Vitrified Roof Tile from Hiroshima City, Recovered from The Motoyasugawa River across from the Genbaku Dome

This remarkable vitrified traditional Kawara roof tile fragment is a relic from the world’s first use of an atomic weapon and the only detonation in history of a uranium-235 bomb (the Trinity test, Nagasaki, USSR’s “Joe-1,” and all others were plutonium bombs). The catastrophic atomic destruction of Hiroshima City, the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, by the United States on August 6th, 1945, began a new type of warfare on a different scale. At exactly 8:15 a.m. local time on a clear, blue morning, the uranium-fueled bomb code-named “Little Boy,” released from the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber Enola Gay 43 seconds earlier, exploded at an altitude of 1,968 feet above Shima Hospital, now the location of Shima Clinic, on the south side of the exit the parking lot south of the clinic at Otemachi 1-chome, in the city’s Naka Ward (Fujimi-cho in 1945). The location is near the courtyard of the original hospital. The coordinates, 132 degrees, 27 minutes, 17.3 seconds east longitude, 34 degrees, 23 minutes, 40.5 seconds north latitude, were pinpointed in 2020 by Yoshihiko Takesaki, a specialist in geography and a former assistant at Hiroshima University’s Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine. 

The bomb unleashed a blinding destructive explosion equivalent to over 15,000 tons of conventional TNT, the most powerful explosion ever created by man at this point. Witnesses compared it to seeing burning magnesium, which produces a brilliant white light. It was so very bright many people reported seeing the bones in their hands when covering their eyes. Of the immense energy released, 35% was emitted as thermal radiation, including ultraviolet, visible, and infrared light. The initial surface temperature beneath the hypocenter immediately soared to an incredible 11,350°F, vaporizing people and other combustible materials before the 1,000 MPH shock wave could reach them. This instant flash was followed by a rapidly expanding raging fireball, with core temperatures of several million degrees and surface temperatures of 540,000°F, reaching 90 feet in width just 1/10,000 of a second after detonation.

Within three seconds, the fireball grew to 930 feet in width, with surface temperatures of 12,650°F fading out to 3,100°F. Although the thermal energy affected materials for only a very brief time (largely within 1/100th of a second to perhaps 1.3 seconds and up to three seconds in all), its impact was physically profound, significantly altering the surface composition of materials within its reach. The initial flash and fireball were followed by a severe blast wave, with pressures estimated at 1,200 pounds per square foot, combining to demolish almost everything. Roof tiles, bricks, glass, and even iron, were melted in these one to three seconds to varying degrees, depending on their distance from the hypocenter. Thermal effects were observed up to 3,200 feet from Zero Ground. A granite tombstone, located 1,970 feet away, exhibited ruffled and bubbled glass-like surfaces due to exposure to thermal radiation at 3,300°F for three seconds. Similarly, roof tiles found 2,400 feet away from the hypocenter exhibited rough burnt surfaces requiring temperatures of 2,300°F to form.

92% of Hiroshima’s buildings, primarily wood and paper, were instantly incinerated or destroyed. Steel-reinforced concrete buildings in the vicinity were left empty. Shima Hospital was completely demolished - the 80 people inside vanished. Between 27% and 30% of the population (70,000 to 80,000 people) were killed instantly, with 22% of these victims being schoolchildren largely 13 to 14 years olds according to very recent research. Digital restoration of two rare negatives taken by Yoshito Matsushige just three hours after the bombing has revealed many young students seeking refuge at the Miyuki Bridge that morning. In the days, weeks, and months to follow, an additional 90,000 to 166,000 people would die from burns and/or radiation sickness.

This atom-blasted roof tile fragment is more than just a relic from the first atomic bomb; it bears poignant physical testimony to one of the most pivotal moments in human history, carrying with it the stories and memories of that terrible event. It serves as a stark reminder of the devastating power of nuclear weapons. The size of the artifact and the nature of the extreme surface disruption indicate a likely near Zero Ground at the time of detonation, being vitrified, broken into its current size and blown by the blast wave in a straight line directly into the Motoyasugawa River across from the Genbaku Dome. The shock wave, traveling at 1,440 feet per second, propelled some objects over 2.5 miles from Zero Ground. Many were blasted in the River. This distance was determined by fires ignited by the blast. 

