WW1 / WW2 / 20th Century

A Rare German Aerospace Zeppelin First Flight To South America, .835 Silver Medal, 1930 Made In Berlin

Silver medal 1930 (O. Glöckler) The "LZ 127" made its first trip to South America. bust of dr. H. Eckener to the left / Airship over the Atlantic between Europe and South America. Edge punch: (half moon) 835 PR. BERLIN COIN. 36 mm, 24.59 Min. Scratches. excellent ++ condition
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin (Deutsches Luftschiff Zeppelin 127) was a German passenger-carrying, hydrogen-filled rigid airship that flew from 1928 to 1937. It offered the first commercial transatlantic passenger flight service. Named after the German airship pioneer Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a count (Graf) in the German nobility, it was conceived and operated by Dr. Hugo Eckener, the chairman of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.

Graf Zeppelin made 590 flights totalling almost 1.7 million kilometres (over 1 million miles). It was operated by a crew of 36, and could carry 24 passengers. It was the longest and largest airship in the world when it was built. It made the first circumnavigation of the world by airship, and the first nonstop crossing of the Pacific Ocean by air; its range was enhanced by its use of Blau gas as a fuel. It was built using funds raised by public subscription and from the German government, and its operating costs were offset by the sale of special postage stamps to collectors, the support of the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, and cargo and passenger receipts.

After several long flights between 1928 and 1932, including one to the Arctic, Graf Zeppelin provided a commercial passenger and mail service between Germany and Brazil for five years. When the Nazi Party came to power, they used it as a propaganda tool. It was withdrawn from service after the Hindenburg disaster in 1937, and scrapped for military aircraft production in 1940.

A most scarce piece, but remarkably we acquired this fine example thanks to another example that we have. That past medal was spotted by this rare medal's owner on our website, and they offered it to us. It is only the second of its type of this rare medal we have had in over 10 years.  read more

Code: 24598

Royal Scottish Clan Glengarry Badge 'In Defence' Lion Rampant, Gilt

WW1 period. A very nice Glengarry badge of the Scottish Royal crest. The glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and with ribbons hanging down behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military or civilian Highland dress, either formal or informal, as an alternative to the Balmoral bonnet or tam o' shanter. The Royal Regiment of Scotland wears the glengarry with diced band and black cock feathers as its ceremonial headdress. Traditionally, the Glengarry bonnet is said to have first appeared as the head dress of the Glengarry Fencibles when they were formed in 1794 by Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry, of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. MacDonell, therefore, is sometimes said to have invented the glengarry - but it is not clear whether early pictures of civilians or fencible infantry show a true glengarry, capable of being folded flat, or the standard military bonnet of the period merely 'cocked' into a more 'fore-and-aft' shape. The first use of the classic, military glengarry may not have been until 1841, when it is said to have been introduced for the pipers of the 79th Foot by the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lauderdale Maule.

It was only in the 1850s that the glengarry became characteristic undress headgear of the Scottish regiments of the British Army. By 1860, the glengarry without a diced border and usually with a feather had been adopted by pipers in all regiments except the 42nd (Black Watch), whose pipers wore the full dress feather bonnet. In 1914, all Scottish infantry regiments were wearing dark blue glengarries in non-ceremonial orders of dress, except for the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) who wore them in rifle green, and the Scots Guards, who wore peaked forage caps or khaki service dress caps. 2.25 inches high  read more

Code: 21054

1924 Graf Zeppellin Z.R. III, The USS Los Angeles, Airship Medal, For The Flight of The Zeppelin, Previously Known As The LZ126, To America. A Most Rare Example

1000 Hallmarked Silver Coin Medal
GERMANY, Weimarer Republik. 1918-1933. AR Medal (40mm, 25.68 g, 12h). The Flight of Zeppelin LZ126 to America. By A. Holl. Dated 1924. FERDINAND GRAF VON ZEPPELIN, uniformed bust of Ferdinand von Zeppelin right / LZ126 in flight left over Manhattan; Z.R.III above, 1924 below. Kaiser 459. EF, toned.

