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Makeshift radio w/ attached POW Stalag 308 dog tag on FleaBay...


Martygraw
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I watched it and thought it was 50/50 whether or not it was legit. Once it crossed over $300, it was a easy decision to let it slide. When I saw what it ended at, I was very surprised!

 

JD

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For snicks and giggles I did a filter on the AAD POW list on the NARA site and filtered by " Stalag 308 " and 0 records came back. All this means is that Stalag 308 was no ones permanent camp.

A Stalag tag like one from Stalag 308 is much cheaper to buy on Ebay than a Stalag Luft 1, Luft 3, or 17B tag. That is because there are a lot of them in Europe. A tag like a 308 tag can be bought for $25. On the other hand here is a XIIA tag with the POW's US tags that sold for $318 last week on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281984108377?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Look at the tags this Ebay seller has:

 

http://www.ebay.com/sch/silbermunzen_mit_raketen/m.html?item=262381187199&hash=item3d1723307f%3Ag%3AqCUAAOSwDNdVy45E&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

 

Kurt

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There is just enough information online about the purported POW, Warren Thomas, and the radio to lend this radio the appearance of authenticity, but without any documentation linking that POW number to him, all one really has is one big $1,300 gamble.

 

Everything about this story and radio are a little too "perfect." Check out the pics of a supposed POW radio here...

 

http://www.merkki.com/powwow.htm

post-104910-0-30023900-1460427574.jpg

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That's more what I was expecting! On some of the accounts I read, many of the radios were powered by battery as this one above is. They had batteries smuggled in and even had guards that would trade them for Red Cross parcel food.

 

Here is some of the text that goes with the photo above:

 

To tune-in the radio stations it was necessary to adjust the two variable capacitors in the radio by means of screwdrivers also pushed through holes in the wallboard. Unavoidably, those holes were in a more-exposed position and, to camouflage them, the holes were bored through one of the newspaper maps that had been suitably positioned on the wall.

Plugs for those holes were then disguised to look like the towns that were genuinely part of the map. Those plugs could be removed with a pin when the radio was to be used. For security, we chose a map of a remote geographical area. On the left of this map of Burma, screwdrivers can be seen inserted through our two fictitious town. Even the most observant guards were unlikely to have noticed anything strange about our alteration to the topography of such a remote and little-known area

 

 

Actual photo of secret radio hiding place.

The wallboard with the radio on the back has been put in place, pictures and maps from German newspapers have been pasted over the joins of the wallboards, Roy's bunk-bed has been pushed back into position against the wall and a book-shelf fixed over the critical position. To make contact with the radio, wires were pushed through holes in the wall boards. Those holes were positioned as inconspicuously as possible and normally filled with plugs made to match the rest of the wall. This photograph shows the radio ready to be used. The batteries to operate the radio are on top of the books on the bookshelf, the earphones are resting on the blanket of Roy's bunk-bed.

 

Kurt

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Sold some items to "estateman79" at the SoS this year (I can see he's already resold a couple of them).

 

If a large P-47 pilot grouping to a Wiessner goes up on Ebay be advised it may be largely put together.

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  • 2 weeks later...
StaceysPOWProject

This radio definitely doesn't sit right with me. The entire design looks very 'clean', and not quite as bodged together as all of the radio samples I have been studying.

 

For reference - here are some photographs of a radio typical of those which have survived.

 

2rrt8c3.jpg

 

15qw2s8.jpg

 

qzp577.jpg

 

 

I feel like these images show the more typical radio - much less neat, particularly grubby, lots of wires and leads, rough solder, and wooden blocked handles.

 

The specimen there definitely doesn't sit right with me, and I would not be comfortable including it in the radios chapter of my thesis.

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