A very rare, potent, and unique artifact from the only detonation of a uranium bomb of any kind in history. Measures 4" on the long side. Natural edges; as recovered from the Motoyasugawa River (shown below in B/W and color panoramic Kodachrome), circa 1980s.

Recent (2023) Auction history for roof tiles is  $1,251 for a roof tile only 1.75″ x 2.25″ x .5″. This is 4" x 1" - substantially larger and thicker.

$990

ANOTHER FANTASTIC FIND !  Museum-Worthy HISTORIC WW2 Battlefield Dug Wehrmacht  MG-34 MACHINE GUN Relic !  ( Recovered Battle of the Bulge )  
Here is a spectacular consignment artifact ! A battlefield dug relic beautiful condition MG34 with a cut in the shroud. Truly a one of a kind historic artifact ! The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted for five weeks from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in Europe. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region between Belgium and Luxembourg. It overlapped with the Alsace Offensive, subsequently the Colmar Pocket, another series of battles launched by the Germans in support of the Ardennes thrust.The primary military objectives were to deny further use of the Belgian Port of Antwerp to the Allies and to split the Allied lines, which potentially could have allowed the Germans to encircle and destroy the four Allied forces. The Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, who since December 1941 had assumed direct command of the German army,  believed that achieving these objectives would compel the Western Allies to accept a peace treaty in the Axis powers' favor. By this time, it was palpable to virtually the entire German leadership including Hitler himself that they had no realistic hope of repelling the imminent Soviet invasion of Germany unless the Wehrmacht was able to concentrate the entirety of its remaining forces on the Eastern Front, which in turn required that hostilities on the Western and Italian Fronts be terminated. The Battle of the Bulge remains among the most important battles of the war, as it marked the last major offensive attempted by the Axis Powers on the Western front. After their defeat, Germany would retreat for the remainder of the war.
The Germans achieved a total surprise attack on the morning of 16 December 1944, due to a combination of Allied overconfidence, preoccupation with Allied offensive plans, and poor aerial reconnaissance due to bad weather. American forces bore the brunt of the attack. The Germans attacked a weakly defended section of the Allied line, taking advantage of heavily overcast weather conditions that grounded the Allies' superior air forces. Fierce American resistance on the northern shoulder of the offensive, around Elsenborn Ridge, and in the south, around Bastogne, blocked German access to key roads to the northwest and west that they counted on for success. Columns of armor and infantry that were supposed to advance along parallel routes found themselves on the same roads. This congestion, and terrain that favored the defenders, threw the German advance behind schedule and allowed the Allies to reinforce the thinly placed troops.In the field, the weapon could operate in offensive or defensive applications. The offensive model, with a mobile soldier, used either a 50-round Gurttrommel or a 75-round Patronentrommel 34. In a stationary defensive role, the gun was mounted on a bipod or tripod and fed by a non-disintegrating metal ammunition belt. Belts were carried in boxes of five. Each belt contained 50 rounds. Belt lengths could be linked for sustained fire. During sustained fire, barrels would have to be changed at intervals due to the heat generated by the rapid rate of fire. If the barrels were not changed properly, the weapon would misfire. Changing barrels was a rapid process for the trained operator and involved disengaging a latch and swinging the receiver to the right for the insertion of a new barrel into the barrel shroud. Accordingly, stationary defensive positions required more than one operator.The MG 34 was used as the primary infantry machine gun, and remained as the primary armored vehicle defensive weapon as it took limited space to change barrels inside a vehicle. The MG 34 was intended to replace the MG 13 and other older machine guns, but these were still being used in World War II as demand was never met. It was intended to be replaced in infantry service by the MG 42, but there were never enough MG 42s, and MG 34s continued to be used in all roles until the end of World War II. It was the standard machine gun of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and was also used as a secondary weapon on most German tanks and other armoured vehicles used during World War II.   LOA Provided / Layaway Instalments Available 

$ 2400  Plus shipping 

INCREDIBLE HISTORIC ARTIFACT !  WW2 Battlefield Dug Relic D-DAY US 501st Airborne Para Helmet - ( Recovered Sainte-Marie-Du-Mont , Normandy )

