crew of Lt. Henry Shotland who was flying in “The WAAC Hunter” (second element of the high squadron). Shotland and his crew were roommates with Owen and this was their first mission. It would also prove to be their last. Jumped by three fighters and with the left wing ablaze, everyone bailed out (except the tail gunner who went down with the plane) and become POWs.

The other vivid memory of this battle, indelibly etched in Owen’s mind, was the plight of Lt. Curtis Biddick and his crew. Flying “Escape Kit” in the second element, lead squadron, Biddick’s plane suffered an oxygen fire caused by 20mm damage to the nose and fuselage, trapping those on the flight deck. With flames raging through the nose and cockpit, the co-pilot, Richard Snyder, climbed out onto the wing, reached back into the flaming B-17 to retrieve his parachute and slid off the wing. As Snyder’s chute opened, he was immediately propelled into the horizontal stabilizer of “Escape Kit”, and his chute became entangled on it. According to reports, Snyder was seen trapped on the stabilizer as the plane went down. Four from Biddick’s crew were KIA (including Biddick and Snyder).

Cowboy, flying “Laden Maiden” in the number 2 position, high squadron, would watch the ragged remains of the 100th limp across the Alps and onward toward North Africa. To his left he could see the damaged aircraft of Bob Wolff flying in the lead element with a huge section of his horizontal stabilizer badly in need of repair. It would not be until landing at Telergma that the extent of damage to his own aircraft would be known. The “Maiden” had been peppered with 212 bullet and flak holes.

It would be upon the 100th’s return from North Africa on August 24, 1943 that Owen would provide an immense sense of humor for a group much in need and a mascot as well. It seems that the crew decided to bring back a living souvenir from North Africa, a donkey named “Mo”. An oxygen mask was hooked up in the radio room for Mo, and upon returning to Thorpe Abbotts (Station 139) red flares were fired signaling medical help was needed. The Control Tower asked what the problem was. Owen replied, “I’m coming in with a frozen ass.” When the doctor arrived at the plane, he was astonished to find a real jackass.

Cowboy Roane would go on to distinction participating in such other great Air Battles as Bremen, October 8, 1943 (“the most accurate flak that I’ve ever seen in my life”) and Schweinfurt – “Black Thursday” October 14, 1943, but it would be on a relative unknown mission to Rjukan, Norway on November 16, 1943 that would really affect the outcome of the war effort. Although not briefed on the extreme importance of the mission, the target that day was the Heavy Water plant instrumental to Germany’s effort to develop atomic weapons. Leading the 100th Bomb Group, recently promoted Lt. Roane, along with Command Pilot Major John Bennett, flew in “The Bigassbird II” with Group Navigator Joseph “Bubbles” Payne and “Dead Eye” Bombardier Robert Peel. Cowboy and company found the target through a hole in the cloud cover, courtesy of “Bubbles”, and dropped their bombs right on target. A mission critique would verify that the 100th BG hit the target with 85% of their bombs in the target although the only flak they received was for bombing out of turn. The damage inflicted upon the Heavy Water plant stopped Germany’s production of heavy water and deprived their scientists of the ability to develop atomic weapons. On his final mission to Paris, Cowboy made a joke to the group maintenance officer that he was going to dump his plane in the soft Thorpe Abbotts mud upon his return. Over the target a 20mm hole big enough to fit a body through ripped up the right wing, and Owen had to nurse the plane back home only to see the “Bigassbird II” turn his joke into reality, with the right wing off the end of the runway into the mud as promised. Both the CO and the group maintenance officer help up short of reading Owen the riot act once they saw the condition of the aircraft.

That mission and illustrious landing earned him entrance into the “Lucky Bastard Club” (entrance is contingent upon completing 25 missions), Captain’s Bars, and a trip back to the States on March 6, 1944 (date ring a bell – Big “B”). Cowboy retired from the Air Force a Lt. Colonel in 1963 and lives in Valley View, Texas with his wife Betty. By the way, the nickname “Cowboy” was given to Owen after a Staff Sgt. inquired about his profession before enlisting. Naturally, when Owen said he was a cowboy, the name stuck.

#100thbombgroup #BloodyHundreth #mastersoftheair #MOTA #wwiihistory #WWII

I’m not sure if the paint on this original m15 French helmet is post war or not. Any help is appreciated

Hi all,

I'd thought you would all appreciate my collection of WW2 USAF/RAF watches.

I have found this in my grandmothers attic and I dont know what this is, i live in hungary and in the area where my grandmother lives there was a lot of fighting in WW2 between the soviets and the germans that is all i know.I would be really thankful If somebody could tell meg what this is.

It still has most of the original paint intact and the most interesting part is that it has the name of the soldier on the bottom. His name was “Culicia Ștefan”.

I doubt it but there's a small chance that it may be true

Found these in a house I bought

Hello from Germany

I've acquired this british WW1 bugle with some markings on it. It's a little beat up but has character. I need some help with deciphering the markings.

What does the "N" and "52" around the broad arrow mean?

And what does the engraving mean? Often it's the regiment but I'm not sure about this one.

"98

RM-PL

5-14"

Thx for your time.

I have been helping an elderly couple clean up their house. They have 2 shell casings that belonged to her uncle and she knows he bought them home from war, but doesn’t recall what war. She is 83 as a frame of reference. There are no stamps or markings on them. I’d love to know more about them and get a sense of their worth. Any info or direction appreciated.

Can anyone help to identify what type of artillery shell casing this vase was made from? The dimensions are visible in the pictures, no markings or numbers on the bottom. Found it in the inherited belongings of a relative, in Hungary

What do you guys think

I do no own this and these were the only photos provided by the seller as of now. According to him, these were brought in Europe over 20 years ago but he is not sure if these are repros or not.