World War II Database

1.  Bill says:
7 Jun 2012 04:33:05 PM

FORGOTTEN WEAPONS:

I'M BETTING THOSE WEAPONS ARE ITALIAN THAT WERE SURRENDERED BY ITALIAN FORCES. LET'S SEE
WHAT WE HAVE.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT LOOKS LIKE A CARCANO MODEL
1938, 7.35MM BOLT-ACTION RIFLE THIS WEAPON WAS SHORTER THAN THE MODEL 1891 AND HAD A 6 ROUND INTERNAL BOX MAGAZINE.

NEXT WEAPON LOOKS LIKE A BRIXIA 45MM MORTAR
MODEL 35, YOU CAN SEE THE PADDED CUSHION
LAYING NEXT TO THE WEAPONS.

NEXT GROUP OF WEAPONS ARE BREDA 6.5MM LIGHT
MACHINE GUNS, MODEL 1930, HAVE SOME ITALIAN STEEL HELMETS AND 20 ROUND BOX MAGAZINE FOR THE BREDA 6.5MM MACHINE GUNS.

THE GERMAN PARA IS EQUIPPED WITH THE 7.92MM
FG-42 THIS WEAPON WAS SELECT-FIRE,AIR COOLED
GAS OPERATED,SHOULDER WEAPON, THAT USED A 10 OR 20 ROUND BOX MAGAZINE.
SPLINTER CAMOUFLAGE SMOCK THAT WAS WORN OVER THE UNIFORM. FIELD GLASSES AND BANDOLIERS OF 7.92 AMMO.
THE OTHER PARA IS EQUIPPED W/THE MP40, 9MM
SUB MACHINE GUN AND FIELD GLASSESS,LOOKS
LIKE A 750CC, BMW MOTORCYCLE.

2.  C. Peter Chen says:
7 Jun 2012 06:18:17 PM

Thanks for your help with identifying the weapons and the additional info, Bill!

3.  Bill says:
8 Jun 2012 12:42:18 PM

SOMETIMES I GET STUMPED AND DO MY BEST TO CLARIFY WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT.
THE MOTORCYCLE ABOVE, WAS IDENTIFIED AS A BMW 750CC HOWEVER LOOKING AT THE PHOTOGRAPH AGAIN, I SEE A VERTICAL CYLINDER INSTEAD OF THE BMWs HORIZONTAL TWIN-CYLINDERS.

MYSTERY BIKE:

SO THE QUESTION WHAT TYPE OF BIKE IS IT? IS THIS A ZUNDAPP, DKW, NSU OR A CAPTURED GUZZI TRIALCE OR OTHER ITALIAN BIKE?
I'M TAKING A GUESS, ITS A LONG SHOT BUT HERE GOES.
IT COULD BE A BRITISH TRIUMPH, THAT SMALL BOX UNDER THE RIDERS SADDLE READS "SOHO" IT WAS A TRADE MARK FOR THE BATTERY, OIL OR AIR FILTER, BUT THIS IS ONLY A GUESS.

DID YOU KNOW THE GERMANS BUILT THE BRITISH TRIUMPH UNDER LICENSE IN NUREMBURG, GERMANY THIS IS ONLY FROM WHAT I CAN SEE IN THIS PHOTO. IF ANYONE HAS MORE INFORMATION POST IT HEAR AT WW2BD.

THAT LICENSE PLATE ISN'T "WL" FOR LUFTWAFFE:

THE LICENSE PLATE HAS THE LETTERS "RE" THE LUFTWAFFE USED LETTERS "WL" FOR WEHRMACHT LUFTWAFFE (AIR FORCE) SO UNTIL NEXT TIME...

4.  Bill says:
1 Feb 2014 02:32:58 PM

MYSTERY BIKE:

OTTO IS STANDING IN THE WAY, SO I CAN'T REALLY TELL WHAT TYPE OF BIKE IT IS, BUT I MADE A GUESS THAT IT COULD BE A TRIUMPH.
THE ITALIANS ALSO USED MOTO GUZZI, MOTO MORINI, BENNELLIS, DUCATI AND OTHER MODELS. THE LICENSE
PLATE (RE) IDENTIFY IT AS ITALIAN EQUIPMENT.

5.  Bill says:
8 Apr 2015 05:41:36 PM

IDENTITY OF MYSTERY BIKE:

Italian Motorcycle is Sertum VL-500cc Model 1941 bike could also be equipped with a machine gun mounted on the handle bars. I haven't seen any Italian army bikes equipped w/side cars...