As part of their reparations payments for the First World War, Germany was required to give its remaining military zeppelins to the victorious Allied powers. This did not sit well with the crews of the ships who, only a week before the Treaty of Versailles was signed, destroyed many of the airships, following the example of their brothers-in-arms at Scapa Flow, who scuttled the German navy earlier that year. Germany was thus required to construct new zeppelins to replace those lost.
Among these was LZ126, destined for service in the United States Navy. The zeppelin was delivered to the US Naval Air Station in Lakehurst, New Jersey on 12 October 1924, and was commissioned into the US Navy as ZR-3, the USS Los Angeles on 25 November. She would be the first of the Navy's brief foray into light-than-air vessels, to be followed by the Shenandoah, Macon, and Akron, and was the only vessel of her class to not succumb to disaster. Zeppelins, always particularly susceptible to the vagaries of winds and weather, were soon overshadowed by the development of vastly more reliable airplanes of the 1930s. The USS Los Angeles was decommissioned in 1932 and was dismantled in 1939.  read more

Code: 22707

A Most Incredible and Intriguing European Art Deco Bronze Table Lamp, Decorated With the Subject of a Prisoner in an Ancient Chinese 'Cangue' Torture Device Beneath a Lamp

A seated figure with the torture block of a Chinese 'cangue' . Likely designed from small portable carved wooden figures purchased and brought back to Europe by travellers to the Treaty Port of Ningbo in China, sometime in the early 20th century. The European fascination with all things oriental, from the exotic east, has influenced western art considerably for centuries, and it is frequently known as Chinoiserie Art, although the depiction of Chinese torture implements was somewhat niche, but they were especially popular, and depicted in decorative art, paintings, prints and sculpture. But this is the first time we have seen an old rendition of one in the form of a beautiful bronze table lamp. This very nice quality and fascinating piece of object d'art in bronze and enamel painted glass, is one of those incredible creations. This kind of tortuous affair using the cangue was usually unique to the far east from the ancient period up to relatively modern times. In fact the legendary Genghis Khan himself was imprisoned in such a terrible device when he was captured by another mongol leader as a youth before he grew into becoming the world greatest conqueror.
the bronze is signed at the reverse base, the front lamp base bears Chinese script, as does the cangue panel around the prisoners neck, which often details the prisoner's crimes, and the French bronze founder's label is on the underneath.
Although there are many different forms, a typical cangue would consist of a large, heavy flat board with a hole in the centre large enough for a person's neck. The board consisted of two pieces. These pieces were closed around a prisoner's neck, and then fastened shut along the edges by locks or hinges. The opening in the centre was large enough for the prisoner to breathe and eat, but not large enough for a head to slip through. The prisoner was confined in the cangue for a period of time as a punishment. The size and especially weight were varied as a measure of severity of the punishment. The Great Ming Legal Code (大明律) published in 1397 specified that a cangue should be made from seasoned wood and weigh 25, 20 or 15 jīn (roughly 20–33 lb or 9–15 kg) depending on the nature of the crime involved. Often the cangue was large enough that the prisoner required assistance to eat or drink, as his hands could not reach his own mouth, or even lie down. The word "cangue" is French, from the Portuguese "canga," which means yoke, the carrying tool has also been used to the same effect, with the hands tied to each arm of the yoke. Frequently translated as pillory, it was similar to that European punishment except that the movement of the prisoner's hands was not as rigorously restricted and that the board of the cangue was not fixed to a base and had to be carried around by the prisoner. the condition overall is very good, the lamp has four hand painted enamel glass panels but the interior somewhat concealed one has been long past repaired in the mid section 13.5 inches high x 7 inches deep, x 3.2 inches wide. If one wishes to use it for illumination once more It will need safely rewiring to approved standards, what remains of any past wiring should not be used under any circumstances.  read more

Code: 23902

Scottish Silver Buchanen 'Audaces Juvo' Clan Glengarry Badge 1930's

Not hallmarked silver. Clan Buchanan Audaces Juvo I Help the Brave. Is an armigerous Scottish clan whose origins are said to lie in the 1225 grant of lands on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond to clergyman Sir Absalon of Buchanan by the Earl of Lennox. A Dexter Hand Holding Up A Ducal Cap Proper., Tufted On The Top With A Rose Gu., All Within Two Laurel-Branches In Orle Vert. Traditionally, the Glengarry bonnet is said to have first appeared as the head dress of the Glengarry Fencibles when they were formed in 1794 by Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry, of Clan MacDonell of Glengarry. MacDonell, therefore, is sometimes said to have invented the glengarry - but it is not clear whether early pictures of civilians or fencible infantry show a true glengarry, capable of being folded flat, or the standard military bonnet of the period merely 'cocked' into a more 'fore-and-aft' shape. The first use of the classic, military glengarry may not have been until 1841, when it is said to have been introduced for the pipers of the 79th Foot by the commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Lauderdale Maule.

