Dion Ruppert from Germany sent me these photos of a very special variation of the TL-122 flashlight that I had never seen before. At first sight, it looks like a TL-122-B or C, but it is not made of plastic. The whole body is made from a zinc-aluminum alloy (zamac) that looks like it was green anodized.
There are no markings anywhere. It has a spare bulb in the battery cover. It also looks like the actual switch has had the rivets removed and replaced with screws.
The pictures below were sent to me by Paul Reijnders some 10 years ago, and only now do we discover it’s true origin.
The flashlight has the crookneck shape, it’s green and looks old enough, but otherwise can’t be identified as a military issue flashlight. But then again, it may be. Given the all-metal construction, I would have pre-dated it to the TL-122-B and C. The lense cap is identical to the TL-122-A. The switch is of yet a different design. The clip is different in that it doesn’t have a simple round hole, but a shaped hole to easily hang it on a nail (I guess). Finally, there’s the manufacturer’s monogram on the battery cap. I am not entirely sure what letters it’s made up of. It looks like B S, so would that make that a ‘Bright Star’as well? Seems logical, but why is the logo on this one different from the other one?
Then Bastian Stieler from Germany sent me a comment, saying the marking on the batter cap is actually PS, and it’s a German made one. These a post war contracts made by the Metallwarenfabrik Peter Schlesinger located in Offenbach am Main (near Frankfurt am Main). Under the brand Hassia they already produced flashlights for the Wehrmacht.
I think it’s wonderful how new information on these flashlights and other items like compasses keeps turning up after all those years.
Laurent Gardiau, who also sent me photos of an orange transparent whistle (see below), sent me a picture of a pink whistle, also US Army 1943 marked. It is otherwise identical to the green ones. While we could think of the practicality of an orange whistle, pink seems an odd choice of color for the Army. I have never seen one like this before.
Philip Hoyle sent me this clipping of a wartime Fort Benning Bayonet newspaper. It mentions gold jump wings that were not officially authorized to wear but were given to Sgt. Karl N. Best, 542nd Parachute Infantry Regiment and 501st PIB to commemorate his 50th Jump.
It’s worth noting here that the 542nd Parachute Infantry Regiment (later Battalion) had a rocky start and it’s prospects of ever seeing combat almost vanished. The 542nd was disbanded in July 1945. You can read a short history here.
The Fort Benning Bayonet has many Airborne related articles & photos. They cover 1943-1945 and beyond: https://www.benning.army.mil/Library/Bayonet/index.html. I will surely be mining them for further interesting articles!
Laurent Gadreau alerted me about this orange-transparent 1943 dated US Army whistle sold at Lux Militaria.
It looks identical to other OD green whistles in my article about US Army issue whistles. Not sure why they would have made them in orange for the army. Presumably for training or survival equipment.
Interestingly, it allows us to see the interior structure of the whistle.
Photos of this smooth-bodied unmarked TL-122 shaped flashlight were sent to me by Éric Lagache. He bought it at a flee market in the Norh of France. The body is made of brass and the neck of aluminum. He has annotated the parts for us (in French):
Keep sending me photos of other variants if you find one that’s not in the article yet. I’m amazed how new variants keep turning up after all these years.
This jump wing is unmarked and seems to have been made from a sand cast mold. The pin is peculiar too.
These pictures were sent to me by Beau Harper. Some people told me this could be an Italian theater made jump wing, but I never heard about that. I do know of bullion embroidered jump wings made in Italy, but not metal badges.
I just added these photos of TL-122-B flashlight with different manufacturer markings.
The one with GITS on the battery cover was sent to me by Joseph Deak. The one with the Bright Star brand comes from Greg Quays. His father was in the Australian Army in New Guinea ’43-45. The Australian troops got a bottle of beer in their rations. His father swapped his beer for this flashlight with a GI he met. A fun story!
Daniel Woditsch sent me these photos of a Taylor wrist compass he found by metal detecting at Gossersweiler by Dahn, Germany. This would have been on the way to the Rhein river for the Americans, although I don’t know about any particular combat having taken place there.
The point however, is that Daniel opened the compass and found that the compass module inside of the bakelite housing is actually fully self-contained and it even still has all of its liquid. The bottom of the module is still clearly marked MAR 24 1944. I can only assume that other Taylor wrist compasses are dated likewise, but you can’t see it unless you’d pry open the casing.
His compass looks remarkably well preserved for having been under the ground for 75 years! It’s a great opportunity for us to see the inside for once.
This 1941 movie was filmed with members of the 501st Parachute Battalion performing the actual jump scenes. It is a pre-Pearl Harbor propaganda film about young Americans, from various social backgrounds, who undergo parachute training at Fort Benning prior to becoming paratroopers.
The story is about 3 guys who enlist as volunteers in the Parachute Battalion, which was founded a year earlier, as you may have read in the previous post. By then, the Battalion was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia.
From the signing of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 in the United States and American interest of military matters, Hollywood provided a rash of films in 1941 about the various branches of the US Armed Forces, both serious and comic.
Fun fact: he founder of the American parachute troops General William C. Lee doubled for the lead actor Robert Preston in some scenes.