Here is a fantastic WW2 Normandy found fixed bale US Helmet in rough condition however so very historic !  A chance to own a piece of history. US Airborne helmets are so difficult to find in any condition !  The helmet was recovered at Sainte Marie du mont. Very faintly visible peeping through the ground action appears to be the diamond with a tick mark very faint at the 9'oclock representing the 3rd battalion. On the night of June 5-6, between 00:50 and 01:30, British paratroopers were dropped in the area of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont/Hiesville. The Allied strategists located the Drop Zone C, the drop zone of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the 506 th Parachute Regiment as well as the 3rd battalion of the 501st Regiment, in a rectangular space of 1km by 500m, between Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and Hiesville.In fact, because of the dispersal of the planes, only 15 sticks landed on the DZ and 38 outside its limits, but nearby anyway. Between 950 and 1000 paratroopers jumped in a triangular zone delimited by Hiesville, Sainte-Marie-du-Mont and Vierville. A few dozen paratroopers of the 1/506th Regiment landed east and northeast of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, as well as in the very village where they immediately engaged the fight with the Germans.Once Hiesville was released, general Taylor, chief of the 101st Airborne Division, installed his HQ there. He leaves 150 men to hold the village until the arrival of reinforcement troops brought by gliders and landed on the beaches, from dawn. Taylor also sent a detachment to Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, where the fighting was raging, and to Vierville, himself taking place in a detachment of a hundred men to the coast to establish contact with the troops landed on Utah Beach. On his way the conquest of Pouppeville held him close to 6 hours.In Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, the fighting begins as soon as the first paratroopers landed, in the heart of the village, in the middle of the night. Very few Germans were present in the village, but they defended themselves like lions. The village square, the church (whose bell tower represented an excellent observation post), and the adjacent buildings will change hands several times and will be the scene of terrible fighting. After these clashes, the paratroopers hold the village at the first light of dawn. But the German counter-attack was not long overdue. In the late morning, a German column retreating from the coast tried to enter the village before being pushed back. An hour later, a dozen shells landed on Sainte-Marie-du Mont. The church was damaged and the clock of the bell tower stopped, marking 13h30. Shortly after, an endless column of trucks, jeeps and tanks, followed by infantry arrived from Utah Beach. The junction between paratroopers and infantrymen was established in Pouppeville around 13h00. Sainte-Marie-du-Mont was then definitively liberated.   
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$ 980

MUSEUM WORTHY ONE OF A KIND RELIC  !  Rare WW2 Battlefield GERMAN PANZER IV TANK"  ( Panzerkampfwagen IV )  Panzer IV Ausf.H or J
RELIC Battle-Damaged Late Model Long Gun Barrel  Main Gun MUZZLE BRAKE  !    ( Rare Battlefield Found in KURLAND POCKET ! )

Here is a great chance to own the single most incredible and impressive artifact from the brutal fighting around Kurland Pocket. The Panzer IV Main Gun Barrel Muzzle Brake. In the middle of October 1944, about 500,000 soldiers -- 32 German divisions and the 20,000 men of the Latvian Nineteenth Division of the Waffen–SS -- were cut off from the rest of the German army and encircled. To the east and the south was the Soviet army, to the north and the west -- the Baltic Sea. The Latvians called it Kurzemes katls, the Kurland kettle; the Germans called it Festung Kurland, Fortress Kurland. For the Nineteenth Division Kurland was truly the last stand. They took part in six major battles between October 12, 1944, and April 3, 1945. Together with the German army units they on the whole held the front line, keeping the Bolsheviks out of Kurland, until May 8, 1945, when Germany capitulated. These soldiers remained undefeated until the final moments of the war, im Felde unbesiegt, as the Germans say. In one of the last battles, Captain Miervaldis Adamsons' company in a single 24-hour period repelled seven attacks by the Russians, and after the battle the bodies of 400 fallen Soviet soldiers could be counted in front of the Latvians unconquered positions.The Soviet High Command asked the commanders of the First and Second Baltic Fronts to take forceful action in Kurland, in order to drive the enemy from the northern sector of the Baltic Sea and free their units for more important positions on the Soviet-German front. The first attempt occurred on October 16, 1944, but was stopped in the area around Tukums. The next Soviet offensive took place on October 27, but met with strong resistance from the outset and did not result in any gains. November 20 saw another offensive, but the Germans and Latvians stabilized their defensive line, utilizing favorable geographic features. Equally unsuccessful were the final attempts of the First and Second Baltic Front Armies to liquidate the German Army Group "Kurland" in December of 1944 and February and April of 1945.Soviet documents show that Stalin threw division after division into the Kurland inferno, disregarding the appallingly high losses. According to German estimates , the Soviet army lost 320,000 soldiers including those fallen, wounded, and taken prisoner and 2388 tanks, 659 planes, 900 cannons, and 1440 machine-guns.  US SHIPPING INCLUDED in price !  MONTHLY PAYMENTS up to 7 MONTHS available on this rarity ! 