It was only in the 1850s that the glengarry became characteristic undress headgear of the Scottish regiments of the British Army. By 1860, the glengarry without a diced border and usually with a feather had been adopted by pipers in all regiments except the 42nd (Black Watch), whose pipers wore the full dress feather bonnet. In 1914, all Scottish infantry regiments were wearing dark blue glengarries in non-ceremonial orders of dress, except for the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) who wore them in rifle green, and the Scots Guards, who wore peaked forage caps or khaki service dress caps.  read more

Code: 21051

Fabulous, Very Rare WW2 German Luftwaffe Falshirmjager Mobile Artillery Shells & Case with Luftwaffe Falshirmjager Issue stamps

Original falshirmhager issue transit case containing two original [unfired] shell heads and three original shell cases, held by its transit rack. As used by the elite German Falshirmjager special airborne troops during the Invasion of Crete. Also the type that was used by special SS combat groups, Heer Mountain Troops, and the Luftwaffe Falshirmjager Special Trained Special Forces Unit Troops of II/KG200. This set was used by the Luftwaffe Falshirmjager and marked accordingly as issue Luftwaffe for falshirmjager. The German small mobile artillery cannon was an incredible piece of artillery in that it was small enough to be transported in back packs, through mountain terrain and even dropped with falshirmjager parachute troops. During the invasion of Crete the German paratroopers found themselves attacked with clubs, knives and farm equipment as they scrambled to get out of their parachutes. There were numerous reports of citizens firing old rifles at landing infantry and even joining the New Zealander, Greek, or English counterattacks around the island. Believe it or not the Germans were outraged that common citizens, wearing no uniform, were actively skirmishing against their soldiers, [in other words, how dare the ordinary Greek peasants have the cheek to attempt to defend their homeland, from the noble and valiant German invaders, especially while dressed in poor quality civilian clothes!]. Thus, and consequently, the German invaders soon felt threatened by attack at all times, from any civilian quarter [poor things].
By this time, the Germans had gotten enough supplies to the island by sea and air to begin to wage conventional war against Crete's defenders. A big surprise to the Allied forces was German artillery. It had been thought that artillery was far to heavy and difficult to deploy in a primarily air based invasion. Unfortunately for the men on Crete, the Germans had developed a recoilless gun, named the LG40, that Fallschirmjager units were able to carry with them. The 7.5cm gun fired the same shells as the full size 7.5cm artillery being used by conventional units, albeit at around 2/3rds of the range. It was lightweight, easy to use, and generally very effective. This is a complete shell and detonator case that takes 3 shells and it this one is complete with 2 fuze heads and 3 charge detonator bases with adjustable charge discs. This case is clearly marked Luft for issue and use Luftwaffe Fallshirmjager. The 7.5 cm Leichtgeschuetz 40 could be air-dropped and had a maximum range of 6,800 m. Para-trained commandos of II/KG200 (also known as the 3rd Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 200), were a Luftwaffe special forces unit who were para-trained commandos. II./KG 200 remain a mostly unheard of arm of Germany's World War II parachute forces due to the nature of their role and were listed on II./KG 200's ORBAT as the 3rd Staffel. Please Note* Shown in the photographs, there are two shells with their heads included, 3 steel shell cases, but two heads. Inert and perfectly safe, but not suitable for export.  read more

Code: 22502

Original 1930’s Third Reich Portrait of Rudolf Jordan Gauleiter of Halle-Merseburg & Magdeburg-Anhalt and Former General of the SA, Gruppenfuhrer der SA

Most rare surviving example as almost all around 450 original, 1930’s German portraits of Hitler’s inner circle and high command are now in the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington.

Many of these portraits were either commissioned, or acquired by Hitler personally, and they are all part of the record of Hitler and his elite commanders rise to power, in order to satisfy his determination to conquer the world and subjugate and destroy all who resisted. The US high command in 1945/6 realised just how important it was to keep and save as many such portraits as possible, as a permanent record and reminder for the future, of the monumental fight and sacrifices in order to subdue the axis powers from their schemes of world domination, during the two most significant decades of the past 300 years..

