. Today's find, but it wasn't really lost, I had it all the time   Forty years ago when we searched farm yards for jeeps, running, dilapidated , rotten or whatever state or condition there's was always salvage parts, even if we couldn't  salvage or restore the Jeep.  Looking through some of my boxes of salvaged parts today I checked out the carburettor parts I saved, a couple had the ' early' eight patent numbers on the  float bodies,  I am already running an eight patent number carburettor. However I was really pleased to find one of them with a flange on the rear of of the flat body which is shown in all the early wartime manuals, even my Ford GPW manual dated 15 June 1943 shows the carburettor with this flange on the body.   So now I will be cleaning and restoring this early body with the flange and exchanging it for the carburettor I have on my  Jeep.     Geezus said everyone without a Jeep these guys are real rivet counters owning a Jeep.  !!!!!                 Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, 22 May  2O26.   ..

I’ve never seen an original hand stamped with punches like that.     And it could just be the photo, but the leather dye looks more red than it should - to me anyway.   Other (more knowledgable) folks will be along soon.

Good day,  I have acquired many knives and swords from my stepfathers collection to sell and raise money for my mother.  Id really appreciate your expertise.  This scabbard is in question for authenticity?  Ive been told the knife is original.  TIA

LTC Trevor M. Jones, current commander, 1st Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, Joint Readiness Training Center. Wearing the JRTC OPFOR O.D. uniform with specific Soviet-style rank, badges and tabs only worn by this OPFOR.  The OPFOR Infantry collar insignia was first introduced by the NTC (Fort Irwin) OPFOR in 1981. And still worn today by Infantry MOS officers & enlisted soldiers today. 

Spotted this on an auction awhile back and had to smile. I didn't win the lot.  Looks like it's made of heavy card stock. 

Thanks for the feedback!

There are a wide variety of civilian A-2 jackets designed to look like military issue, with fake contract numbers, false Air Force designation, etc. And they may have non-military features like pen pockets, made from other than goatskin, etc. Excelled makes a number of different civilian knock-offs, as do many of the other official military suppliers.    

Hi:  I might be late in the game here, but I believe I can help.  Your slide stop is 100% correct.  I’ve looked at dozens of images of unaltered late War (12/44- 7/45) Remington Rand pistols to study this detail amongst others.  The earliest pistol I’ve seen with the slide serrations in the notch is February, 1945 when the darker phosphate parkerizing was still the standard at RR.  Pistols produced during that month exhibit  both smooth and serrated notches.  As of March, 1945, the change to the latter appears to have been complete.     Like anything else, that isn’t to say you won’t find a correct example with a smooth notch during any month of production during ‘45 but it would be an outlier.  I’d be more concerned if a 1/45 pistol had a fully serrated notch as I haven’t observed any, but then again,  it’s possible.  “Never say never, but NUG (normally, usually, generally) is better.” Mike

10 year 7640 is "Record Missing" issued between 1927 and 1936.   15 year 7640 - Records end at 5137 issued in 1959.