List of WWI artifacts you've always wanted

[David_Layton]

Tops on my list is a German Luftstreikrafte Ehrenbecher, or victory cup. Preferrably an early silver one.

[VtwinVince]

I wish I had my uncle's WW1 flying jacket, but in lieu of that I got a jacket belonging to a member of Jasta Boelcke

[jaba-the-hunt]

I collect imperial german aviation for many years and i don't know where i should start my wanted list. This era of aviation is the most interessting but also hard to find items out of this era.

Here my most wanted pieces:

1. Navy see pilot badge
2. Navy retired pilot/observer badge
3. Navy patch for air ship crew member
4. Ehrenbecher für den Sieger im Luftkampf
5. Pictures of Bosta 3 (BOGOHL 1) from Jan.17 - Apr.18

Regards Alex

[cameldriver]

While there are many, many items on my wish list, the top two would be the signatures of James McConnell and Norman Prince to complete my collection of the original American members of the Lafayette Escadrille.

[Jim]

[QUOTE=Willi Von Klugerman;469535]For me...

1.Aircraft fabric: Would make an incredible addition to my mini "museum".Just too expensive though
QUOTE]

Actually, you can get a well documented authentic piece of fabric from a 1917 Albatros D.Va that was flown with Jasta 47. They come up fairly regularly on Ebay. About 30 years ago the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum made up some nice posters of their Albatros D.Va and glued 2 inch square pieces of its original fabric to them and sold them to the public. You see these sell for fairly modest prices considering you are getting an authentic and well documented piece of fabric from a famous and fully identified WW I German fighter aircraft that is nicely mounted on a very nice poster showing the aircraft and including a well done write up of it.

[bristol scout]

Hi guys,
I have a full set of British 1908 pattern web equipment--the entrenching tool helve connector is replica--it's a small piece of 1" web that hardly ever survived (if any one attempts to sell as original---expect to pay a ludicrous amount (and likely be 'taken') Also a full uniform (SD) and three W.W.1 dated rifles An SMLE made by BSA in 1917---A Lebel (with silver mounted hooked quillon bayonet)--and a Springfield '03 with original barrel---plus many bayonets-- a British Brodie 1st. pattern helmet---and odds &sods

Many years collecting though.

Dave. EDIT this is how I know what colour British Khaki is!!! (from a much earlier and somewhat contentious thread)

[Willi Von Klugerman]

A bit on half topic.I saw this one Antiques Roadshow (UK) and it had this old lady who is the daughter of a British WWI pilot.She brought an entire box full of artifacts and personal effects.It included remains of his DFC ribbon which was the only salvagable part of his award (the museum it was in was destroyed during the Blitz) and was soon replaced.The contents included a good chunk of a German aircraft fabric (DVII I think),also included documents and a bullet attatched to a little chain to connect onto his pocket watch.According to her,the bullet went in his bum

['14-'18aviationcollector]

Hi Willi,

You wouldn't belive this but that episode was on here in Australia yesterday too! I didn't see the bit showing the fabric, and I did notice that there seemed to be a pair of RFC pilot's wings in the box! I didn't hear them talking about the wings, but I only half saw the segment. When I realised what they were talking about I paid full attention of course, but it was almost finished by then. I thought that they were only speculating that he had been shot ..... ummmm in the rear ... because she said that he didn't actually say where he was shot and the presenter said "probably in the bottom".

The father of a friend of mine was shot through the chest as an observer in a DH9. It's the sort of thing that you read about, but he actually had a wallet which was litterally full of photos in his breast pocket. The bullet went straight through the middle of the wallet and every photo - about twenty to fifty I would say - had a hole through the middle of it! The bullet went all the way through his body and exited his groin area, so he was very lucky to live through that.

Regards,

David.

[Chock]

Got that RFC cap badge I bought the other day in the mail today. Very nice it is too:



Al

[Jim]

You need to be really careful about buying bronze RFC cap and collar badges. For every one that is real there are at least a thousand in the market place that are fakes. They are all quite well made as well and it is really hard to tell the real from the fake.