This is original portrait, in oil on canvas, of Gauleiter Rudolf Jordan (21 June 1902 - 27 October 1988). He was a Nazi Gauleiter in Halle-Merseburg and Magdeburg-Anhalt during Hitler’s socialist Third Reich. One of the notorious and prominent high command of Hitler’s Third Reich. An original Nazi oil portrait from the 1930's. Most similar in the new Aryan style of the Nazi portrait painter Fritz Erler, and his painting of 'Minister and Gauleiter Adolf Wagner', 1936. It was exhibited in the GDK, the Great German Art Exhibition, in 1939, in room 23. It was bought there by Hitler for 12.000 RM. In fact he bought two paintings by Fritz Erler: Portrait des Staatsministers und Gauleiters Adolf Wagner and Portrait des Reichsministers Fricke. They are now in the possession of the US Army Military Center of History. Possibly this portrait was also in that exhibition with the two other Gauleiter Wagner and Frick. Erlers similar style portrait of Hitler, also painted in his SA uniform, in 1931, is currently valued for sale at 725,000 Euros. Around 450 portraits depicting Hitler and other Nazi-officials and symbols are currently stored in the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington

From 19 January 1931, Jordan was appointed Nazi Gauleiter of Halle-Merseburg, and then began rising within the Party ranks, acting as member of the Prussian Landtag between April 1932 and October 1933 and being appointed to the Prussian State Council and made an SA Gruppenfuhrer. In the same year began the publication of the Mitteldeutsche Tageszeitung newspaper, led by Jordan. In March 1933 came his appointment as Plenipotentiary for the Province of Saxony in the Reichsrat and in November 1933 his election as a member of the Reichstag. On 20 April 1937, Adolf Hitler personally appointed him Reichsstatthalter (Reich Governor) in Braunschweig and Anhalt and NSDAP Gauleiter of Magdeburg-Anhalt. Jordan was succeeded as Gauleiter of Halle-Merseburg by Joachim Albrecht Eggeling.

In the same year came Jordan's promotion to SA-Obergruppenfuhrer. In 1939, Jordan became Chief of the Anhalt Provincial Government and Reichsverteidigungskommissar (Reich Defence Commissar, or RVK) in Defence District XI. On 18 April 1944 came Jordan's last leap up the career ladder when he was appointed High President (Oberpresident) of the Province of MagdeburgIn the war's dying days, Jordan managed to go underground with his family under a false name. He was nonetheless arrested by the British on 30 May 1945, and in July of the next year, the Western Allies handed him over to the Soviets. Late in 1950 after four years in custody in the Soviet occupation zone Jordan was sentenced to 25 years in a labour camp in the Soviet Union. Only Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's visit to Moscow managed to persuade the Soviets to reconsider Jordan's sentence, and then he was released on 13 October 1955. In the years to come, Jordan earned a living as a sales representative, and worked as an administrator for an aircraft manufacturing firm. He died in Munich. The Gardelegen massacre was the cold-blooded murder of inmates that had been evacuated from the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp and some of its sub-camps on April 3rd, 4th and 5th. Around 4,000 prisoners had been bound for the Bergen-Belsen, Sachsenhausen or Neuengamme concentration camps, but when the railroad tracks were bombed by American planes, they had been re-routed to Gardelegen, which was the site of a Cavalry Training School and a Parachutist Training School. The trains were forced to stop before reaching the town of Gardelegen and some of the escaped prisoners had terrorized the nearby villages, raping, looting and killing civilians.