$ 2600   

HUGE LOT OF WW2 Battlefield Dug Relic Wehrmacht Mauser Rifle Casings ( Recovered Operation Market Garden Eindhoven and Arnhem ) Selling in groups of 5 !

Here is a large lot of WW2 Mauser Rifle Casings recovered from the Market Garden campaign. Fantastic for display .. Headstamps visible on most ..On 5 September, Model's forces were bolstered by the arrival of the II SS Panzer Corps, which consisted of the 9th SS and 10th SS Panzer Divisions under the command of Lieutenant General Wilhelm Bittrich. The Corps had been reduced to approximately 6,000–7,000 men, 20–30% of its original strength in the course of continuous action since late June including in the Falaise pocket; losses in officers and NCOs had been especially high Model ordered the two divisions to rest and refit in 'safe' areas behind the new German line; these areas coincidentally were to be Eindhoven and Arnhem.The 10th SS Panzer Division was to be restored to full strength in order to provide an armoured reserve and thus the 9th SS Panzer Division was ordered to transfer all of its heavy equipment to its sister division; it was intended that the 9th would then be transported to Germany for replenishment.At the time of Operation Market-Garden, the 10th SS Panzer Division had an approximate strength of 3,000 men; an armoured infantry regiment, divisional reconnaissance battalion, two artillery battalions and an engineer battalion, all partially motorized.Other formations were appearing to strengthen the German defences. Between 16 and 17 September two infantry divisions from Fifteenth Army assembled in Brabant, understrength but well-equipped and able to act as a reserve. Near Eindhoven and Arnhem a number of scratch formations were being assembled. Several SS units, including an NCO training battalion and a panzergrenadier reserve battalion, were being prepared to enter combat and Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine personnel were being grouped into Fliegerhorst and Schiffstammabteilung formations. There were also a number of training battalions that were being equipped, several depot battalions from the Hermann Goering Panzer Division and various artillery, anti-aircraft and field police units scattered throughout the north of the Netherlands. incredible relics !

5 casings for $29 shipped! Free shipping within the US.

NCREDIBLE HISTORY !  WW1 Belgian Artillery Officers Tunic Jacket with "Shrapnel Damage" from Shelling during WW2 Battle of the Bulge Provenance to positions of US 82nd Airborne Paratrooper Division.  ( Other Bulge Items in photo not included )

