This is a fantastic condition battlefield relic which is a German MG 34/42 machine gun drum ammunition basket. The basket is complete and in lovely condition more semi-relic then relic with lots of original Luftwaffe blue paintwork it has lots of surface rust but no rust holes or much damage.The lid still opens and locks but still retains its carry handle which still moves. It has been carefully cleaned but does still have some silt and muck attached from the lake bed but is very solid, not breaking up or falling apart, and is perfect and a very rare one for display or inclusion in any collection.The basket was recovered from a lake near the town of Plzeň (Pilsen) in Czechoslovakia. This is where the German 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich surrendered to the Americans at the end of the war in May 1945.The basket comes with 2 x A5 laminated information cards.
The remnants of the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" largely surrendered to the American forces in Czechoslovakia (specifically around the area west of Prague and near Pilsen) in May 1945. The main body of the division surrendered around May 8-9, 1945, after the general German surrender was signed.
This is a fantastic condition battlefield relic which is a German MG 34/42 machine gun drum ammunition basket. The basket is complete and in lovely condition more semi-relic then relic with lots of original Luftwaffe blue paintwork it has lots of surface rust but no rust holes or much damage.The lid still opens and locks but still retains its carry handle which still moves. It has been carefully cleaned but does still have some silt and muck attached from the lake bed but is very solid, not breaking up or falling apart, and is perfect and a very rare one for display or inclusion in any collection.The basket was recovered from a lake near the town of Plzeň (Pilsen) in Czechoslovakia. This is where the German 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich surrendered to the Americans at the end of the war in May 1945.The basket comes with 2 x A5 laminated information cards.
The remnants of the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" largely surrendered to the American forces in Czechoslovakia (specifically around the area west of Prague and near Pilsen) in May 1945. The main body of the division surrendered around May 8-9, 1945, after the general German surrender was signed.
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