how much more is under there

how much more WW2 relics are under the ground all over
is my question
people seem to be finding tons of stuff
its never ending
i can understand empty shells
but loads of helmets etc

 

Chrish, your question is like asking 'how long is a piece of string?' Nobody can say how much WW2 stuff is still out there waiting to be discovered.

It's fair to say that there is still a fair amount of relics (bullets, shell casings, weapon parts etc) to be found in the Falaise Gap area, but it's a case of knowing where to look, they are not literally strewn across the countryside waiting for you to trip over them!

I've yet to find that elusive Fallschirmjager helmet or MP40 lying under a bush, somewhere in Normandy...

 

yes i undertsand that
and if you know where to look you would have found your MP40 and helmet by now

are you into your metal detecting then mate

 

I do know where to look, but the discovery of a helmet and weapon still evades me!

I have used a metal detector on some of the sites (with the landowners permission) but it's hardly worth it as there is so much shrapnel and small pieces of twisted metal in the ground-the detector is constanly sounding.

I prefer to use the Martin Bull method-The Mk1 Eyeball...

 

Jagdpanther44

I also use that. But until I have got myself new glasses I have to look for things like Tigers, Shermans and so on. Do I have to say that this far I have had no success?

Mats

 

Research and almost limitless patience is the key.....

 

MP40s and helmets - you'll be lucky indeed to find any, especially the latter which on any battlefield ( as opposed to a dump ) will be now be corroded almost beyond recognition in most cases.

This is more the sort of thing to be found today in NW Europe - a heat-exploded 88mm shell base...




An MG-42 fired 7.92mm casing.....





And a very large shell fragment.....




All without a metal detector. Good hunting !

 

Mats, I think Martin collected all those up years ago and hid them in his secret barn somewhere deep in the Normandy countryside...

Martin, all those items look awfully familiar, especially the 88mm base...

I have to agree with you Martin, these items are all your likely to find, if it's not made of brass or heavy gauge steel, then it's probably not survived the 60+ years in the ground.

 

This is a problem that can be solved...

 

Which I trust is now proudly displayed at 'Jagdpanther44 Towers'.....

 

Martin, do you know to see the difference between a MG fired 7,92 mm round or a 7,92 mm fired by a K98?

 

My son, Alex, has it on his militaria shelf in his bedroom...after all, it was his find...

 

Nick, I'm still a novice when it comes to using a metal detector, am I correct in thinking that it's all down to fine tuning the discrimination and sensitivity correctly ?

 

Only the discrimination, what kind of detector do you have?

 

go to the Ardenne into the heavy confierous forests when you have several years to spare, I have friends that are still finding a/c lost with crews as MIA now proper found ID'd and proper burials, not say of what has been left on the Ost front

 

Yes - it's the mark made by the MG42 extractor on the mouth of the cartridge case. It is unique to the weapon due to the design and very high rate of fire ( the MG34, for instance, does not make this distinctive 'half-moon' mark and a K98 makes no mark at all....).

 

100% correct Martin, do you also know how you see the difference by and Lee-enfield fired .303 round or one fired from a BREN?
You can see by the hole in the primer on the bottom of the cartridge, its not round but more longer... see on the picture:

 

No - I didn't know that ! Maybe we should write a Small Forum Monograph on the subject of Identifying Fired Small Arms Ammunition - published in a strictly limited, signed edition of course !

 

Good idea!

 

Did you all also know, that there are more than 2.500.000 explosives left in the Hürtgen Forest...?
I spent some time in different areas of the Hürtgen Forest - searching... There ist truely a lot of scrapnel there which makes searching with a metal-detector a little bit difficult.
But I also found 4 small grenades stuck in the ground only 15cm deep on one day... So be careful...