Here is an incredible historic piece with WW1 and WW2 History as well as Battle of the Bulge !  A Belgian Artillery Officers Uniform Jacket with shrapnel damage and cool provenance that it was recovered from an attic home in Belgium that was shelled during the Battle of the Bulge causing damage to a wardroble of a WW1 veteran. 82nd Airborne relation per the attached museum tag.  "In December 1944, Adolph Hitler attempted to split the Allied armies in northwest Europe by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp. Caught off-guard, American units fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St.-Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and Bastogne. As the Germans drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads, the Allied line took on the appearance of a large bulge, giving rise to the battle's name. Lt. Gen. George S. Patton's successful maneuvering of the Third Army to Bastogne proved vital to the Allied defense, leading to the neutralization of the German counteroffensive despite heavy casualties." While Belgian civilians were preparing for Christmas in their new-found freedom after the liberation of Belgium in September 1944, the firing suddenly resumed. The inhabitants were trapped in the heart of the battle: the German Ardennes Offensive in December 1944, also called the Battle of the Bulge. With a death toll mounting to 3,000, the Battle exacted a heavy tribute from the civilian population. 250 civilians were murdered by the German troops. The nefarious acts of massacre, as in Stavelot and Bande, were perpetrated by the SS and SD. However, an equal number of Belgian deaths must be ascribed to the Allied forces. Located at important crossroads in a hilly region crossed by marshy areas that made the roads vital for tanks to advance, the small towns in the Ardennes were the scene of savage and destructive fighting. Bastogne was one such, as were Malmedy, Houffalize, La Roche and Saint Vith, a large marshalling yard that was almost entirely flattened by the American Army Air Force and the Royal Air Force. In the three Belgians provinces of Namur, Liège and Luxembourg at least 11,000 buildings were destroyed. Caught in the net like the troops, the civilians took shelter in the region's thick-walled stone cellars, that provided relatively safe shelter during the ground fighting. But no place was safe when the bombs rained down. Most civilians took refuge in the cellars, with no food, no clothing and no heat during this most severe winter in memory. After the war the houses in the Ardennes were rebuilt, but death lingered on in the region. The very ground was deadly, being sown with hundreds of thousands of unexploded munitions. LOA Provided / Free US Shipping / Installments Available !

$350

RARE to Find from Battlefield ! WW2 Battlefield found relic US GAS MASK that was Recovered Historic Battle of the Bulge - 99th US Infantry Division 393rd Regiment Northeast of Rocherath 

n early December, the 2nd Infantry Division was assigned to capture a vital crossroads marked by a customs house and a forester’s lodge named Wahlerscheid, at the southern tip of the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. They transitioned through the 99th division's lines and after a deadly, costly battle, captured the crossroads. But the Germans counterattacked in what the Americans initially thought was a localized spoiling action, but was actually a leading element of the Battle of the Bulge. The 2nd ID consolidated their lines, pulling back into Hünningen, and then to the twin villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt, and finally at the dug-in positions held by the 99th ID at Elsenborn Ridge. In a fierce battle lasting 10 days, the American and German lines were often confused. During the first three days, the battle was for the twin villages of Rocherath-Krinkelt, during which American G.I.s were at times isolated in individual buildings surrounded by German armor. Attacking Elsenborn Ridge itself, the Germans, although superior in numbers, were stopped by the Americans' well-prepared and deeply dug-in defensive positions. General Robertson's plan for moving his 2d Division south was to "skin the cat," pulling the most advanced battalions in the Wahlerscheid sector back through the others. In addition to the main supply road, a part of the division could use the secondary route running more or less parallel to the Wahlerscheid road until the two met at a fork about a mile north of Rocherath.The 395th Infantry was in the woods east of the northernmost section of the 2d Division withdrawal route and would provide cover for the first stage of the tricky move parallel to and close behind the rapidly deteriorating front. Then too the enemy at the Wahlerscheid road junction seemed hardly strong or aggressive enough to make even a daylight disengagement difficult.The danger zone would be the twin villages. Roads from the east led into Rocherath and Krinkelt. And, to the east, as information from the 99th Division rifle battalions warned, the Germans had made a deep penetration and were liable at any moment to come bursting out of the forest. Rocherath and Krinkelt had to be held if the 2d Division was to reach the Elsenborn position intact and with its heavy weapons and vehicles. The 99th Division had long since thrown its last reserve into the battle; therefore the 2d Division (with the attached 395th) alone had to provide for the defense of this endangered sector of the corridor south. The leading company, now alone, entered Rocherath at dusk but found no guides and marched on through the next village until met by bullet fire. Twice the company doubled back on its trail until finally found by the battalion executive and directed to the proper position. Company B arriving about 2130, moved in on the left of Company A but was still on the surface (not having had time to entrench) when German tanks and infantry struck from the northeast at Krinkelt. Company A, well dug in and with all its weapons emplaced, let the tanks roll past and then took on the infantry. Its neighbor, Company B, exposed and without its supporting weapons, was riddled, only one platoon managing to escape. The Company B survivors, joined by what was left of Company C, fell back to the regimental command post in Rocherath and joined the antitank company in the street fight raging there.Back at Krinkelt three German tanks with infantry clinging to their decks got into the eastern streets: with this foothold won more Germans appeared as the night went on. The fight for Krinkelt surged back and forth, building to building, hedgerow to hedgerow. Men on both sides were captured and recaptured as the tide of battle turned. A German attempt to seize the heavy-walled church on the northern edge of the village was beaten off by the reconnaissance company of the 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion, which had lost a platoon at Büllingen during the morning. The communications officer of the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry, 1st Lt. Jesse Morrow, knocked out a tank with only a rifle grenade. (Morrow later was awarded the DSC.) The situation in Krinkelt was further confused by retreating troops from the 99th Division, intermixed as they were with the infiltrating enemy. One German, using a captured American to give the password, got past two outposts, but a sentry finally killed both men. At midnight a column of 99th Infantry vehicles started pouring through the town and continued the rest of the night.At Rocherath, the Germans who had so boldly entered the village earlier in the evening destroyed three American tanks as these inched their way out of the village to help Company K of the 38th Infantry. Here too the fight was bitter and confused. At one time a battalion commander of the 38th was reported to have men from sixteen different companies fighting under his command. By midnight, however, the enemy tanks behind the American lines had been accounted for and the German infantrymen captured or killed. When the wild night of fighting drew to a close, the Americans still were in control of the two villages and the near sector of the Wahlerscheid withdrawal. Your chance to own a piece of WW2 US legendary history..  LOA Provided / Free US Shipping / Installments available 

