Leica LTM WWII era double Leica rig

[Harry Lime]

Ok, I just looked at the link to the actual pictures.

I speak German and here's what it says.

The picture was taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Willi Heydrich. 'Kriegsberichter' is the German word for war correspondent.

The fellow with the Mauser in the boot and Leica rig was another German war correspondent; a colleague. The fighting in Russia was more brutal than hopefully most people can imagine and very little quarter was given. Consequently you were armed, if you wanted to stand a chance of surviving.

The soldier in the upper part of the photo is a German SS-Gebirgsjäger- in English mountain troops or Alpine Troops. The leggings show up in other photos of the German soldiers.

It is a little difficult to pinpoint exactly where this picture was taken. The photos on the site range from 1941-44 and from Finnland to the Caucuses. The shots from Finnland are mostly in the winter and this one has grass, so it's difficult to tell without seeing the actual album that it came from.

No, word on the camera rig, but maybe Bob Cole would be kind enough to take a peek in Mr. Lager's book to see if it is listed.

cheers,

HL

 

[bob cole]

WWII era double Leica rig

Ok, I just looked at the link to the actual pictures.


The picture was taken by SS-Kriegsberichter Willi Heydrich. 'Kriegsberichter' is the German word for war correspondent.

The fellow with the Mauser in the boot and Leica rig was another German war correspondent; a colleague. ...It is a little difficult to pinpoint exactly where this picture was taken....
No, word on the camera rig, but maybe Bob Cole would be kind enough to take a peek in Mr. Lager's book to see if it is listed.

cheers,

HL

I checked Lager's and other's books and I can't find any reference to the picture...
What I did find was a 3-page article with pix about the Leica Tandem in Leica Photography magazine , Fall 1949, No. 7, Vol 2...I scanned it but my scanner is a new HP printer, scanner, copier and I still haven't figured out how to use it...One of these days, if it comes up again, I'll try to scan it again...Scanners are a real challege, at least to me...

 

[Harry Lime]

Thanks for looking, Bob!


Cheers,

HL

 

[bean_counter]

The site page titles say "Nord", presumably the 6th SS Gebirgs (mountain) division.

I can't see any cuff titles, but there's a collar tab visible on pg 8 that looks like a Nord symbol variant. Lots of "mountain" troop insignia on hats.

A quick google search of the division history puts them mostly in Finland, with training periods in Denmark and Germany, ending up in the West in late 44-45. Photo could have been taken a lot of different places.

 

[landsknechte]

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Here's more info , landsknechte, from Lager's Illustrated History, Vol. III Accessories...Leica called the Tandem outfit a TOWIN...

See also: http://www.trenholm.org/hmmerk/HMbook12.html#anchor870860

Same basic concept, but the rig in the picture is quite a bit different.

 

[Philippe D.]

A quick google search of the division history puts them mostly in Finland

I would think, this picture is taken 1939-40 during (or after) the "Winter war" in Finland.
Finns had got many such Mauser from Germany.

 

[Olsen]

I would think, this picture is taken 1939-40 during (or after) the "Winter war" in Finland.
Finns had got many such Mauser from Germany.

I agree with this. Quite a few of the pictures on the SS-Kriegsberichter is not of German soldiers. The guys in white fur hats are Fins. Both Norwegians and Dutch ("Norwegische und Niederländische SS-Freiwillige..") of "Division Nordland" are shown. To my knowledge, these had typical Geman uniforms and footwear. Could the leggings be Finnish?

The front between Germans and Soviet Union were 'tight fronts' along the Lista Front (Eismeer front), some 200 km down from the Barents Sea and southwards. Then there was a long area were there wern't any front as such, but a lot of patrol activity by all parts. Then, is southern Karelia, there were tight fronts again between the parties. I reckon that quite of the few white fur hatted Fins are of these patrol guys. But Germans did partolling themselves too. Among others to hit the Murmansk railway, which the Fins refused to disturb. All of this patrol activity were performed by 'special troops'. To have served in the Finnish patrols has a high standing even today in the Finnish society.

I have seen this picture of the Messerschmidt 109 taxying before. I believe it is taken at Rovaniemi, Finland, where the German general staff had one of their two headquarters (- the other at Lillehammer Hotel, Lillehammer, Norway). Rein deers are as common in Rovaniemi as yellow cabs in NY. - Or, at least were, back then.

 

[Olsen]

I can't see any cuff titles, but there's a collar tab visible on pg 8 that looks like a Nord symbol variant. Lots of "mountain" troop insignia on hats.

The only collar tab I can see on page 8 is that of the Estonian Harald Riipalo, who served both in the Red Army (- defected to the Germans), and then served in the '20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian). He got his Knights Cross of the Iron Cross at the heavy fighting at Narva, avoided being captured by the Russians, - who would certainly have killed him slowly, and survived the war. He died in Britain in 1961.

More prictures of him here: http://eestileegion.com/index.php?categoryid=86

 

[Telewatt]

The protection shieds at the cameras are 4 pices of the VESUK protetion shield made by Leitz...but here they are put together..

regards,

Jan

 

[bean_counter]

The only collar tab I can see on page 8

OOPS - make that page 9 - I was typing on a crummy laptop keyboard 🙁

It's the third photo, with the group of soldiers with belts of machine gun ammunition. He's the one on the far right, looks like an unterscharfuhrer; you can see the other collar tab as well, which appears to have a Nord device instead of generic SS runes.

 

[Olsen]

OOPS - make that page 9 - I was typing on a crummy laptop keyboard 🙁

It's the third photo, with the group of soldiers with belts of machine gun ammunition. He's the one on the far right, looks like an unterscharfuhrer; you can see the other collar tab as well, which appears to have a Nord device instead of generic SS runes.

A very good photograph of a sitiation familiar for anyone who have done military service: Fertigmachen! Get reddy! The rounds you see in the picture are fired off in seconds. The tense situation can be read in the faces of the soldiers. These are German SS-soldiers set in against ' Banden und badogliohörige Verbände'.

That is what we call 'terrorists' today... Ever heard that before..?

- 'im ostadriatischen Raum' - that is ex. Yugoslavia. Their top general killed himself when facing war crime charges in 1945.


http://www.gaissmair.net/pk_pictures_9.htm