The man who is considered to be the main instigator of the Gardelegen massacre is 34-year-old Gerhard Thiele , who was the Nazi party district leader of Gardelegen. On April 6, 1945, Thiele called a meeting of his staff and other officials at which he issued an order, which had been given to him a few days before by Gauleiter Rudolf Jordan , that any prisoners who were caught looting or who tried to escape should be shot on the spot. In 1932, Nazi Gauleiter Rudolf Jordan claimed that SS Security Chief Reinhard Heydrich was not a pure "Aryan". Within the Nazi organisation such innuendo could be damning, even for the head of the Reich's counterintelligence service. Gregor Strasser passed the allegations on to Achim Gercke who investigated Heydrich's genealogy. Gercke reported that Heydrich was "... of German origin and free from any coloured and Jewish blood". He insisted that the rumours were baseless. Even with this report, Heydrich privately engaged SD member Ernst Hoffman to further investigate and deny the rumours. The last two pictures in the gallery of Jordan with Hitler and his Gaulieters at his 50th birthday examining his convertible Volkwagen Beetle, and the Erler painting of Gauleiter Wagner, bought by Hitler. 2 foot x 3 foot unframed. Water stain at the rear of the canvas. Surviving original portraits of Third Reich leaders are now very rare for at the end of the war thousands of paintings, portraits of Nazi-leaders, paintings containing a swastika or depicting military/war sceneries were destroyed. With knives, fires and hammers, they smashed countless sculptures and burned thousands of paintings. However around 8,722 artworks were shipped to military deposits in the U.S. From 1933 to 1949 Germany experienced two massive art purges. Both the National Socialist government and OMGUS (the U.S. Military Government in Germany) were highly concerned with controlling what people saw and how they saw it. The Nazis eliminated what they called Degenerate art, erasing the pictorial traces of turmoil and heterogeneity that they associated with modern art. The Western Allies in turn eradicated Nazi art. Whatever one considers about the actions of all of the entire third reich, art is art, and every piece is a representation of a portion of history, good or bad. One thing we learned very well from the tragic 1930s and 1940s is that classifying art as non-art and forbidding books or art for political reasons is a dead-end street. No matter how much one dislikes or despises the infamous despots and dictators of history, such as Hitler, Caligula, Pol Pot & Stalin, and no matter how much their depictions were used as propaganda, a painting or sculpture of them cannot be re-classified as 'non art'. This painting depicts a member of Hitler’s notorious inner circle, that for a brief period of world history very nearly placed the entire world in subjugation to the will of Germany and it’s ally Japan. It is the embodiment of why the preservation of such art can remind the thousands of its observers, for generations to come, that those people such as Rudolf Jordan, who were just ordinary looking nondescript individuals, that if left unchecked would have condemned the entire world to a nightmarish dystopia, of slavery, starvation and misery. And thanks to great leaders such as Winston Churchill, who had the talent and skill to embolden a solitary nation, racked by trepidation, facing the free world’s greatest foe alone, they were utterly routed and deposed by the near defeated and subdued great democracies. Part of the theory of Hannah Ahrend Johanna "Hannah" Arendt, 14 October 1906 - 4 December 1975 was a German-born Jewish American political theorist. Though often described as a philosopher, she rejected that label on the grounds that philosophy is concerned with "man in the singular" and instead described herself as a political theorist because her work centres on the fact that "men, not Man, live on the earth and inhabit the world." This portrait would nicely improve with some cosmetic restoration and cleaning.  read more

Code: 20504

A Fabulous Piece of British Armed Forces Helicopter Aeronautica. A Souvenir of the Falklands War, A Westland Wessex Helicopter Cyclic Control Grip With Wiring

We acquired this from a former SF Falklands War veteran, who brought it back from the South Atlantic. It came from a Westland Wessex helicopter that had, apparently, somewhat, come a cropper. Of course we have no idea which chopper this control grip came from, and it certainly couldn't likely have come from a maritime loss, but none the less it is a great original part of the Westland Wessex, in pretty good condition, considering its circumstances of acquisition. It bears a serial number and its wiring portion.

Around 55 Westland Wessex HU.5s participated in the Falklands War, fighting in the South Atlantic in 1982. On 21 May 1982, 845 Squadron's Wessex HU.5s supported British landings on East Falkland. The type was heavily used throughout the conflict for the transportation and insertion of British special forces, including members of the Special Air Service (SAS) and the Special Boat Service (SBS). A total of nine Wessex (eight HU.5s and one HAS.3) were lost during the Falklands campaign. Two HU.5s of 845 Squadron crashed on the Fortuna Glacier in South Georgia during an attempt to extract members of the SAS during a snow storm, six of 848 Squadron's Wessex HU.5s were lost when the container ship Atlantic Conveyor was sunk and the HAS.3 aboard HMS Glamorgan was destroyed when the ship was struck by an Exocet missile.

The Falklands War was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial dependency, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

The conflict began on 2 April, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands, followed by the invasion of South Georgia the next day. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with an Argentine surrender on 14 June, returning the islands to British control. In total, 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders were killed during the hostilities.

The conflict was a major episode in the protracted dispute over the territories' sovereignty. Argentina asserted (and maintains) that the islands are Argentine territory, and the Argentine government thus characterised its military action as the reclamation of its own territory. The British government regarded the action as an invasion of a territory that had been a Crown colony since 1841. Falkland Islanders, who have inhabited the islands since the early 19th century, are predominantly descendants of British settlers, and strongly favour British sovereignty. Neither state officially declared war, although both governments declared the islands a war zone.

The conflict has had a strong effect in both countries and has been the subject of various books, articles, films, and songs. Patriotic sentiment ran high in Argentina, but the unfavourable outcome prompted large protests against the ruling military government, hastening its downfall and the democratisation of the country. In the United Kingdom, the Conservative government, bolstered by the successful outcome, was re-elected with an increased majority the following year. The cultural and political effect of the conflict has been less in the UK than in Argentina, where it has remained a common topic for discussion.

Diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina were restored in 1989 following a meeting in Madrid, at which the two governments issued a joint statement. No change in either country's position regarding the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands was made explicit. In 1994, Argentina adopted a new constitution, which declared the Falkland Islands as part of one of its provinces by law. However, the islands continue to operate as a self-governing British Overseas Territory  read more

Code: 24587

Original Vintage Scottish Pringle Clan Bonnet Badge, with Latin Clan Motto 'Amicitia Reddit Honores' With Clam Shell Crest Hallmarked Edinburgh Silver

The motto reads 'Friendship Gives Honour'. In the 14th century the family were close allies of the Earls of Douglas, to whom they were squires, and about the end of that era they are first defined as Hoppringle of that Ilk, holding the lands of Earlside in Lauderdale. Descendants were much in evidence at the Courts of James IV and V, at least two being trumpeters in the tail of James IV and one falling at his side at Flodden in 1513. For 100 years, from about 1489, a succession of Pringle ladies, usually younger daughters, were Prioresses of the Convent at Coldstream. The association of Pringles with the woollen industry may be traced to 1540 when one of their name held the responsibility for overseeing the shearing, storage and transportation of the wool from the King's sheep. In 1592 various Pringles appeared before the King, with other Border lairds, giving an oath to faithfully serve the Wardens of the East and Middle Marches, and evidence of their extended land-holdings is shown by no less than six cadet families standing surety, one for the other, in keeping the peace. Five years later, Pringle of that Ilk and Pringle of Smailholm subscribed to a Bond of Manrent, taking it upon themselves the burden of ensuring the good behaviour of Pringles in general. The last Pringle of that Ilk died in 1737, after which the principal family became the Pringles of Stitchill, the lands of which were acquired c.1630. Of this latter house, Sir Robert was created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1683 and, although the lands have now been sold, the Baronetcy has survived into the 21st century, the current baronet title being.

Sir Norman Murray Archibald MacGregor Pringle of that Ilk and Stichill, 10th Baronet

Several Pringles have become Senators of the College of Justice in Scotland, which comes with the title and rank of Lord of Session.

On 6 June 1718 Sir Walter Pringle became Lord Newhall.
On 1 July 1729 John Pringle of The Haining became Lord Haining.
On 20 November 1754 Robert Pringle became Lord Edgefield.
On 14 June 1757 Andrew Pringle became Lord Alemore.  read more

Code: 21050

A Most Rare Japanese WW2 Torpedo Bomber Warning Plate

WW2 Imperial Japanese Airforce Japanese aeronautical archeological finds are simply as rare as hens teeth, due to the location of such planes being so few and far between, and in 1945 those that were found were quickly removed and scrapped, with very few souvenirs taken, and although small this is a fabulous piece of WW2 history.

Taken from a crashed Mitsubishi G4M Mitsubishi G4M Bomber in 1945, in Japanese it reads "Danger Do Not Turn, Engine May Fire Up"

The Mitsubishi G4M was a two engine bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy in World War II. Codenamed "Betty" by allies, there were 2,435 GM4's produced by Japan between the years of 1941 and 1945. The Mitsubishi G4M was used as a bomber and a torpedo bomber.

The Mitsubishi G4M was used in the sinking of The Prince of Wales and Repulse in 1941. It was also the aircraft that Admiral Yamamoto was in, when his Mitsubishi G4M was shot down by American P-38's.

The Mitsubishi G4M was the aircraft that the Japanese attached (to the bottom) the Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka or "baka" rocket powered, kamikaze attack bomb/plane. The G4M would carry the bomb/plane with 2,000 lbs of explosives, underneath, until they were in range of a ship or target and then release it. The pilot would then glide the bomb/plane towards a target, then fire the solid fuel rockets, at the last, until it hit the vessel or target.

The Mitsubishi G4M was powered by two, Kasei, fourteen cylinder, radial engines and had a top speed of 265 mph. The G4M had a service ceiling of almost 28,000 feet. The Mitsubishi G4M had extreme long range of over 3,000 miles.

The Mitsubishi G4M was armed with one 20 mm auto cannon and four 7.7 mm machine guns. The Mitsubishi G4M could carry almost 2,000 lbs bombs or torpedoes. We do not know other than in the Pacific theatre of war whereabouts this plaque was recovered from the crashed plane.  read more

Code: 20979