$ 620

RARE WWII Lot of Dug RELIC Found US P-38 20mm Cannon Shells ! 

IMPORTANT HISTORICAL ARTIFACT FIND !  Original D-DAY WWII "Dive Recovered Seabed Fossilized 20mm Bullet and .30 cal casings embedded in seabed. ( Recovered Omaha Beach )

Here is an absolutely fascinating unique and historic museum artifact ! An original Omaha Beach found relic large chunk of seabed with fossiloized seashells and .30 cal. shell casings proruding,  along with a 20mm US round embedded, this artifact was recovered in the 1980s in a slavage expedition. commonly known as Omaha, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II. Omaha is located on the coast of Normandy, France, facing the English Channel, and is 5 miles (8 km) long, from east of Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to west of Vierville-sur-Mer on the right bank of the Douve River estuary. Landings here were necessary in order to link up the British landings to the east at Gold with the American landing to the west at Utah, thus providing a continuous lodgement on the Normandy coast of the Bay of the Seine. Taking Omaha was to be the responsibility of United States Army troops, with sea transport and naval artillery support provided by the U.S. Navy and elements of the British Royal Navy. On D-Day, the untested 29th Infantry Division, joined by the veteran 1st Infantry Division and nine companies of U.S. Army Rangers redirected from Pointe du Hoc, were to assault the western half of the beach. The battle-hardened 1st Infantry Division was given the eastern half. The initial assault waves, consisting of tanks, infantry, and combat engineer forces, were carefully planned to reduce the coastal defenses and allow the larger ships of the follow-up waves to land.  LOA Provided / Free US Shipping / Instalments Available 

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RARE WWII Battlefield Dug Panzer III STUG Tank LARGE ARMOR SECTION with Painted "Balkenkreuz" German Cross Section Note Rivet Positions  ( Battlefield Recovered Kursk Largest WW2 Tank Battle )

Here is an absolutely museum worthy WW2 Tank artifact ! This is truly every Panzer collectors dream. A Battle-damaged large section of StuG Tank with the painted "Balkenkreuz" with rivets !  This piece is from my personal collection and displays incredible !  Dont let this opportunity get away. Truly one of a Kind ! 
The Battle of Kursk, which involved the largest tank battle of the Second World War, was fought on the steppe of Kursk oblast between July 5 and August 23, 1943. It was initiated by the Germans who, in retreat after their spectacular defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad, concentrated 50 divisions, two tank brigades, three tank battalions, and eight artillery assault divisions comprising 2,700 Tiger and Panther tanks, some two thousand aircraft, and 900,000 men in all. The Soviet forces, consisting of General K. K. Rokossovskii’s Army of the Center, General N. F. Vatutin’s Voronezh Army, and the reserve army of the Steppe Front under General I. S. Konev, numbered 1.3 million troops, 3,600 tanks, and 2,800 aircraft.
The German offensive, code named “Citadel,” involved two simultaneous thrusts against the Soviet-held northern and southern salients. Both were successfully repulsed, and by July 12, the Soviet forces had gone over to the offensive. On August 4, the city of Orel was liberated and by the 18th the German army took up defensive positions east of Bryansk. It had lost 30 of its 50 divisions and up to 500,000 men killed, wounded or missing in action. From its victory in the Battle of Kursk, the Soviet Red Army went on to liberate most of Ukraine in the autumn of 1943, marching into Kiev on November 6. Although Western historiography traditionally marks the beginning of the German downfall to the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the crushing defeat of Kursk makes a more likely turning point for the war.  L

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INCREDIBLE WW2 FIND !  Museum Worthy ! Battlefield Dug Relic Fired WW2 Panzer "KING TIGER" TANK - KwK 43 8.8 Cannon Shell AP Round ( Battle of Berlin Recovery ) 

Here is an Impresssive pair of Battlefield Dug Relic Panzer Tiger II Tank Large Battle Used KwK 43 / 8.8 cm Shell Round AP with the larger drive bands that are rarely if ever found recovered condition. Most likely these were from the SS-Pz. Abt. 503 Heavy Tank Battalion .. Dont let one of these opportunities get away ! 

Last of the King Tigers.

In late April 1945, a detachment of about a dozen Kingtiger heavy tank from s.SS-Pz.Abt. 503 was committed to defend Berlin, starting with engagements on the Seelow Heights on April 16. About six to nine tanks survived the retreat to Berlin on April 24. The Kingtigers were usually deployed in small groups of two or three and often fought in the Zitadelle area in support of SS-Pz. Gren.Div. “Nordland”. One group was active around the Potsdamer Bahnhof railroad station in the southeast corner of the Zitadelle, which offered good firing opportunities against Soviet tanks on the other side of the Landwehr Canal. The train stations had large plazas at the front which provided the Kingtiger tanks with excellent fields of fire. This area also served to block the approaches to the Führerbunker, which was a short distance north of the station. Hitler personally took note of the detachment’s role in the Berlin defense, and decorated its commander, Obersturmbannführer Herzig with the Ritterkreuz at the Reich Chancellery on April 28. The Kingtiger illustrated here, number 314, was commanded by SS-Unterscharführer Georg Diers. On April 28, this tank and tank 100 commanded by SS-Oberscharführer Karl-Heinz Turk were ordered to stage an attack from the Postdamer station towards the Anhalter station several blocks to the southeast. They became engaged in a day-long melee with Soviet T-34-85 and IS-2 tanks. They were finally forced back to the Potsdamer station as seen here. On the morning of April 30, the Soviet tanks managed to penetrate further into the Zitadelle, and Turk’s tank was hit on the right front corner, ripping off the track and damaging the drive sprocket and final drive. On May 1, Turk’s immobile Kingtiger was nearly overrun when a platoon of Soviet infantry suddenly appeared out of one of the sewer entrances; it was abandoned in the evening after running out of ammunition. Diers’ crew claimed to have destroyed 39 Soviet tanks in the Berlin fighting.
Late in the day, after news of Hitler’s death, a group of Nazi Party officials and Waffen-SS officers decided to break out from the Reich Chancellery area across the Weidendamm bridge towards Spandau in the north. All running tanks and half-tracks were assembled in the evening including Diers’ Kingtiger. The escape attempt was led by SS-Brigadefuhrer Gustav Kurkenberg, mainly with troops of the SS-Pz. Gren.Div. “Nordland”. The group set off around 2100hrs and was accompanied by many senior Nazi Party officials, including Martin Bormann. On reaching the Friedrichstrasse railway station, they came under continual fire from Soviet troops. Diers’ Kingtiger moved over the Weidendamm bridge with many troops and civilians behind, but the Soviet troops had clear fields of fire from across the Spree River and it was a bloody slaughter. Diers’ Kingtiger 314 reached the Humboldthain park with a small group of survivors, only to be disabled by a German mine. At least two other Kingtigers were used in another breakout attempt to the southwest from the Charlottenburg district, but both were knocked out, one by a captured 88mm Flak gun.
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